The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 25, 1915, Page 7

THE NONPARTISAN LEADER \ i : ; VN PAGE SEVEN sensational disclosure that nearly a thousand (993), national H*fiflime%mmfiemmmweee banks of the United States have been guilty of taking an unlaw- ful interest from their borrowess. 4 : “THE WOLVES GET A BITE ANYWAY.” - This' statemennt was followed up with personal or circuiar : Jetters to the natienal bankers; which it was reported, were couched in very positive terms. - » That’s number-two. - It is easy to figure that one and one make two.. i It is also just as easy to figlire that John Skelton Williams has slammed his hobnails down on the tender bunions of some -~ national bankers— therefore the pressure to have him removed. And as a precaution against any further embarrassment to the game of kid-gloved sluggery it is desired that the office of the comptroller be abolished entirely. It is further proposed to leave the dutles of his office to the - Federal Reserve Banking Board. In view of the past conduct of that august body we only suggest, “keep your hand on your pocketbook.” From Devils Lake Journal: } T is clearly evident that the farmers of North Da- kota will never be in a position to absolutely con- trol the marketing of their grain until we have terminal elevators right here in our own state and have state inspection, The Minneapolis wheat market is supposed to be un- der Minnesota state inspection. It may be that the Minne- apolis Chamber of Commerce controls the elevators and much of the capital used in handling the crop. Anyway, a Devils Lake farmer made a shipment of two-cars of wheat to Minneapolis last week. Being.a pru- dent man he took his grain to a local elevator and made arrangement to have it thoroughly cleaned. After clean- ing it was run into a separate bin from which two cars were loaded at- the ‘same’time. Yesterday he received re- turns. from a Mineapolis commission house. - And what do you suppose he received? Mind you, the local elevator man offered him the price for No. 1 hard. But the Min- nesota inspection gave him No. 1 Northern. One car was docked 3 pounds per bushel and the other car was docked 4 pounds per bushel, although both were loaded from the same bin and ALL the wheat had been thoroughly cleared. Now, there can be no doubt that the Minneapolis sys- tem in some system all right. It does not make much qif-, ference what precautions a farmer takes the wolves will get a bite at him anyway. This farmer to beat the dock- age game had his wheat cleaned; for his trouble he got touched up three pounds per bushel on one car and four pounds on the other although both cars of wheat were i i + 4 i g .WATCH THE FELLOW WHO GOES GUNNING. IJ cannot~"too: strengly urge upen Leaguers to keep a|: | weather eye out for the fellows who go “gunning for political office”:> ‘They. a.Be hoppmg up like pop-corn in a skillet, from various parts of the State these days. They will blushingly announce that they have “at last yielded to the importunities-and pleadings” of their friends and have at “last come forward, though under vigorous protest,, a w:llmg sacrifice on the alter of human betterment’. They will further, very solemnly declare, that if “chosen by the dear people” to share the high honors of public office. and dignify the throne of public place, they will put aside all per- sonal ambitions in the interest of the best interest of the com- mon people. Farmers must keep in mind that they can not expect right service and a square deal at. the hands of the man who goes gum-shoeing for political preferment. Farmers do not need in office 2 man who seeks the glory of pohtlcal prestige. Farmers don’t want a man in office who puts himself up in a conspicuous place for political bees. What the farmers want is a man who knows the farmers’ needs, a man who is engaged in ,_the same business as the regular farmer—not the farmer who farms farmers. Not only so but they want a mah who is so adverse to po- litical preferment that he must be “drafted” into service. T - b ) B Look out _for the man who is jumping around trying to get J : “under the falling ma.nt}es. You cannot trust him. the same, loaded at the same time from the same bin. Will some Wise Guy explain this little matter so the fool farm- er can understand it and be satisfied. The