The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, April 26, 1920, Page 3

In the interest of a square deal for the farmers Nonpartisén Teader A magazine that dares to print the truth Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week VOL. 10, NO. 17. WHOLE NUMBER 240 MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, APRIL 26, 1920 $2.50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE State Mill and Elevator Contract Let Work Starts Immediately'or; North Dakota 1,600,000-Bushel Terminal | and 3,000-Barrel Mill, Owned by People Bismarck Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader. =| HE state-owned terminal elevator for “| which farmers of North Dakota have been laboring and fighting for more than 30 years is at last under way at Grand Forks. The industrial com- mission of North Dakota, in session at Bismarck April 7, awarded the construction con- tracts for both the 1,600,000-bushel elevator and the 8,000-barrel (daily capacity) flour mill jointly to the Fegles Construction company of Minneapolis and the Northern Construction company of Grand Forks. The guaranteed price for the two buildings is $922,850. Machinery and power plant contracts will be awarded April 29. / The Grand Forks Construction company, as this is written, already has moved its equipment to the mill and elevator site, and by the time this issue of the Leader reaches its readers excavation work will be in progress. Every effort will be made to complete the eleva- tor in time to handle the 1920 wheat crop of North Dakota, in spite of the difficulties that face build- ers in securing material and machinery. But whether the terminal elevator handles the 1920 grain at the time of the harvest, and whether or not the flour mill is ready to turn out its product for world consump- tion, the farmers of North Dakota, who have gone through campaign after campaign, standing steadfast against every form of attack aimed at them and their leaders, know that their victory is at last here. The brief history of the struggle of the farmers to have their own ter- minal elevator and flour mill, outlin- on the next page of the Leader, does not begin to list all the troubles and discouragements that have been fac- ed. Even now the state administra- tion of North Dakota is facing a suit in the supreme court of the United States, denying the right of the farmers to establish the terminal elevator, after having voted for it seven separate times. LAWSUITS FAIL TO STOP PROGRESS But the farmers have faced so many lawsuits, intended to stop them from carrying out their announced - purpose, that one more or less does _ not bother them much now. In the face of this suit the citizens of Grand Forks, formerly the strong- hold of the anti-farmer forces of the state, have subscribed for $1,000,- 000 of the mill and elevator bonds and have already paid in more than $200,000 to enable work to be start- ed at once. And from all over North Dakota demands are coming from various communities that they be given early consideration for new mills and elevators that the industri- al commission has power to locate in other parts of the state. The mill and elevator at Grand Forks, when completed, will be the most modern plant of its kind in the United States. H. G. Lykken of the Pillsbury Engineering company, re- I e tained by the industrial commission of North Da- kota to look after plans and construction, calls it a “modern grain hospital.” It will be equipped to do anything that is necessary to any grain that is produced in North Dakota to enable it to be sold, at the best prices possible, in any market in the world. § . Besides the ordinary elevating and cleaning ma- chinery there is washing machinery. If grain is received damp it can be dried. If grain is too dry to be milled it can be dampened. The equipment includes “oat clippers” with which oats can be rid of beards and the test weight increased. The lay- out of buildings includes a power plant that will furnish power to both the mill and elevator, a large reservoir which will supply all water needed and storage and trackage facilities that will allow the largest possible shipments of grain, both in and out, to be handled throughout the year without de- lay. The construction is to be fireproof through- out, with the latest labor-saving machinery and safety 8evices. The contract that has now been signed, Mr. Lyk- ken points out, will provide for construction of the 1,600,000-bushel elevator (with 200,000 additional bushels handling capacity) at a price slightly less than 20 cents per bushel of storage capacity. | “] THOUGHT YOU DIDN’T LIKE DOUGHNUTS” I [ A —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W, C. Morris. PAGE THREE LN 0 Twenty cents per bushel was the normal cost of elevator construction before the war and before the enormous increase in cost of building materials, freight rates and labor had taken place. The ar- rangement of the elevator has enabled this figure to be met in spite of these large increases and at the same time the 32 large bins and the 21 inter- space storage spaces will allow all grains and grades produced in North Dakota to be handled and held without mixing. STATE BUYS DIRECTLY, RESULTING IN BIG SAVINGS The contract signed by the industrial commission provides that the state shall act as principal in pur- chasing the major items of material used in the construction of the elevator, such as steel, cement, gravel, brick, metal sash, lumber, roofing, etec. By adopting this plan an immense saving to the tax- payers of the state is effected. In the second place the state government is exempt from the war tax on freight bills and building materials that is charged against private contractors. There was keen competition for the big Grand Forks job by contractors from all parts of the United States. There was a general feeling that the eyes of the nation were upon the North Dakota project and that aside from the size of the contract the work was bound to attract wide and favorable con- sideration. Because of the competi- tion that was aroused the state was able to secure such a favorable ar- rangement. In considering the various bids at- tention finally was narrowed down to two bidders—the Fegles Construc- tion company and the Witherspoon- Englar Construction company of Chicago. Both contractors had en- viable records on similar construc- tion jobs. The Chicago contractors are now engaged in building the largest grain elevator of the world for the Northwestern railroad at Chicago. They had previously built the state-owned Louisiana elevators at New Orleans. The Fegles company, however, has had an even more extended record in construction of co-operative and publicly owned elevators, having put up the 5,000,000-bushel elevator for the Saskatchewan Co-Operative El- evator company at Port Arthur, a 1,000,000-bushel government railway elevator at Transconia and two at St. Johns. Mr. Fegles also was in charge of the construction of the first elevator to be put up by the Canadian government, that at Moose Jaw, and before organizing his pres- ent company also superintended the work on the 3,500,000-bushel eleva- tor at Saskatoon. Mr. Lykken, himself a former res- ident of North Dakota and personal- ly acquainted with the grain busi- ness, is firmly of the opinion that the big state elevator will be a tremen- dous success from the start. “There is no chance for any argu- ment about it,” said Mr. Lykken. “With its modern machinery the big elevator will be able to put every i \\ / A\