The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1946-02-01
Thirty Years


1
sion by its own expert reveals no sue
evidence. All charges by hide-ou
firms in the private grain business an
by the Railroad and Warehouse Com
missioner Ray P. Chase, who sat a
complainant, prosecutor and judge Il
the hearing, were thoroughly discred
lited. Even Chase back-tracked afte
the drum-head hearing.
The state of Minnesota's exper
witness, L. R. Bitney, statistician TO
the Railroad and Warehouse commits
sion, gave GTA a clean bill of healtl
on its business operations.
But the hide-out firms in the pri
vate grain business pay publicity writ
ers to say otherwise. Assistant At
torney General George T. Simpson o.
Minnesota is quoted as saying thai
factions of FUGTA in buying, for its
own account, grain consigned to il
for sale constitute a penal offenst
under the laws of Minnesota"
Mr.. Simpson is lawyer. But lay
men have. right to doubt his know
ledge of legal lore and to question
what went against Simpsons grain
so to speak Mr. Simpsons boss,
Minnesotas Attorney General J. A.
A. Burnquist ruled to the contrary
He tossed out Commissioner Chase's
first complaint, when it was made be.
fore he was elected to the Railroad
and Warehouse commission in 1914
In so ruling, Burnquist was sustained
by three previous Minnesota attorn'
ey's general and former governor OF
Minnesota, as well as the statutes of
the state of Minnesota covering CO
operative business operations.
Defeated on this front these hidden
firms in the private grain business pay
others to say that facts CALCULATE
ED to prove that FUGTA is not a
true cooperative were brought out in
questions by Roger L. Dell of Fergus
Falls, counsel for three independent
grain companies of Western Mime
sofa, which interviewed in the case"
The facts are to the contrary. They
fail to disclose that hide-out firms in
the private grain business secured the
state to find a spokesman for them.
They fail to mention that the three
intervening independent grain COM
panies are customers of the private
grain trade, of which Ben G.. McCabe,
the president of the so-called National
Tax Equality association and a bitter
foe of GTA and other co-operatives,
also is prominent member.
Let's examine the record. Three
days of testimony reveal that Dell
failed miserably to show that GTA
is not true cooperative.
The st. Paul Dispatch for January
8, declared: 1.-THE Farmers Union
Grain Terminal association won anoth-
er point before the State Railroad
and Warehouse commission when
counsel for the association smashed
another attempt to show interests of
were not properly pro.
tected."
The hide-out firms in the private
grain business failed to mention that.
Instead they paid someone to say that
"the state commission charges that
FUGTA supplied false and misleading
in its application in order
to keep surety bonds, which all COM
mission merchants must furnish, at
the lowest possible amounts"
What are the facts? Take the tes-
ti,,,orv op tba DaiIrood apd Uyo,o
houses own expert witness, L. r.
Bitney, who examined the financial
of GTA, He found that the
of GTA supported the informa-
ton on the bond applications. Bitney
admitted that no other grain firms
application had been subject to such
examination as had been given GTA. |
Given access to all financial books he
said that GTA's records were complete |
rs far as he had examined them, and |
hat they had been audited every year
by firm of certified public account.
lnts.
What does the Railroad and Ware.
house commission think? Commits.
Iioner Ray p. Chase, who brought the
complaint admitted to reporters of |
he Minneapolis Times after the hear
ng that GTA had made its applica-
ions in exactly the same form and
ashton as all other grain firms. The
anne paper quoted him as saying that
the testimony at the hearing dis
losed that the state commission fol-
owed a practice of allowing every IL
ensed commission firm to post a $685.
100 bond, the minimum under the
tate law, irrespective of the size of
perations."
These hidden-firms in the private
rain business who have never paid
'enny's profit back to the farmers
re concerned as to how GTA runs
IS cooperative business. In its paid
or propaganda these hidden-firms la
1ent that in the last six years GTA
as distributed only s640,329 in cash
0 member-patrons, while retaining
5, 352,938 from earnings as working
apital."
Here is a fact to remember: this
630,329 is exactly $630,329 MORE
han the grain farmers ever got back
rom all the private grain firms that
ave ever been in business. The
{, 352,93S in operating capital is re-
aimed on vote of farmers themselves
t their annual meetings, to build and
xpand their cooperative operations.
These hide-out firms in the private
rain business want to fool the public
Ito believing that 1t is a financial II
rime for GTA to pay "its patronage
ividends in preferred stock which