Daily inter mountain., 1900-04-12
Refused to Pay Fees For Fruit
Inspection.
TEST CASE PROPOSED
State Board of Horticulture Wants to
Determine Authority for
Collecting Fees.

day decided to bring q test suit to deter
mine what authority it has, If any, to COL
lect fees for inspection from the owners
of fruit and fruit trees. says the Helena
The board soon after it's
found that money available
for it's uses would not pay the expense
necessarily incurred in carrying out the
provisions of the law creating it and un-
der which it worked. It then decided
to establish fee system believing that
the law authorized such procedure. I'm
der the rules of the board, the inspectors
have been charging and collecting uni
form fees from the owners of fruit and
nursery stock inspected, and with the
money raised considerable fund ac-
Recently the firm of Storm
berg & Co., large wholesale fruit dealers
in Butte, declined to pay the inspection
fees aggregating several hundred dollars.
Suit will be brought in the district court
of Silver Bow county against the firm in
the name Of the board, and no matter
how decided, the case will be appealed to
the supreme court, which will be asked
to pass upon the law.
The board consulted the attorney gem
eral yesterday in reference to the law
under which it works. That officer,
without going elaborately into the law,
was of the opinion that the act creating
the board and providing for the inspec-
tiOn Of fruits did not authorize the col
lection of fees as had been done in the
past. To fully determine the question
it was then decided to bring the action,
to test the law.
If the supreme court should hold that
the law does not authorize the collection
of fees for inspection, the board will be
seriously handicapped with it's work. AS
the law now reads, inspectors are limited
to compensation of $500 year, and
that in itself is now regarded by the
board as provision seriously interfering
with it's work. In the event the board is
found not to have the power to fix and
collect fees for inspection, the next legis-
lature will be asked to amend the law, SO
as to give it that authority. In the mean
time, the board will endeavor to carry
out the provisions of the inspection law
as best it can.
The reports of the inspectors to the
board showed that in October, November
and January, last, 1872 cars loads Of fruit
together with many shipments of less
than car load lots-the whole aggregat
ing 139, ,191 packagesz-Were inspected. The
inspectors condemned 567 packages dur
ing that time.
In the period covered by the report, E.
N. Brandagee, inspector at Helena. in
with 57s packages in less than car load
lots-a total of 45,453 packages, of which
only 4S We're condemned.
Inspector w. K. Semple, of Butte, in
spected 127 car loads of ruit, together
with 2,439 packages shipped in less than
car load lots, aggregating 85,0S0 packages.
Of which he condemned 406 packages.
dHvo rHo hof
about 900 car loads of fruit were receiv-
ed in the state last year. Including the
trees set out this spring. Montana would
have about $4,000 acres devoted to fruit
An ordinary CROP it was estimated by the
secretary, would be worth $3.000.00O. If
years at the rate of 250,000 trees annually
which is believed to be a conservative es-
innate, the state would have 10000 acres
devoted to the industry.
The secretary reported that during
the year $500 copies of the rules and
regulations of the board had been sent
out, 1000 circulars distributed, and $50
letters received and answered.
The board yesterday adopted a rule di-
recting shippers to label all Montana
grown nursery stock as such the object
being to prevent unscrupulous dealers
from disposing of stock grown outside
the state as Montana stock. The board
aOOpteu Wudl is kIOWI dS lHc CdlIOIHid
apples box as the standard of measure
in this state. The box is a standard, in
California, Oregon, Washington and
Idaho. Inspectors were directed to dis
continue the inspection of grapes. pine
apples and bananas. Those fruits have
been on the list of those to be inspected.
but the inspectors had found there was
no necessity of examining them, and the
inspection had been in name only.
Prof r. A. Cody, of Bozeman, who had
been acting as inspector at large, was
formally confirmt as such officer, by the
board yesterday.
The board concluded its business at
noon yesterday and adjourned to meet
at the call of it's president.