The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 17, 1916, Page 2

e e e T R T P Y BT 51 1 P AT T T B 5 WO Crafty Lays Plans to ( {No :sooner thad the :corporation rep- resentative departed, . n ‘Crafty got busy with the telegraph wires. Messages were sent 'to Slipry, Podger and ten or a dozen .other gumshoers who ‘were working in wnarious parts of the state.The messages were short and direct. “Come in at once,” they said. : It was three days later that ithe present meeting was held. Crafty was in a state of unusual, thou%h The -old .suppressed, excitement. time ca and deliberation, to * some degree, had departed from *him, A lot of his usual cock-sureness was lacking and Will B Crafty appeared Jdess crafty than he had in the .25 years ‘that the 'had .occupied -the :big Jhoss’ .seat .at ‘Skinnersville. ‘Finally Dodger remarked, with ef- fected levity, “Well, the gang’s all ‘here.” It was then for the first time that Crafty who had ;been carefully Jooking over some papers had taken motice of ‘the presence:af the “boys,” :so quietly 'had been their comingand so unenthusiastic their wconversation. After ordering Slipry to ilock the .door, Crafty scanned ‘the crowd with @& scowl. Leaning forward like a shuge beast ready to spring upon its mprey, his eyes squinted to a mere slit, his lips tightly compressed, «Crafty gave three tapps on the table with his knuckles. Wants No Reports «] don’t want any reports today— not a word,” he began with 2 hiss. “I know by looking at you what you've got to say. So-keep it to yourselves.”. Every eye was rivited upon his pug- nacious face. “] suppose most of you are aware that this farmers’ League is to hold precinct conventions on February 22. ‘At these conventions delegates Wlll be choosen to the state convention which will be held later, at which _ state candidates will be -gelected. Now what we want to do is to get into these meetings—see! :get into sthese meetings. Once we are into them there are two things we can do. We can see that the right kind of men get indorsed or we can raise particular hell and break —up the meeting in a rumpus—see! and ‘he slammed the table with his fist. 3 Alréady the “boys” were under his Public is Cheated by Poor Oranges Large Part of the Product 8 «Sweated” to Induce Ap- pearance of Ripe Frait. How consumers are cheated when ‘they pay good money for oranges and grapefruit in North Dakofga is Jrought out in a bulletin just issued by Food Commissioner E. F. Ladd from the Agricultural college at ’Far- igo. Immature furit, “sweate.d’ to give it the appearance of the ripened -product, constitutes a large ‘part the stock offered for sale, the bulle- ‘tin says, and from 30 per cent u sold to customers has inferior fo ~value because the juice does not con- “tain the proper proportion of soluble :solids to the .acid present. - ‘Some of the -supposedly thighest grades of oranges were Found by the .department to ibear 1abels admitting sthe fruit to be sweated. -Seven out of 21 samples-of oranges -examined, taken from the stock of warious jobbers -and retailers, ~were found to contain too much acid, due ‘to ‘improper ripening, and were il- Jegal under the stand’ard adopted by ~she government and Commissioner . Ladd. : ‘Seven out of nine samples of grape- ‘Frosted or ‘Green fruit procured in this same way were found not to- conform to the food -walue standards on account of too much acid. “During the past few years,” the /bulletin states, “there has. been -con- - _-siderable complaint .that. the ‘oranges ~xeceived in the state were mot always - --gsatisfactory; some of ‘these have been . “Ffrosted, others immature, while still .others have been so artificially treat- -ed :as to have the appearance of be- “ing ripe when in realty they were still - igreen. S “If you will examine the Wrappers ~.of some of these oranges you, will find, .a statement ‘similar -to this: “%¢Color of this fruit accelerated “by sweating.’ “Samples of *‘Sunkist’ oranges ship- '})ed into the state with the label {California Fruit Growers’ exchange’ ~were found to bear this statement; also ‘those from Tulare county, Cali- Fornia, labeled ‘Pure Gold Quality. TS Injurious to Trade - . “The sale of ‘this class of immature _.-or _jobber ' THE NONPARTISAN LEADER #Palitical Boss Linesup {Gum-Shoers o Plan the Capiare .of Farmers’ :Conventions---iGivesFull Instructions on Wihom to “See,” How to*“Fix” Them and Sapplies #the Coin to Do It With By N. P. DICTAGRAPH spell and looks of depression had .given :away to .cheer .and optomism. "Fo ‘Fix Fermers “Every one of you know ‘farmers around over this state, farmers. that are even members of this League, that can be fixed. The thing for wyou to do iis ‘to fix 'em, demit, an’ .do it .quick. There.are plenty of re- tired farmers, farmers who own bank stock, farmers that are large land holders, whose very interests sprevents them ‘from having ‘any ‘heart sor sympathy -with this League busi- ness. :All :that is necessary for s o do is to ‘see’’ithem.’ “A 'lot -of them are already mem- ‘bers of ‘the organization; ‘see’ ‘em «an’ fix’ ’ém, an’ ‘@o it -quick. Them that are not members now, get them to join quick. Get them to write . in for an application, sending their money in advance. That .gang of sucker-catchers will accept ’em right .off the “bat. There’ll be no questions .asked, see! They’ll be glad to get his coin; that’s all they’re after, any- how.” He paused, turning over the pages of some note paper and biting the ends .of .his stubby mustache. The “boys” all breathed a sigh of relief. How to “Imstruct” Them “Then,” he said emphatically, “aft- er you have ‘seen’ ’em an’ ‘fixed’ ’em, then instruct ’em, get me? Instruct ‘em. Instruct ‘em right. Load ’em to the top; fill ’em full. / “Instruct them to get into these . meetings and dominate them if they .can; if :they cannot, then break ’em up. nstruct them to sow broadcast the seeds of discord, dis- content and disruption. Instruct them to get themselves elected as delegates. Let this 'be their first and chief -effort. Some diplomacy and tget will be necessary to_achieve this but it can be done. Instruct .oranges injures ‘the trade, in that _people _come to use less and less of the valuable fruit instead of larger %%antities, as should be the case. e immature fruit should be other- wise utilized and mot retailed . for consumption. Even though the in- dividual oranges ‘be labeled with ‘the statement, ‘Color of ‘this fruit -ac- celerated by sweating,’ - the sale should not be permitted because the fruit ‘has been -so ‘treated as to make it .appear better than it really is. “The ‘federal authorities have ‘ten- tatively adopted ‘for guidance a standard that Florida and ‘California oranges are not to be considered ma- ture if the juice does not contain soluble solids equal to or in excess .of -eight parts to .each part of acid contained in the juice as citric acid without water of crystalization.” Analyses Given 2 The following results of 21 analy- ses are then given, those products showing a ratio of acids to 'solids Jless ‘than .one to eight being poor aranges: Name of dedler Ratio acid to solids Ellefson’s . ..... Ellefson’s . . Elefson’s .~ J. P. Yerxa .c.cvoenes 1 to 15 Stacy Friiit .company..1 ito 11.8 Stacy Fruit company..l to 14 ‘Stacy Fruit company..1l to 16i6 Stacy Fruit company..l & Stacy Fruit company..l Stacy Fruit company..l t Stacy Fruit company..1l Lewis-Vidger company 1 to . Lewis-Vidger company 1 to . Lewis-Viidger company 1 to Stacy Fruit company..l to. ¢ Nzftalin Produce Co.. .1 ‘to- ‘Stacy Finuit icompany. .1 Naftalin Produce Co..l1 o - ‘TLewis*Vidger company 1 ‘to Naftalin Produce Co..1 to . As to Grapefruit ‘““Phe ‘same ' statement applies " 'to Rl oy gflfiwp S = OO DN B %as'cs NB= s 1) g’rage,fim.it as to .oranges, with re-. gar ‘to methods of treatment by ssweating in a warm, moist :atmos- phere so as to make: the fruit re- semble ripe grapefruit; or by ship- ping the gragefruit or .oranges in sealed cars and keeping them on “‘the road for some time, processes of 'sweating ‘hve been induced, giving the fruit the appearance of ripeness when in