The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-02-14

this paper. who has been its editor ever
asked, sought, nor received q dollar
of profit from the Department. nor from
any one connected with the State gov
eminent. We have never wanted the
State Printing, and could not have Ia
ken. even If it had been rendered US.
We have never been rich enough TO own
a press, and have barely sufficient type
to set u paper.
We pronounce it utterly false that the
Farmer and Mechanic has criticised the
Department IN account OF any such
motive. We began III censure of the
Department while we were acting as lts
so-called Organ. and OF terms Of
personal intimacy with every member
of the Board.-when we had everything
10 lose and nothing to gain by plain
speaking! In proof of this, We cite Col.
Holt. a member of the Board, and Col
Walter Clark, (these gentlemen then
otrning the paper, which We then leased
from them). Col. l.. l.. Polk, (then
Commissioner of Agriculture), Geo. {.
Jordan, Esq, then of the News Pub
fishing Co." John ". Dowd. Esq, our
partner, and hosts of Others. including
every reader OF the paper.
When the Department was started, a
weekly newspaper was needed to pub
lish its work. The Raleigh News Com
pany (Col. Holt, Col. Clark, AMI Geo.
{. Jordan agreed to start one, provided
the Department would give the paper its
patronage. A formal legal contract
was drawn, and signed by the Board Of
agriculture on one side, and by the Far
mer and Mechanic on the other. This
contract was unlimited in time, aud it
still exists. II. A. Shotwell, of Char
lotte, was sent for to manage the paper
on salary. For two years he worked as
few editors have ever done TO build up
the paper. 1t was hard work. for the
public saw that the paper was a mere
and bound to praise and
puff the Department.
At length we saw the paper must
cease to be an organ or die. We
wrote to Messrs. Holt, Clark, Jordan &
Co., offering to lease the Farmer md
Mechanic They agreed, and from the
lIllt CllolWcll ~ DOWu tOOh COulIoi VI
the paper it became truly independent.
We took down the title of Organ of
the Department. and put III it. place
this-"A Paper for the People!' and
such it has since been. Recollect that
in leasing the paper we took all of the
privileges OF the original contract max
ing us the mouth-piece OF the Depart
ment, or its organ. and binding the De-
partment to work for the paper and
this contract still holds good in law,
though as we said above, it was u
personal wish to render the contract
null and void. Col. Holt, Col. Clark,
Col. Polk, Mr.. Jordan, Capt. DOwd,
and scores of others, know this to he
true. So much for Jarvis falsehood
that we censured the Department he
cause denied favors!
The only proposal erer made by us to
the Board as follows: As a part OF the
contract it was made the duty of the
Farmer and Mechanic to furnish one
hundred copies each year at halt price
Isl a year, to be sent to agents" The
year ended in 1879, after we leased the
paper. aud we wrote that We stood ready
to carry out our part Of the contract;
liiOuSh Ndo hoI OnC HCftN VI DfOftt
in furnishing our big, SPACE paper 1T
one dollar a year Every printer knows
this.
1t is possible that we, or our partner.
added a proposal to get up a special edi-
ton, filled with articles about Our State
Resources Tin answer to a deluge of let
tiers of inquiry, and scatter these tx
tras, throughout the North or Europe,
at a cost of one cent per copy, Every
printer knows that the cost of the SIM
ply imprinted paper itself,-for eur big,
SPACE .journal-uas more than one cent
per copy; not to count the type-setting,
printing, postage, wrappers, mailclerk,
rent, and editors labor. In short, it was
simply a patriotic offer.-tO incur ex-
|pense. and hard work, to help the De-
psrtment advertise the STATE and make
hex the glorious Empire which Nature
intended her to be! If it seem strange
that we should be willing to work for
the state g~ratuitously, let me say that
this. in my notion, is part of the duty
of livery intelligent and public spirited
citizen. And (notin vanity, but to show
that we practice what we preach) here
are recent volunteered remarks Selected
from 100 similar ones):
Oxford Torchhght says THE Far
"mer and Mechanic is doing more to in
''vite attention to n. c. than any piper
I'VE see. Though apparently a thank
less duty. Bro. Shotwell, we hope, may
yet receive a rich reward for all of his
"hard labor in behalf the State" VII
mington Presbyterian says:-''The r. &
m. is showing more pains-taking effort
Ito set the State right N the eyes of the
world than any paper of our acquain-
''tance. North Cardinals interests are
Its speciality" Raleigh Baptist Recor-
der says: BRO. Shotwell does not mind
hard work when it will benefit North
Carolina and the South"
Finally, to show the falsity of Jarvis
assertion on its face, the above, first, last,
and only proposal made to the Board
was insolentiy rejected, and not euen the
courtesy of a reply returned And why?
Simply because We had long before that
been showing up the Board, based up
on talks with the Commissioner, the
secretary (Robinson), the geologist, and
several of the members. Do these gen.
tlemen want their conversation pub
lished We have along memory.
RAILWAY ITEAs.-President VIII
liams of the Oxford-Henderson r. r., is
understood to be working t. have Ills