The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 8, 1917, Page 9

A What the Millers Had to Say Some More Details of the Federal Grain Grade Hearings at Minne- apolis—Duluth Board of Trade Wins Where Farmers Fail There was so much of interest to grain growers in the discussion by millers and elevator men during the two-day federal grain grade hearing at Minneapolis recently that not all the important points were brought out even in the de- tailed account of the hearings that the Leader published last week. The hearings were preliminary to the fixing of United States grain standards, which are to supplant all state grain grading systems. More of detailed report is given here. By Oliver S. Morris T WAS interesting to note at g the federal grain grade hear- ings at Minneapolis that in a small way it was admitted that not all the impure, dam- aged and otherwise defective wheat could be laid at the door of the farmer. For instance, the government has pro- posed to exclude all heat-damaged wheat from grades No. 1 and No. 2, hard spring wheat, to allow a haif of one per cent in grade 3, 1 per cent in grade 4 and 3 per cent in grade 5. The proposal was to eliminate from the two highest grades all wheat that had even any trace of heat damage. Yet it was admitted that wheat leaves the farmers’ hands without any heat damage and what damage it suffers from heating occurs somewhere be- tween the farmer and the mills. “Farmers deliver their wheat to local elevators practically without heat damage,” said Dr. Duvel of the depart- ment of agriculture, who, with C. J. Brand, will determine the new federal grain grades. “All the heat damage occurs at the country elevators, en route or in terminal elevators.” ELEVATOR MEN REGISTER KICK The requirements looked rather strict for grades Nos. 1 and 2 to the elevator men present and some of them kicked. Here was a proposition that hit the big elevators as much as the farmer. While the heat-damage restrictions would affect farmers who shipped grain direct to the terminals to wsell it through brokers, they would not affect the farmers who sold their grain to * country elevators. But they would af- fect the elevator men, in whose hand- ling of the wheat most of the heat damage occurs. Elevator men suggest- ed that one-tenth of 1 per cent heat damage be permitted in No. 1 and per- haps twice as much as that in No. 2 But the millers did not like this. F. M. Crosby of the Washburn-Cros- by mill said: ; “I am against one-tenth of one per cent damage in No. 1 or No. 2. You say that's a trace only, but it looks a lot to me. How many heat damaged kernels would that be to an average sample pan of wheat? “It would be about 40,” answered someone. s “Well, 40 to a sample pan-is a lot. I wouldn’t mind allowing a few—but 40 looks big to me.” FROST DAMAGED WHEAT DISCUSSED The question of frost-damaged wheat was then discussed. The proposed federal grades make very strict pro- visions in regard to frost, excluding wheat from No. 1 grade that has more than 1 per cent frosted kernels. Up to b per cent frosted can get in Nos. 2 and 3, and the bars-are let down to 10 per cent in No. 4 and 15 per cent in No. 5. This, too, didn’t suit some elevator men, who thought the restric- - tions a little high.. ° L. D, Marshall, 'who-said he was speaking from a country elevator man’s point of view, but who later said he was with the National Elevator company and gave:an office number in the Chamber of Commerce, said: “I question whether the government Anvestigators got a yepresentative num- ber of samples of frosted wheat. I know you are doing the best you can and I am willing in my heart to give you credit, but have you got these damaged wheat specifications entirely right?” “We have made no attempt to dis- tinguish between various degrees of frost damage,” said Dr. Duvel. “We admit that bran frost may not injure the wheat at all for milling.” In spite of this admission it was explained by Brand and Duvel that bran frost counted in all cases against the wheat in the grades outlined by the government. The frosted kernels might not hurt the wheat at all. But the "federal men said they could not take this into considération—that they would make no degrees of frost dam- age. In other words, wheat contain- ing more than one per cent of frost damage, whether a bran frost that had no affect whatever on milling qualities or a frost that really did damage the wheat, could net make No. 1 grade. BLEACHED WHEAT GOOD FOR MILLING While refusing to consider degrees of frost in the grades, the federal men made many significant admissions— for instance this by Dr. Duvel: “We have found millers, it is true, who said they did not use any frosted wheat whatever, and who, we learned, were using frosted wheat and not changing their No. 1 patent labels on their flour sacks.” Chief Inspector Emerson of the pres- ent Minnesota grading department questioned the federal men about bleached wheat. “Would bleached wheat be consider- ed damaged?,” he asked. Puzzle—Find Editor of the Herald ELL STICK “No,” said Dr. Duvel. “We have not considered that wheat merely bleached, without other damage, is damaged wheat. The reason we have not is that a slight bleach in practically no in- stance damages the wheat, and where it is a bad bleach there is usually some other damage to the wheat apparent, which will bring down the grade any- way.” Some of the millers were afraid that too much bleached wheat would “get by” in the high grades, and said so. Representatives of the Minnesota rail- road and warehouse commission, which has general charge of the present Minnesota grading, were present. The commission has been’ severely -criti- cized by producers and has been con- siderably under fire in the present legislature. The commjssion during the hearings took every opportunity to defend the producers, even criticiz- ing the federal men for doing some of the same things the commission it- self has allowed in Minnesota. Dur- ing the bleached wheat discussion Chairman Jacebson of the commission said: “We have found that bleaching does “GRANDO FORKS,N.D. IN 1925-1F THE GRAND FAKES HERALD REALLY REPRESENTS THE. SENTIMENT OF THE CITY IN CONTINUING IT'S = e THIS STATUE WAS ERECTED BY THE FARMERS WHO JO|NED ‘THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE TO TYPIFY THE