reality it is green.” “The federal ‘tentative- standards for grapefruit -are that the same themb to become enthusiastic League .boosters. Instruct them to get busy -among : their neighbors .at .once—get ‘busy ;boosting for the League .an’ cussing the bankers an’ the ‘gang’ That- will go a long way with the farmers. ve them take an active +part iin jgetting up ‘these precinct ;meef:ing-a sand to ‘be ‘the first ones there. - : * ‘How to Work In “Have ‘them get busy talking en- thusiastically to :the .other members _as fast as_ the¢ come in. Ingtruct them o call the meeting to order. Thet wsually means.ithat they will.be dlected chairman. They can:run-any- thing ‘over the -average-.ifarmer. They’ll fall for the ‘hot air just like kids fallin’ for candy. If he is a little above the average in intelli- gence an’ a good talker, which he must be, the sailin’ will be easy. Once he gets ‘the chairmanship there's nothin’ :to it. > “As to what these fellows will<do later on, that” will be settled, oncé they're on the inside. The thing for you fellows to do is to get them on the inside. Get as many of ’em as you can. A few could nat do much good—or harm rather,” and he show- ed a slight, cynical smile at his own humor. At this point Slipry butted in. Slipry Butts In “That’s all a. very nice scheme iy;ou’ve got fixed up Craft,” he said, alf ‘sarcastically, “but how in thun- der ‘do -you expect us to work:it? Do you think that if we just goupwt an’ order these fellows to “wormithem- selves into these ‘meetings an ake chances on getting their noses:smash- ed, that ‘they’ll do it? It§ piain that you don’t ‘understand this or- ganization an’ neither do you know the temper of the farmers thaticom- pose 'it.” ‘Ifs you -did -you wotili=mot o Law Dead Letter Because of Error Effort to Correct Mistake in Tax Statute is Defeated by Govenor’s Veto. : The supreme court recently pointed out how .a law to tax moneys and credits in North Dakota was inten- ‘tionally amended in. the .legislature to make it unconstitutional, enemies of ‘the bill, not wishing to vote open- ly against it, resorting to this sub- terfuge. Recent discussions of - tax Jaws have brought out .another case, in which the legislature, whether in- tentionally or not, made a gross error in the law as passed, which prohibits its enforcement, though it has been on the statute books since prior to 1905. The law is section 2110 ‘com- piled laws .6f North Dakota, edition of 1918, and is a statute for tthe taxation of stocks and ‘bonds ‘of cor- porations. Because of ithe error stocks and bonds of corporations can “not' 'be -assessed in:Nerth Dakota under this law. A successful -attempt ‘was ‘made in ‘the 1913 legislature to .correct .the error in the law and make it effec- tive. ‘The legislature’s act makingthe correction was vetoed after the ad- journment of the llegislature ‘by Gov- ernor L. B. Hanna. The governor did not want the stocks ‘and ‘bonds .of corporations assessed under the - will be considered immature if tthe _juice does not contain soluble solids ‘in -excess -of seven -parts ‘to :every part of acid 'contained in the: juice, the ‘acidity to be calculated as citric, ‘adid 'wiithout ~ water 'of /crystaliza- tion.” - ¥ ; 3 ; “Test Results Shown The bulletin then gives the results - of the following nine ‘tests-of grape- fruit, all except ‘two samples falling below the ‘standard of one to seven in solids ‘to acid raito: : Name of dealer . Raito aci or ‘obber to solids” Emmons, St. Paul..... ..1 to 6.5 Fruit compa 1 to 4.7 Stacy -Fruit compan; 1:to 66 Stacy Fruit company....1 to 5.6 Lewis-Vidger company ..1 to 7.3 . Stacy Fruit company....1to 6.8 ° Naftalin Produce Co.....1 to 7.4 W}n. Produce Co....1 t0 61 b * .section .2110. This .section, A.h;xwmr. ; ntrol League Meetings “4ackle ;‘Su(".‘l’l’ impessible prepositions -——“'-S_hfit up! shut ufli‘gfl iroared Craf- ty, :as the brought ‘big fist ‘down on *th}el izable,lukedag‘lmm :of imeat, “I say -shut up,” an is :eyes &na :and flashed, fire while his‘teeth ¢ 1;:?