The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-04-18
correspondence = TIE Cincinnati CommercinI
I" Making Hay while the SUN
SAimcs.S
The Modern Sir Isaac Newton.
WASHINGTON, March %. Is,


20, wad some power the Il tie gle u
To see oursels as others see US burns.
On the 10Th of January, less than two
months ago, the house of Representatives
passed by almost, il not quite, a uuap;Mous
vote, the following resolution:
RESOLVED That the commissioner cf the department
OF agriculture e. and he is hereby requested % COM
munica,e t. this house
l. be am unit Of moneys that have been received,
from any by his department siAce he has bad
charge of the same.
2. A statement in DETAIL of the disbursements and
expenditures oil said department duiinS the same
period
s. Tho yearly to this government Of said depart
ment including every expenditure connected with the
same
In response thereto, the government print
ing office has been required TO print an oc-
ta~o volume, containing forty-fonr pages,
adding thus to the already enormous, and,
in great part, profigate expenditures Of this
department. But an old adage says, we
have no loss without some small gain.
Proven true in this case, for we are shown,
wherever the facts peep out blushiDgly from
beneath the gauze intended to cover them
up, that there is something decayed in Dem
mark. There appears to have been appro-
priated from the Golfers of Uncle Samuel,
since the organization of this inherently i'm
portant department, four hundred and
ninety FIVE thousand ene hundred and Sc
venty -four dollars and five cents, with re-
turn of good, genuine and palpable, to the
country, of fee cents, making a tabular ex-
hibit as follows:
Sum expended. sieS l7io5
sum gained.
Total 100
Allowing a good deal for grace" on
this posting Of the books, l should like TO
know what practical farmer or agriculturist
of any other special branch, is willing to
ass TT as his faith grounded on reason, that
this department under its past and present
management, has benefited the people Of
the United States to an extent equal to q
half million of dollars? know that it is
dry job to worm ones way through forty
four pages Of awkward statistics, figures
distorted and seduced, and wheedled into n
semhlance of falsehood-but shall proceed
hastily, only giving the aggregates. and
presenting mean Of what is palpable to
the reader.
This merchcen" known as the depart
ment Of agriculture, inhaled its first breath
Of existence May Is, l862-less than four
years old There has been paid at different
periods during this time:
For seeds" and aexpenscs !" concerning
them Slol ,2l0s
For .propagating" (supposei - b one Of
the commissioners compound and con-
centrxted words, meaning for prnpptng
oren The gate entering) in the Family
For experimenting in cabbagebed demons
mated NJ. 2" u little snug. 1891 so
Tot !, expended for seeds, roots, VERBS and
other truck S.35 eoo.o2
little analysis of these expenditures
will be wholesome, especially to the tax
xvh< knn hnV henri 10 NJ NJ orip m.
inally these tens OF thousands are thrown to
the four winds Of space.
l. Nine tenths OF the "seeds" referred
to are purchased by the commissioner, Sir
Isaac Newton, of some Of his garden seed
merchant friends in Philadelphia and else
where. William Hacker and Paschal Nor
ris are doing the biggest thing with Sir
Isaac in this line, the latter merchant
prince" having sold to the "dcpartmen, !"
Ito be distributed to the especial female
friends of the various NJ. C.'s,) seeds to the
value Of four thousand six hundred and
thirty-one dollars and seventy cents, during
the month Of January, 1866. Seed dealers
usually make profit Of twenty five per
cent, and all government contractors are
expected, in this enlightened and patriotic
age, to add twenty-five per cent. to net
gains when selling to the government, for
the country's sake" Hence, you see, our
friend Morris has good thing Of it. And
it is probably not known, GENERALLY, when
package is received per mail by " guild
housewife" on which the mark of the agri-
cultural department is seen, and also the
frank Of an NJ. G., that for five or ten cents
in any country seed store, the same package
could be purchased People-unsophisti-
Gated and honest people. to whom this great
department, in its distance, is enchanting 80
imagine that the seeds arc all imported
from some glorious Garden Of Eden in the
old world, and that something enormously
great, or magnlfccntly beautiful will be the
result OF successful qualification.
2. The festive spot Of all this exhibit is
the one where we see propagation" in aid
Of which only thirty-on thousand four hun