The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 12, 1916, Page 5

5 wanted ‘proof that this state conld establish “and maintain _standard what is actually ‘Without being'a handling but’a ) grain crop grown in the -morthwest, it still is: maintaining ‘a sturdy. independ- . 8 they could have it in being done in Wisconsin, - -ence. of * the ' huge milling ' interests of Minneapolis, “and:‘showing the farmers what? cani be> done for them by state - The:légend that has grown up in Min= neapolis to.the. effect that no institution outside that mill center can establish or maintain- grades in northwestern grain, has béen disproven by Wisconsin. . * While Minnneapolis, through the grain grades. which. its influence - secufes, squeezes the farmers at every turn, Wis- consin “has adopted a broad friendly’ policy towards them, It does not truckle to them; nor attempt to curry favor, but it believes'in a square deal all the yeat Last year the Wisconsin Grain and Warehouse commission graded 100,000,- 000°hushels of grain, which was'its big- gest' season, but long before that, ‘while it was: still ‘handling only a fraction of that amount, its position had compelled more favorable action by the Minnesota Board of Grain Appeals.. All the farmers of North Dakota well _ remember the fight headed by the North Dakota Agricultural college in behalf of durum and velvet chaff wheat—how Dr._ E. F. Ladd by mill: tests proved it superior to several grades of grain that were higher, and how ultimately a spread of 20 cents a bushel between No, 1 durom and No. 1 northern - disappeared. A glance’ today ‘at the Minneapolis quota- tions shows No. 1 durum ranking in price along with No. 1 northern and’ some- times a cent or more above it. ! WISCONSIN’S INFLUENCE ON | THE MINNESOTA GRADES - . ‘But Dr: Ladd’s experiments.alone did ‘ot achieve ‘this result. ~When the Wis- ““consin Grain and Warehouse commission found -that durum was just as good a wheat as No. 1 northern it ‘placed it in that grade, and, knowing' its excellent qualities - from their = own laboratory experiments, the Minneapolis millers did not propose to:let the Twin Ports handle it.” The result was that No. 1 durum was raised to No:-1 northern in Minrie- sota . also. Practically ' the ‘same’ facts apply to velvet chaff, and alike discrim- ination against.it disappeared after the “Wisconsin' Grain and *Warehouse com- ' mission acted upon the scientific inform- Here is shown the inspecting room of the Wisconsin Grain a windows, the pans and other paraphernalia, and part of the force. the window), C. J. Fraser (at the end of the table), J. Inspector J. B. Coombs (back of table also) ation made known by the North Dakota Agricultural: college. ' It was the initiative of Wisconsin that drove_ Minnesota to accord more just treatment to the farmers, and this rela- tive attitude has existed ever sincé the ‘Wiseonsin board was established in 1908. It has stood as a friend, and is today a: living . example of ' what the North Dakota farmers: can do. for themselves in the way of fixing grades that will be accepted in the grain trade. i The weakness of the Wisconsin situa- tion is that its grades. are not. compul- * sory, but are applied only when requested . by~ the shipper. . Minneapolis' Chamber of Commerce shippers never request Wis- consin inspection: they prefer Minnesota. But some independent shippers and the Equity = Co-Operative - exchange of P ~-tions Vil . §uperior Wis. (which th.is'year is hand- ling almost two thirds of the grain going to the Twin Ports) ask Wiseonsin inspec- tion—a sufficiently clear demonstration as_to its value, MAKE THE GRADES FAIR; IS WISCONSIN'S AIM “But. we have never: promised the farmers any better grades than they would get at Minneapolis,” said Chair- man:: J. B, Kernan of. the Wisconsin *Grain and Warehouse: commission, the other ' day .in ' Superior.” “It has’ even happened that at times we have not . given as high grades. Our. position is this: to be fair to the grower and to the shipper; to put a variety or quality of grain where it belongs and then to leave it’ ‘there. ‘We believe that 'if grain properly grades No, 1 mnorthernm in the fall it ‘grades’ No. 1 northern in the spring. : S : “That has not always been the attitude < of Minneapolis.. By instructions given ‘to the inspectors, ‘they have dropped . wheat all along the line for a grade, so that wheat of the same quality that was ~ 'grading No. 1 in the fall would get only No. 2 in the spring for instance. That is not right, and we have never followed ‘that ' costom. This' was accomplished not by altering the grades but by instruc- ions to _the inspectors to bear down ota need es.” The market uperior Thé Effért- of the kWi_sqo,nsi_n' Gram Board to Be Fair to F armers; Prejudice Hits Value of this Year’s Light Grain Wheat buyers have been. _that light-weight grains necessarily are poor for milling purposes. This is a fine thing for the mil- lers, It helps them make their flour cheaper and ~ still keep the price up. - The experience of Wisconsin proves that North ' not depend upon the Minnesota grain an effort is made to be fair to the producers of the Northwest. The hope of the grain producersisin | i ] y and trade of markets that justly with the grain raiser. nd Warehouse commission, the tables beéide/the tall, unshaded In the picture are shown: Holman (standing back of the table near Mr. Fraser) and Chief Deputy Inspectors J. T. Cavanagh (near educated to the belief TAKING DR. LADD’S TIP IN FIXING GRADES As an illustration of the lively inter-' est that the Wisconsin' Grain and Ware house commission shows in its work, Chairman Kernan made a trip to Fargo about three weeks ago with a sample of light weight wheat which he had milled at the A. C. plant for the purpose of guiding the commission in" determining _what grade to put it into, o~ . No one has ‘ever heard of the Minne- sota .grade makers sending samples of grain to the Agricultural college for the purpose of ‘getting a milling test before establishing a grade for it, But Wig- consin did this and used the information derived from'the experiment by placing all 'such grain in the “sample grade,” . This ‘wheat ' weighed before cleaning 41.7 pounds per bushel, but after clean- ing 80, pounds per bushel.- Under-tha test weights in effect in Minnesota and Wisconsin both this-year and in previous years wheat under 49 pounds has been “rejected” or “sample grade.” If put in ‘sample grade the grower and buyer: . can bargain for the.price ‘on the quality of the sample submitted. - But if it goes into. No. 4. northern, there is a fixed quotation for.such wheat. ° : Taking' this point " into consideration, Mr. Kernan said; ; .- “The wheat we took to Fargo weighed 4 80 }igllxtv\tl!gt‘;it. had to. go into sample Superior is one in which e A S S