Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-06-11
Tells Convention Delegates They
Are to Blame For Non-En-
torcement of Law
SEED MEN WANT LAW REPEALED
Commissioner Wright Will Demand
That Amendments Be Enacted to
Strengthen It-9urden at Present
Falls On Retailer and Not Whole
sale-capitat News.
special to rimes-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, June I'LL. r. Wright,
state food and dairy commissioner, on
whom the legislature placed the re-
sponsibility of enforcing the pure seed
bill. told the Iowa Seed Growers As
sociation in convention here that the
seed law was very bad and should be
at once, and the seed men
applauded him. Then he told them
that the chief difficulty was that the
seed men seemed to show no DISPOSE
ton to obey the law and then they
did not applaud.
The seed men promise to go before
the next legislature and ask that the
law be repealed. Mr.. Wright pro-
poses to go before the legislature and
ask that the provisions OF the law
be made binding on everybody There
next legislature on what will be done
with this law. which has been on the
statute books since the last session of
the legislature.
That there is need Of a pure seed
law in Iowa everyone admits except
the wholesale seed dealer, who always
claims that his seeds are pure any
way. Iowa is having trouble with
weeds. Certain kinds of weeds have
almost taken rich farms in some sec
tions of the state and it is believed
that these weeds are scattered consid-
erably in the seed sold. Anyway weeds
have been multiplying very rapidly
all thru the state of Iowa.
She seed law provides that there
shall be penalty on the retailer who
sells impure seed or who sells seed
without meeting certain requirements
as to purely and volibilfty. This does
not apply to the farmer. The farmer
can sell to his neighbor without re-
gard to law. One seed dealer can sell
to another impure seed provided 1t is
"seed ITO be cleaned" The
result is the whole burden Of the law
falls upon the retailer.
This is what H. r. Wright told the
seed dealers in convention
here and he proposed that the penalty
Of the law should fall upon the farmer
and the wholesaler as we'll as the re-
taller. Then the seed men We're much
put out. They claim that if the far
mer is made liable to the law he will
sell all his seed to persons outside
the state of Iowa and the seed whole
salers outside the state will then ship
It back to Iowa to be resold back to
The farmers and in each case it will
be interstate and cannot be touched
Under the state law and the outside
nan will thus get all the business in
iowa.
Mr.. Wright believes that there must
,e some guarantee of pure seeds in
his state in order that the farmers
will know what they are buying and
Will get the worth of their money. He
old the Iowa seed men SO. He takes
he position that if there is. law in
he state that imposes on the farmer,
retailer and wholesaler the
same burdens and penalties of the law,
he seed will soon become all pure.
He believes that the farmers will
hen soon begin to grow pure grain and
t they can't get it from the dealers
inside the state they will get it out-
ide but he believes with strict pro-
risions Of the law and the guarantee
# the law Of state inspection of seeds
hey will buy from dealers inside the
tate first because only in that way
With the state inspection will they be
ure of pure seed.
The wholesalers claim that with such
j law the farmers would sell all their
eed to wholesalers outside the state
# Iowa in order to avoid the law. Mr.:
Wright says they would take steps to
ret and grow pure seed in order to
rave pure seed to sell to their neigh
,ors. The pure seed law was made to
protect the farmers Of the state and
,et in order to get the bill thru the
legislature without exciting the hos
ility of the farmer himself it was
hought necessary to exempt the farm
r from the penalty of the law. This
title exemption and the further pro-
,ision that impure seed can be sold
o be cleaned has made the law of no
ccount according to Mr.. Wright, be-
ause the wholesaler, the only man
Who has any of the expensive appli-
noes for cleaning seed sells to the re-
ailer impure seeds by stamping them
to be cleaned and the dealer sells
he same stuff to the farmer as pure.
Mr.. Wright believes that the farmers
f Iowa would much rather have a
uarantee of buying pure seed than
nioy the little and questionable privi-
age of selling impure seed to their
eighbors.
During the last session or two of the
.gislature there have been number /
f these purity bills put thru. There is
pure food law. a pure drug law. a |
ure seeds law, a pure stock food law. |
ii of them are new and all of them |
viii have to be amended more or less !
8 the result of experience in their en-
orcement before they will be found to
FORK well. Switzerland has no manda-