The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 30, 1917, Page 10

<o e = Watch Wheat for Kingshead Farmers Should Not Allow Grain Containing This Foreign Matter to be Graded, Deputy Inspector Says ON'T sell your wheat with any kinghead in it under North Dakota state grades or federal grades—sell it by sample only. This is the warning is- sued by J. A. McGovern, chief deputy state grain inspector for North Dakota through the Nonpartisan Leader. The reason Inspector McGovern is- sues this warning is that the presence of kinghead is one of the -turning points in fixing grain grades under the federal grain standards act, which was adopted by North Dakota. The grade fixers decreed that wheat grad- ing No. 1 “shall not contain more than five-tenths of one per centum of in- separable foreign material, which may include not more than one-fourth of one per centum of Kkinghead, corn _cockle, vetch, darnel or wild rose, either singly or in any combination.” USE KINGHEAD TO DEGRADE WHEAT It takes very little kinghead to mount up to one-fourth of one per cent, and no matter how excellent the grain is, if it has more than that it is pushed down a grade. If it has more than one- half of one per cent it is not allowed to go even into No. 2 but must be put down to No. 3 and if it has more than three per cent of kinghead it is put out of the grades entirely. This - is where the milling combine has it on the farmers. Millers made their boast as long ago as September, 1916, nearly a year before the United States grain act went into effect, that the bill was being drawn in their in- terests, and would result in some start- ling changes when it got into opera- tion. One of its operations will be to degrade wheat with the minute quan- tities of kinghead that it is known are to be found in many Northwestern grain fields. With each® lowering of the grade, there will be a lowering of the prices, so that all classes of hard wheat will be thrown into the millers’ hands at grades far below what it merits so far as its wheat quality is concerned. ° But the millers will buy good wheat with kinghead in it, take out the king- head and grind the wheat into flour. They don’t even have to take it all out. Experts say that flour can contain one to two per cent of this seed before it affects the quality of the flour, but more than that will show its presence by the flavor or color. Millers are equipped to extract this weed seed from their grain at a very low cost, but meanwhile they do not pass up any opportunities to use its presence for beating down the grade and the price. GOOD AS NO. 1 ‘GOT ONLY NO. 4 Deputy Inspector *McGovern says that his department has already been forced to grade as No. 4, fine hard spring wheat that should have graded No. 1, just because it contained king- head, and that is why he advises farm- ers to sell by sample. If they make samples of their grain, never allowing it to get into the clutches of the federal established grain grades, they sidestep this trap for lowering prices, and get a bid on their graid, based upon its ac- tual worth. - Mr. M¢Govern: declares that the millers will ‘be'glad to. buy. it and pay much more:: than No. 4 prices for it ) R “Ina statement prepated especxally for ‘the Nonpartisan Lea.der, Mr. Me- Govern 'says: ' Cobas ''“The new federal gram grades are being tested out ‘on the:mew crop, and it is a little'early to give an opinion on grades; as we have not received wheat from ‘a very great 'part- of: the. state. But this much can be said: ‘that the wheat ' containing' inseparable: ' weed seed—such ‘as kingheads, - vetch and corn cockle will receive a terrible pum- ishment on’ grades.:” For instance, wheat may be ‘Dark Northern Spring’, which replaces the old grade of “One Hard,” and if it contains one-fourth of one per cent of kingheads, it is placed in grade ‘Two Northern:'Spring’. If ° it contains two per. cent, it is graded ‘Four Northern : Spring’, -and so . on, down the line, with the other grades. “Of course, shippers. of this class of grain should never allow it to. go on the market and ; be sold. on grade, but should sell it by type or sample. We are giving this class of wheat a milling test, and will report the results in a few days.” Farmers have a right of course to send samples of their grain to any market and offer it for sale upon sam- ple. The federal grain grades act does not make that illegal; it merely makes illegal any other grades than those es- tablished by the government. In adopting the federal grades, the North Dakota railway commissioners, who are in chief charge of the administration of the North Dakota law, were insur- ing harmonious coupling up of the progressive attitude of North Dakota towards grain grading problems, with the federal law. The United States statute provides specifically that where states have grain grading systems, the state inspectors shall be licensed by the government. Thus although gov- ernment grades will prevail, they will be to a certain extent under the in- fluence of Dr. Ladd, the friend of the farmers, and assistants whom he will choose with all the knowledge and sympathy for farmers’ problems that he possesses. COURT UPHOLDS THE NORTH DAKOTA LAW Certain interests have been at work trying to defeat the North Dakota law and this took the form of an attempt to have the North Dakota law declared unconstitutional. M. C. Gaulke, oper- ator of an elevator at Thompson, N. D., fuiled or refused to take out the state inspectors’ license <called for by the statute, but continued to buy, weigh and grade grain. He was arrested for violation of the law, and his attorneys tried to get him released on a writ of habeas corpus, alleging the law under which he was arrested was unconstitu- tional. The district court refused to allow the writ, and the case was appealed to the supreme court, where all its main features were declared constitutional. The court decided that it was not unconstitutional to compel a wheat buyer operating his own elevator to take out a license before inspecting or buying grain; that the provisions mak- ing it unlawful to grade or handle grain without first obtaining a license, are constitutional, and that the provi- sion which give state authorities the right to examine elevator accounts is sound. Some features of the