The Portland daily press., 1875-07-15
The Agricultural Scrip.


The Agricultural Scrip.
Dr. Jordan, the tasteful and veracious Ban
gor correspondent of the Maine Standard,
has faring letter copied BY our neighbor,
the Argus, in regard to the sale by the ad-
ministtrstions of Gov. Cony and Gov. Cham
berlain of the Agricultural College, scrip in
which the modest statement is made that
Maine was swindled out of twelve hundred
thousand dollars by Blaine's "troop of plum
derers." Mr.. Blaine is not accused himself of
doing it, but the act was accomplished by "a
troop of plunderers," which, according 10 DR..
Jordan, Mr.. Blaine seems to have owned.
The Bangor Commercial, in part edited by
DR.. Jordan, explains that this "troop OF plum
derers' consisted of the late Gov. Cony, the
late Gen. Hersey and of our honored ex-
Governor, Abner Coburn. There isn't a
man in Maine that has the strength to
make this statement in hot weather except
DR.. Jordan, and we all know that DR.. Jor-
dan is-well, to say in one word the most
and the worst, he is DR.. Jordan! To add
further epithet would be "gilding refined gold
and painting the lily"
The history of the Agricultural College
scrip donated to Maine is very simple. The
Legislature accepted the grant, chartered an
institution with Board of Trustees, author
lied the appointment of three Commission
ers to receive proposals for locating the Insti-
tutiOn and itc
also empowered the Governor to sell the
'Land Scrip" by advertising for the highest
bidder. The Commissioners on location and
plan were ex-Gov. Crosby, Hon. Samuel F.
Perley of Cumberland and Hon. Joseph
Eaton of Kennebec. This legislation was in
March 1854 In his address to the Legisla-
ture in January 1865, after stating that the
scrip had not been sold, Gov. Cony adds the
following:
81 would respectfully ask that the respon-
"sibility of disposing of this scrip may not
"be devolved solely upon the Executive, but
"that Others, to be designated By the Legis-
"lature, shall be associated with him in the
discharge of the delicate duty"
The Legislature, having the fullest conf
dence In Gov. Cony, (whom DR.. Jordan
would libel in his honored gravel declined to
associate any one with him in the trust and
left the whole matter unchanged. The en-
suing year, January 1866, Gov. Cony in his
address to the Legislature, made the follow
ing statement:
The Trustees of the College for the promo
motion of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts
t,axT t1n1
institution. The lands granted for the endow-
ment thereof, have urder the advice Of the Ec
ecatiUe Council, concurred IN By the Board of
Trustees, been ddUertised for sale.
The Legislature was thus fully advised
of what the Governor had done and what
he proposed to do. Two months elapsed,
the lands being meanwhile publicly adver-
tised, not only in Maine but in Boston, New
York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and in
March the greater part of them were sold.
The remainder were sold by Gov. Chamber
lain in the summer of 1870.
The following letter (oficial) from Hon.
George G.. Stacy, Secretary of State, gives
condensed HISTORY of the whole matter:
OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STArEl
Augusta, Feb. IA, 1872.
HON. SIDNEY PERBAM, Gov. of the State ofMaine:
SIR-In compliance with your request have the
honor herewith to submit statement of the number
OF acres of land received by the State of Maine from
the general government for the endowment of an
Agricultural College, also when said land sold,
to whom, the specific amounts received at each sale,
how the same has been invested, and the annual in
come the college is now receiving from the same.
Whole number of acres received from the United
States, 100000
March 1st, 1866, there were sold as follows, viz:
G. & G. woodman 60 900 acrs 52ac ANTS to s3l 500
R n. f5ss5Sn necians Co. 1855 sssS 81 asis GSs
1sssso sss,s1s
March Is, 1866, there were sold as follows, viz:
W. X LANcY. 5000 acres g 5sc am't'g to 81 ,9so
FRANKLIN SMITH 10000 '' Z" $500
John Kimball. -. 5000 " 1850
10000 sI5,9OO
September 49, 1s7O there were sold as follows. viz
G. I. Lewis .16, ,32O q SAC amtg to $1370S 80
REcAPITULATIoN.
Sale Of March 1st 1865 acres amg sss s1S %
Sept. as, S 1870, 1870, 1886 1886 1905 s Sc Sc
Total 100000 S115,524 80
This sum with accrued interest now amounts to
Sl18,3 1894 At, and is invested follows, viz:
State of Maine Bonds. 100 0(
$i1s,394 Al
From this investment the college annually receives
| the sum of S7,Os6.
/ am, sir. very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
g. G. STACY. Secy of State.
In regard to the last scrip sold four years
and more after the sales made by Gov. Cony,
the following letter from Gov. Chamberlain
| to State Treasurer Caldwell will give full ex
PLANTATION. Hon. William Deering of thi!
city, then in the Executive Council from
| Cumberland, was the principal agent will
Gov Chamberlain in effecting the last sale
But to the Governors letter:
| BRUNSWICK, June 81, 1870.
| Hon. WIN. CALDWELL, State Treasurer.
MY DEAR SIR-Herewith please find Mr.. g. F
| Lewis letter. We have concluded bargain, tn
most advantageous possible, with him for eighty fou
| cents rer acre, amounting to S1370S.S0. He want
the college scrip assigned SC. do not understan,
the process and send his letter to you If necessar
| will come up and see you.
Truly yours, j. L. CHAMBERLAIN.
1t is hardly necessary to add that the New
England states generally got for their scri]
about the same price obtained by Maine. I
was sold perhaps prematurely by most of tn,
states in order to realize funds for locatin
the colleges instead of advancing the neces
sary amount. The grant lapsed if the col
lege was not organized within certain time
and Maine, perhaps unwisely, sold her scri
instead of advancing the money.
But one strong reason urging many state
as well as Maine to sell at that time was tn
tendency OF Bounty Land Bill in Congress
proposing to give quarter section of land t
each soldier, or his heir, that had served L
the war. As the army roll contained abou
two million names, the amount of land scri
required would have taken some three hur
dred and t,centy millions Of acres, and th
market would have been so flooded as t,
have reduced the price to nothing. 1t wa
the fear of the passage of this bill, however
that induced the Legislature of Maine and {
ether states to sell their scrip when they die
| ux,ar fo,r uoar. offar ubon tho Poupf