The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 9, 1916, Page 4

FOUR The Leader’s Washington Bureau Room 302 Riggs Building Washington, D. C., March 7.—Grant S. Youmans, of Minot, representing the Society of Equity, has been here | all week working hard against the B8 infamous Hollis rural credits bill. | He has had strong support from i most of the members of the North Da- H kota delegation, and with the great tide of remonstrances :and :adverse pe- titions now coming in the prospects is growing that the bill can be beaten or buried somewhere. Mr. Youmans presented ‘to the house committee the resolutions of the so- ciety ‘adopted at its Minot convention denouncing the bill in unsparing ‘terms. He also prepared an ‘elaborate ‘brief setting forth paragraph by paragraph: the features of ‘the measure that make | codl it absolutely impossible to farmers. .=~ It made very clear the fact that the bill ‘was drawn solely for the banking 3 ; element ‘and would ‘merely make ‘the { -~ .., farmers more than ever helpless in the: hands of the money lenders. “ALFALFA BILL” MURRAY <" AND STOCK EXCHANGES - I wrote you last week something - .abeut .a bill introduced by Murray of Oklahoma, (“Alfalfa Bill”) to regu- Jate grain and stock exchanges. Fur- ther ‘examination of it shows that it . would be ‘a measure ©of sweeping and - beneficial results if it.could be enacted. % “main idea is that it puts all grain, cattle, tobacco, fruit and stock __exchanges on a level with lotteries “and gift ‘enterprises if ‘such exchanges b b wdqvaa_?—y business ‘on a margin or on 7 » " credit. % i | o | 1 ¥4 | No letter, statement, account, bill ©: | articulars:or other information relat- i ing to Such transactions on such 'ex- i changes can be admitted to the mails G any more ‘than lottery tickets. ] B Not only so, bit all newspapers that £ 008 contain any advertisement relating to | such transactions, or any market price { i -~ . reeorded at 'such exchanges are ex- i . <luded from the mails. . This would knock out- all “queta- tions” as at present-made for grain at Chicago <and . Minneapolis and for stocks and bonds ‘as now made in New York. It would also practicaly amni- hilate all trading -at such places in grain, cattle or securities except on a spot cash_asis. No more “future” trading. How’s that? ~ The bill also provides that the post- master ‘general of the United States shall have complete power to examine all’books and records of such ‘exchang- es and exchanges cannot do interstate business unless they comply in all re- i}é:t:'ts with ‘the requirements of the | | PR ——— Such as these, for instance: No “wash” sales. No pretended sales from one department of a firm to another. N6 sales where there is ne in- tent to deliver the -actual goods.. No speculative -accounts carried for employes of banks, trust or insurance companies. L No prohibition apainst the 21 members of one-exchange trading KR -«on.ancther. - This wonld ;go far to = cripple the war the Minneapolis ‘Chamber of Cemmerce is mow - making on its rival. - ¥ou ‘can 'see that this is a measure’ ot boundless possibilities ~for : Also that ‘the entire power of ‘the THE NONPARTISAN LEADER %1 (7 Hollis Bill Grogey, But Not Down By WILLIS J. RUTLEDGE Special Representative of the Leader at Washington united interests would be exerted to keep it from passing. Yet it could be passed easily enough if the_farmers of this country were organized as labor is organized. BILL TO GRAB POWER IS DEBATED IN SENATE The week in the senate was mostly consumed in a tiresome debate -of the Shields water power bill, which is one of the worst measures of the session. Under the pretense of helping to have the water power of the country. util- ized its real purpose is to turn over all ‘the remaining ‘water powers to the water power ‘trust, a combination of Wall street capitalists recently tade notorious by a report of the depart- ment of agriculture. The Northwest has particular inter- est in ‘this bill for the reason that part of its intention‘is to grab the water powers still remaining on the Indian reservations and heretofore out of the reach of the trust. Strange to say no northwestern sen- ator seems yet to have woke up to this sinister fact, not ‘even men like Uncle Mose Clapp, who is usually on the job when there are any snakes to be killed. ‘SOME MORE NEW BILLS TO GET FARMERS’ VOTE The interest in_agricultural legis- lation is perceptibly ‘waning since all the ‘gentlemen who have agricultural constituencies have introduced as many bills as each thinks is necessary to make a showing -on the stump this fall. These were the -only develop ments of the week: : Senator Fletcher presented a Teport on rural credits in Northern France, which was ordered to be printed as a public document. Tt is interesting and instructive. Representative Caraway of Ar- kansas introduced =2 bill to extend the rural free -delivery and ‘counteract some of the «evil results of the policy of retrenchment that the postoffice de- partment is now carrying -on. Representative ‘Cary of Wisconsin introduced a bill to promote the mak- in% of denatured alcohol on farms. Representative Tribble of Georgia introduced a bill to provide for long term loans at a low rate of interest in the aid of agriculture. YOUNG PRAISES WORK OF LADD'S INVESTIGATORS ‘The mew bulletin from ‘the North Dakota experiment station containing the results of eight years of tests of four has attracted much faverable comment in Washingten. Representa- tive Young, who as a state sendter fathered the bill creating the flour testing laboratory, expressed himself as particularly pleased with Dr. Ladd’s work. - These tests show -cen- clusively that there is. more profit in the milling of low-grade wheat than in high-grade, and. it sugta_ins, Young’s contertion that the prices