The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 1, 1917, Page 6

Hear Farmers, But That’s S R T N R A e S TR All Dr. L.add Gets a Brief Hearing at Fargo—Presents His Data to Government Showing Discrimination Against the Farmers in Grain Grading ECAUSE the grading of wheat largely determines the price and other market conditions, and because the farmers of the Northwest believe the grades now existing are grossly dis- criminating against them, the first hearing in the Northwest on the pro- posed new federal grades which are to supplant state grades was fraught with the utmost importance. It was at this hearing, held at IFargo February 20, that the producers of hard spring wheat had their opportunity. In the space of the few short hours allotted them, Dr. E. I, Ladd, president of the agricultural college, and a -score or more of farmers present attempted to oresent adequately the producers’ side. The hearing began at 10 o'clock in the morning and closed at 5 in the afternoon, and the secretary of agri=- culture’s delegates then hurried away to Minneapolis, where a two-day hear- ing was held, followed by two-day hear- ings at Chicago and Kansas City. Tt was not till the closing hours of the hearing that Dr. Ladd was given san opportunity to present the results of the famous tests he has made and which have aroused the producers of the Northwest. As fully as the brief time given would permit he explained what eight vears of experimental mili- ing and baking have disclosed about wheat and what he has found to be the diserimination against the producers and other abuses of grain grading and marketing. PROPOSED GRADES IGNORE LADD TESTS Mr. Brand, who is chief of the office of markets of the U. S, department of agriculture and who presided at the meeting, made it plain that all that he and his associates could promise was to “consider carefully” what Dr. LLadd had to say. “We have the greatest staff of grain experts in the world,” said Mr. Brand. ‘“We have many Dr, Ladds in our de- partment, and we must consider what they =ay, too. We might as well make it plain that we can not base any sys- tem of grading we may decide upon on your Dr. Ladd's findings—we must base our grades on our own data. But we can promise and you can be assured we will consider carefully what you have presented to us today and if we find your data warrants it wili of course alter the tentative grades we have already decided upon.” The tentative federal grades men- tioned by Mr. Brand were explained by him and Mr. Duvel. They completely ignore, as was brought out by several speakers, what Dr, Ladd's tests have shown—namely, that physical appear- ance does not determine the milling value, and that the so-called lower grades net millers as much, and often more, than the so-called higher grades. BRAND IS AGAINST USING MILL TESTS While the national agricultural de- partment men said they were holding these hearings.to get ideas for the pur- pose of altering their tentative rules, “if found necessary,” they indicated plainly that the grades as promulgated finally will not be grades based on milling tests in the sense that Dr. Ladd means milling tests. The tentative grades explained by the department men are no better for the producer, and perhaps worse, than the present grades, the farmers present claimed. But every indication is that thése ten- tative grades, with few if any altera- tions, will be the new federal grades. “Milling tests for commercial grad- ing are impossible,” said Mr. Brand. “In a market, for instance, where 1,200 to 1,500 cars of grain axje arriving daily, inspectors could not wait for tihe milling and baking of samples before grading the wheat. All that can ne done is to grade. by physical appear- ance and other methods which indi- cate as near as possible the value of grain for milling.” “Could not actual milling tests be provided at least in case of appeals, or where either buyer or seller are dis- satisfied with the grade given by an inspector?” Mr. Brand was asked. “No, that could not be done either. You would then be requiring inspectors to grade by one system and standard and using another system and standard on appeal, which would not work or he fajr.” “But you claim.” it was urged, “that your grades will be based on milling tests. How, then, would actual tests on appeal be using a different standard or system?” “It would,” said the department man. “It would be using two methods and would not be fair.” MILLERS APPROVE PROPOSED GRADES The hearing soon after it opened showed that the tentative grades al- ready framed by the U. S. department, and which with few changes will he the final grades, meet favor with the millers and grain buyers and on the other hand are opposed by the pro- Charles J. Brand, chief,’ofi’ice of markets, U. S. department of agricul- ture, photographed for