Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-12-22
LIKE AzPR1vATE INSTITUTION

If the state mill and elevator is to- be a perman-
ent benefit to the people of North Dakota it must.
in the first place, be made to pay, just as a private
institution is expected to pay. If, for instance, it
were owned comparatively by a group of farmers,
and were operated solely for the handling of their
products, its owners would expect it to be operated
just as if it were owned by an individual, buying at
the market, selling at the market, performing faith
fully the service expected Oft in storing and handl-
ing grain, and yielding returns sufficient to meet all
legitimate demands upon it. They would not CON-
slider it a success if year BY year its operation re-
suited in a deficit which they would be required to
meet out Of their private funds.
In the matter of expenses they would recognize
several items inseparable from the operation of such
a business. 1t would be necessary to pay the actual
operating expenses, which would include the cost of
all material used, and the cost of all labor employed,
manual or clerical; to meet all reasonable charges
for depreciation, whether arising from ordinary,
wear Or from obsolescence; to pay reasonable in
terest on all invested capital; to pay taxes, insurance
and similar charges; and to yield at least some
surplus to be divided as profit or used to retire out
standing Indebtedness. Unless the enterprise did
|al these things, after getting properly established
and under way, it could not be considered a success.
The fact that this enterprise is owned by. the
state rather than by a private. cooperative associa-
ton or an individual, does not remove or. modify
any of these obligations. Our State plant must meet
them all to be of real and permanent service.
Sif the enterprise were owned by a. private cor
|poration it would be operated under the. general
supervision of a board of directors, and under the
immediate. direction of a general manager with a
separate manager for each of its two great depart
mcnts. The directors would not necessarily, or even
probably be n1illers or elevator men. They might
have no experience in the grading of wheat or the
manufacture of -four. They would be experienced
and competent business men whose business it
would be to deal directly with the larger problems
of finance involved, to select the right men for the
few major executive positions, to know that the
work being(done'by these men was effectively done,
and to keep their hands off during the process.
Such a board would not be chosen by the own
ers of a private plant because of their political affii-
atoms. 1t would be chosen because of the recog'
nized integrity and conlnetence of its members.
That plan, Indispensable lin the operation of a
private business, is equally imperative in the oper-
alton of a state industry. lMost assuredly the states
greatest industrial and commercial enterprise ought
not to be operated under the directionaof a commits
sion composed Of political oaice-holders. There
should be created for this purpose a small board
with the terms of the members SO arranged that it
would be affected as little as possible by political
fluctuations, as in this way only can the Institution
be placed on the right business basis.