The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-10-21

lie Due as an Author.
When Gen. LIE Due was dismissed in dis.
grace from the HAYES circus, then travel.
| ling in Minnesota, he FASTENED back to
Washington and took his revenge ON society
in general by issuing from the Government
Printing Oflcc an edition OF 100000 Of his
first annual report. He has kindly sent t.
! THE SUN n muslin bound copy Of this re-
markabc work, and IL seems to require Il
few words Of notice.
Like the equally useless Bureaus of sta
tistics and Education. LIE DUCs establish
mcnt has talent for the collection and DIFF
fusion Of facts and figures of no earthly
interest to the class Of citizens for whose
benefit they arc designed. OF the 100000
copies Of this book printed at the public
cost. 22i,0OO 60 TO members Of the House OF
Representatives and 5000 to Senators. In
former times publications OF this sort had a
certain value in politics ~ clcctionccring
documents. Honest voters in the rural dis
tricts felt llattcrcd at receiving from their
member or Senator q frankcd copy of any
public document, no matter what 1t was
about. That. however, is no longer the case.
1t ia doubtful whether even old HANSIBAL
HAMLIN himself now darcs to insult the in
tclligcnce OF his rcmotcst constituent in
Aroostook by such gift. LIZ Dues annual
and monthly reports are nothing but com
pilations of facts which every farmer in the
land has long since learned from the agricul-
tural columns OF his weekly paper diluted
with pages and pages of theory and trash.
They load the mails at brief intervals. merely
to find their way to the rag man and the junk
dealer, and then pass on unread 10 the paper
mill.
This years report contains about six hun
drcd closely printed pages and n large num-
Der Of costly plates illustrating microscope
cally the different phases of hog disease. 1t
chronicles the failure of 1t Dues silly eff
forts to induce American farmers To plant
tea where tea will not grow, and to cultivate
the olive tree, the date, and the bamboo in
soil and cline which nature designed for
other products. In no way dishcarlcned 10y
results which would drive any other man TO
suicide OF into retirement this speculative
agricuturist chcerfully announces the
transfer Of his energies to an attempt to
acclimatc the English rock in America, to
supcrsede the useful but unmusical crow
He is also trying, II appears, 10 make sugar
cane grow in New Jersey. OF this last enter
prise he remarks: THE attempt Is ON n
moderate scale, but with degree Of intclli-
gcncc and zeal which promise to demonstrate
whether success is possible 1.-The live
lest interest" he continues, " has been ex-
cited in the subject, and with reasonable
encouragement ON the part Of the Govern
mcnt, the most gratifying and important
results may be confidently expected"
The cost Of printing this large edition Of
LIE Dues report IS not far from Sl25,OOl.
which comes directly out Of the pockets of
the taxpayers Of the United States. II the
farmers Of the country raise wheat, corn
and rye this year al an average profit Of
twelve and half cents a bushcl. LII DUc's
publication destroys the profit on just one
million bushels Of grain. II there is net
profit of two dollars a head on cattle sent to
the market for export. il will take an extra
drove Of siXty-two Thousand five hundred
healthy bulocks and hciicrs to make up for
the drain on the national resources occa-
stoned by LIE Dues book. II the poultry
farmers make five cents dozen on eggs, the
hens Of America will have to lay not less
than thirty million eggs over and above
their normal production in order to square
the account with LIE Due. And these calcu-
lations, 1t must be remembered, leave out
OF sight the expense Of the monthly hullc-
tins OF equally useless stun with which
lie DUc floods the mails to enrich the old
junk men, and the cost of running So
called department with n Commissioner, a
chief clerk, various experts, microscopists
chemists, cntomologists and subordinates
drawing salaries aggrcgating many thou
sands Of dollars n year.
LIE DUO asks Congress To elevate his UNI
constitutional bureau into n regular depart
mcnt Of the Government and to make him
q Cabinet officer with Cabinet officers
salary of 5000. II the real interests of
American agriculture are kept in view by
the peoples representatives at Washing.
ton, they will wipe out of existence the
whole concern with its prcpostcrous MAJ
chinery Of seed bags printing presses, alb
surd theories, and costly researches into the
pathology of sick swine.