paid farm- izrs for low-grade wheat &mre fictitious- y low. “I ‘believe the state legislature should new to ahead and provide funds for similar g.x;iefiments with _other grains, particularly barley,” snd Mr., IR T T | 'fiNb 1-GIT 5TENTS I YA POUND FOR PI&S Young. “I believe that even worse discrepancies will be shown between the prices paid for low grades and the prices for which the products of low grades are sold.” , NORTH DAKOTA INTEREST IN AGRICULTURE BILL The agricultural appropriation bill as it was presented to the house by the agricultural committee confains a number of items of interest to North Dakota. A total appropriation of $10,000 is muthorized for the investi- gation of black wheat rust and striped rust, with thé idea of finding scien- tific methods of combating the disease and also for.experimentation to de- velop rust-resistant wheat. = There is also an-appropriation of $5,000 to pay for the study of dis- eases of flax and the :deyelopment of resistant plamts. "© " " This work is to-he conducted at the North Dakota Agticlltiiral--college. Another -appropriation of $5,000 will be devited to a survey and study of the noxious weed- situation in the spring wheat belt, with the idea of devising methods for combating weeds against which the farmers are now practically helpless. 4 An appropriation of $5;800 is to be devoted to the improvement of the Sully Hill national park in North Da- kota. The previous appropriation merely paid for the fencing of-“the area. The new money will be devoted o the construction of necessarybuitd-" Farmers Still Have Chance to Defeat Measure; Bill to Wipe Out Grain Gambling Ifitroducedi ings and to the purchase of game animals. 2 Representative Helgesen, the North Dakota member of the house committee, is responsible for the. in- clusion of these items. SUPREME COURT HEARS NORTH DAKOTA CASES ‘Several North Dakota cases of im- portance were :argued in ‘the supreme court last ‘week. -Chief among ‘these was ‘the so-called lard can case, the action brought against the state by Armour & Co. attacking the state law prescribing ‘that lard cans must be of uniform size. Former Atterney ‘Gen- . eral Andrew Miller of Bismarck ‘and Assistant Attorney General FrancisJ. Murphy argued the case. Attorney N. C. Young of Fargo represented packing company- B Judge Young -also defended the Northern Pacific railroad in 2 minor case argued before the <court last week. Judge S. E. Ellsworth of -Jamestown represented the plaintiff. Judge Young and Judge Ellsworth were formerly associate justices on the State Supreme bench. Former State Senator Amgust E. Johnson of Washburn, N. D., was a Washington wvisitor last week. Mr. Johnson came here from Philadelphia, where he completed the purchase from Philadelphia owners of a large of land in McLean county. ; Willis A. Joy of Grand Forks, a well-known real estate dealer, was in Washington last week visiting his %}‘g‘xer-in-'law, Senator Johnson of e, ; People’s Orders a “Scrap of Paper” How Board of Control- Used Terminal Elevator Fand to Pay for Attack on Plan---Up to Next Legislature State Auditor Jorgenson estimates “that by January 1, 1918, there will be $114,000 in the state terminal elevator fand, ‘available for the rerection, equip- ment ‘and operation of a state-owned terminal elevator. Through the peo- ple having twice voted on the proposi- tion the legislature which meets next January will have authority ‘to pro- vide for the erection of such an elevat-" or either in North Dakota, Wisconsin or Minnesota, or in any two or all of these states, which ever is found advisable. : The terminal elevator fund was created by the 1913 legislature, which provided for the levy of one-eighth of ome mill by fthe. state in 1914, 1915 and 1916. ‘On February 1, this year, the -fund totaled $24;449.86, with not dll the 1915 taxes-collected and the imq-%xghth mill for 1916 yet to be evied.” - : _ PROVISIONS OF BILL The legislature- mrovided that this fund shall be used “for the following purposes and mo other: «erection, pur- chase, lease, equipment, maintenance and operation of a terminal elevator system or systems in the state of Minnesota ‘or the state of 'Wisconsin, or in both, and for operating ‘the The mame bill instrocted the state board of ‘contrel to draw plans and specifications for construction of ‘the elevator, to find a site for it and to Hi'am A. Rube Gets Some Prices and Does Some Thinking Thereupon Z I GIT 70 CENTS FOR MY WHEAT AND BIS B Tares BLLAWS SO THAT THEY CAN SELL iT IN PAPER PACKAGESS AT RATE OF $27 A BUSHEL take other preliminary steps, report- “ing what it had done to the 1915 legis- lature. Governor Hanna’s board re- fused these specific orders and instead made a costly investigation of the feasibility and desirability -of building such an elevator, when these matters: had already been decided by two votes ...of the people and by the legislature. BOARD HAD “NERVE” Despite the betrayal of the people and the 1918 legislature by the board, the latter had nerve enough to charge up to the elevator fund the expenses of ~one of its members,” J.” W. Jackson, making the fund provided for building an elevator pay part of the cost of the board’s brief against building one. The act creating the. fund, as quoted above, says specifically what~ the money shall be spent for and 2dds that it shall be spent for mo other purpose. 2 Was the $70.24 taken from the fund to pay the expenses of Mr. Jackson in helping te get up the brief against the terminal -elevator plan a legiti-- mate charge .against.this-fund? While the :act-cresting the terminal elevator fund provides thit the : ki be T outside the state, ho lens e e it meets in 1915 has.the: authori to: ate the money i m 1 ney in the d : ‘for building ‘an elevator in ter plan is found = Dakota, if the lat- aws%a. :