Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1912-02-10
SEED GRAIN PROPOSITION.
Opinion of Attorney General Cues
tions Settled That Have Been
Annoying to Many
Grain Farmers.

L
Apropos of the Seed Grain Proposi
ton the following article from the Rapi,
City Guide gives the opinion of the AT
torney General. The conditions in Pen
nington county will apply in like man
ner to Custer county.
In view of the fact that the Count,
Board of Pennington county is soon I,
meet for the purpose of considering ap
plications for.seed grain and that many
farmers and homesteaders throughou
the county are seriously contemplatin,
applying for seed grain, it will be of in
.erest to the people of this county t.
learn of the law regulating the matter
The Political Code of 1908 contains
chapter on the furnishing of seed grair
to residents Of the county who are il
destitute circumstances. The law pro
vides in effect that anyone residing il
the county may apply at any time to the
county board for seed grain upon max
ing proper showing of his financial cir
cumstances; that the County Commits
sioners may thereupon furnish the
applicant with the desired seed, moi
exceeding l20 bushels; that the appli.
cant executes therefor to the county his
promissory note and secures the same
by chattel mortgage on the crops raised
from the seed grain furnished by the
county. No restrictions whatever are
made upon the county board as to the
time when the seed may be furnished
and the board may order warrants drawn
upon the general fund of the county to
pay for the seed grain so purchased and
furnished.
In 1911 the Legislature of this State
passed new law covering the same SUBJ
ject of furnishing seed grain and which
provides, in effect, that the county board
may raise funds for the purchase of seed
grain by the issuance Of bonds; that q
petition signed by so freeholders Of the
county must first be presented to the
county board before the board can
order the issuance of bonds for that pur-
pose; this petition must be filed with
the Auditor on or before the 18th of
March. After this is done, any resident
of the county may apply for seed grain
if he can show that he is without means
of procuring the same. The board shall
then pass upon his application and if
the same is allowed, the applicant enters
into a contract with the county, in which
he promises to pay for the seed supplied
on or before the lst of October. If be
does not 80 pay, then it becomes the
duty of the Auditor, under this law, to
cause the amount of the Indebtedness to
be entered upon the tax list as tax
upon the land upon which the seed grain
was sown and also any and all other
land owned by the applicant, to be col
lected as taxes are collected. In addi-
ton to these features the new law pro-
vides that no distribution of seed grain
can be made prior to April 10th.
States Attorney Denu has heretofore
given as his opinion that it was not the
purpose of the last Legislature to repeal
the old seed grain law by the enactment
of the new law; that the evident scope
of the old law was to enable the County
Commissioners to supply seed grain in
individual cases, pay for the same by
county warrants, and take security on
the anticipated crop; that the evident
scope of the new law was to furnish a
method of raising an appreciable amount
of money in order to satisfy a general
demand for seed grain; that this was to
be done by the issuance of bonds and
their sale. In view of this difference
in the evident purposes of the two laws,
the States Attorney believed that the
latter did not repeal the former by i'm
plication. However, the courts have
laid down the rule that where a new
law virtually embodies the entire sub
ject matter of the old law and does not
expressly repeal the old law, there is a
repeal by implication.
Another question which confro nted
the States Attorney in considering the
effects of the new law, was the constitu'
tionality of those provisions of the law
being Sections and 10 of Chapter 225
of the laws of 1911, which provide thai
If the Indebtedness is not paid by GER
tain time the County Auditor shall enter
the amount upon the tax list as ta1
upon the land on which the grain il
sown and upon all other land of the
applicant and that the filing of the con-
tract entered into by the applicant, shall
give to the county valid lien upon the
land and the crop as against all credi
tors, purchasers and mortgages, whether
in good faith or otherwise. In view o
these two vital questions and severa
other minor questions which arose il
considering the seed law, States Attor
ney Denu asked for an opinion from tht
Attorney General of the State. Thi.
opinion has been given, and is set ou
in full, as follows:
ga"
| Opinion.
The following conclusions may thu
be drawn from careful reading of tn,
opinion of the Attorney General: First
The law Of 1911 completely repeals al
former legislation on the subject of seec
grain, and is the only law under which
the county board is authorized to suppl,
seed grain to applicants. Second. Sec
tions 9 and 10 of the 1911 law, relating
to the duty of the County Auditor L