The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1930-09-12
AN OPEN LETTER TO
EHRMANNTRAUT
Mr.. H. M. Ehrmanntraut,
State Grain Inspector,
Dooley, Montana.

Mr.. H. M. Ehrmanntraut,
State Grain Inspector,
Dooley, Montana.
Your letter of August 22nd in
the Producers News, a presumed
answer to my remarks in same
paper of August 18th, contained
many unfair and insinuating state
ments.
| will call your attention to the
fact that you have stepped over
the fence, cultivating the garden
for some outsider. In other words
you have forgotten or disregarded
the instructions given you by Mr..
Stafford when in Great Falls to
receive your credentials.
He admonished you to keep in
mind three things:
"First-That your duty is to the
State and to the Department of
Agriculture, which you represent
in grain inspection service;
"Second-Not to use your posi-
ton for the furtherance of the po-
litical welfare of any person or
party;
"Third-TO avoid controversy as
to the merits or dement's of COM
petitive organizations and agen-
cies."
l understand that as soon as
you had received this instruction
from Commissioner Stafford, some
highly educated promoter or pro-
Fmoters, escorted you to a closed
room for further instructions, and
there a finishing touch was added
to all newly-elected grain inspec-
tors. 1t was in this elias room,
the "room of mystery. that the
grain inspectors were influenced
to such an extent that their real
duties were lost sight OF. YOU
forgot about your duties to the
state and decided to work for the
Especial interests of the Farmers
! Union, violating both instructions
one and three.
Look, who were your instluc
tors!
The outcome of this was that
Daddy Stafford had to take yol
across his checkered apron, anC
give you a reminder. '~s
You stated that the Northwes
Grain Association could not tax,
care of or store one bushel of grain
at the terminals. This is no doub
one of the many untrue thing
you have been instructed to tel
, by some unfair competitor.
) For your information AS well a
! the party who informed you an,
everybody else concerned, / shall
state: The Northwest Grain Asso
: citation consists of 150ocountry ele
vators with a total capacity o
100000 bushels. In addition
this the Northwest Grain sAsso
Z citation has from 100000 to s.
q 100000 bushels terminal spac
: contracted for. The Farmers Ele
! Evator of Outlook has already avail
led themselves of this storage "a
> cility and stored $4,000 bushels {
grain with the Northwest Graf
n Association. More than $4,000
v has gone out to those associate
. elevators to enlarge their loci
i plants in order to serve the
q stockholders more efficiently.
! The Northwest Grain .Asssoci;
4 ton is not interested in promo
ing farm storage. With the vic
experience in grain business tn;
l. the officers of the Northwe
h Grain Association has, they kno
is that it is not a practical workin
ID plan and for that reason is n,
i catering to the plan, but it is a
al ways prepared to make any los
D. large or small.
When l read the plan offert
by the Farmers Union, it look,
Id TO me, as one man said, like Il
n most expensive way of doing bus
tn ness known to the grain trade.
r very careful study of the Farme
lp Union plan convinces me that
lg will cost at least three nickels al
IS. one cent and a half per bushel
ks store grain on the farm.
to For a public official to ma
IS. such printed statements in t
press as are contained in the Ia
paragraph of your letter to n
printed on August 22nd, in VII
of the last few paragraphs in yo
es first letter, purporting to sh1
IN the cost of the loan is hardly &C
,e: sistent. / am sure that almC
~, anv farmer is capable and pt
m, sessed of sufficient knowledge
grain values to figure these thin
h., out for himself. The fact is Il
N. that statement is not justified
cause there are no other schedu