The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 9, 1916, Page 6

SIS Fopr - Uncle Sam Prepares to Recogmze Mllhng and Baking Value e m l*xxmg Gram Standards Under New Act ECO&:NITION OF THE pnnc:ple that wheat _should be ' graded | according to its milling value as. showm by milling tests, and the ‘enforcement of that principle in practice bids fair to' be a development of the near future This hope is based on the new Umted : - ‘States grain standards act, recently - passed by congress and ‘signed by premdent.\ ‘Phe ‘act - provides ~ that no . grain shall be sold in mterstate commerce except by sample or on grades estab- . lished by the United States department . of agriculture. It also provjdes that no grain shall be graded 1o bé sold in inter- - state commerce except by graders and inspectors licensed by .the Umbed States secretary of agncul . States” may establish new ‘grain-i inspectors and gradérs must be qualified to hold ‘and hold federal licenses and do all gradmg so far as interstate 'com- merce is concerned, according to grades esta.bllshed by the United States. LADD’S TESTS TO RE FOLLOWED{N GRADE FIXING i The act holds out further promise to ~— northwest grain growers who grow hard sprmg wheat - ~chiefly. It is authon- tion. depart- ments or continue present ones; but their Under the new grain standards act Uncle Sam. will lay down the rules by which grain is to be graded. Minnescta inspectors will go on doing _the grading until North Dakota provides its own ‘grain mspectlon department. When. that - is done a way wfll have been found to check- ~mate onesteal in the grain market. The next It’s coming. - step w111 be the termmal elevator. » commissioner of North Dakota. T-hese tests have shown conclusively that the present grading system enforced by Mm nesota on the grain of the northwest is ‘unfair and is cheating the producers out of “millions of dollars ‘annually. The chief. abuse discovered by these ' “Yests is that the so-called lower grades of ! wheat have as much or more milling value than the higher grades; though the farmer 'gets substantially lower prices for the so-called lower grades. < “Perhaps it is not generally known that the analyses and tests that' have been going on at the Agricultural college ander - Dr. Ladd have been in a way Here are fmu- whole loaves of bread as they come from the electric_ovens in the Al laboratory. . The one on the left shov.vn a flat, :!.!netnt%s vivgldy what"is meant by';.o!ume" 18 chaff ther of these are\as good'as the two loaves betw fmn)thb:tle‘;?ls made of fife flour, and the third af ‘bluestem. efiotlhdnw firm, ‘well : a_ lJittle better, - raised bread a_nd are clese fo perfect. tnt:vely mted that t.hé gmdes on hard spring wheat to be established for inter- state commerce by the United S weta.ry of agriculture will' be based on the eight years of experimentation and ' milling. North Dakota ‘Agricultural college at - Fargo. The ' act also mnkes it possl'ble for . states that do not now have grain = ing and inspection departments, to estab- “lish such departments; with inspectors licensed by the government, so that one __state can not, 8s in the past, enforce its. own grading rules and its own inspectors on the grain eommerce of the whole northwest. Minnesota = grades’ igovern practwelly the entire output of R North and ‘as Minnesota, andlfinn:imta inxpeetondoallfl!emfw ese’ states. - Under- the new law the grades - will be established by thi; xovernment and each state can have i own_ inspec- fiondepartfienttolookatmflm md*hpgteatsatthe‘ South” Daketa and Montana, tkedlt‘abora‘tory .r;!t;ords. it - a erent sam| (both v v second loaf official United States. govemment teats “also,” said Mr./CoopertoaLeaderrepre- sentative. “The United States depart- mmtofagneulhreforabmtmyears has had a man in its employ stationed at theeollegetoeooperatethhusmour work on wheat and keep the government. sppnsed of all the tests and work done. GOVERNMENT AGENT. - HAS WORKED WITH LADD _’l'hmmantsL‘M.Thomasofthe_ " yirtually - government tests also. For - this reason the information: we: have1 ; /gathered about the milling value of .grain the Umted States seeretary of agricu poorly developed loaf. It, That ‘will: all be taken ‘into consideration by of the principal features, so far as the fixing of grades