The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-03-06
administration Is
Scored by Senator

Hamilton Says Farmers Union
Was Changed to Save Ad-
ministration's Face
Charging that "the administration"
revised the Farmers Union grain .
storage bill at this session of the le<.
islature Ito ave its face" Senator b..
H. Hamilton, McHenry county. Bit
terly assailed the alleged political
ambitions Of Governor George F.
Shafer in a radio address over KFYR |
Thursday night.
Hamilton, a director Of the farm
er's union, said IA part:
when I ard my neighbors up there
In McHen-s county haven't got any
money With which to buy things at
the store, the storekeeper knows it.
He may not be as sorry as we are, but
he's almost as sorry and you can't
tell him that 1t makes no difference
whether the farmers are making
money or not.
I'VE have heard so much Of farm
relief In recent years that the words
sound like political bait. They have
been used for that purpose so much
and so often that a good many peo-
pie are wondering If the farmer
isn't q fish.
Right here in the legislature we
have some evidence that there are
folks in North Dakota who think the
farmers Is q sucker, just because ne
happened to elect them to office.
Take the vote on House Bill No. 166
as an example of what I mean.
Sought To Help Farmer
1T was a bill put in by Rep.
Crockett of Cavalier county. head Of
the farmers union up there. There
wasn't anything wrong with this bill
except that it would enable the farm
ers to get out from under the burden
which a misaonceived and misguided
state government foisted upon it two
years ago in the shape Of q farm
storage law.
1.-TWO years ago we heard q lot
about farm storage and what 1T would
do for the farmers. The governor ad-
vocated it and the Farmers Union, OF
which I am a director for North Da-
kota, agreed with him in principle.
That was about as far as the agree
ment went, because we couldn't get
together on the details. The COVER
nor, being a lawyer, had a lot OF
ideas of his own and I guess some
other folks gave him q lot more. AT
any rate he concluded that the farm
ers didn't know any more about what
farm storage should be than q Jay
bird knows about ice cream. He fixed
up q fancy law, providing for a lot OF
folks On the state payroll to operate
a separate farm storage department,
and we went to 1t.
It doesn't do us any good to cry
ABOUT split milk and an old cow
ypuncher like me isn't used to crying
about milk or anything else, but II
does make me almost cry mad when
I think of how Governor Shafel
kicked the farmers of this state right
smack in the pants and got away
with it.
Present System Failed
"All of you know that his farm
storage scheme didn't work and 1t !.
no secret ~ to why 1t didn't work
You haven't heard the governor
Dragging about how well 1t has work
ed have you? Well, believe me, yor
won't hear him Dragging. And thu
governor misses few chances to tool
his own horn. He wants to 60 to thu
senate, you know, and Is doing every
thing he knows how to get there.
II don't want to pick on the gov.
ernor. It takes real CUTS to follow
your own mind and fight for the In
terests of the people when you hole
that Job. Some one always IS telling
you what you should do about this o.
that and If the governor just listenl
and forgets to think he also forget'
about those folks back on the farm
and in the small business places O
the state and the first thing tn
people know he doesn't pay any mor'
attention to the folks that electes
him than If they lived in China.
"Well, anyway, the governors farm
storage bill was. q miserable flop ant
the Farmers Union wanted to d.
something about it at this session. S.
Mr.. Crockett put in his bill. Here
what he wanted. He wanted to lie
the farmer store his own grain o.
his own farm and to have the near
est elevator man issue storage ticket
on the grain. The elevator mai
would do this work free on condition
that the farmer market the grail
through his elevator when he decides
to sell the grain. There was no pro
vision for insurance since. II tn
farmer wanted to borrow money o.
the storage ticket. the man making
the loan could make his own require
ments in that respect. This woul.
have enabled a lot Of cooperative ele
vators to help out their farmer mem
bers and it would enable the farme
to keep his grain at home If he want
ed to and borrow money on 1t II b
wanted to.
Changed BY Administration
"The bill put the administration Q
the act in the hands Of the stat
railroad board which already super
vised. the elevators in North Dakot
and which has done a pretty good 10
of it. too.
"The administration Of Governo
George F. Shafer didn't like that pro
vision of the proposal so they chang
ed it. They placed administration Q
the act In the hands of the presen
grain storage department. It look
rs though the governor was afraid t
have his own grain storage depart
ment compared with one operated b
his political rivals.
1T is apparent on the face OF
that the governor was trying only t
save his own face so that he coul
get himself elected to another offic'
A. I mentioned before he would Civ
his Left eye and Il locks Of his curl