Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1934-05-17
State Capitol News
BY A. l. HARRIS

The rural rehabilitation pogram of
the state emergency relief admin
istration is this week embracing
wood-cutting projects in addition to
the garden and canning ventures. The
state committee is emphasizing self
help rather than so-called public
works in its relief work program and
is giving every encouragement to re-
lief clients in making themselves self
supporting.
Relief clients who grow more gar
den produce than they can use them
selves can exchange the surplus at
their county relief office for other
necessities, it has been decided by
the state ERA. Likewise. clients cut
ting wood in counties having an album
dance of such fuel can exchange sur
plus cut wood for products of other
counties. This is the principle of CO.
operative effort in elementary but
promising form.
InSOlvencieS of insurance companies
and business Institutions during the
past few years have deprived SCI Min
nesota workers or their dependents of
compensation for injury or death in
the amount of $3O5,OSS.1S. Under the
state wOrkman's compensation act, en-
ployers must insure their workers
against accidents. In case of finan-
cial failure of the insurance company,
the law says that the employer must
pay the bill. During this period, 10
insurance companies hit the wall; so
did a majority of the business con-
Germs, leaving the injured workers
high and dry.
Conservative estimates of the
amount to be brought in for tax pur-
poses under the corporate excess tax,
being earnestly applied for the first
time this year since 1878 when it
was first placed on the statute books,
places it at S1OO,0OO,OOO. The tax
rate is the prevailing property rate.
Every economic evil that we have
today, except the drouth, is man
made. What man has made he can
undo. Man-made evils can be righted
by man, but they cannot be righted
by the methods that brought them
about. To attempt to do so is merely
to perpetuate these evils. We must
get away from the methods of the
ostrich.
A book by Charles A. Lindbergh,
Senior, called your Country at War;"
is enjoying a brisk sale throughout
the country. 1t is even being printed
in daily newspapers over the country,
having been purchased by the United
Features. The book, written during
| the war, was once suppressed by the
| federal government. 1t reveals that
| the late Mr.. Lindbergh was a major
prophet. He predicted the period
through which we are now passing.
How pools operate to control stock
prices was wildly revealed last week
in the resumption of the investiga-
ton of chain bank selling activities
| by the State Commerce Commission.
The formation of pools for buying
Northwest Banco stock at low figures
and selling at high was brought out
in the testimony. David R. West, for
mer vice-president of the Minnesota
company, stock-selling organiZa-
ton, owned by the Minnesota Loan
and Trust, a Banco subsidiary, ad-
mitted that four pools were formed
between the Minnesota company and
A. G. Becker & Company, a Chicago
| brokerage house and others.
Correspondence written by West
and other officers of the Minnesota
company was introduced by w. E. G.
Watson, attorney for the state. One
letter in particular referred to "dreS-
sing the market prior to the offering
of stock for sale" Another letter
cited that additional stock could be
procured from stockholders of the
various member-banks of the BancC
chain at low figures, but warned that
an outward attempt to buy stock in
large quantities would cause the
market to jump up, which would be
undesirable until after the stock was
purchased"
On being questioned by Watson
West admitted that stockholders Of
banks, on becoming affiliated witt
Banco traded their stock for Banc(
stock, but were restricted from sci
ling the same without the consent
of Banco. Further testimony by Wes
revealed that the restricted clause
enabled Banco's selling organization
to secure this stock from member
stockholders at low prices and unload
through the pools at high figures.
Kenneth Haycraft, chief investiga
tor for the State Securities Commits