THE STORY OF THE NONPARTISAN LEAGUE 



The farmer that sold No. 1 Northern 

 wheat received 59 cents of each dollar paid 

 by the final consumer; the farmer that sold 

 No. 2 Northern received 56 cents; he that 

 sold No. 3 Northern received 57 cents; but 

 he that sold A Feed received only 44 cents, 

 he that sold B Feed 38 cents, and he that sold 

 D Feed 30 cents, and for these differences there 

 existed not a shadow of reason except that, 

 having the power to take high toll, the milling 

 combination exercised that power. 



With all this disposal of the fruit of his 

 industry the farmer had nothing to do or 

 to say. An authority, absolute, irresponsi- 

 ble, unquestionable, fixed the price at which 

 he must deliver his wheat and fixed it wrong. 

 Beyond any doubt, fixed it wrong, for here 

 is the unassailable proof that it was wrong* 

 Wheat worth by test at least $1.50 a bushel 

 in true milling value was sold at 94 cents. 

 For no reason in the world except that a 

 certain abnormal system created fictitious 

 grades and imaginary market conditions and 

 compelled men to accept these fictions. 



Doctor Ladd estimated that the loss thus 

 occasioned to the farmers of North Dakota 

 averaged 45 cents a bushel. Wheat crops 

 in North Dakota range from 50,000,000 to 

 1^,000,000 bushels. Supposing the average 

 to be 85,000,000 bushels, this would indicate 

 a loss to the state of $38,000,000. Doctor 



86 



