The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-01-04
Says State Mill Is
Defraudit1g Farmers
HUSKY Flags LANCER Manage.
ment of State Enterprise
for Favorinq East
HOME FOLKS PAYING MORE
Identical Services Cost Out-of.
State Folks Six Cents;
Farmers 1896

Valley City, N. D., Jan. speak
ing at . meeting sponsored by the
Barnes County Nonpartisan commit
tee here Wednesday night, John Hus-
by, state commissioner OF agriculture
and labor and . member Of the state
industrial commission, indicted Gov
ernor william LANCER for overcharg-
ing farmers for milling their wheat at
the state mill and elevator, Grand
Forks
HUSKY asserted that farmers are
paying $l.36 per 08-pound sack, this
amount being deducted In wheat and
mill feeds, while eastern flour buyers
ae paying Is little as six cents per
08-pound sack for the same service.
He also asserted that the mill Is
selling state flour cheaper to eastern
buyers than to North Dakotans, des-
pite q decision by the state industrial
commission to stop this practice. He
indicated belief that the practice was
due. at least In part, to the retention
as operating manager at the mill Of
o. L. Spencer, operating manager
since Ludwig Peterson was appointed
general manager.
Text Of Speech
The text Of Husby'S address fol-
lows:
I'm q state like North Dakota we
are confronted with two major prob
lens affecting agriculture, they are
the problems Of production and mar
keting.
/ "our problems Of production are
going to be more or less solved
through the recent federal set-up OF
production control. Already the fed
eral government has instituted It's
program for the reduction Of wheat
production. Movements are also un-
der way to reduce the production Of
other farm commodities such as corn
hogs, beef and dairy products. Given
time, the government will undoubted-
~ find some kind Of solution for the
control OF production Of our principal
farm commodities. We will, therefore,
pass up our production problems for
the time being and confine our at
tention to marketing problems as they
exist In the state.
In q broad sense, our marketing
system can be grouped under three
heads: Private enterprise; coopera-
tive marketing. and state-owned in
dustries. OF late years, we in North
Dakota have become vitality interested
In the latter two methods. ! have
favored the cooperative system In the
past and still believe that the farmers
should be interested In following
their own products to the central
markets and. II possible. even to the
ultimate consumer. There are many
people, Of course, who for various
reasons believe that 3 program Of
state -owned industries provides q
solution. It Is true that there are
some advantages In that It provides
an easter way for financing and or
ganizing the industry. yet I feel that
1t has disadvantages that BY far off,
set them.
Experience Not So Good
ut has been very interesting for
me through the past eight or ten
years that I have been in North Da-
kota politics to watch our own state
owned industries and their operation.
I have. during that time, remained
impartial In my opinion on their
operation, choosing to sit hack and
watch, but now that have been made
partly responsible for the operation Of
the State Mill and Elevator 1T Grand
Forks, have been forced 70 inform
myself more fully Is to both the ad-
vantages and disadvantages Of state
industrialism and weigh one against
the other.
I'm the operation Of the mill and
elevator It Is interesting to 60 through
some Of the old audit reports and note
the comments which have been made
from time to time IN those reports. IN
the audit report for the period Of
January /, 1877, to June 80. Of the
same year, under the caption. Loss
on Flour Sales" the auditor com
mented 6 follows:
Had the state mill confined it,
sales exclusively to North Dakota and
territory adjacent to Grand Forks
during 1875 and 1877 It appears that
the profits would have been sufficient
to have made the operating expense,
overhead charges, and interest on
bonded Indebtedness tor the period.
The losses 6 set up In our statements
appear TO be due 70 tradings outside
Of this territory both IN their buying
and selling
THE audit report then goes On to
show that ~, 900 barrels Of flour were
sold TO tho Seaboard Flour Corpora
ton Of Boston, Mass. 1t . net loss to
the min o. 42el oll.5o On materials
and milling expense. This did not
include interest On construction bonds
or interest,"
ION pass eight Of the same report
70 find this pertinent statement b
the auditor:
seld n East 1sr Les
In comparing prices between the
prices received :. q. ,. Boston and
tte local price quotation, II win b
noticed that tho flour sold =. Q. B
Boston @ nom one % tWo dollarl
Len pr bazrsl than 4 could y bought