The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-01-14
TO 81 VI Ii ALI. lp.


partmeAt has done much work and caused
many surveys IL usually undertakes one
! large survey year. Last year II employed
! Iir- ii. NJ thauce, All eminent tseolugisf
! recommended by the famous Dr. J. +.
/ Lesley, state Geologis5 Of Pennsylvania. Ia
make All exploration Of the coal fields -
+ North Carolina. e,taliy IN Chatham
/ county aud on the Dan River. ilr Chance
! was paid $40 per month, aud the work
Was finished Ia about niuo months Ia his
I published pamphlet, containing map Of
/ the coal beds and full accurate and
/ complete report Of the exploration. nr
| Chance states that the actual cost Of the
/ exploration, exclusive Of compensation
+ paid him. Was less than 81 500 This
/ would make the cost of the WORK not in
Guiding the pamphlet. about 81 300 His
| report Is very valuable as showing the sit
uation of our coal fields, the kind of coal
| and the quantity. together with other i'm
| portant Information This survey cost a
great deal of money but those who know
| best say 1t was good investment. How
ever, commenting on this survey the Repor-
| ter and Post, published al Dauburv, saws:
| ''Dr. Chance says, after going down TO the
enormousth y depth of near fifteen feet in
one or two places that there Is no coal
worth mining on Town Fork, and the
Board of Agriculture and the Cape Fear
and Iadkin Valley Railroad Company
seem satisfied with what he says. We are
no mlneralogiSt, chemist or Dr., but do
say that the report published by the .tgri-
cultural Department. Cape Fear and Iad-
kin Valley Railroad or whatever authority
! II may be that sent IL ont, has done this
whole section-Stokes, Forsyth. Surry
| Rockingham and other adjoining counties
| injustice, to say nothing of the injustice
done the parties directly Interested and
who own the coal lands"
| This year, 1886 under direction of the
Legislature, the Board is to make a survey
of our oyster beds. The estimated cost Is
$4,000. We agree with Mr.. Paul Cameron
who SAID a few days ago that he thought,
III the words Of Col Sellers, ''there's mil
lions in it" There is no industry in the
State capable of larger expansion than the
oyster industry Lieut.. Winslow, of the
{. $. Navy has been detailed to make the
survey and is now engaged i'll the work
with headquarters at Beaufort. We be
| lleve this will prove il wise invest ment and
| although ii will cost no little, we believe
the Board has done the correct thing in
ordering the survey.
The Experiment Station protects the far
mcrS against worthless Fertilizers Every
guano offered for sale III North Carolina
Is analyzed by competent and experienced
chemists, and sometimes eight or ten sam
plies are thus tested to show of what in
gradients it is composed and their value.
We cannot calculate, i'll dollars and cents,
the value of the work in the department.
The keeping out of worthless guano by the
levying a tax and careful analysis in
sures the farmer against being defrauded. /.
off I ba Il rt, h
ing for the farmer" Whenever this state
| ment Is made again let the work Of the
Experiment Station be shown as a reputa
| tiOn of the charge
| 1t is true that the Agricultural Depart
ment does not spend all its money directly
to aid the farmer There is not need of
doing this. The survey of the oyster beds
is not directly helping the farmers, unless
we call the men who plant and cultivate
| oyster beds farmers. And they are far
mers-the only difference is the field in
which they work and the character of
| their products. Sometimes money is spent
| for things that many of us think not ger
| name to the objects for which the depart
ment was established. The way to end
such expenditures is to make the support
| Of the department dependent on the peo
| pie, through their Legislators. See sug
gestion in our editorial.
In writing about the Agricultural De
partment Rev. c. T. Bailey some time ago
said after a careful reading of the re
port we are led to think that one of the
chief labors of the department is to devise
ways and means of spending their princely
income" Now this is not exactly correct.
| 1T is true for every days good and henest
work done too much money is paid and
| there are too many employees, but the col
| lecting of information, publishing of re
ports, and answering correspondents, in
themselves, occupy considerable time. 1t
| would surprise most people to know how
| many questions are asked this department
| and how much time is necessarily spent
| in answering them. 1t is difficult to show
exactly how every hour is spent. From
| January to April there Is a great deal of
work to do in the Experiment Station, but
| they are not so busy the balance of the
| year. If some of the spare time were spent
in studying How to Economize' it would
| be wisely spent. Economy ought to begin
| with the incidentals, some of the salaries
| and all the other expenditures.
| Finally and lastly, it is difficult to show
! wherein there ought tC be retrenchment
| in every instance. The general manner
/ Of conducting the affairs is sufficient to
| show that there is need of Improvement
Money is spent freely and everything that
! is wanted is bought, if the Board will
| grant the money, and under a pres
| sure. it would seem that the Board
usually appropriatea all the money asked
for The head of each department is am
! bilious for his department and desires to
| make aS big show possible. Hc there
| fore gets all the money he can. The gen
eral manner of running the department
/ might be expressed III such words as these:
I'VE have the money here TO spend There
| is no need of economy. We will buy the
very best of everything and as much as
we may need" There seems to be little
spirit of economy, except il be in the I'm
migration agents office. There is need Of
change in this general idea. one of the
members of the Board told Us that it was
sometimes difficult, with the large appro-
priations, to meet the expenses of the de-
partment on account of the extra demands
made on the Board at nearly every meet
ing Twice they have been compelled to
borrow money, paying per cent interest
therefor.
The CHRONICLE submits the above 10 a
fair minded public. 1t believes there j:
need for a Democratic paper to look tnto
the workings of the departuen. and spea /
of them plainly and honestly. That ha,
been done in this article, which will, We
believe, be productive of good At an,
rate it seemed TO US that our duty demand