the Leader at Fargo. ducers. Dr. Ladd opposed the tenta- tive grades strongly. He proposed half the number of grades on a plan he has worked out from his tests, but these did not seem to be taken seri- ously at first by the U. S. department men. Later, however, they promised to consider carefully Dr. Ladd's pro- posed grades. A big point brought out at the meet- ing was that the new grades will at- tempt to force farmers to raise what the department men called “better, cleaner” wheat, especially in the case of durum. Mr. Duvel, who is in charge of the grain standardization work of the department, was frank to say that the proposed grades on durum have been made so strict that they will bar out of durum grades 40 per cent of the durum now marketed, and throw it into the mixed grade classification, with consequent lower prices. TO FORCE FARMERS TO CHANGE METHODS “We have purposely made the durum grades strict,” said Mr. Duvel, “betause durum in the Northwest is becoming badly mixed with other wheat, and we think stricter grades will influence farmers to use better seed and better farming methods so as to improve the durum marketed. Our tentative grades on durum provide that any grain of that kind containing more than 10 per cent of other classes of wheat can not be sold as durum, but must be sold as mixed wheat. I believe that your durum can be cleaned up to make these new grades this crop year. You should begin through publicity and through your experiment station to preach better seed and better methods. . If you act soon enough your durum sown this spring and harvested this fall can make these grades. It is just a question of farming right. You will get more money for your durum when you clean it up under these grades than you are now getting for durum. I real- ize these grades we have drawn up for durum look difficult, but.the farmers know how to grow clean durum and they can make it clean if they want to.” At this point John D. Shanahan of the Shanahan Grain company of Du- luth arose. “It is a great personal satisfac- tion to me,” he said, “to contem- plate the way you men have work- ed out these proposed grades. The whole grain industry is to be con- gratulated on the help of such men as Mr. Duvel. | believe that in five years under these grades you propose kicking about grain grad- ing in the Northwest will be a thing of the past. We have been mining more than farming, in my opinion.” The sweeping change in durum grades proposed by the department men caused a big protest of the farm- ers present. Later even Mr. Shanahan volunteered the guess that the strict grades ought to be put in effect grad- ually, instead of all at at once, so the farmer would have a chance to adjust methods to them gradually. MOST ALL DURUM WOULD BE BARRED “Not a carload of*durum in 500 will make these strict durum grades you propose,” said J. G. Crites, general manager of the Equity Co-operative exchange of St. Paul, who was there to represent the 3,000 farmers who own the stock in this Equity enterprise, which is the largest grain brokerage firm owned by farmers in the world. “We expect that will be true at first,” said Mr. Duvel in answer to Mr. Crites. “We know high mixtures get into the durum grades now, but we think it best not to allow it under the new grades.” “I agree with that,” of Duluth. “Frankly,” continued the department man, “I say durum at present can not make these grades. I think the grades are right, however, because I am con- fident that it is just a matter of seed and care which can be remedied in one crop—starting this spring.” “In that case, I do not see that any concessions at all are necessary,” again interrupted Shanahan, POOR DURUM NOT ALL FARMERS' FAULT said Shanahan * F. R. Babcock of the Williston agri- cultural substation, speaking for the producers, pointed out that much of the other classes of wheat mixed in durum was not the fault of the farmer. “We find at the station that no mat- ter how carefully you work there is a natural crossing between durum and red spring wheat,” he said, “where they are grown on the same farm or close by.” “It is pretty difficult in this state,” said Carl F. Rockwell, a gray-headed pioneer North Dakota farmer, “to keep other classes of grain out of durum. I know because I farm. You can get every foreign kernel out before seed- ing—at least you think you have every one out—but before you know it you have a mixture with your durum. This is because you use the same drills and the same threshing machinery for durum and other wheat, and we all raise various varieties. I think your grades will work a hardship on farm- ers.” “We find mixtures through volunteer grain,” said O. A. Brown of Dickinson. “We find farmers who pay the best prices for the best durum seed and use great care and yet get a mixture which would not make the grades you