The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-12-07
FIELDS, PHOSPHATES. FISHES.
Third Annual Report or Commissioners
Eutler.
Icom Me .Ncn. nMf ,mni..

II
to tho industrial literature of tho state.
It"Xhibits Il wondcrfi! au!puu, Of Inins.
takuy effort on tEr part of tOl. Butter
auh his efficient cl"rE, Mr. l.. 4. Ran .
sum. II contains 30 pages, aud gives
in int"lligibic form just i'lct of tho
splendid resources Of the StaIc. Almost
every question bearing iIpuii Tic mate.
within this volume, which may well be
tancn a. "A model for official publications.
ruOsriiATEs AND rEKrILIZEEa.
Tho report of Prof. &. L. Shepard Jr.,
of CharlcsiDn, chemist 10 tho department.
is full Of yarub!" information and
abDun,!- III practical suggestions Dur
ing thc year III" privilege tax Of - cents
pc" ton paid by dealers III commercial
fertilizers amounted iu 1901 81 IHo
hundred and thirty-nyc different brand.
"T fertilizers "crr admitted 10 sale In the
state during the season Di 1851 \. uHdur
the regulations provided by iaw. - Of
which wrr" manufactured in Charleston,
SJ III baltimore. 81 III New York and tho
rest III Richmond, Atlanta, Ma,snchu :
Irtis and elsewhere.
Tho department Of agriculture" is re-
quicd 10 amalyzc the fertilizers Sold IN
The State and every brand offered for s;,o
to the farmers should br sampled. Not
wiiiiStandng the ardllpiis efforts Of the
commissioner to -'curc sample, of all the
fcrtiliZcrs sold, samples of only about
one e-lnlf Of the different brands sold in
tho State were secured hy the depart
mcnt. The commissioner suggcstA THAT
ut least one agent of the department
should DE appointed III each Congress
Ibiial district to serve from December or
January to Muy or June, whose duty it
should be to procure samples OF all fer
iilizcra offered for sale in his district, 10
report all violations of law, and other
wise assist tho commissioner in this part
of his work.
Experience seems to havo established
tho fact that the "oilicinl control Of com
Hlcrcinl nanurcS in South culO lOlina" pre-.
vents imposition upon the farmer, raises
tho standard Of fertilizers, drives out spu.
rious grades. and, in short, "compels
manufactures to state what they sell and
TO scll what they state.
During tho year lo3 brands OF ft.rtii.
zers were analysed hy tho department
and tho results Of the analyses published.
Altcr stating that at the present time
almost ali of the reliable iutormatio.,
that has been obtained in regard to the
phosphate deposits belonging To the
State is the private property of interested
pOrsons most Of whom are naturally I'M
willing to contribute tn tho public what
has proved valuable to their own bust
ness and for which they have been ublig-
cd 10 pay Literally, Prof shepard says
Tho work Of surveying tho deposits in
the rivers of tho State should he begun
de noIU, and carefully executed by men of
experience and in the sole employment
of the State. Whatever may have been
gained from private sources should ljo
thoroughly tested nnd might prove use
Iul III liiu examination. but the State can
not afford to rely on either private infOr-
nation or assistance. Its force of sur
veyOrs prospccturs should DO equipped
with tho requisite means of IUcOmOtiOn,
4
StrHnuntS arc necessary for tho success
ful prosecution of tho work. That they
should keep themselves entirely frUe
from all conflicting private interests, Mt
least during the l,criod Of their employ
ucnt by tho State. il is hardly necessary
to insist Upon
Prof. Shepard estimates that '.for tho
sum Of s. 300 the State might in tho course
"f Il ycnr I've put in possession of impor-
tant information, which if not complete
or of the most accurate description might
servo rs the foundation of an elaborate
survey
The commissioner OF agriculture SAYS ::
Mono Of tho dutie, imposed upon tho
department Of agriculture aro moro i'm
portant than the protection nf tho rights
and Interests uf tho State in ,he phos-
phato mines. In order 10 properly SUI
porvisr this great interest it is not only
necessary to SEQ that the royalty due the
paid, but that the mining sLCnld he so
conducted rs to develop tho phosphate
territory III the most advantageous man
ncr 10 tho State
At tho last session OF tho Legislature u
concurrent resolution was passed reu,lir-
ing tho commissioner and tho board of
agriculture To inquire into the Feasibility
of increasing the rate Of phosphate royal
tS and to make a survey of
TIE PHOSPHATE TERRITORY,
but the appropriation of $1,000 WAS SO
small that tho anrvey could not be ac-
cnmplished and the matter WAS postpon-
ed. In order to procure information on
tho subject circular was addressed to
number Of persons conrersnnt with the
subject, asking for their viows upon the
matter generally and in regard to "the
feasibility Of increasing the rate of royal
ty.' Quite number Of replies to this
circular arc Incorporated in the report OF
tho commissioner of agriculture.
Mr.. Il. Willis, of Charleston, thinks
that ns tho revenue of the State from all
sources approximates $500, 900, and that
as the phosphate companies alone pay
about $50, ,OGO into the State treasury the
royalty should not be increased. He ia
vors n full and thorough survey of the
phosphate territory.
Mr.. Willis Wilkinson, Of Charleston,
favors making tho royalty on phosphate
rock 10 per cent. OF it's marketable value,
to be determined quarterly by Rock
Exchange in the City of Charleston.
DR.. a. B. Rose. of Charleston, hvors
nm accurate survey of the phosphate de-
posits, and as to an increase of royalty
says: zone dollar ton is all this indus.
try will bear"
MIR. VIM. 8. Whaley, of Charleston,
thinks zone dollar per ton high enough
royalty and favors survey.
As to the feasibility Of Increasing tie
ratio of rDyalfy Mr. G. g. Pipckpo1: r.
says that "tho fundamental trouble is the
unfortunate method adopted by the State,
which fixes uniform rate OF 81 per ton
on tho rock In all locations alike, with.
out regard to their relative value. This
Ii as absurd and unbusiness like as it
would be to value every house and lot In
Charleston mt fixed sum, or 10 assess
all the land in the State ut no much per
acre. twas n crude experiment. adopt.
ed originally as a stop in the dark, before
anything was known about the value
or tho deposits or the practicability OF
getting them out, and it il wonderful
that this should have continued until
now. Tho truth Is that tho deposits
vary, In different streams, worry greatly
In value. according to quantity, quality,
depth OF wator, accessibility for ships TO
remove II, 60. CoOsaw River unites In
itself all the advantages, and the right to
mine there pay Ing 81 (say) per ton would
bo far more valuable than the right to
mine III any other stream mt 81. It fol
lows from this that 80 long as that com.
pany, the Coosaw, has tho right to mino
I'm their territory at 81 per ton, 1t woIld
be Idle to attempt to exact a higher roy
atty from those mining In other less IA
vored localities. Tho unprecedented sue
cess Of tho Coosnw Company and the
scalel to mine elsewhere are the neceSsa-
rY results OF the allnya ataIa faf facfs