5$ UNITED STATES - AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN GENERAL 



companies, but also exercises over the railways a control which obliges them 

 to do their best to make the conditions of marketing grain at their various 

 tations efficient and satisfactory. 



s The Minnesota Railroad and Warehouse Commission is thus the higher 

 official agency for the control of the trade in grain. We will presently 

 show that a special department has the duty of sampling and classifying 

 consignments. 



The Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce was formed thirty-three years 

 ago. In the seventies little *if any grading of grain was done locally or 

 at termini in Minnesota, and where the operation did take place it was indi- 

 vidual and arbitrary. Fair deductions for the foreign substances mingled 

 with grain were not made, the farmer with dirty grain receiving a less price. 

 Wheat growing was largely confined to areas along the Mississipi river, and 

 wheat markets were along this water-way. Buyers made bids for a farmer's 

 grain on the street and he usually received several bids before it was sold. 

 Later a similar system extended itself to various points on the fast expand- 

 ing railways. Then a large milling industry began to spring up in Minnea- 

 polis, and millers competed at local points throughout the country, the 

 farmer often getting more from them for his grain than millers at the head 

 office were jvilling to pay. The millers consequently formed the Minnesota 

 Millers' Association which had a system of buying grain according to grades. 

 This association almost entirely controlled the grain market in Minnesota 

 for a number of years and was the strongest defender of the grading sj-stem. 

 Finally however the other grain firms and commission merchants joined 

 together and established the Chamber of Commerce which grew rapidh^ and 

 a sample market was soon in existence. The Chamber of Commerce has 550 

 members but some forty companies own and vote for a majoiity of these 

 memberships. The large milling companies, the line elevator companies 

 and some of the banks are the greatest membership owners. A board of 

 arbitration and a board of appeal are elected annually, and to these all 

 disputes between members, arising in virtue of their membership, may be re- 

 ferred. They are first referred to the board of arbitration, against whose de- 

 cision appeal may be made, if the losing party desire, to the board of appeal 

 whose decision is final. In addition persons not members of the Chamber 

 of Commerce may place any dispute thej' have with a member of that cham- 

 ber before the board of arbitration. 



§ 2. The work of sampling and inspecting. 



A) The Work of the State. 



There are three railwa}- systems as well as branch lines which lead into 

 Minneapolis. On each of them, at a distance of about 150 miles from Minnea- 

 polis, there are divisional points at which the State grain inspection 



