Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1906-02-22
To the Voters of the State

CHAPTER 283.
An act entitled An Act proposing
an amendment to Article One ~
of the Constitution OF the State of
Minnesota, providing that any per-
son may sell or peddle the products
of the farm or garden occupied and
cultivated by him, without obtain
ing license therefor. =
BE it enacted by the Legislature Of
the State of Minnesota:
Section l. The following amend
ment to article one ~, of the Con-
stitution of the State of Minnesota
is hereby proposed to the legal voters
Of said state for their approval or
rejection, which amendment when so
approved shall be known as section
eighteen (lS), of said article one ~,
and shall read as follows:
Section Is. Any person may sell
or peddle the products of the farm or
garden occupied and cultivated by
him without obtaining license
therefor.
Section ?. This proposed amend
ment shall be submitted to the cleo
tors OF said State for their approval or
rejection at the next general election
for the year 1906, as is now provided
by law for submission of amendments
ofthe Constitution Of this state, and
each of the legal voters of said State
may at said election vote by ballot
for or against said amendment, and
il it shall appear therefrom that a
majority Of the voters voting at said
election upon said amendment,
Eyes" or ''No'', have voted in favor
of the same, then within ten days
after the result shall have been ascer-
tanned the governor shall make pro-
clamation thereof and said amend
ment shall thereupon take effect and
be in full force as part of the Con-
stitution of the State of Minnesota.
Section 3. This act shall take
effect and be in force from and after
it's passage. Approved April 10, 1905.
Said Amendment is for the purpose
Of preventing any corporation impos-
ing any license or fee on any farmer,
or gardener, selling produce grown
on land occupied, and cultivated by
himself, and sold or peddled directly
to the consumer. The Supreme Court
Of this State has held that license
imposed by any municipality on ped
ding, covers the farmers or produc-
ers, as we'll as the man who buys his
stuff to sell again. The Grocers' AS
sociations, Of the different cities in
the State, have taken advantage of
this state of affairs, and caused the
arrest Of several farmers, and garden
ers, with the results that they were
found guilty, and fined for the crime
of selling produce grown by them
selves directly to the consumer, with
out first obtaining license therefor.
In some Of the cities the license has
been doubled in the last two or three
years. In the Twin Cities it is now
fifty dollars (S50.00) per year. An
ordinance passed by the village of
Degratf, in Swift County, imposes
license Of ten dollars (slO.OO) a day
for selling dressed meats, which any
one can see is prohibitive. The ar
rests made in the Twin Cities were
for the offense OF selling vegetables,
and fruits, but if the movement is
not checked it will soon cover every
article produced on a farm, or gar
den, as the grocers wish all such pro-
duce to pass through their hands. be-
fore it reaches the consumer. Amy
one can see what nice thing it will
be for them to set the price at both
ends OF a deal, SO much to the pro-
ducer, and SO much to the consumer
Sounds good deal like Standard Oil,
don't it? All consumers are as much
interested in this amendment as any
one, unless They want to pay higher
prices for what they eat. 1t is also
a poor advertisement to send out to
the rest of the world, inviting them
to take up land and open farms in
this state, and then make them pay
a license to sell their stuff unless
they sell to dealer. Lots of encour-
agement to diversified farming in
that. There is nothing in the pro-
posed amendment preventing the
licensing Of dealers or peddlers, other
than the actual producers, and grow
ers. %1- 1.... -
The total capitalization Of all the
companies composing; the United
States steel corporation, as given by
the United States census, volume
seven, was seven hundred million
dollars. After the organization this
Capitalization was doubled. MAKING il