The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 10, 1919, Page 4

L mmARATHIE 2 Y TS QRO | B ] e T TN v - [t sono s | ' experience running back many years that sider that he should be asked to initiate such ac- tion against himself. Contentions of the rene- gade state officers that the case was not of pub- lic concern obtained short shift before the court. Public moneys were in- volved, and the illegal activities of state offi- cials were under consid- eration, Justice Bron- son’s opinion declared. “Further, the acts-of the respondents in sud- denly closing this bank, practically without warn- ing,” the court said, “and in installing a temporary receiver without the knowledge of the state examiner, and in suddenly causing telegrams to be sent to so-termed associated banks of said bank throughout the state and determining that certain forms of collateral held in this bank, as well as in many other banks of the state, improper collateral and of doubtful value has occasioned unprecedented public concern, not ‘only in this bank but in banks throughout the state concerning their solvency and concerning the operation of banking laws of this state and even the credit of the state.” No basis was found for the contenfion of the attorney general that the banking board was empowered by law to appoint a receiver. The lagt statute on the books, the law that rules by all precedent, the court said, provides that. the state examiner should make a report and decide whether a receiver was the best course in handling the affairs of a bank. The attitude of Langer and Hall in sending the state examiner out of the state while they oper- ated against the farmers’ bank received unequivocal condemnation. “This appears on the face of it,” the court said, referring to the methods pursued by Langer and Hall to send Lofthus out of the state and put P. E. Halldorson, deputy examiner, in the bank as re- ceiver,.“as an attempt indirectly and by subterfuge to secure the consent of the state examiner to examine all banks in Fargo as that thereby initia- collateral. The Scandinavian American bank at Fargo has opened its doors, the supreme court has held that the action of Langer and Hall was “unwarranted, illegal and neither was in the spirit nor the letter of the legal powers conferred upon them, and it both merits and receives the condemnation of this court.” post-dated checks were established as negotiable instruments and therefore proper The statement that these farmers’ notes “are worth only 50 per cent of their total amount and that post-dated checks are not collateral at all and of no substantial value is a determination wholly arbitrary and without foundation in fact. There is no more reason for declaring farrqers’ paper to be of a certain percentage of value than there is for declaring lawyers, doctoz',s or merchants’ paper to be of a certain percentage of value. tive action might be taken against the relator bank as it was taken. It therefore follows that the ac- tion of the majority of the state banking board was illegal and unauthorized. Even though it were con- ceded that the board did possess the power to close the bank and appoint a receiver, nevertheless the action as taken by the majority of the board was unreasonable, arbitrary, unjust and can not be up- held.” ACTS ENDANGERED OTHER BANKS, SAYS OPINION Langer’s advance publicity given to anti-farmer newspaper organs both within and without the state, as well as his alarmist statements concern- ing other farmer banks throughout the state were rebuked in no uncertain terms. ‘ “The acts of the respondents as disclosed in this record jeopardized the solvency of the relator bank as well as other banks.- There is no other manner in which this procedure can be characterized other than arbitrary and con- trary to both the spirit and the letter of the law. It both merits and receives the condem- nation of this court.” Considering the finances of the bank, the court found that they were not only sound, but that the bank was in excellent condition as compared to other banks in the state. “The record disclosed no specific order of the banking board that the Scandinavian American bank has not complied with, or was not able to com- And above all, the farmers’ 4 ply with in a specific time,” the opinion said, “The record does not dis- close any inability of the relator bank to make good its reserve fund as required in accordance with the contention of the respondents.” Tllegality of the action of the two state officials was shown in that the law requires that 80 days® “notice must be given for the removal of any paper in a bank to which the board or the examiner might object; but instead of giving the bank notice, Langer and Hall ordered it closed. “There is no more reason for declaring farm- ers’ paper to be of a certain ‘percentage of value than there is for declaring lawyers, doctors or merchants’ paper to be of a certain percentage of value,” the court found. Opinions and laws establishing post-dated checks as negotiable instruments were cited. “It is apparent,” the opinion read, “that the acts and contentions of the respondents in attempting to establish by presumptive fiat that post-dated checks are of no substantial value and at one fell swoop to render practically valueless or insufficient all paper for which such post-dated checks as well as other farmers notes stand as security are not only presumptions, but