Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1891-09-11
The.AttOrney-General's Opinion on the
Wheat Inspection Business at
Last Made Public.
He Tells the Commissioners They
Must Make Every Effort to
Enforce the Law.
And Says They Have Nothing to do
With the COnstitutiOnality of
the Law.


the wheat inspection law was to have
been kept a secret, but the Minneapolis
Journal man at Fargo "stood in" and
through his paper it was made public
and here it is:
To the Railroad Commissioners of North Da-
kota:-Gentlemen: You desire my opinion re-
lative to the law and the rules adopted by you
in connection with the public warehouses and in
spection of wheat.
First.-As to the law relating to pub
lie warehouses. The legislature of this
state has passed a law known as the
public warehouse law, (chap. 1877, laws of
1871 By this act you are authorized,
and it is your duty, to supervise the
handling, weighing and storage of grain,
and to establish all necessary rules and
regulations for the weighing of grain
and for the management of public ware
houses of the state, as far as such rules
and regulations may be necessary to
enforce all the provisions of law relat-
ing thereto, in that justice may be done
to the producers of this state and op-
preston by the elevators avoided. You
are to lbe the judges as to what rules
and regulations are necessary to carry
out the intent of the law.
The legislature of 1890 passed a law,
among other things, for the inspection
of grain and the establishment of North
Dakota grades (chap. 1888, Laws of $780,
Section 80 of said chapter provides,
among things, that "It will be the duty
of commissioners of railroads to assume
and exercise constant supervision over
the grain interests of this state, and to
supervise the handling, inspection,
weighing and storage of grain; to estab-
lish all necessary rules and regulations
for the weighing, grading, inspection
and appeal on inspection of grain, and
for the management of public ware
houses of the state, as far as such rules
and regulations may be necessary to en-
force the provisions of this act, or any
law of this state, in regard to the same;
to investigate all complaints of frauds
and oppression in the grain grade, and
to correct the same as far as it may be
in their power"
The law under both of said chapters
fully provides the manner of procedure.
1t is evident, from the action taken by
the legislature of this state, that the ele-
vators were depressing the people, and
something must be done to prevent ex-
tortion and depression of the grain pro-
ducers, and it has fully expressed such
intent in the laws above referred to.
There is no ground for misconception
of the intention of the legislature. The
authority to carry out the intent of the
legislature must be vested in some per-
son, and III its wisdom it was fit to
bestow this duty upon the railroad COM
missioners. Your duty is, therefore,
plain and clear; the law is mandatory
and subject to no doubtful construction.
Therefore, it is your sworn duty to en-
force the law as you find it on the statute
books. 1t is not your province to inves-
tigate or doubt it's constitutionality
(another body or tribunal exists to deter
mine the legality of laws-namely, the
courts.)
In accordance with said laws, you have
adopted a code of rules relating to the
various subjects. I have carefully ex-
'amined said rules, and, in mp opinion,
all come within the law, except as here
matter referred to. 1t seems to me that
thai. provision in rule Is, page 7, limiting
all charges and commissions to not ex-
coed 4 cents per bushel; also rule 10,
covering the same point, are not warrant
ed by the law; also, the last provision on
page 7, rule Is, which allows the eleva-
tors nothing for storage, if the tickets
are sold to the elevators within fifteen
days; this is in direct conflict with section
II, chapter 1875 Laws of 1890, which
provides that the storage, etc, for 20 days
shall be 2 cents per bushel. T would
suggest that rule 26, on page 10, be modi-
fed so as to cover inspection of trains at
night as we'll as in the day time, thus
creating little delay. I don't believe
the courts would require trains to be
held at points of inspection during the
whole night. This. would surely be an
unreasonable time to delay them, and
work a great damage to their business.
But if your rule is modified so as to in
spect the cars at all times during the
twenty-four hours of the day, then there
would be no valid objection to the short
delay required for inspection. T don't
know, but 1t seems to me that if grain
cannot be inspected by artificial light, if
could be taken from the Car, the car pro.
perly designated, and the wheat so taken
from said car inspected the following
day.
AS to rules 36 and 81, page 81, I would
suggest that they be modified in each,
relative to the inspectors breaking seal,
in case of refusal of agent or conductor