Journal con- “fesses it is unable to do so. But the facts are exactly as above stated. A little steal here and there, makes the rich richer, and the poor poorer. %WW%M#M*W%MWWWW ogoofeoforororfechridooforocforherd WWWMQ'M* foeorpefe WHAT IT GOSTS TO RAISE WHEAT. HE United States department of agriculture has figured out how much it costs to produce a bushel of wheat in the several wheat-producing states. The cost varies from 96-cents in South Carolina to 44-cents in Montana. The reason the cost is high in the east and south is because .of the small acre-yield. It cost only 44-cents in Montana because -of the large yield. Colorado has a cost of 48-cents, Idaho and . Wyoming, 50-cents; Washington, 52-cents; California, 54-cents. j In the so-called ‘grain belt” the cost is about midway be+ tween_the high cost in the East and the low cost in the West. Nebraska comes first with a cost of 55-cents; Minnesota and Wis« cousins rank next with 6l-cents; Iowa, North and South Da- ‘kota. spent 62-cents per bushel, while Kansas, Illinois and Mis+ souri spent 63, 64 and 65 cents, respectively. ' A glance at these figures will enable the student to see just how much prosperity comes to the actual farmer. Take our own state, with an acre-cost of 62 cents a bushel, then add to that the farmer’s own wages, the cost of haulage ta the railroad, subgect to homestead (Fort Berthold bemg apart of it). . freight to St. Paul, stgorage, ‘brokerage, depreciation of machin- ke e Amount of school lands owned by the State, 1,703,143 acres. ery, fertilizing, taxes, interest on mondy invested, hail insurance, il S __ ‘Amount still remaining—not in farms, not owned by the| joss from hail or rust, etc., and give the farmer a dollar for his 4 e o _ State, and yet classified as farm lands, 14,886,857 acres. 'wheat and has seen how much he has left. ! g b This 14,886,857 acres of North Dakota farm lands (one-third ~ This does not take into consideration wages for the wife, 4 T S the land of the State, approximately), is privately owned. wages for the teams and machinery and wages for the children. - It is yet undeveleoped and unimproved and practically un-| ‘ Conneet with that the government’s estimate of the average taxed. Tt is held by speculators, for speculative purposes and in| jee for wheat in the State of North Dakota on the first of o sense contributes to the prosperity of the country.” October, which is placed at 82 cents, and then figure out where Sin e there was a single-tax on farm lands those land-hogs would the farmer gets off. ) " ‘have to pay their share of the State’s taxes.’ ‘As it is the ‘ ‘ . 'Wheat is quoted in this week’s Liverpool reports at $1.80 » fi:m;ex; pays the bulk of the taxes and these fellows get the bene- per bushel or $3.14 per hundred pounds. of s o Handling cost, insurance, ocean freight, elevator charges is . Is it any wonder that certam mterests are. very anxious to about 26 cents per bushel. havesthe £armers contnbute $60,000 to. promote 1mmxgratlon to aneapohs market is $1.02, which means 91 cents in North Can you blame them for wantmg to sell their la.nd" This leaves in the nelghborhood of 63 cents that somebody, . Can you blame them for promoting “a prématmn propoganda.”‘ Triocks down between here and Liverpool, all of which is pure o to ‘bring. land-hungry home-seekers to thJs Statez i velvet. ; 'Mos\t decldedly Wwe cannot.. AVAILABLE LANDS IN mmm DAKbi’A. a part of the- apprecxatmn propoga,nda scattered mdus- triously over the country last week was a newspaper story playing up the rmlhons of acres of “available lands” §i in North Daketa. | b 4 .\ Briefly, the figures set forth are about as follows: B .- Total amount of land in the State, 44,736, 477 acres. 3] Sl Five percent of that is unfit for'farming purposes. (e : Amount fit for farming, 42, 500,000 acres. o Amount contained in farms, 25,794,373 acres. gl ; . Amount actually farmed, 16,229,792 acres. Amount remaining unfarmed and not contamed m farms, 16,- 700,000 acres. . Of the 16,700000 acres net in farms, &9&667 acres are yet Pohtlclans ‘and all the long strmg of hangers-on, henchmen and crumb-pickers believe in strong orgamzatlon—for themselves. but not for the farmers. Wonder wh'i" - B Doe anybody know of a.ny pohtlcmn of thls state who is ‘sleepmg sweetly z_md peacefully on the flowery couches of ease