Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-05-04

OF h state grain inspection depart.
ment until his election to the senate
last fall. It was passed in 1919 as {
Nonparthsan league
History of Case
n plaintiff in the grain grading
case is the Embden Farmers Elevator
company of Embden, in Cass county
North Dakota The case was com
Fenced in the fall. of 1919 and ii
circuit judges in st. Paul upon thu
application of this farmers elevator
for a preliminary restraining order
until the cas- could be heard on thu
merits before the Federal Distric,
court in Fargo. Immediately after the
argument the. district judges in st
Paul, through the presiding judge
Sanborn, granted a preliminary re.
straining order. The other Judges
who sat at that time were Mesas
Hook and Morris Thereafter and il
trial before Judge Amidon in Fargo
Testimony was taken and the case wa.
fully submitted and argues by coun.
sci on both SIDES
Lemke For State
Sveinbjorn johnson appeared fol
h farmers elevator company anc
made arguments On the law at Fargo
The state was on that occasion repre-.
sented by the following attorneys;
William Lemke, now attorney general
Seth Richardson, in 1920 candidate
for judge of the supreme court, witt
the endorsement OF the NpnpardaI
league. W: 81. Owens, Of WIlliston
Judge S. l.. Nuchols, of Fargo, nov
assistant Uunted States attorney. and
A E. Sheets, then assistant attorney
general of the state of North Dakota
A short time after the arguments
made Judge An.don announced
his decision holding the act consIiu-
tonal and dLssolving the injunction
which had been granted by the judges
In St Paul the previous April
The farmers elevator appealed and
the case vas argued a: S. Louis. Mis-
on the 18th OF JaEla<y. 1881
The state was represented by William
kmke, then attorney general. and by
the Hon Seth Richardson of Fargo
retained By NJ. Lmke to aSS hin
in presenting the safes SIDE.
State Price Lowe
a: the iria, in Fargo it appeared
among other things THAI the S:e
grain grading department had order.
ed the manager of the farmers eieva.
tor to change the grade that he gave
the famers on d. certain kind of wheat
with the result that the elevator paid
10 cents a bushel less TO the farmers
The manager. Mr.. Alex Gebhaldt
told he department that he gave the
farmers this grade because that was
the grade of this grain as given the
elevator in the markets in M~inneapo-
lis and St Paul, but the state depart.
ment nevertheless told him that he
must give the lower grade.
Iadd Admitted Ignorance
It also appeared in the trial tina,
DR.. Ladd had not prepared any grades
at all. but had simply copied the fed.
eral grades which the United States
department Of agriculture in Wash.
ington had previously adopted. DR.
Ladd, in fact. testified and admitted
that he knew nothing about grair
grading and had had no experience If
grain grading.
The case was originally commenced
because of conflict in the state anC
federal laws. This farmers elevator
like other elevators, did not. know
which law to obey as the, state ant
| federal laws were in conflict. tap
piled to the courts. and h Unitet
States circuit court has now said tina
1.-The federal law is supreme and con
trolls. The United States lawyers pass
ed a grain grading Jaw in 1915 AM
grades Of wheat oats. ETC.. have bee,
promulgated under it,.
In the campaign last fall the Non
partisan league papers charged tina
Big Business was back of this attac
on h grain grading law. Judg
Robinson had previously said that tn
law was a colossal graft. The leagu
papers also charged that Attorne
General LANCER vas negligent, an
blamed him for the Injunction whic
was granted by the three judges 81
ting in st. Paul.
After that Mr.. Bill Lemke and M
Seth Richardson handled the case I.
there now can be no suggestion, tn;
Big Business in any manner cause
these men to be dilatory or neglige,
in presenting the
A large number of farmers Ell
vators in the state were interested
this case It has been the opinion
these elevators and farmers organic
tons that the law conferred no ben
At upon them, but'simply created ne
jobs for the league organization
All vtfh Faxynpn1 nporJnxaoo . 81 y