Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-09-07
'L / URGES ]
DISREGARD OF
! FEDERAL Law
This Was the Argument in
Grain Grading Case
Says Johnson. .s5

nllEtl<emke OOeSnC care any o
for federal laws than he does for the
laws OF tho state, according to Attoor-
ney Sweinbjorn johnson, OF this city
who returned Tuesday night from
Fargo where he argued an applica-
ton for an injunction against the en-
5forcement of the state elevator IL
censing and grain grading law. In
discussing the hearing at Fargo, Mr..
johnson said:
ia Disregard Laws
I'VE have grown accustomed the
last three years to see the admins
,tration disregard and violate positive
law. For the first time, however, we
believe in the history OF this state. the
attorney general goes into the fed
eral court and urges that the federal
judges sitting in this state disregard
the law as laid down by the United
States courts. On Monday and Tues
Woodruff Of Omaha and Amidons sof
Fargo listened to argument by the at
torney general and his assistants, the
burden of which was that the law as
laid down in the Embden Grain
Grading case by the Circuit Court Of
Appeals should not be followed or
obAyed. The judges promptly told
the attorneys for the state that they
expected to follow the law and that
it was waste Of the time Of the court
to urge such a proposition. Is no,
this carrying disregard of the law to
an extreme?
Costly to Farmers.
The Embden Farmers Elevator
company q year ago started a suit to
enloin State Inspector McGovern
from, interfering with its business. 1t
appeared in that, suit as 1t also APP
peared In the Fargo case last Tues
day that the Interference of the de-
partment had cost the farmers
around Embden a great deal Of
money. 1t appeared that. a deputy.
Mr.. Lund forced the manager to
give the farmers a lower grade than
he had been giving although the
manager explained to Lund that he
gave them the same grade he got al
The manager told him the rules OF
the department required that he give
the farmers the lower grade or else
lose his license and have the elevator
closed. The result was that the eleva-
tor sold 5000 bushels more of wheat
Of thai grade than it actually bought
from its farmers with a loss to the
farmers Of 10 cents per bushel. For
~tunately the elevator Is a farmers CO.
operative elevator so the profit made
because of this incompetency of the
state department went back to the
farmers eventually.
It also appeared at Fargo that
half the grain bought in the state is
bought by farmers cooperative ele-
Vators. and that the profits go back to
the nrNdypcaYa nf <hn Orotr tn~5 49,
stockholders: that therefore il there
Is n loss from umergrading, under
weight or sale of valuable dockage
by the elevator the profits come back
eventually anyhow under the CO.
operative plan. 1t further appeared
at Fargo that Notwithstanding the
claims of Lemke and McGovern 1t
had been the custom in this state be-
fore this grain grading law to pay for.
valuable dockage by paying a. higher
price for grain that had valuable
dockage in it. The manager Of the
Farmers Cooperative Elevator ex.
plained that such had always been
the practice.
Used ''Rig Biz" Prices.
"A very interesting feature of the
hearing at Fargo las Tuesday was
the fact that the. hypocrisy and
or the grain department
and of the attorney general were
proved in a judicial proceeding. Mr..
s1emke has denounced the Chamber
of Commerce Of Minneapolis and the
Board Of Trade at Duluth as organ
lied by a gang of gamblers and
thieves He has persuaded many
people in the state to believe in the
truth of his charges and has won
votes thereby. He has claimed that
the price Of wheat was fixed by these
gamblers to suit themselves. and he
has told the.people that he and his
henchment must be retained, in office
to break up this gang and insure a
fair price to the farmers. 1t was
proved in court on Tuesday that the
inspection department had fixed a
price for grain at the various country
elevators by fixing a margin of not
more than 6 cents per bushel. It al