1972 — the year of “the great grain robbery” — Russians purchased from unknown companies $1 billion worth of grain. Who were the sellers? Where were they?

The subject of grain has not been ignored by academic researchers. Many useful books covering pieces of history such as the Odessa wheat port; the early grain trade; the Irish potato famine. All of this has been chronicled — but when in 1975 the staff of subcommittee on multinational Corp. began investigating these companies’ role in foreign policy, it routinely asked libraries around the country to send material about the firms. One library after another informed the subcommittee that no such material existed. Senator Frank Church that headed the committee was to say of the grain multinationals, “no one knows how they operate, what their profits are, what they pay in taxes and what effect they have on our foreign policy — or much of anything else about them.”

The hearings Church conducted did expand our knowledge of the grain business, but they also clearly demonstrated the difficulties of probing deeply. For the questioning of grain-company officials was called off after only one bruising day. (These giants of the world grain trade, Cargill, Continental, Bunge, Andre’ and Louis Dreyfus.) Cargill, simply blitzed the subcommittee. The rows of experts from the Minneapolis headquarters lined up to refute every hostile reference to the firm. Further scheduled hearings were postponed indefinitely, and there never was any questioning of Continental, Bunge and the other big companies.

Mr. Dan Morgan, author of my source material, “Merchants of Grain” first published in 1979 by the Viking Press noted how secretive grain companies were — even by corporate standards — was confirmed by, of all people, an oil executive. This high officer said to me “These Cargill boys are really secretive.”

U.S. Congress subcommittee was to learn — when a shipload of grain or other commodity reaches high seas, ownership changes to suit both parties. Embargo enforcement becomes a challenge.

These five companies have grown, diversified, spread their operations to almost every continent and country so successfully that by the time most Americans heard of them for the first time, during the grain sales to Russia in 1972, the firms were among the world’s largest multinational corp. Cargill and Continental (in 1979) probably rank as the two largest privately held companies in the U.S. and Bunge may be one of the largest in the world. The companies have interest in banking, shipping, real estate, hotels, paint and glass mfgr., mining, steel plants, cattle ranches, flour milling, animal feed processing and commodity brokerage.

The development of transportation to handle commodities and other freight found a new friend around 1776 in independent United States. The emerging “Baltic exchange” in London, England, became the central exchange in 1775, as the central brokerage for the world’s fleet of tramp steamers — vessels that ply the oceans without any fixed routes. Where a Greek ship may find a cargo of French  flour to carry to Egypt. These tramp steamer owners have no allegiance to nations for political purposes.

Now how do you feel about embargoes to gain political advantage?

— Tom Rogers

Moultrie