Imperial Valley press., 1920-02-28

i IMAM CHe IHcillDcIS, ny lie dIIi
tion, San Joaquin County Unit
terly reply by the attorney ger
in a clean-cut manner.
The attorney general replied to tho
criticisms in public letter, rs follows
San Francisco, January so, 1920
Farm Owners and Operators Assn,
San Joaquin County Unit,
Stockton. California.
Gentlemen:-
| am in receipt of a communica-
ton from your body. bearing date OF
January %, 1920, signed by J. K.
Riddell as your secretary, transmit
ing to me IL resolution unanimously
adopted at meeting OF the Dairy
mems Committee of the San Joaquin
unit the farm owners and operators
association on the 10Th inst"
This resolution is as follows:
WHEREAS, The attorney general
of the State of California has seen fit
to grant his permission to certain cit
izens of the state to bring suit against
the Associated Milk Producers of Cal
ffornia for the purpose of dissolving
the farmers association, because they
saw fit to band together for the pur-
pose of protecting their property and
securing a living profit from their
labor and investment and
WHEREAS, The farmer of Califor-
mia without his cooperative organiZa
tions would be at the mercy of com
mercial vested interests and political
greed, and %&.-
WHEREAS, Unless the farmer is
enabled to secure fair and living re
turn for his labor and investment as
are commercial and labor organiza-
tions, the farmers will be forced to
curtail their productions; curtailed
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the San Joaquin
unit Of the farm owners and operators
association take this opportunity of
publicly condemning the action of AT
torney General Webb in giving his
consent to such suit; inasmuch as
the dairymen of California are only
asking for fair and just return on
their investment and labor.
RESOLVED, That any action which
is taken to dissolve the Associated
Dairymen's Association will have an
influence to reduce the. milk supply,
thereby being means to cause high
err prices, which will work greater
hardship on the consumer. and he it
RESOLVED, That we the members
of the San Joaquin unit of the farm
owners and operators association en-
phatically protest against the propos
ed action against the dairymen and
ask the cooperation of all farmers of
the state who think anything of their
citizenship to get behind the dairymcn
at this time and help combat the adj
vances which appear are being made
through the attorney general of our
state by the greed of commercial and
political interests.
Farm Owners and Operators Assn.
San Joaquin County Unit.
J. E. THORP,
Chairman, Dairymen's Committee"
Stockton, January 10, 1920.
The wording of this resolution dis
plays remarkable misunderstanding
and misconception of the true facts
with which it purports to deal 1t is
stated therein that the attorney gen
eral has 'seen fit to grant" permission
to bring suit against the Associated
Milk Producers Of California "because
they (the farmers) saw fit to band
together for the purpose of protecting
their property and securing living
profit from their labor and invest
ment."
No statement which would be far
ther from the true situation could
have been made and it shows an entire
lack Of understanding or consideration
of either the facts, the low or the
opinion l rendered in the matters un-
der consideration.
Application was made to me, in ac
cordance with law, for my permission
to sue, in the name Of the people, the
Associated Dairymen of California
and certain other affiliated corpora
tions. These corporations were all
organized under the statutory provis-
ions of this state authorizing the for
nation of "nin-profit cooperative cor
poratons,' and corporations organic
ed and so operated under the law are
not subjected to the jurisdiction of the
corporation department. and are not
required to pay certain state charges
which must be paid by the ordinary
commercial corporation.
The law expressly provides, how
ever. that such corporations shall
not have a capital stock" and that
their "business shall not be carried
on for profit" The failure to comply
with either of these conditions des-
troys the "non-p profit cooperative"
character of the concern, withdraws
from it the favor of the law and
should subject it to the burdens of cor
porations having capital stock and
which are professedly operated for a
profit.
In the applications made for leave
to maintain these actions it was
charged that the corporations in ques-
ton in direct violation of the statu-
tory mandates above referred to had,
as a matter Of fact and of law, "a cap
ital stock" and were, as matter OF
fact and law, carrying on their bust
ness operations "for profit to the cor
porations. Various other charges were
made in such applications, such as &
departure from the principle of coop,
Grafton by corporate dealings with
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