The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-12-14
TEST CASE
AGAINST c0-0PS
UNDER Way

MANDAN, N. D.-Anti-co-operative
forces throughout the nation are using
the fight by farmers around Mandan
North Dakota to make the Mandan
Farmers Elevator company 100 pei
cent bonafide farmers grain co-opera
tive as a test case in setting up theiI
own pattern of attack against. other
co-operatives, according to L. F. Fan
der, president of and representing a
committee for stockholders of the new
Mandan Farmers Union Grain associ-
alton.
The four-year fight of the farmers
around Mandan to have the Mandan
Farmers Elevator company participate
in cooperative market from the local
to the regional level was climaxed this
year when rebuffed farmers set about
to organize their own cooperative.
The resistance has been largely by
q handful of Mandan townspeople and
2 few farmers, who have controlled
the Mandan Farmers Elevator COM
pany from the beginning. The new
farmers organization is the Mandan
Farmers Union Grain association.
Control has been held for the last
two years by the issuing of proxy
votes to townspeople, most of whom,
do not even attend annual meetings,
it is charged.
Specifically named as leading the
resistance movement to expand the
elevators cooperative marketing pro-
ket are:
John Dawson, president of the ele-
yator, president of the North Dakota
Taxpayers association, vice president
of the North Dakota Farm Bureau,
and bitter critic of Farmers Union
organizations.
John f. Sullivan, attorney for the
500 Line and Northern Pacific rail
roads in North Dakota who dominated
meetings.
Ben c. McCabe, president of the Ma
tional Tax Equality association, whose
McCabe Commission company now re-
ceives the business and who partici-
pated in the stockholders meetings.
The Mandan Farmers Elevator COM
pany headed by Dawson was set up
under its present organization in 1910
For three consecutive years, from 1871
to 1943, however, no new directors
were elected on the grounds that no
quorum was present. The same group
held control of the elevator.
In 1914 the farmers around Mandan
began to work actively for change,
in order to increase cooperative ben
Gifts. To forestall possibilities of a
change, 65 shares of stock were is
sued. These proxy shares were is
sued mainly to persons in Mandan
who took no part in the 1914 meeting
All but two of the IS votes were trans
ferred in five-day period, five days
prior to the 1914 annual meeting.
At the meeting in 1914 there were
80 proxy votes of the above IS cast
hy the following Mandan business
firms: including their officers and
Sullivan Fleck and Higgins, law
firm, nine votes
L. C. Hulett's Store and members of
his family, seven votes
Mandan Mercantile Company, four
votes
First National Bank, three votes
Two real estate and insurance
agencies, seven votes
Mandan Creamery and Produce com.
Dany, nine votes
Total, thirty-nine votes.
1t was only through this wholesale |
transfer of proxies that the same
group was able to maintain control,
lander and other farmers who OPP
3osed this transfer have pointed out.
There was much opposition to the
proxy voting and stockholders voted
o eliminate proxy voting at the 1914
Meeting.
At the 1915 meeting, however, proxy
yoting was again permitted by Mr..
Dawson, the president of the elevator
The action was taken, Fan
Ter charges, by denying certain farm
to vote against the
notion. AS a result of this, large /
lumber of farmers who wanted their
yrain marketed comparatively from
Continued on Page Four)