law were not in controversy, and upon these the court gave no decision. One of these is the provision for the establishment of cen- tral markets. The law provides that at Fargo, Grand Forks, Wahpeton, Fairmont and other places in North Dakota, as well as certain cities out- side the state, the North Dakota rail- road commissioners may establish cen- tral market rooms where grain shall be displayed, and sold to millers or other buyers. In regard to this the court said: “Whether this clause would be valid or not if properly attacked and by a party interested, we are not called upon to 'determine, and can not deter- mine in this case, and an expression of ; opinion would be obitum merely.” ONLY FEE SECTION IS HELD INVALID » The attack of the opposition to the law was based principally upon the technicality that its title did not cover all the points of the law, which the constitution requires it must do. But the court held that only one feature of the law was invalid on this account, and that the other details in the title were merely making clear the main feature of the law, which is one for licensing inspectors, and providing for the inspection of grain. The feature decided unconstitutional is that in the closing clause of the law, which pro- vides that 25 per cent of the fees col- lected for inspection, licenses, etc, shall be set aside as a fund for the erection of state-owned terminal ele- vators and warehouses. The title did not contain any reference to building terminal warehouses, and the court held this paragraph was therefore m- valid. Under the North Dakota law, which authorized the appointment of Dr. Ladd and his deputies, and the federal law which authorized the licensing of state inspectors under United States authority, both Dr. Ladd and Chief Deputy McGovern hold government li- censes and have authority to issue certificates of grade for grain. They are now doing this, but as yet there has been but little grain offered for inspection. One of the first things discovered in the grain offered was that the king- head rule in the federal grades is going to make deep inroads on the 1917 grain crop. In addition to giving out this warning to farmers not to have their grain graded at all if it contains this DYING FOR HIS COUNTRY GQOSH, AIN'T | HEROIC! IVE SLASHED MY NET PROFITS TO ONLY : 26% % inseparable weed seed, Mr. McGovern has issued a statement showing how appeals from inspection shall be made, TWO METHODS FOR APPEALING There are two features of appeal that have to be kept in mind. The North Dakota. inspectors are workmg under a state law, passed by the fionpartlsa.n league legislature last winter, and at the same time under the federal law. The federal law applies to appeals from gradings made on grain offered for interstate or foreign shipment; the state rule applies to grain that is not offered for interstate or foreign ship- ment. Appeals from Dr. Ladd’s or Mry McGovern’s grades may be taken di« rectly to the department of agricul« ture, under a section of the statute which reads in part as follows: “Any interested party may either with or without reinspection appeal the question to the secretary of agrie culture and the secretary of agricul« ture is authorized to cause such in< vestigation to be made and such tests to be applied as he may deem neces- sary and to determine the true grade; provided, that any appeal from such inspection and grading to the secre~ tary of agriculture shall be taken be« fore the grain leaves the place where the inspection appealed from was made, and before the identity of the grain has been lost, under such rules and regulations as the secretary of agriculture shall prescribe.” The rule for appeals relative to grain NOT in interstate or foreign commerce has just been announced as Rule No 1 and reads as follows: “The sample of grain submitted for reinspection shall be a true and repre~ sentative sample and weigh not less than five pounds; and shall be accom= panied by a statement of the facts in dispute, giving the postoffice address and signature of each of the parties to the disagreement of the inspection of the grain submitted.” GRAIN MEN COME UNDER THE WIRE Since the upholding of the North Da« kota law as constitutional, -there has been a rush of buyers to get licenses so as to be in a position to handle the crop now being threshed. Many of these held off until the last minute, hoping the supreme court would decide against the law, and they could thus buy without submitting to state in= vestigation of their warehouses, ele~ vators, insurance, bonds for safety of the grain stored, and book keeping methods. Many inquiries have lately come to the state grain inspection headquart= ers, which have been established at the agricultural college, at Fargo, as to whether assistants must be licensed Mr. McGovern says that assistants need not be licensed, as the licensed ine _spector at each elevator is responsible for their acts. Another question many have asked is whether certificates can be issued on grain stored in elevators, and the answer is that certificates may be ise sued upon grain anywhere, in wagons, in freight cars, in elevators or any= where else, providing the sample upon which the certificate is desired, fury nishes a true representative sample ot the grain. ' STATE SHOULD BE PROUD The Literary Digest in its last issue . tells of the election of John M. Baer - to congress, declaring that it signifies : the birth of a third national party, North Dakota may well be proud being the birthplace of this husky ore ganization that stands alone in world political movement. This recognition by a magazine not favorable to the cause must be great satisfaction to < President Townley and the other lead« - ers who have watched it grow from : nothing to the giant it now is.—P LIC OPINION, Bismarck, N. D. ‘ARE FARMERS FREE? ‘When' the countries 'of Europe fxrst - adopted the policy of government cone trol of food stuffs we in this country congratulated ourselves that we live in a FREE country. Lately, however, wé are beginning to learn a few things— that instead of the freedom of which we boast, we are -hamstrung and strangled by a horde of piratical food speculators who have no conscience, know no law, and are devoid of first element of- humanity.-—DIC (N. D.) REPORTER.