The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-01-19
TO FIX MARKETS
Senator Burdick Urges State
Regulation of Packers.
Stockyards To Be Declared a
Public Utility.

A second attempt to place the sloch-
rds and the packers under state
gulation IN Kansas will be made IN
re fight fol- a bill providing for sueh
sei1Iat.on, introduced in the senate
5is morning by Senator Burdick, of
Atchison county.
The Burdick bill is designed to put
y cross a regulative program which Will
not find its way into the tolls or the
federal courts. where the original act
passed in 1915, is now hopelessly en-
tangled. Burdick, with the assistance
of two constitutional lawyers, has been
working on the bill for the past two
months, and believes that it will stick
this time.
Its chief feature is the fact that in
stead of designating a. board of com
miss. oners to take charge of the ac-
tivities of the stockyards and the
packers, the latter are declared pub
lie utility and as such placed under
the direct and complete regulation of
the state Industrial court.
The objections which were urged
against the commission are obviated,
Burdick believes, by this fact. They
can't charge Partially in this case
he declared this morning. Another
phase of the original law did not pro-
vide that any section of it which
might be thrown out without disturb
ing the remainder of the bill, Bur-
dicks bill possesses such a clause, and
technical error found in it Will not
throw the whole act out, he says.
Another things is that the old leg
islati0n was designed to interfere with
the packers conduct of their business
relations. My bill does nothing of the
sort and regulates them only thru
their buying and trading relations in
the stockyards in this state Burdiek
said.
Includes Commission Men.
1.-The commission men were left out
of the first law. and for that reason it
was called class legislation. My bill
takes in everybody who trades in live
Stock Burdick said.
The. bill which Burdick introduced
this morning provides for the repeal
OF the former legislation on the sub
ject, and automatically eliminates the
injunctions which are out against its
provisions. This will make the pack
ers or the stockyards men who want
to fight the bill start all over again.
The provisions of the bill give the
Industrial court the fullest power for
the regulation of all the stockyards of
the state The fact that a COMPANY
livestock in the state brings him
automatically under the provisions of
the act
The rates fees and charges, which
are made by the commission men and
the livestock dealers for the sale and
handling of livestock may be adjusted
by the state industrial court under the
Burdick bill. Schedules of such
charges must be filled with the court,
and If they are protested against as
unreasonable the court has the power
to change them. Not only the rates.
but the methods of conducting the
business come under the jurisdiction
of the court.
Cannot Fix Prices.
Before licenses to operate may be
issued by the court it must be assured
of various things in connection with
the applicants for the licenses. The
court must be assured that the inter-
ests will not combine for the fixing
of live stock prices, before the licenses
to operate may be issued. The buy
ing, shipping, or handling of Kansas
stock brings the operators under the
control of the act, whether the sales
are consummated in Kansas or an
other state, and whether the animals
dealt in are slaughtered in Kansas or
outside the state.
The court has the power to order
uniform system of accounting for the
livestock dealers, and to revoke their
licenses if they do not comply with
the orders of the regulatory body.
Fines of 500 to $1,000.
Fines of from 500 to $1,000 are
provided for failure to comply with
the law. Fees for licenses vary from
$25 for the operator who wants to do
business under the act, to 500 to
$1,000 a year for the big packing
plants.
The prospects are that there will be
the same fight on the Burdick bill that
was made on the original legislation.
two years ago. But Burdick believes
that once enacted, this bill will stick.
Brought down to details, it means
that the administration is giving up
the first legislation as a bad job and
is making an effort to substitute meas
ures for the state regulation of the
packing plants and the stockyards,
which will not find its way into the
courts and have its purposes defeated
there.