SPIRIT THAT BUILT THE GREATEST: FARMERS fOULL wAVE TO H AIRE SOM'BODY —" TO THROW BETTER Vi Qa7 |7 an THAT, JERRY | que If you look carefully y\’:u will find somebody throwing mud at the statue erected by the farmers of the Northwest in honor of the great principle of “We’ll Stick.” thrower is rather small. But you will have to look VERY carefully, because this mud Those of you with particularly good eyes can also discover a bug in this cartoon. This bug says that when the farmers stand loyally together for their own and the people’s interests, they ‘“vote like sheep”. A “FOURTH EDITION” (Editorial in the La Moure (N. D.) Echo) The “Fourth Edition” of the “A So- cialistic Constitution for North Da- kota,” evidentally issued by the “old gang,” arrived at our desk Monday morning. After a careful perusal of the argument they put forth in favor of the old constitution, we fail to find anything that would make us feel the least bit ashamed of our progressive Nonpartisan friends, whose pride in the commonwealth that planted them in the assembly body, inspired them to attempt the eternal banishment of the obsolete system operated by - our grandfathers in the ancient era. THAT PAMPHLET The Good Government league is dead, but its soul goes marching on. From Fargo comes out a pamphlet this week bearing the rather significant title: “A " average §ocia!ist Constitution for North Da- kota, Do You Want That or the Consti- tution That Has Stood the Test for 25 Years.” The pamphlet makes compari- sons between the new constitution pro- posed in House Bill 44 and the “consti- tution that has stood the test for 25 years,” the inference being that the constitution should not be changed at all because it has ‘“stood the test.” Like most other literature of this char- acter that has flooded the state during the last year, it bears no authorship. Even the name of the printer has been carefully omitted although from . the union label it appears to have been printed in Bismarck. It is not such a difficult matter, however, to venture a close guess on what interests are be- bind this big publicity campaign. And, like its predecessors, it will be taken with a barrel or two of salt by the North Dakotan, — BOTTI- NEAU (N. D.) COURANT. NINE not affect the milling value. It is a great injustice to farmers to grade wheat down for bleaching. I know a lot of wheat is bleached before it gets out of the hands of farmers from show- ers during harvest. I don't think you should change your plan and discrimi- nate against bleached wheat.” Then Chief Inspector Minnesota made the following com- ment: “We now grade wheat down for bran frost and bleach.” There seems to be a peculiar situa- tion among those in charge of grain grading in Minnesota at the present time—Chairman Jacobson of the rail- rcad commission stating that mill tests show that bleach does not harm the wheat, and Chief Inspector Emerson stating that wheat is degraded on ac- count of bleach by the inspection de- partment, which is under the railroad commission. If there is any change in the govern- ment's sweeping proposals in regard to durum wheat it will not because of the protests of producers at the IFargo meeting, which took place before the two-day meeting in Minneapolis. The new grades propose restrictions on the mixing - of durum with hard spring wheat that will bar 40 per cent of the crop out of durum grades altogether and put it in “mixed” wheat grades, where it will be slaughtered in price. And practically no durum at all will get into grades Nos. 1 and 2. The government proposes by this to force farmers to raise ‘cleaner” durum, on the ground that it is only a matter of “clean seed and a little care by farmers.” Pro- ducers pointed out at Fargo that a mixture of hard spring wheat in durum was not entirely the fault of the farmer, but these protests seemed te fall on deaf ears. ‘DULUTH BOARD MAKES PROTEST At Minneapolis, however, Duluth grain dealers led an assault on the proposed federal requirements for durum and put up such a strong front that the requirements for durum in the final grades may be made less strict. The Duluth board of trade, which handles most of the durum wheat of the Northwest which is exported to make macaroni, had taken formal ac- ticn on the matter and sent a number of Duluth grain dealers to Minneapo- lis to protest. These men said that they could mnot sell the Northwest's durum abroad if it was all forced into low grades or offered as “mixed” wheat. They said the proposed restrictions would play havoc with the foreign durum trade of the United States, and among other things would force the trade to use No. 3 durum instead of No. 2 as the contract grade, because there would be no No. 1 or No. 2 durum under the proposals of the government men. This protest seemed to hit the gov- ernment men, while the protest of the farmers at the Fargo hearing seemed to have little effect. “I think myself it might be wise to loosen these durum restrictions up a little and put the more strict rules in gradually, so the farmers and the trade Emerson of can become adjusted to them,” said Dr. Duvel. Chairman Brand made similar statements, so it is more than likely that what the farmers tried to do at the Fargo hearing has been accom- plished by the Duluth grain men. Commissioner Rhenke of the Minne- scta grain board of appeals, part of the present Minnesota grain inspection and grading machinery, was another Minnesota official who went out of his way to “Boost” the producer at the Minneapolis hearings. The board of appeals has been under fire from the farmers for years for its handling of" grading rules, which it fixes each year. NOT MANY FARMERS ATTENDED HEARINGS - “We are of course absolutely neu- tral,” said Mr. Rhenke. . “We do not represent either the producer or the miller. But we want to give you our experiences—that’s all. I notice there are not as many producers here as there ought to be, though there are plenty of millers. here were some representatives of farmers’ clubs here this morning but they left before they were given a hearing—they had to catch a train. “Well, it is not our fault that there are not more producers here,” said Mr. Brand. “We printed 32,000 copies of the notice of these hearings and in ad- dition notified 16,000 newspapers in the United States.” ~e? B A<4-‘