The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, September 29, 1919, Page 3

) & gl ‘j') " _of the state. ‘. _sion,” he said. -“But as a matter of fact In the interest of a square deal for the farmers VOL. 9, NO. 13 2 = ST PAUL, MINNESOTA, SEPTEMBER 29, 1919 A magazine that dares to print the truth’ ; Oflicial Magaiine of the National Nonpartisan League WHOLE NUMBER 210 Cltles Compete for Blg Flour Mill * Former Enemies of League Plans Are Scramblmg Now for Chance to Get ' New State Enterprises—Commission Considers Merits " Bismarck Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. ITH towns and cities in various parts of the state contending for the location of one of the elevators, that will be put up by the state, the industrial commission ‘has. outlined five points’ on which - the various sites will be chosen in the \Iorth Dakota system. These points are: General railway facilities. = Back haul. Freight rates. + Advantages of location in the distribution of flour and by-products to consumers within the state. Co-operation of the local communities. Competition has become suddenly tense, especial- ly between the business men of Grand Forks, Jamestown and Fargo. Each of these cities main- tains that it is the logical place for the huge cen- tral elevator and mill, the former to have a storage capacity of 1,500,000 buthels of wheat, and the lat- ter a daily capaclty of 2,000 barrels of flour. The general offices of -the mill and elevator assocmtxon in all probability will be established at -the point where the central plant will go. In addition a great cold storage plant, to be operated and owned by the state, also will be erected at the pri- mary milling center. Several thousand people will be add- ed to the population of the town or city that is?fortunate in having the advan- tages that will draw the central plant to it. Three other umts, not quite so large, will be erected in other sections The subsidiary mills will be of from 750 to 1,000 barrels daily capacity, while the elevators will be planned for 1,000,000 bushels of grain. -McGOVERN IS - = INVESTIGATING J. A. McGovern, manager of the state ° mill and_elevator association, has been empowered by the industrial commis- sion to make an investigation of the various sites in the state that look " feasible. He is expected to make his . report to the cornmission within a short time. Petitions and letters and offers of aid in any way that may be required are pouring down on Mr. McGovern and the industrial commission from the various contenders. Mr. McGovern in an interview recently declared, how- ever, that it was by no means certain that the cities with the larger popula- tion - would obtain the plants they sought. This question was contingent, he said, upon the degree of practical co-operation that would be forthcoming. It would be entirely practicable for the state to build a milling and distributing city of its own at some point where: railways centered, he declared, and should the pohtxcal ammosu:y toward < the farmers manifést in certain locah- ties indicate in any way that the suc- _cess of the industries would ‘be threat- “ened, he would recommend avoidance ‘of “the cities. “Co-operation is the fifth point ‘to. be - considered by the industrial commis- ‘it 1s one ‘of the most essential flour mills, with huge terminal whole program of locating ‘the industries. not put these plants at any point where the hos- tility of certain_interests would work a detriment to them.” As an example he pointed out the way Drake, where the first mill of the state was established, is co- operatmg with the people. It was desired to buy a year’s supply of bags for the output of the small mill which the state now is operating. The company from whom the bags were ordered; hav- ing fallen victim to the lies and misrepresentation of the anti-League press within and without the borders of North Dakota, wrote and asked what provision the-state had made for payment. company showed some hesitancy in shipping ‘the order. This fact came to the attention of the bankers of Drake and they wrote a joint letter, which was not exactly temperate, perhaps, telling the company in no undecided terms that if the $2,000,000,000 wealth of the state was not” sufficient security for the order the Drake banks would -be sponsor for the -account. “This stand, of course, was not necessary, but 1t was important in showing the attitude of the peo- ple of ‘Drake to the state industries,” Mr. Me- Govern said, “They believe in them heart and soul, and they are out to fight for them at the first sug- l STARTING TO BUILD HOMES I Work has already started under North Dakota new home bluldmg law. Robert B. Blakemore, head of the home building association, is shown in the picture above (at the left), with Will Prater, his assistant. ' Below .is s shown work startmg upon the first house to be built under the new i built We will The. . for Jc n—B Adams at Blsmarck. gestion that a fight is needed. That is the local spirit that will go a long way in any community toward making the industries a success. I don’t believe there is a man, woman or child in Drake who is not a hearty supporter of the state mill.” SHOULD SHOW CONFIDENCE THE WAY DRAKE DID Men who are reported to be in close touch with the unpublished plans of the commission say that the most assured degree of co-operation that could be obtained would be for the competing communi- ties to subscribe for mill and elevator bonds. Other indications are that these bonds may be apportion- ed by the commission according to the population and financial resources of the vanous sectlons of the state. Unofficially, in tlns connection, it is reported that should this course be followed a city like Fargo or Grand Forks, with their greater population and wealth, would be expected to engineer the sale of $1,000,000 in mill and elevator bonds each. This campaign would not be confined to the cities alone, but to the’ territory which the mill and elevator would serve. While Mr. McGovern denied that he knew that the industrial commission had formulated a set: policy on apportioning the bond sales, he did say that the response to the bond campaign--would indicate the best way whether or not any community really wants the mills and elevators enough to go after them, other conditions be- ing equal. “Such a policy involves none of the evils of the bonus system which many cities fall into in an effort to attract private industries to their confines,” he declared. “Mill and elevator bonds will be the finest absolutely secured invest- ment in the country today. They will pay 5 per cent, and they have back of them the total wealth of one of the richest states in the West. “Subscriptions to the bonds will prove that the spirit of co-operation is not merely transitory. Thus it can be shown whether or not the community intends to back the farmers’ plan to the limit throughout the life of the in- dustries.” There is a noticeable change in the attitude of many of the old enemies of the farmers’ program in most of the cities. Some of them make no preten- sions nor explanations. They want the mills and elevators and seem to think * there is no need for justification of their one-time opposition to the farmers in relation to their present desires. On the other hand, business men generally say that they fought the farmers, that they were opposed to the farmers’ pro- gram, but now that the- people have demonstrated without doubt that they are going to see the program through that they themselves bow to the will of the majority and want to get what they can for their local commumty. A different stand is. taken by the professional politicians of the I V. A. and such newspapers as-the TFargo Forum, which are carrying on a cam-. ; palg-n to- discredit the state bonds of all issues and beat the price down. - and expense of court ,action, but ‘they ~will fail in the end. 3 They have cost the state thousandgt % of dollars in lost interest, premiums