without foundation in law. What was the intention of the majority of the banking board in the acts performed this court does ° not deem it necessary to determine. The acts them- selves, however, are judged by this court. It is determined that there is such a thing as public con- science and that these acts upon the record sub- mitted to this court were unwarranted, unreason- able and without foundation of law.” After referring to the report of State Examiner Lofthus and commending him on his diligence in con- serving the public interest as well as of the needless- ly endangered credit of the state, the court said: “By his energies, the bank, through the co-oper- (Continued on page 13) Big Five Packers Raid the Hog Market Farmers Forced to Sell Cheaper While Pork Products Advance—Returns. ~ Fail to Pay Expenses of Hog Raiser, F igures Show »JHE panic in the hog market is sufficient answer to the claim of the big market manipulators that they stabilize prices. Between August 28 and Sep- tember 11, $10.20 was taken from the worth of a farmer's 200-pound hog at Chicago, or nearly a quarter of the value of the hog, In the three weeks following September 11 the market hovered around $16.50 for average stuff, and then with the beginning of October began another swift downward movement, reaching $12.95 for average sales at Chicago on October 24. On some days the prices have since been under this figure. The disaster which this break means to the farmers can hard- ly be exaggerated. The hogs which now come to the market were fed corn and other mate- rial which the present hog prices do not cover, not to mention in- vestment, labor and other fac- tors entering into the cost of raising hogs. - Experts have calculated from tabulated PORH PRODUCTS hogs should bring 13 times the price of corn to give the farmers a profit. Between the last of February and May 1 No. 2 corn sold for $1.50 to $1.833% on the Chicago market. During the summer the price rose rapidly from this figure to well over $2 for the months of July and August. In September corn ranged from $1.81% to $1.63% on September 25. Hogs should bring roughly 13 times these prices at Chicago to give the farmer a profit. As it was hog prices. did not average 10 times the price of corn dur- ing the latter part of July, August and Septem- ber. The fact that most farmers probably raise the corn for their own hogs or buy it in the neighbor- hood does not diminish the farmer’s actual loss be- cause he could have shipped the corn into the mar- ket instead of raising hogs with it. As for explanation it would appear that the packers had overestimated the foreign market for hog products at their prices and had also driven down domestic consumption by increas- ing prices to the public over the war prices dur- ing the spring and summer of 1919. In August the packers found themselves with stuffed ware- houses here and in Europe. The only way they could save themselves was at the expense of the farmer. Bearing out this view of packing trust pow- er is the fact that hogs declined before hog products. Normally decreasing public con- sumption would have caused drops in hog products and the packefs would have then beguii to pay lower prices for hogs. As it was hog products showed no slump until several dollars had been taken from the price of hogs. Some hog prod- ucts, such as pork loins, were -actually forced wup in A /s going down. While hogs were going down from around $22 to $16 pork loins shot up from $34 a hundredweight to $38. It may be that our farm- ers. are raising hogs without loins.. i PAGE FOUR price while hogs were Here, for instance, are August and September figures for hogs and pork loins at Chicago: Hogs Loins Angust Tl oS G Al $22.00 $34.00 August 7 ......... Sl e e 21.00 35.00 Angust 161t a t o S n) 18.50 36.00 August 26 ................. 20.00 38.00 Anpust:= 190 SHon S S 16.50 - 37.60 September 8 ............... 19.00 - 37.60 September 11 .............. 16.00 38.00 September 22 .. ........... 17.00 38.00 Again, while hogs were declining 26 per cent between August 1 and September 11, the Chicago wholesale price of mess pork declined only 16 per cent and hams only 15 per cent. g It would be a mistake, however, to place all blame for the decline in hogs on the packing trust. All of our great special interests .contributed to the result. They have been running part time and juggling to produce shortages to force up the prices of their wares. Our coal miners have been on a three-day-week schedule during the past sum- mer and have averaged $75 a month in wages. They can’t buy the usual amounts of ‘hog products under such conditions. Other big industries have a similar story. All the big monopolies are straining after higher profits and cutting down production. In the mean- time the farmers go along producing in the usual fashion. Naturally the quantities of their products become out of proportion to those of the city men, and they get less and less in terms of city goods. The present decline in consumption, made by the packer raid, will cause a big slump in hog produc- tion next year, and unless something unusual oc- curs hogs should: get back to a paying basis for a part of 1920 at least, People will have to have pork and the scarcity of hogs will warrant higher consumer prices. When the hogs" begin to climb again the packers sell the cheap goods they are putting away now at big: profif. o Lt R