Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1920-09-02
CAPITAL~ NEWS NOTES


cratic-Republican Fusion candidate for
Governor, in speech at Ninot, said:
"The farmers at Embden, Nort,
Dakota, found themselves in a peculiar
situation. Congress passed a grain
law which provided for inspectors CT
grain, for grades and for weighing the
same, and also provided that any pec~
son who violated this law which ae-
piled to all interstate shipments could
be fined thousand dollars and i'm
prisoned for year or both. The
state Of North Dakota passed a grain
grading law which provided for grades
inspectors and weighing the same and
provided that if this law was violated,
that for first offense there was i'm
posed a fine of not less than ten dol-
lars nor. more than one hundred dol
lars, or confinement in the county Jail
for not less than ten days nor more
than thirty days or both, and for each
succeeding cffense, fine of not less
than one hundred dollars or more
than five hundred dollars or to be
confined in the county Jail not less
than thirty days or more than ninety
or both. These farmers had their
own elevators and they could not com.
ply with both laws. They did not
care to be imprisoned by the United
States Government and they had n,
deisire to be imprisoned by the state
of North Dakota There was only
one thing these farmers could do and
that was to ask the court which Jaw
they should follow The sworn tes-
timony of the manager of that far
mers' elevator before Judge Amidon
discloses that he was grading wheat
that tested fifty-four pounds to q
bushel as No. 8 wheat. A rerresen.
tative from Mr.. Ladd's department.
compelled him to grade this wheat
as No. 4, which meant loss to the
farmers of about ten cents Dushei.
The manager of the farmers elevator
insisted that as he was given No. 8
fer this wheat in Minneapolis, lie
should be allowed to give the far
mers No. 8, but this inspector de-
MED him the right to do so.
"The attitude of the League leaders
say that the farmers must lose this
ten cents bushel on their grain.
which loss would amount to about
five million dollars, and that they have
no right. to 60 into court to ask re-
dress. When this law was before
the supreme court of North Dakota.
the Nonpartisan judge who received
the highest vote, said: The Act is a
long ill-constructed, ungrammatical,
multifarious hodgetoge document.
It was Senate Bill 314 and again this
Grain Grading Act: 1T should be
entitled thus'-An Act to create &
huge grating system and to deny far.
mers the right to sell their grains
without paying some inspector an un-
known and unlimited graft on each
and every load. 81 N. D. 635.
"The present law provides tr'
seventy thousand dollars bi-annually
may be expended to enforce this law.
The farmers have paid over one hum
dred thousand dollars for the privi-
lege Of getting ten cents less for
their wheat. We take our position
with the farmers and :gainst those
who claim they have no right to get
the full market value for this wheat
and their dockage. The elevators
even before the passage Of the Grain
Acts have paid for dockage; they are
paying for dockage today and we
believe that the farmers are entitled
to pay for their wheat and for DOCK
age that has value