Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-04-13
GOING To THE PEoPIE

Under the caption North Dakota Goes to the People"
the radical magazine The Nation, comments editoriaaly on;
the North Dakota situation and on . double page adver-
tisement which appears in the same tssue-April 1s-
OF the magazine. The advertisement, which is similar
In general character to the advertisements which have
been published IN the Tewnley papers of the northwest,
makes an appeal to the public for subscriptions to the
$s,ooo,ooo worth Of North Dakota industrial bonds which
the administration has been peddling about the country
for some time without result. The editorial comment in
the Nation is a general defense of the socialistic program
inaugurated in North Dakota, and the statements made
are such as have long been familiar to those who have
followed the efforts of our official state propasandtsts to
set their program before the public in the most favorable
light. AS a sample Of the manner in which facts are
distorted to provide support for limping arguments the
following is quoted: sts= .
THE small State flour mill which was pur-
chased in 1919, pending the erection of a larger
one. while making a fair profit above expenses,
succeeded in paying the farmer an average Of IL
cents per bushel more for his wheat than he had
been receiving and in selling the flour at 50
cents less per barrel and seed at $3.50 less per
ton than the price charged by other dealers and
mills. This small mill alone will save the farm
crs and consumers tens of thousands Of dollars
annually. Then there is the Home Building
Association which under state auspices erects
modest city and farm homes on easy payment
terms. How bolshevistic, in these days Of hous-
ing shortage and rent profiteering, to make it
possible for families of small means to own their
own homes! And finally. among other enter
prises whose specific purpose is to serve the
people, is the State bank which aims to assist
the small farmer and business man in financial
distress"
The Drake flour mill, above referred to, made no
profit whatever. On the contrary, its operations re-
suited in a considerable loss. a loss which was revealed
in the official audit Of the concern by a firm Of competent
certified accountants and also in reports submitted by
the management itself. Except for outside consump-
ton the administration has not denied the deficit, but has
been at considerable pains to attempt~to explain it..
The Drake mill did not pay an average of IL cents
a bushel more for wheat than was paid by private
agencies, but bought wheat, as others did, at the market.
Flour from the Drake mill was not sold at a lower price
than was flour of equal grade from other mills, and in
some cases the flour sent out from the Drake mill was
of such inferior quality that league farmers for whom it
was intended refused to accept it.
The Home Building association, we are told, erccts
modest city and far farm houses on easy payment terms.
OF the sixty-odd building enterprises entered upon by the
Home Builders association, nearly all are in cities. For
some reason the farmer has been practically left out.
Efforts to obtain money for other city residences failed,
the explanation being that the association had no money
available for building. One reason for: the lack of money
was that the association had assisted the attorney gen
eral Of the state to build himself a modest" home cost
ing some twelve or fourteen thousand dollars, and that
other salaried servants Of the state are being similarly
accommodated. To provide shelter for these individ-
uals used up all the available funds, and the farmer and
the artisan must wait.