The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1890-03-06
l9t5A FEW WORDS
10 THE VOTERS OF GRORGIA.

uoISemenC nom Inherent sections of the
State, feel that it las become my duty to
lay before you a few facts in reference. to
the Department of Agriculture and it's nd.
ministratson, The position Of the present
Commissioner is strongly fortified, for he
has good salary, large contingent fund
at bis disposal, free passes over the rail.
roads and . heavily feed body guard Of
active and earnest advocates and defenders
in the assistants, clerks, guano aud oil In
spectors, appointed BY him. whose zeal in
his support Is Commensurate with their fat
salaries. Surrounded as IL is BY this large
force ofinterested workers, whose infuence,
local, family and political, Wilt used to
protect the Department against every effort
of the people to place any other man in
the position, it yet presents many vulner-
able points of attack. Since my candi-
dacy was announced. have mingled freely
with the people in order to elicit their
views on this subject, and ] find o deep
seated dissatisfaction with the Department
and its present administration. Unders
stand, make no personal attack on Col.
Henderson, nor on the gentlemen, associat-
Eed with him, but i do assert that the adj
ministration of the Department has not
been success, and when say that it has
mot given us the help we had right to ex-
pect from it, Ibut voice the sentiment Of
hundreds oftarmers throughout the State,
and believe the record Of the department
itself will sustain me in the statement I,
in common with my brother farmers have
labored under the impression that this de.
partment was created. for our. special .bene-
fit; to instruct US in the principles Of more
advanced agriculture; to teach as more
thorough system Of farm management; to
invite new methods; in other words to in
fuse fresh life and energy into our agricul-
tural system. Have we felt its life-giving.
health-inspiring influence on these or
kindred subjects? The annual cost of the
department is about 1927 900, of this, about
$4,000 comes from the treasury, the re-
mainder from the inspection of oils and
fertilizers. But does it not really come
out Of the farmers hard earnings, for is it
not added in the price he pays for these
articles 2 We have submitted quietly to
an extra assessment of taxes levied yearly,
for the support of the department. we have
paid the inspectors fees without murmur.
Now what have we received in return ?
A few packages of seeds, an occasional
theoretical article on farm management,
from which the average farmer can extract
about as much good as blood from a
turnip; few manuals published at differ
ent times, and columns of statistics. all of
which are we'll enough, but certainly dom
add much to the farmers cotton house or
corn crib. Look at the immense advan.
tages reaped by Alabama, our sister State,
from the wide awake, energetic methods
of her commissioner and you can form
some idea of what we might gain from a
department conducted entirely in the in
terest of the agricultural classes. Is the
farmer even protected against the rapacity
of INSCRIPTIONS dealers in fertilizers? !. Is
he not almost as much at their mercy as in
SO, when the loose methods of the depart
ment called for an investigation BY the
Legislature? By referring to the proceed
ings OF that Legislature you will discover
that the evidence before the investigating
committee was most damaging, that the
majority report was far from complmen>
tary, and that but for the interposition of
personal friends of the administration, the
department would have received blow,
and that from the farmers, from which it
would never have recovered Why this
disposition on the part of the farmers to
wipe OUT the department, when their
was the interest supposed to be specially
subserved by its existence Why is it
that now. some of our most eminent farm
ers, not in the legislature, but living almost
10 the shadow of the department, advocate
its utter dcmolishment2 Had the brain
and energy OF the department been direct
ed to developing our struggling agricul>
tural interests; had a portion OF the $4,000
contingent fund been used each year in
calling attention to the magnificent re-
sources of our soil and climate instead of
in extra. clerk hire; bad the people been
awakened to theimmeDse possibilities which
lie buried in our almost inexhaustabe
mineral deposits; had the farmers been
made to feel that this was their department
created and used for their benefit; that in
it they would find the protection an en-
cour cement which the law intended
where is there one among the thousands in
the State who would not have given it a
hearty endorsement? No, the farmers are
not satisfied, Notwithstanding the effort
through the press and other channels to
| make it appear that they are ready to
throw up their hats and cheer for the
glorious and successful agricultural de-
partmeutr' 1t certainly has had ample
time to confer decided and lasting benefits
on them for il has had Id wears of undis.