WHEAT MEW DEFEND THEIREXCHAiyGES Counsel for Chicago Board j Tells House Committee :.k There Is No Monopoly. 'S i GRAIN DEALS PRIVATE Exchange Merely Provides IjjjjJ Places and Means of I Trading. WASHINGTON, .March 5. Defense of the CICcaso hourd of trade and the .Minneapolis chambor of commerce against charges that flicy aro tools of a combination arbitrarily controlling llic price of wheat in the United Stales began today before the house rules committee. Honry S. Jiobbins, counsel for the I Chicago board, told' the committee that (he organizations wore not and could not bo involved in nuy grain monopoly, monopo-ly, because they were not engaged aa organizations ia commercial enterprises. He eaid the exchanges merely provided places and meaus ot trading, but look no part in th deals. Mr. bobbins argued that congress had no power to conduct the investigation investi-gation proposed in l?epiescuiutivo Mhnahnn's pending resolution to gather gath-er information on which prosecutions under the Sherman law by the. department depart-ment of justice might be based. Already Efficient. The department, he said, was al 'ready "efficient enough,' ami state laws covered any points in the com-plnint com-plnint of farmers ' organizations not to . Iin reached by the Sherman act. The committee expects to close hearings on l ho Miuiahan resolution Saturday. It has been suggested that the proposed investigation be extended to include tho New. York and New Orleans cotton exchanges, ex-changes, but only the Chicago and Du-luth Du-luth organizations aro represented at the hearings, aud they will divide the two and a half days allotted for roplv to the charges of wheat growers. C. It. Cnnby, president of tho 'Chicago hoard, will be the chief witnesg tomorrow. Mr. Eobbins contended that the federal fed-eral government had no jurisdiction over terminal grain elevators because y were not engaged in interstate business. Beyond Power of Congress. Prohibition of , f uturo trading in grain, ho argued, also was boyond the constitutional powers of cougrcss. Tie said the future dealings wore intrastate, intra-state, and cited opinions of tho supremo court to support tho contention. Bro-foTS Bro-foTS wires were not common carriers, ho said, and in certain cases tho court had held cotton contracts mado between be-tween Alabama and Now York brokers not to bo interstate commerce. Tt would be impossible, Mr. Kobbins added, for an exchange to eliminate from its future trades those that were purely gambling. Either all future dealing must be prohibited, ho said, or the subject lot alone. Ho insisted that tho whole systom of distributing farm products was necessarily a speculative ono and the present method had persisted per-sisted becnuse it was tho best ono yet found. More Charges Made. MILWAUKEE, March 5. That graiu shipments from western points arc made to Milwaukee via Minneapolis at a cheapor rale than when sent direct to this city was today alleged by the chamber oi commerce before Examiner Orvillc Berry of the interstate com-"mcrce com-"mcrce commission. The Milwaukee organization is complainant com-plainant against tho Chicago & Northwestern North-western and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads, and it further charges that Minneapolis is favored over oMilwaukeo in diroct. shipments, despite a longer haul from points in Minnesota', northern Iowa and southern South Dakota.