for hard sprmg wheat is: concerned.” LADD AND HAGAN MAY REPRESENT DAKOTA FARMERS In order that the tests at the North Dakota college can be presented in the ~best possible way and with as much force as possible, and that the views of the wheat farmers of the: sprmg wheat area may be made known to the secretary of - agriculture, a plan is under way to have Dr.:Ladd himself attend- some of the hearings and testify. Also, it has been suggested that John N, Hagan, who will take -officc next January.in the ‘farmers’ . administration at Bismarck as state corn- imissioner of agriculture, appear with Dr. Ladd, as representing both the state of North Dakota and the farmers ef the northwest. It is very probable that both Dr. Ladd and Commlssxoner-elect Hagan will appear .at’ the, hearmgs at Minne- - apolis. i} ¢ Not the least important feature of the new grain standards act is that which pemuts the recoghition ' of and gives oflicml federal status for state -grain mspectlon feature raises the question of the advis- ability .of North Dakota creating a state inspection department by act of the next legislature. “On this pomt Du-ector Cooper says: " STATE INSPECTION IS NEEDED SAYS DIRECTOR COOPER : iad ‘the state-owmed terminal elevator “that North Dakota is to have .is to be built -within the state, then it will not only be advisable but it will- -be abso- Intely necessary that the legislature” create a North Dakota inspection depart- ment to be licensed by the secrefary of ag'nculture. If the State-owned elevator xq not located in North’ Dakota, I doubt if it would be advisable for ‘North Dakota to. maintain_ its own mspectxon, _department.” Others state that\m any event North’ : ! Dakota shonld have an mspectwn depart- departments. This’ rades ment, as a self-protectxon and to check grades on grain going in interstate com- merce as well as to grade officially all grain going in intrastate commerce. Coordinate with the new United States grain standard act congress has passed “ and the . president signed the United States warehouse act. This provides for the licensing of storage elevators sad - warehouses by the government as publie depositories for farm pmdncts to enable farmers to 'store grain, potatoes and other . products as 'long as they wish. Licensed warehouses are bonded by the government under this act to protect farmers agamst loss. Farm products can be stored in separate bins or com- partments and held until the market is right for their sale. Storage receipts are issued under government guarantee on which owners of the stored produce can borrow money, as the storage receipts - will represent stbred produce of a known grade. Goods going into ~goverament bonded: warehouses under: this act must be graded under federal or other estab lished grades. STORAGE WAREHOUSES MUST GIVE BONDS. i Thxs act, it is predicted, will be of . great aid to farmers. Througl)out agri- cultural regions and at terminal markets numbers of these public warehouses are expected to be licensed, making a nominal | charge to farmers for storing grain and other produce. While they will ~be privately owned, they will be regulated and bonded by the government under much’the same supervision .as nahonal banks. - Instead of accepting’ money fot -deposit, like a national bank, they \vfll accept fari:: products. . Under - present conditions jv.i ‘the . morthwest thexe are no adequate faul- i ities for the storage of products gwmg farmers protection from loss and ziving~ them receipts on which. they can borrow money. In the' case of giain, elevators :'accept it for storage under present con- ditions and.issue receipts.. Such elevat- ors are supposed to be bonded by the various . states in sufficient amount ‘to protect storers of grain, but -on account - of lack of proper inspections and regu- lation these grain depositories are not altogether safe. Many of them fail and “the. farmers lose their stored grain. Also, they do not hold the actual grain - offered for ~storage. They ‘ship out stored grain_aud buy futures against it ‘to protecu themselves, The storage recexpt/ dots’ not therefore represent i actual 'grain in storage; but is dependent on- the credit of the elevator, and for this’ reason-it is almost nnposs!ble for farmers to borrow money on: gmm “gtor- age recelpts at present. {7 o