Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-01-20
CHARGE STATE.
OFFICIALS WITH
DELAYING |! ] ! SALE 4. J
The Industrial q Commission
Blamed for Breaking Ne
gotiatioas with Bankers
Report Of Bankers Commit
tee Will be Published in
Full Shortly.
(Bv staff Corregpondent. )

la 0AAOAS9y. Al
(By STAFF Correspondent
Fargo, N. D., ian. 20.--Members Of
the North Dakota industrial commits
sion are blamed for the breaking OH
of negotiations looking towards the
sale Of state securities in a statement
made public today by members Of the
bankers' committee appointed to con-
fer with the commission along this
line. ~
Tho report of the committee will be
published in full in the February issue
of the North Dakota bankers official
publication Of the state bankers as
sociation. It reviews the history of the
negotiations between the bankers and
the Industrial commission from the
very beginning and contains full ac-
count Of the steps taken to improve
the financial conditions in the state.
After discussing the preliminary
steps in the negotiations the report
takes up the meeting held at Bismarck
Jan. at which the offers of the
bankers were fully referred to the in
dustrial commission. In regard to this
meeting it says:
Your committee feels that it
should not be disposed of with mere
flag waving declaration of so-called
principles and charges that some mys-
terious unnamed enemy Of mankind
vas responsible for the failure"
Had No Plan.
At this conference, the report says,
1t was decided that :, the industrial
commission had no plan to submit.
and had no sales under. consideration.
The proposal Of the bankers, UNDER
ia. / L. e,kn -" o0~
tain conditions demanded by the buy
ers were met, was therefore presented
in writing. The main features Of this
as before announced was the refusal
Of assurances that the activities of the
Bank OF North Dakota and the state
Industrial program should be limited
during the present administration.
In regard to these conditions the
committee makes the following expla-
nation, which was presented to the in
dustrial commission at the time Ofsthe
conference. =
THE commission had offered sub
stantially $2,000,000 of the mill and
elevator bonds to complete and put In
operation the Grand Forks mill and
elevator. The committee found these
bonds difficult Of sale but had prof.
feres for this amount II the sO-ca11ed
Industrial program could be limited
A fair trial should determine sWh ether
or not tire mill and elevators btsinesa
under state ownership could be sfpront-
able H.. :.s. ~ est 3. ~ .ks5;,., !
Tho commission had offered 81 !.
100000 in farm loan bonds, ana $25,.
900 in home building bonds. These
p were believed TO be; readily salable un.
der the cond ditinns as set forth.
The commission had offered sub.
stantially $2.00O,000 81 Bank Of NORTH
Dakota bonds. The bankers commit.
tee had been unable to find a marke
for them but believed that If an agree
mcnt could be reached it would bt
$l.OO0.O00. t.ost
Prospective bond buyers. the bank
crs' committee had found. were unani
inously insisting that the laws under
which the Bank OF North Dakota wa
organized and as construed by the in
/, dustrial commission, were unwise ant
unless materially amended would b,
at all. times menace to the financia
system Of the state and would fire
auently bring just such; conditions a:
now exist.
''Thnt no proper safeguards wer'
thrown around the trust fund. Tha
under, the law such funds could b.
o and.would be as they now have been
transferred, loaned. or invested in en-
terprises where they would not b.
available when required. All safcguar,
l,| previous laws thrown around sink
< ing funds had been removed and n
adequate substitute provided. Man
fother objections had been urged bu
Ibis is sufficient to show their genera
, nature"
'1n response" continued the report
'the. industrial commission took issH
With these objections. urging that tn
I;ank of North Dakota law was sound
;'nd its operation safe and profitable.
The administration also claimed tina
the people had been deceived whe
they cur;ailed the banks power, an
operations at the las. election and tn
initiated Law. would be re-submitte
80 the people at an early. election
thcSefore no plan which countena nee
ihs{li,nitins or curtailing OF the opera
tton of the bank could be countenanc
cG by the administration.
Big Shrinkagc.
The industrial commission calle,
attention to the enormous shrinkag
ofithe depc sits in the, Bank Of Nortl
Dakota during the past month. claim
ing that these had been due to tn
initiated law, but the committee con
tended that n more likely cause wa
that depositors began to fear the ar
IJitTdTy power. vested IN I4e 1N0uStria
commission and reduced their bal
ances fearing they would not be abl
10 later on.
IL regard to local depositary la,
IT was fully agreed that the bnnke
should draft a bill which should b
submitted to. the attorney general L
il met with his approval it was to b
recommended for adoption. Such s
/, hill: has now been, drafted and sub
,nitfed to the attorney general
At the close of the conference tn
industrial commission intormally de
clined to agree to, the conditions an
+ the formal refusal. already publishe
: was made public the next day.
4 The bankers committee frankl
confess that upon receipt Of the re
2 fusal .of the industrial commission.
had reached the limit of Its resource
or offers to bring about the sale Q
state bonds at this time. s
The renort SUMMARIZED the situa
ton ,as follows: pc s3ii
Our committee frankly feels = tha
for Stl1e present at least the industria
COM amission has assumed full respon
sibiiity for the present financial stu
atibn regarding thel Bank Of Mort
Dakota. theS public funds therein. tn
banks In which the same have bee
N. Stanchfield