• ri f i. v 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1433 
Elevators That Elevate Grain Prices 
W HAT CANADA HAS DONE.—This is going to 
be the story of how a hand of American 
farmers, through their Government, erect elevators 
that raise grain prices for the farmer and lower 
them for the consumer. Like all other farmer co¬ 
operative enterprises, it works to the benefit of 
producer and consumer alike. And this plan which 
the Canadian grain growers have worked out has 
been found so good that the more than million mem¬ 
bers of the American Farm Bureau Federation are 
going to transplant the idea down here, which is 
the reason why we ought to know more about it. 
Of course the co-operative idea started in Western 
Canada, back in 1002, and the present United Grain 
Growers, Ltd., which is the combina¬ 
tion of three great organizations in 
one. has been responsible for the pres¬ 
ent Government-owned terminal eleva¬ 
tor system which removes grain move¬ 
ment from speculators and vests it 
where it belongs—with producer and 
consumer. These more than 00,000 
farmers, through their elected repre¬ 
sentatives in Provincial and Dominion 
houses, saw to it that the respective 
governments erected and maintain 
this, the world's greatest series of ele¬ 
vators, for common welfare. No ; these 
farmers are not in politics, and they 
have no saw to file or pet hobby to ride 
to market, but they have and continue 
to demand that essential food of the 
farm be kept out of the gamblers’ pit. 
A GREAT INDUSTRY.—Behind the 
wonderful progress and growth of 
Canada, the development of her natu¬ 
ral resources of mine, forest and farm; 
back of the energy, enterprise and faith 
that have built her agricultural indus¬ 
try and established it as world-wide in 
importance, may fairly be said to stand 
as her greatest asset the vast grain¬ 
growing plains of the West. To their 
fertility and production is due the fact 
that Canada today is one of the leading 
nations in the quantity of grain, the 
staple source of human nourishment, 
which she is able to export to less for¬ 
tunate countries. In fact, pending the 
recovery of Russia, Canada is at the 
moment the second principal grain ex¬ 
porter of the world. 
ELIMINATING THE MIDDLEMAN. 
—To collect the millions upon millions 
of bushels of grain, and distribute this 
to the ends of the world, Canada, 
through her modern elevator system, 
has successfully abandoned the selfish 
middlemen and their usurious taxation 
of billions. Speculative credits have 
been removed and farmers themselves 
finance themselves, without calling in 
outsiders. In this particular Canada 
far outstrips all other countries in the 
thoroughness and efficiency of her 
grain-handling system. 
RESULTS OF SPECULATION.— 
flic entry of the Canadian Government 
into the commercial handling of grain 
was due to considerable agitation on 
the part of the farm interests regard¬ 
ing the operation of privately-owned 
terminal elevators. It was found that 
the speculators pushed down the price 
of all grains about harvest time, and 
after they had secured the bulk of 
crops (stored in their own elevators) 
they pushed the price up, thus squeez- 
figures cover only half a dozen States at that. So 
the national debt for grain “squeezing" is great. 
TERMINAL ELEVATORS.—The first Canadian 
public terminal elevator was erected by the Govern¬ 
ment at Port Arthur, Ontario, at the head of the 
Great Lakes, with the primary object of supplying 
facilities whereby the grain growers of the West 
would have the opportunity of consigning their grain 
to and having it completely handled at an elevator 
owned and operated by the Government. Of course 
there we're those who cried, as usual, “What are 
grain elevator terminal facilities to us? This is plain 
Socialism; let the farmers store their own grain!" 
But the Canadians took the position that it is as 
COUNTRY ELEVATORS.—These elevators are 
fed by the local country elevators, the majority 
either being owned or controlled by the grain 
growers themselves. As Canada leads the world in 
terminal elevators owned by a government, so also 
her farmers lead in the completeness of their coun¬ 
try elevators, which expand each year with the 
additional acreage devoted to grain crops, so that 
the farmers are at all times in a position to handle 
their grain crops. The country elevator system is 
as shown below. Summarizing the whole of Canada, 
we get a grand total of 3,775 elevators with an 
aggregate capacity of 214.279,904 bushels. 
SLRIJCE RENDERED.—Speaking of the service 
rendered by the elevator system, R. 
