The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1917-05-11
Haf Milton
The Year From
Farmer Purse
kirkeide Drown Grain Grading Gill
VIII Levy Heavy Direct Tax
Against Growers
PRODUCER MUST STAND
WHOLE BURDEN or LAW

WHOLE BURDEN or LAW
No Equitable Distribution Of Ex-
pense Made as In Terminal Eie-
vator Act -
Farmers generally, league members
in particular, are just awaking to the
fact that the Kirkeide-Drown grain
grading act, league measure, and
signed by the leagues governor, I'm
poses upon the North Dakota grain
growers a direct tax of not less than
half million per annum. Under the
guise OF a benevolent piece of legis-
lation, it has been discovered, there
masquerades one OF the most unfair
acts Of class taxation which any
legislature has ever been persuaded
to pass.
Senate Bill No. 314, the grain and
grading act, was trotted through dur
ing the closing hours Of the last ses-
sion and promptly signed by Cover
nor Frazier. 1t provides that no
grain may be purchased which has
not been first graded by licensed
deputy. Fees for grading are to be
fixed at standard which will main
tain this vast machine, of which DR..
E. F. Ladd is at the head, and which
will, further, set aside Is per cent of
the entire cost of operation to create
a fund for building public grain stor.
age warehouses (terminal elevators)
within the state.
Whenever the town or community
provides suitable building and scales
for housing such deputy, DR.. Ladd is
to name a public deputy weigher and
grader, and the upkeep Of said build
ing and scales shall be borne by the
state out of funds secured on account
of fees collected for inspecting and
Weighing"
There are in North Dakota 240 in
corporated villages which may be ex-
pected to make application for
deputy inspector. The smallest ele-
vator pays it's manager $1,500 per an
mum. It is reasonable to expect that
a man who possesses sufficient ex-
perience to grade and dock and weigh
grain to the satisfaction of both pur-
chaser and producer may command
81, 800 per year. which would make
the bill for this item alone $4,000
per annum and this does not take IN
to consideration more than 800 sta
tions in unincorporated towns where
the local elevator man would be made
a deputy inspector, entitled to GER
tain percentage Of the fees for his
services: Presuniing, "a minimum
cost Of s1oo the year for the mainten-
ance of each weighing and grading
station, this item would amount to
$4,000, or a total of s456.000 actual
operating expense. To this then,
must be added the rs per cent which
Is to be set aside each year for the
creation of terminal elevator fund,
or approximately $4,000, raising the
grand total which must come out of
the grain growers pockets each year
to more than 100000. And this
amount is the least which may be an
|ticipated. The probabilities are that
it will be much more.
This tax, it; will, be noted, comes
directly from the grain grower. ills
not distributed over all property,
town and city lots, buildings, vacant
lands, railroad property. public utiii-
ties, etc, which under Senate Bill
No. ,S4-the terminal elevator act
which Governor Frazier vetoed -
would have paid very large per cent
LOT the whole. Under Senate Bill No.
|314 the grain grower pays It all. and
he h as no means Of evading the tax
as every elevator is prohibited from
buying grain which has not been grad
led by one Of Dr.. Ladd's inspectors.
The Tee exacted BY the average
public scales for weighing an 0rdi-
nary load of livestock, coal or other
commodity which need not be graded
|is S15 cents. II is safe to persume:
that 10 cents will be regarded a. u
reasonable Zee for the grading, which
lis matter Of much more difaculty
than the mere Weighing This would
mean that for each load of grain the
farmer hauled 70 the elevator he
would he compelled 70 pay 4 tax Dds
l25S cents, of which - cents would 81
toward the payment Of salaries of slll- sip-
lspsctors and the cost of nlaintai ainings
grading stations, while Oniy six ceatsl
Continued "a page ss