The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-06-07
SAYS BUSINESS
RULE is GIVEN
in INDUSTRIES
CONTINUED from page -

uHlL LHclCVi was pipNch III
as an experiment in October, 1922.
Anticipating that the necessities of
the business required considerable
operating capital, the Legislature,
upon the recommendation of the Gov
ernor, passed the Milling Bond Act,
by means of which the Industrial
Commission is authorized to issue
two million dollars in State Bonds
to provide operating capital for the
purchase of wheat for the mill, and
under the terms of that law, the In
dustrial Commission has issued and
sold $l,00O,O00 of such operating
bonds, and by Jeans Of such capital,
from time to time by the Bank of
North Dakota, the management of
the Mill has been able to operate
the same continuously since it was
opened, in the fall of 1929, to the
present day. Since midsummer of
1923, all three units OF the Mill have
been in continuous operation, and it
is now producing flour at a maximum
capacity of $500 barrels a day. Since
about third of the output of the
Mill supplies the market demands Of
North Dakota, it is necessary to sell
the other two-thirds in other States
and foreign countries, and the MAN.
agement is now selling -four in TWEEN
ty-two states of the Union, and in
several foreign countries. From the
beginning, the Independents have
viewed the Grand Forks Mill enter
prise as a business proposition, pure
and simple, and not political one.
1t has seemed to us that the people
desired this institution to be operat-
ed as business institution, and that
they did not wish it to be made, con-
tinually and forever, football in
politics to be kicked back and forth
by the contending political forces, or
to be made the means by which am
bilious politicians may gain Office.
Under the former law, the Mill was
under the management of the Cover
nor, Attorney General and Commits
sioner of Agriculture and Labor, con-
stituting the Industrial Commission.
These three state officials are not
only the heads of large governmental
departments, which engage all of
their time, but by the very nature of
their Offices, they necessarily must
be involved in political controversy.
Believing that the only way by which
the state could secure an efficient and
businesslike trial of that institution,
was to place the management thereof
in the hands of the Board of Direc-
tors consisting of persons who do
not hold political Office, and who are
not engaged in political activities,
the Legislature passed the present
Board of Managers law, which pro-
vides for a Board of Directors to
direct and supervise the operation Of
that business. This Board of Man
ayers consisting of honest, upright
and experienced business men, a
majority of whom live in Grand
Forks, where the mill is located, has
been making most earnest efforts to
secure an efficient and businesslike
management of this industry. If it
is possible to make this enterprise
function successfully from any angle,
it is far more certain that it will
succeed under the management of a
board of business men, who are in
tcrested in its success, than it would
be if it were placed back in the
hands of the Industrial Commission,
consisting of stare officials residing
at the State Capitol.
Board of Managers
"The League Convention, which
nominated the candidates who are
now opposing US, went on record, not
only as cOndemning our attitude as
being unfavorable to the success of
the mill but recomm n d d
the repeal of the Board of
Managers law. 1t seems to us utter
folly for the State 20 go back to the
policy of operating industrial enter
prises located at Grand Forks
through governmental officers at Bis
marck. Even if the state officials
constituting the Industrial Commits
| have, and were qualified to direct
and manage such highly specialize
ed industry as the milling business,
(and they are not, regardless of
whether they are Independents or
Nonpartisans), it is physical impos-
sibility for such Board or Commits
sion to intelligently and wisely di-
rect such a huge industrial enterprise
from such distance, and the fact
that our opponents are urging that