pro- pose. These grades are going to work a hardship on the farmer. The farmer gets various prices for his grain, but you know all these grades on which he gets different prices are all mixed be- fore milling by the miller, and the flour price is the same and is based on No. 1 grade for wheat.” LADD TELLS ABOUT HIS GRAIN TESTS In answer to Mr. Duvel's belief that durum farming could be reformed in North Dakota this spring, Norman Malcolm, representing the Stark Coun- ty Grain Growers’ association, said that 90 per cent of the seed for the 1917 crop had already been purchased by farmers. Mr. Crites of the Equity, added that at this time there was little or no good durum in the Northwest to be had for seed. But Mr. Duvel said he thought good seed could be got for this spring all right. “I know it can’t, because we are try- SIX ing to get it and there is none,” said Crites. Dr. Ladd then told of his eight years of experiments, familiar throughout the Northwest. He showed that under ex- isting grades and under the grades proposed by the U. S. department of agriculture, No. 3 wheat would make more flour than No. 2, although it would bring less to the farmer in spite of bigger returns to the miller. He pro- duced the figures that 'showed that under present grades, there is a spread often of 100 per cent or more between farmer and consumer on the lower grades, while the spread is only 20 to 30 per cent on the so-called higher grades. “If mills are making a fair profit on No. 1 and 2 wheat, then somebody is making profits out of all proportion on the lower grades,” he said. TOWNLEY INQUIRES ABOUT THE TESTS During Dr. Ladd’s discussion of the subject, A. C. Townley, president of the Nonpartisan League, who was pres=- ent during the afternoon, arose to ask Dr. Ladd in more detail about some of his investigations. 3 “Dr. Ladd, did the millers advertise that the 1916 crop, all of which was so- called low grade, made better flour than the 1915 crop, which graded much higher?” “They did,” said Dr. Ladd. “Notices they sent out to dealers explained that 1916 wheat, sold by farmers in many Instances as feed, was making bigger and better loaves of bread than the 1915 crop.” “I would like to ask also,” said Mr. Townley, “whether or not you found commercial mills in Minnesota actually proving this by grinding flour for farmers for 15 cents a bushel and giv- ing them the grist—whether under this custom milling plan farmers were not getting up to $2 per bushel in mill products for wheat they were offered only $1 for by the mills.” “That is true,” said Dr. Ladd. “We did find that in our investigation of commercial mills in Minnesota.” SEES A HARDSHIP FOR THE FARMERS In explaining his system of grading, which makes three grades where the proposed federal grades make six, Dr. Ladd explained that Russia uses only two grades. He said that he believed that the elaborate system of grades proposed by the United States depart- ment would work a hardship on the producers. In answer to another ques- tion of President Townley of the Non- partisan League he said that his sys= tem of grading, which he submitted at the hearing, was based on milling tests and would give millers the same profits they now get on Nos. 1 and 2 grades, but would not give them any more margin than that on the lower grades, whereas now they are making several times as much on the lower grades. “The high value of the so-called low- er grades of wheat,” said Dr. Ladd, “has not been shown alone by our_ tests. Canadian government investi- gations have proved the same thing, South Dakota experiment_ stations have shown that for feeding purposes low grade wheat is as good as higher., So we know it is as good for both feed- ing and milling. At my home we eat bread from these so-called feed grades, and we do not know the difference. Our guests can not tell the difference.” FARMERS’ PETITIONS ARE PLACED ON FILE While the entire attitude and most of the remarks of the United States de- partment men indicated that they had already decided the matter of what the grades should be and that the hear- ings were a mere formality required by law, they will not leave North Da- kota without knowing the sentiment in this section. S. J. Nagel of Glen Ulen presented resolutions of the Grain Growers' association of Rlorton county asking that the Ladd tests be made the basis for the new grades; C. B. Waldron, president of the Tri- state Grain Growers’ association, pre- sented similar resolutions of that or- ganization; . C. 0. Kell of McKenzie handed in resolutions of the Farmers’ Union of Burleigh county, asking the same thing; O. A. Brown of Dickinson did likewise for the Farmers’ Union of that locality; Mr. Malcolm presented petitions with hundreds of names of producers from all parts of the state asking careful consideration of :hs (Continued on page 15)