Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-01-21
Seed License
Bill Cuts Cost
To Little Men
Daily Dispatch Bureau,
In the Sir Walter Hotel.
Rv TVNN NJSRFT

Raleigh, Jan. 21-The roll call Mon
Cay night on the substitute pure
seed law, will indicate whether small
seed dealers may get by with a one
dollar tax or have to continue the
$40 license imposed by the 1887 law.
The House of Representatives, with
only one or two dissenting votes,
adopted the committee substitute to
the Page-Underwood bill, which be-
comes a roll call measure because of
the indefinite ideas of the revenue to
be produced by its application. In
tended to reduce license fees, it may
actually increase the total income
due to change in method of co.lec-
ton.
The new bill provides for q one
dollar stamp tax to be placed on all
cases of 48 packages or less of gard
EN- or flower seeds in sealed packages,
and sci ling for not more than ten
cents each; and imposes one dollar
annual license tax upon dealers in
hulk seeds whose gross business is
not expected to exceed $780, In the
event seed sales to exceed $1O0 dur
ing the calendar year for which the
license is col ected, the cost immedi-
ately Jumps to $40 year, with credit
to be given for the dollar already
paid. On all retail deal ers whose
seed business was more than $1OO
last year, the ten dollar license inn
mediately applies. No change is made
in the wholesal ers tax of $25.
The bill isn't pleasing to anybody,
but was accepted as probably the best
compromise which could come out of
the squabIble. In discussing it be-
fore the full agricultural committee
David S. COltrane, assistant to the
commissioner of agriculture, warm
ed the members that they were "sell-
ing the farmers short" The bill is
definitely not satisfactory to the de-
partmerit Cf agricul ture, which has
during the past eighteen months
made remarkable progress toward
better seeds for North Carolina farm
erS.
Representative Everett of Halifax
a member of the subcommittee which
has spent more time on the seed law
than any other legislative group has
spent on any single matter during
the session, asked committee appro-
val of this bill, not because he liked
it but because he couldn't get any
better. He pointed out two extreme
ideas had to be reconciled; One to
throw the whole seed inspection and
testing service out the window, throw
the market wide open for the sale of
inferior seeds, and make North Caro-
lima the dur, lp:rfg lot for unsc,upu-
louS deal els; the ot.lcr IN It represent
ed by the department. of agriculture
which demanded even more stringent
regulations than those now in force,
The revenue item could not be ignor-
ed, but Mr.. Everett wanted the farm
ers of the State to know that seed
laws are passed to aid the buyers
and users of seed rather than the
sellers. This was an echo of the |
argument Inst week which brought |
into the open contest between the
country merchants, several of whom
are on the committee, and the farm
erS.
Representative Grady Whitrow of !,
rutherford, one of the merchants, |
voted the solitary mo" on the ques-
ton of adopting the substitute bill,
and B!alock CT Ansc.- --oted present. |
Withrow stated emplla .ically that he
expects TO take his fight on to the |
tioor OF the house Monday night. AL |
though the agriculture committee |
may be, Certainly it hopes so) |
through with the seed law, the gem
erai membership is not ready to
quit talking about it.
;The main point of the debate in |