The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-01-14

/ The Boston Exposition cost nearly Sl5.-
600 In getting up the exhibit for New
Orleans the managers had the benefit OF
all their Boston exhibit, with ali their ex-
! perlence. And vet ii cost about a. much
! TO exhibit At New Orleans a. at Boston
! however SIX months was spent al New
I Orleans and only two at Boston That
may account for the difference, as well as
The increased variety OF the display.
AN ERROR CORRECTED.
Some weeks ago Brother Hackney, edi-
! tor OF the Durham Recorder who has been
critlclzlng the Department pretty severely.
! published Il statement to the effect that
! the exhibit of canned goods made by the
/ Department at the New Orleans Exposi-
! ton was not North Carolina fruit at all
but that they left the old Rip Van Wiukle
state and sent TO Thurber, Whyland x
I Co, of New York, and bought 1851 6s
worth of fruit to deceive the people by
making them think it was al grown in
/ North Carolina.
4 Upon reading the above the CHRONICLE
/ did not know what to think If the off
GERS of the department mad been guilty of
what Mr. Hackney charged we are frank
| to say that Impeachment from office would
| be too good for them. We have looked
into the matter and as a matter of Justice
ask Mr.. Hackney eve know he will be glad
| TO do rlghU to publish correction as fol
I lows
When it was determined to make a dis
| play of the fruit of the State the Secretary
began to look around to see where he
could have the canning done. There was
no place in the State where the frut could
be put up in nice display jars. For that
reason an arrangement was made with
| Thurber, Whyland ~ Co, represented in
| North Carolina by Mr.. Thos H. Mckov
Jr, to ship the fruit to New York and
have the canning done by this firm This
explains how Thurber, Whyland x Co re-
ceived the above amount. This writer has
examined some Of the correspondence be
tween Mr.. Wilson and the firm and letters
I from other par les showing the above facts
to be true The fruit was purchased at
various points in the State: some at the
Goldsboro Fruit Fair, from Or. Benbow,
of Greensboro, Nat Atkinson, Of Ashe-
vile, DR.. kirkpatrick, of La Grange, }.
b. McNeeley, of Salisbury, and from 9th
erS. The fruit was fine and was we'll pre-
| pared for exhibition, and we cannot see
that the Department ought to be blamed
for sending the fruit to be canned in New
York, under the circumstances.
A Fablc--NOt by Aesop.
AT a certain time-no matter when,
at certain place-no matter where
young adventurer was roaming over the
fields in a mountain section when he came
across "a field in which there was IA metal
which he thought was very valuable and
which friend told him was pyrite. He
learned thai the land belonged to an old
and ugly and sharp featured old maid,
but determined to marry her and by this
means come into the possession of a for
tune. 1t did not take him long to get the
old maid in the notion and after the knot
was tied he carried a specimen of the min
eral to chemist to analyZe and found
that it was worth absolutely nothing.
Haec fabula docft: don't risk your all on
pyrites.
| Now for the application: A few days
ago, since the beginning of 1886, a gentle
man who was employed by the board to
make iron pyrite explorations, was paid
To 10 days services, at $l0per day, $1,000 90
To subsistence, 90
| To TRANSPORTATION 10 so
To labor and supplies, 10. 10
| Making a total of $146.15
This is for ten days work. Nobody
blames the gentleman, who is first class
geologist and does his work well, but we
think the Board is to be criticised for pay
ing so much money for exploring the
pyrites. The State is in the condition of
the young man who married for pyrite:
he had no use for the old maid and he was
tied to her for life; the State has no use
for pyrite, but has spent all this money TO
learn something about what it don't need.
ga .sNisger'' in the Woodpiie.'
In the Department there are employed
| four negro men-three of them at salary
| of $25 a month and one at salary of $15.
| OF course it is necessary to have a servant
| to sweep up, make fires, run the engine
and do other such work, but it is hard for
people to understand how four are kept
| busy. If they worked hard two of them
could do all the work, and thus 5000 saved
a year to the people. 1t may be two extra
ones are employed on the principle that all
the offices being in the hands of Demo
| Gratis. a few crumbs ought to be thrown to
the Republicans. Let an honest effort be
made to reduce the expenses on this as
we'll as all other lines.
Perquisites.
John Stamford (col.) is a regular en-
ployee of the Department. His time be
longs to the State, and yet when it was
| necessary for him to hang gate, he was
| paid fifty cents extra for that service. Jesse
Turner (col a regular employee, was also
paid fifty cents extra for cleaning ont of
flee. These are small amounts ANA We
have no desire to object to the payment Of
SO small sum. 1t is the principle of the
thing. If it is right to pay John Stand
ford and Jesse Turner each fifty cents to
do what they are paid a regular salary to
do, why is it not light to pay Dr. Dabney
extra for making an analysis: or Com. Nc
Gehee extra for writing his report.
Extra clerical work is a frequent item.
The amounts paid for it range from S45 to
So. 81. There are already more men in the
Department than are needed to do the work
and yet every few months bill is allowed
for extra clerical assistance. The Board
ought to require its employees to do all the
work and save all these extras.
Wen wager it is not generally known
that the Fish Department is an artillery
station. Well, its not exactly that but
it buys lots of cartridges. Ne We're
curious to know what was the use Of car
trdges in an Agricultural Department and
sought the information from Secretary
Wilson. He said they We're used by the
keeper of the carp ponds to keep fowls
from destroying the carp.
Talking about expenses, over $40 was
spent by the Office rs and agents last yeal
for carriages, horse hire, and omnibus hire
Most of this was necessary and oushi *
have been expended. W. opine that the
amount would nave been less if the ndl