Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-02-12

aeapOis he found that not having
my standing on the board of trade,
be was greatly handicapped in his
efforts to attempt to dispose Of the.
farmers wheat. He applied for ad4
mission to the chamber Of commerce,
but was told it had no seats to dis
pose Of and was advised to try and
buy one from some one who might
wish to sell. After some trouble he
found such a party and bought the
seat. He again applied for admis-
sion, but was told that before he
could do any trading his application
would have to be passed upon and he
would have to be elected. Later he
learned that his application had been
submitted to~the proper parties, but
that although he had bought the seat
he could not use it because the con-
Germ he represented was cooperative,
and the profits Of trading, instead of
going into the pockets Of the floor
operator, was turned back to the
farmers, thus operating, according
to the rules of the chamber of COM
mercey as a double commission.
GOBBLING UP THE FARMERS
WHEAT.
Being thus prevented from selling
their own grain on the board of
trade, the Farmers Exchange direc-
tors turned over their seat to COM
mission firm, McKinnon & Son, and
consigned their wheat to them. One
fine morning McKinnon & Son, who
had been dealing in options found
themselves on the wrong side of the
market and failed. They had or
hand at the time 26 cars of wheat
belonging to the Farmers Exchange
worth $4,000. This their creditors
seized, and they not only seized the
wheat which the Polk county farm.
ers had never been paid for, but they
seized as well the seat on the boari
of trade which the exchange had beer
at so much trouble to secure. Boil
the wheat and the seat we're, let us
say, "acquired' by another member
of the Chamber of Commerce, E. L
Welch & Co. From that day to thi:
the Farmers Exchange never receiv.
ed a dollar for it's rs cars of grain
Mr.. STEVENSON applied to the boart
for redress in vain. It does not seen
to have lifted a hand to help him re-
trieve the grain that belonged to tn
Farmers Exchange or to have ever
considered that there was anything
reprehensible in the way it's rightfu
owners were separated from $12, 00|
worth Of grain for which they hat
never been paid a sou markee. On
is therefore inclined to excuse Mr.
Stevenson when he refers to tn
matter as "nefarious scheme" an,
to think he has some reason for hold
ing the opinion he does not hesitate
to express that "outsiders are treat
ed by the Chamber Of Commerce a.
p1 oper persons to be feeced." T
may be said in passing that MI
Stevenson and his fellow directors
rather than see the farmers out o
money for their crop, dug down an
paid them $$1 500 apiece out Of thei
own pockets.
A NEW METHOD OF ASSESS
MENT.
Contrary to what everyone antici
pated the house has passed the coun
ty assessor bill, and if the senate al
so approves it township assessor
will become a thing Of the past
When the bill was up in General Or
ders, the opposition to it was pro
nounced and active. 1t was said tina
it was body blow at the principl
Of home rule, and that it provide
for a new regiment Of Office holders
eat up the substance of the people
It was also contended that the me
best qualified to set value on far1
property were the men who lived i
it's immediate neighborhood. On tn
other hand it was argued that loca
assessors were often the tools o
wealthy tax dodgers, that the mai
object of many Of them was to Sc
if they couldn't get the assessmen
lower than that Of the next township
and that Their ;,could be no such thin
as uniformity under such system
To get the assessor away from loca
influences, and to make his tenure o
Office secure was an essential ste
towards ensuring uniform taxation
and nothing could be done in that di
r. elton so long as dependence wa
! placed on the system Of township as
SCISSORS. Under the proposed law tn
county assessors will be appointe'
/ by the county board for term o
four years. They can only be re
| moved by the tax commission and tn
/ governor.
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
The house has also passed by
\ practically unanimous vote the bill
| for constitutional amendment pro
viding for the initiative and referen
dunn. We will therefore know bet
ter after the next general election