THE STORY OF THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE 



ship of more than 200 of these line elevators, 

 but there were other concerns that exceeded 

 even this number. Incidentally, it was this 

 kind of ownership that explained Evans's 

 identical experience at Jason and Browns- 

 ville, and would seem to justify some of his 

 suspicion concerning the man at the telephone. 

 Both of these elevators were owned (under 

 different names) by the same parent company 

 in Minneapolis, and of course both had, and 

 conscientiously worked for, the same object 

 of getting wheat as cheaply as possible. 



Mr. Ewe's testimony revealed some, at 

 least, of the processes of making money on 

 the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce to 

 be of a delightful simplicity. 



Question. — Suppose you had an opportunity right 

 that day to buy that wheat on the floor from a man 

 who had consigned it to you from the West and for 

 whom you had the right to sell it on commission. You 

 would make the turn and get the commission for the 

 sale and purchase both.? 



Answer. — Yes, sir.^ 



Mr. Wells made this a little clearer. 



Question. — Mr. Wells, do you think it is proper for 

 a commission house in the commission business to own 

 subsidiary companies, terminal elevators, and sell to 

 themselves grain consigned to them [on commission]? 



Answer. — I think so, unless it has absolute instruc- 

 tions to the contrary. I can see no difference.^ 



* Hearing on House Bill 14493, Sixty-third Congress, Testimony, 

 p. 360. * Ihid., p. 595. 



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