Hetherington, secretary of the Board 
of Grain Commissioners, said that they 
are for these purposes: 
1. To provide facilities for meeting 
emergencies which experience has 
shown frequently occur affecting the 
grain trade of Western Canada. There 
have been from time to time conges¬ 
tions due to shortage in storage and 
cars, and there have also been seasons 
Harvesting Wheat in Westen Canada. Fig. 45/j 
Ten Million Bushel Terminal Elevator at Head of Great Lalccs. Fig. J,55 
Three Million Bushel Elevator at Fort William. Fig. I f 56 
Province 
Alberta . 
Saskatchewan. . 
Manitoba . 
Ontario ...... 
Brit. Columbia. 
COUNTRY ELEVATORS 
No. 
Elevators 
830 .... 
2.158 .... 
702 .... 
4 .... 
13 .... 
Capacity 
Bushels 
"-2.14V. on,) 
60.331.064 
22.926.300 
1.840,000 
613.000 
mg money that should have gone to the farmer out 
of his pockets, and adding considerable profit onto 
the consumer’s bill that did not belong there. It is 
roughly estimated that for 10 years these barons of 
the grain pit robbed the Canadian farmers of not 
less than $75,000,000 per year, and no one knows how 
much they took from consumers of Canada and the 
world market places. The same condition exists 
right here in the United States. Grain growers of 
the Middle West estimate that it costs them, either 
in loss of profit or addition of unnecessary market¬ 
ing expenses, $35,000,000 a year because of specula- 
Uve profit, while these speculators add another 
$190,000,000 onto the consumer’s bill. And these 
essential that food be handled by the people as 
municipal water, electric and gas supplies; a few 
may use those systems, while everyone eats bread. 
The present system of terminal elevators, either in¬ 
terior. transfer or public, handling the grain of 
Canada, according to the latest report of the Hoard 
of Grain Commissioners for Canada, are: 
Province 
Alberta . 
Saskatchewan . 
No. 
Elevators 
o 
O , 
• > 
Capacity 
Bushels 
. 2.760.000 
. 7 000 0(H) 
Manitoba . 
«)nt«rio .. 
Quebec . 
5 
46 
rr 
. 2.200,000 
. 69.745.000 
11 "50 OOO 
New Brunswick. 
o 
. 1 TOO OIK) 
Nova Scotia. 
T 
500 ooo 
British Columbia.... 
o 
. 1.266.000 
when, owing to lack of drying and 
other facilities in the grain field, there 
has been very serious loss incurred by 
the producers of grain. The interior 
terminal elevators were intended, in 
the first instance, to provide for such 
emergencies. In this respect they are 
insurance houses, radically differing in 
character from terminals at lake or 
ocean ports. 
2. To provide a certain amount of 
surplus storage as near to the point of 
production as possible. 
3. To provide a certain amount of 
cheap storage for local mills through¬ 
out the West, thereby stimulating the 
milling industries. 
4. To provide means whereby the 
agriculturists of the West might have 
an opportunity of retaining some of the 
by-products of the grain, thereby sup¬ 
plying one of the conditions necessary 
for the development of mixed farming. 
•5. To give growers an opportunity to 
take full advantage of all available 
markets, as the demand might arise. 
GETTING NEAR THE FARMER.— 
At Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, are two 
interior elevators, costing $1,000,000, 
having a capacity of 3,500,000 bushels 
of grain, with a work-house with a 
capacity of 500,000 bushels, where grain 
may be dried and handled under mod¬ 
ern conditions. At Calgary. Alberta, 
the million-dollar plant holds 2.500,000 
bushels, and is served by three trans¬ 
continental railroads serving East or 
West foreign export markets. These 
great elevator plants are close to the 
field of production, where grain may he 
quickly handled if needed, and graded 
and reloaded for market. 
HANDLING IN BULK.—This great 
bulk-handling system starts right from 
the grain field, at the thrasher, which 
spouts the grain into farm wagons, by which it is 
drawn either to the farmer’s storage bin or to- the 
country elevators, scattered on railroad points 
throughout the wheat-growing districts. The farmer 
delivers his grain, subsequently the Government in¬ 
spector classifies it into one of several grades and 
issues to the grower a certificate which will entitle 
nim to the market price of that quantity and quality 
when the certificate is sold on the grain exchange. 
Those scattered elevators (with capacities from 
15,000 to 50,000 bushels) are supplemented by the 
larger houses at railroad centers such as Winnipeg, 
where inspected grain is accumulated for trainload 
shipment, and then again by the great terminal 
