Honest Grain

If caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) were still the U. S. rule for trading in wheat, corn, rye, barley oats and like grains, then Armour Grain Co., or anyone, might play David Harum* to the detriment of farmers, millers or brokers. But the U. S. Department of Agriculture has long sought to keep grain transactions honest; and so Secretary William M. Jardine was "tremendously interested" last week to learn that Banker Edward Eagle Brown of Chicago, as arbitrator, had ordered the Armour Grain Co. to pay $3,000,000 to creditors of the now dissolved Farmers' Cooperative Grain Marketing Co.

The money was a penalty for dishonesty and cheating by Armour Grain Co. employes. When their stores of grain were being sampled and priced for sale to the Farmers' company, they sneaked into their warehouses, in dead night, and altered samples of poor, bin-burnt grain to make it seem like good grain. And they falsified their books to claim more grain sold than actually existed. This was reprehensible, decided Arbitrator Brown. The buyers had no warning to beware; should not have needed such warning. J. Ogden Armour and his nephews Philip D. Armour and Lester Armour will have to pay over this money, for, although they knew nothing of their nefarious employes' doings they are The Armour Grain Co. But in the present case, although they must pay over $3,000,000 to the Farmers' Co-operative Grain Marketing Co. they will get back almost half-- for they are, with Rosenbaum Bros, and Rosenbaum Grain Corp., elevator operators, the creditors of the Farmers' company.

*Fictional character; "slick" Yankee trader.