The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1889-03-28
nan INvEsTMENT.

lege operations win close in june.
From the incipiency Of this boasted
enterprise more than $780,,
600 Of the peoples money has beenex-
pended, Of which amount nearly half
has gone In the way Of big salaries to
the Faculty During this time, too, the
students or their parents have paid at
the lowest estimate s350,OOO for board
and other expenses. The cost, there
fore, Of running the Tombstone In
dustry to date, is not far from $780,
900 and the practical results attained.
as shown BY Gen. Lees letter No. VI,
is embodied in the following state
ment:
There are Is living graduates Of
this college-of this number, TEN are
farming, ELEVEN more are farming
and also engaged in other pursuits,
THREE are hOrticulturists, THREE are
assistants at agricultural experiment
stations, ONE is a dairyman, SIX are
professors or teachers Of agriculture,
making 46 per cent Of graduates en-
gagged in farming or teaching agricul-
ture. Others are reengineers, eleven are
teachers, balance physicians, lawyers,
merchants, ministers, &c"
1t would seem, therefore, that as
a result Of more than eight years OF
labor and an expenditure Of three
quarters Of a million Of dollars, THIR-
TY-FoUR young men have been sutf-
ciently impressed with the beauties
of agriculture, as taught at the A. &
NJ. College to engage in whole or in
part in farming.
IT everyone of these young gentle-
men were practical and successful
farmers, a simple calculation would
show that each scientific agriculturist
turned out by this college to date had
cost the taxpayers Of this State s1l,-
764, to say nothing Of the expenses in
CURED by their parents or guardians,
and for our part we don't believe they
are worth it. Butin truth and in fact.
nine Of the "a, according to the Pre-
sident's showing, are themselves pen
sioners on the labor Of the country,
and cannot, therefore, be properly
classed as producers. This would
leave TWENTY FIVE who are devoting
their time in whole or in part to ag-
riculture, thus increasing the average
cost to the taxpayer Of scientific
farmer emanating from the A. s NJ
/ College to $4,000 per capita.
But it is fair to presume that the
ELEVEN engaged in farming and
"other pursuits" make their farming
operations secondary to those "otheI
pursuits. and like the boy when asked
if his father was a follower of the
Saviour, answered in the affirmative
but volunteered the information hs
was not working at it much. We dar,
say these eleven, thrown in to increase
the average, are not working at the
pillow much, consequently the number
of graduates engaged in practica
agriculture, horticulture and dairying
as a business, may be numbered by ths
figures-l4, which is the exact mum
Der claimed to have been engaged il
farming and "kindred pursuits il
January, 1856. And in that crowd
we believe was enumerated a tomb
stone agent.
Now, we submit that an expendi
ture Of $35O,0O0 ont Of the pockets o
the patrons Of the institution anC
100000 out of the State Treasury, t.
secure Ia scientific farmers educated
on the intensive plan," is so far be
vond their actual worth, that no sen
sible business man would continue
the experiment an hour, if he had t,
furnish the capital, especially since
the reports OF the farm department a
the College show that about thre,
dollars are expended to obtain ON
/ dollars worth Of products.