‘1%{(1 ed dike the new blades :of a ;pair ‘of wool clippers. ; Squelches Sli “I didn’t ask you for advice, did 1?7 he thundered, :glowering .at the cringing Slipry like a - mad bull :at ‘a xed rag. ‘I -told ;you :in the first glace that 1 wanted nothin’ from no- ody, didn’t I1? I don’t want to hear anything. I won’t listen to anything, :80 just. keep ‘your:aflvice to yoursel.” . Silpry -sild down iin ‘his seat 'a Tew ‘more “inches “while ‘red ‘flushes crept around the edges of this hair -and spread over his swarthy face. “Crafty puled:a sbundle -of large-en- welopes: from a idrawer ;and laid them on the ‘table. #After /eying them a -moment critically, he said: . “Now here is‘an.envelope for :each of you:” They:all petked up and took -notice. “There are jplenty more just “like ’em when these are gome. Go the limit.” : How to Get Right Ones . “An’ now just a word on how to ;get @ line on the right fellow. ‘Don’t .go lumberin’ around through the country tackling’ this farmer and that farmer. Go to the banker cof the town. He knows everybody. He knows them better than anybody. He knows the prospects.-"He will ‘be willin’ to spare“the‘time and trouble to see that you meet the right men. Sometimes he can do more than you, can toward landing:a fellow. Always . cooperate with the banker. I don’t mean all the bankers. There are a few of them that are just as big fools as these farmers. Let m alone. But -get the right man -an’ you are safe. ; “Now hot-foot it:out o’ here. Scat- ‘ter 'to the four winds o’ this state and’ do it quick. Time is short :an’ quick action is absolutely necessary. An’ finally now, instruct every man you ‘fix" to report to 'me, either ‘in person _or by letter, the next :day ‘aft’t,ar the precinct conventions. Now, g0, . plan provided in this law and ‘he succeeded in preventing it. ‘What It Provides Section 2110 of the compiled laws referred to provides that the follow- ing ‘items reported by any corpora- ‘tion or ascertained by the assessor shall be added together: Total amount of the corporation’s indebted- ness, ‘except indebtedness of current . expenses and excluding from such ex- penses the :amount :paid for purchase and imgrovement of property, the value of all real property owned by the corporation, if any, and the value of all personal property owned by the corporation, if ‘any. N The sum of these three items is . then to be subtracted from the mar- ket value .of the .corporation’s steck, or, if the stock has no market value, then from the actual ,value of the stock. The remainder shall constitute the value for taxation purposes of the corporation’s bonds and stecks and shall be listed :and taxed like all other ‘personal property in the state. Now this process aprlied to almost -any corporation leaves a minus quan- tity for assessment, and where ‘it leaves anything but a minus quantity the amount is so small that taxing - officials have ‘not ;gone to the bother of listing it. 'The law is therefere a «dead \letter, being ignored by .all taxing- officials. ‘Beveral :states ‘'assess - stocks and bonds under a plan similar to this, ‘but ‘they do not subtract debts of the corporation from ‘the market value of stock, as the North Dakota law.does. They add the funded debt of the corporation to the matket value of the stock. The latter isithe correct rule but the mistake was ‘made in.the ‘North Dakota law “of subtracting instead - of adding:it. Funded “debt means investments in ‘improvements which add to the value of the .stock and -hence should ‘he added ‘when finding ‘the value ‘of ‘the’ stock for -assessment. - 1o Part of Gavitalization . Funded debt is part of the capital- ization and -so figured by the®finan- cial lisport of all corporations.: Bhus the Northern Pacific for 1914i're- ported “.Par value .of stock” at: $248;- 000,000, “funded -debt” ‘at $302;851,- 000 and “total capitalization” at '$560,351,000, ‘the latter beizig the ‘No! sum of the two former. The ern Pacific, ‘as seen from these fig- . ures, would: i1lmy',no tax on'stocksand = bonds at all, "if it ‘was subject to _ (Continued on Page 13 - | f