The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-12-07
FIELDS, PHOSPHATES. FISHES.
Third Annual Report "r Com niinissioner
Butler.

ta1t ana Valuable cDftribItluI ever maze
to tho industrial literature Of tho State.
taking effort ON the part of fOl. Butler
and his efficient clerk, Mr.. l.. \. Kan
aoiu. II contains 2!j pages, and gives
in intclligbic form a just lie, Of tho
splendid resources of the Stato. Almost
every question bearing upon Tie nIAtc-
rial welfare Of south Carolina il discussed
within tins volume. which may well be
taken ~ model for official publications.
ruOsrHATEs AND IEKIIiIZEEs.
Tho report Of Prof. G. l.. shepard. Jr.,
Of Charleston, chemist to tho dciattimrnl,
IL full Of Saiiiubl" information aud
abOunds III practical suggc,!:Ous Dur
ing tic year the privilege tax of - cents
,,"r ton paid hy dealers in cniii;iicryin!
fertilizers amounted to se'.IUi 81 Two
hundrn! and thiriy-iiNc different brands
Of irrtilI<ria were admttti to sac in the
state during the season of l,>i - undor
the rrgulatirns Irnviicd iv Iaw, - Of
which were manufactured in tiarlcston,
S3 III Baltimore. - III New York aud tho
rest in Richmond, Atlanta, Massachu-
4rt,S "Td elsewhere.
Inc department ct agriculture IS re-
IuiIc,i Ia analyZc the fertilizers sold IN
The State and every brand offered !or salo
to tho farmers should j." sampled Not
wiih>tnnding the ar!u"us cllnrts Of the
coninls.ionc, To- Sr..irc sample, Of all tho
fcrtiilzors sold, samples oi only about
pnr-hnlf of the different brands sold in
tho STATE we're secured by the depart
mcLt. The commissioners suggests "tlIat
ut least ono agent oi the department
should he appointed III each Congress-
innal district. to serve from December or
January To May or June, whose duty it
should he To procure samples OF all fer
tiliZrrs offered for ht,r in his district, 10
report all violations Of law, and other
tNs. tt,.., Ia.
o. his work"
Experience seem, to hav0 established
lio fact TINT tho "oiliciel control Of com.
mcrcnl nIanurcS in south uiolinu" pre-
vents imposition upon tho farmer, raises
tho standard Of fertilizers. drives out spu.
rious grades, and, in short. 'comiels
manufactures To state what they sell and
to scll whn, they state.
During tho year lob brands Of f,rti.i-
Hcrs were anaiyzch iy tho department
and tho results OF the anal lvses published.
After stating that at the present time
almost all of the reliable Information
that has been obtained in regard to the
phosphate deposits belonging To the
State is tho private property oi interested
porsOn.. most OF whom are naturally un-
willing to contribute to tho public what
has proved valuable to their own hns-
ness and for which they have been oh.
ed To pay iiberally, Prof Shepard SAYS
''Tho work OF surveying thodeposits in
the rivers Ot tho State should bc begun
de moro, and carefully executed by men of
experience and i'll the solo employment
of the State. Whatever may have been
gained from private sources should lie
thoroughly tested and might prove Use
ful in tho examination. but the State can
not afford to rely ON either private infOr-
inaiion or assi.ta!icc. It's force OF sur
veyOrs or prospcctors should DO equipped
with the requisite means OF lOcOinotion,
encampment and whatever tools or in
S;ruirunts arc necessary for the success
iul prosecution of tho work. That they
should keep themselves entirely free
from ull conflicting private interests. ut
least during tho period Of their employ
nncnt by the State, it is hardly necessary
to insist upon.
Prof. Shepard estimates that for tho
sum OF s. 800 the state might in tho course
Of Il ycnr he put i'll possession Of impor-
tant information, which if not complete
or oi the most accurate dcsI Iriptinn might
servo rs the foundation of an elaborate
survey
The commissioner OF agriculture says J.:
"N"no Of tho duties Imposed upOn tho
department Of agriculture are moro i'm
portant than the protection of tho rights
and Interests "f tho State in the phos-
phato mines. In order To properly SUI
porvisr this great interest ii is not only
necessary to SEQ that the royalty duo the
State upon the rock mined is promptly.
paid, but that the mining should be so
conducted rs to develop tho phosphntu
territory in the most advantageous man
ncr to tho State"
At tho last session OF tho Legislature n
concurrent resolution was passed reluir-
ing tho commissioner and tho board OF
agriculture To inquire into tho feasibility
of increasing the rate of phosphate royal
~ and to make F. survey Of
THE PHOSPHATE TERRITORY,
but the appropriation of $1,000 was so
cnmplished and the matter was postpon-
ed. In order to procure information OH
tho subject circular WAS addressed to
Il number Of persons couversant with tho
subject, asking for their views 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
the commissioner of agriculture.
MIR. T.. Willis, of Charleston, thinks
that M tho revenue Of the State from all
sources approximates $500, 900, and TINT
as the phosphate companies alone pay
about $3.50, 900 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 mark otablo value,
to ba determined quarterly by Rock
Exchange In the City of Charleston.
DR.. a. II. Rose of Charleston, favors
an accurate survey of tho phosphate do.
posts, and as to an increase of royalty
says: Zone dollar ton is all this indus
try will bear
Mr.. VIM. ). Whaley, of Charleston,
thinks zone dollar per ton high enough
royalty and favOrs a survey.
AS to the feasibility OF Increasing the
ratio of royalty Mr.. G.. G. Pinckney, Jr..
says that ''tho fundamental trouble is the
unfortunate method adopted by the State,
which fixes n uniform rate ofSi per ton
on tho rock In all locations alike, with.
ont regard to their relative value. This
is as absurd and unbusiness like az it
| would be to value every house and lot In
Charleston mt a fixed sum, or TO assess
nit the land in tho State ut 40 much per
acre. 1t was n crude experiment. adopt
ed originally as step in the dark, before
anything was known about the value
OF tho deposits or the prncticabilty Of
getting them out, and it is wonderful
that this should have continued until
now. Tho truth is that tho deposits
In value. q ding to quantity, o9ality,
depth of w...ur, accessibility for ships to
remove 1t. 60. Coosaw River uuites In
itself all the advantages. and the right to
be far moro valuable than the right to
mine in any other stream at 81. IT fol.
lows from this that so long as that com.
pnny, the Coosaw, has the right to mino
In their territory At 81 per ton, 1t woald
be Idle to attempt to exact a higher roy
atty from those mining in other less IA
vored localities. The unprecedented sue
cess OF the Coosnw Company and the
signal failure Of all attempts Ton large
scale) to mine elsewhere are the necessa-