The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-05-22
BUTLER TO TILLMAN.
A REPLY TO SOME CHARGES AS TO
FERTILIZERS.
An Appeal to the Record and the Laws
fapt. Tiliman Requested to Prove or
Ratract

derson on May 10th, you aroreportcd
as charging, substantially, that the
, department of agriculture has per.
mitted the farmers of South Carolina,
to be defrauded in tho purchase of
commercial fertilizers by failure to
punish manufacturers whose goods
fall below their guarantees You are
further reported to have said that
you could prove all that you charged,
| and quoted from the annual report of
| the department for the year 1886 as
| authority upon which to sustain your
statement.
The legal penalty in regard to de
| ticlent fertilizers is seizure, condem-
nation and sale, and because this
penalty has not been inflicted YOU
deny that any other penalty has b cen
| imposed.
This provision Of the law cannot be
enforced, for the sufficient reason
that when the analyses are made the
fertilizers have been put in the
ground and are> out of reach of an
action of the kind prescribod This
defect III the law has been reported
TO the Legislature, and could have
been amended if that body had
thought it necessary or desirable
That this has not been done, forces
me to the conclusion that the repre-
sentntiVcs of the people honestly be-
llcvo that the existing laws were sutfi-
cient, OF that the action of the de-
partmont itselfhad made amendments
unnecessary.
While, therefore, We have not
seized and sold deficient fertilizers.
wo have detected and exposed all de
tlclencles, as the very report from
which you quoted shows.
Finding that the law did not reach
tho case as contemplated, the depart
ment reSortcd 10 the publication of
the manufacturers guarantees along
side Of the official analyses, printing
III italics those brands falling below
| the guarantee. This directed atten-
ton immediately to all deficient
brands, 1t should be understood,
however, that the department has
never undertaken to exercise the
judicial authority to declare which, if
any, OF such brands were fraudulent.
| Ihls penalty, voluntarily imposed by
the department., was, after detection,
put upon every brand, no matter how
slight the deficiency. In one case this
| deficiency amounted to only one
hundrcdth Of one per cent of potash,
tho cheapest Ingredient used in com
mercial fertilizers. The department
could not say that this was fraud
any more than it could officially pro
nomce other brands fraudulent
where the difference was greater.
just what cOnstitutes fraud is cues
ton to bo determined by the courts
alone.
There may be q difference of opinion
as to whether merely exposing the
deficiency was sufficient punishment,
but the Legislature has SO regarded
1T, because 1t has for ten years failed
to provide other punishmcnt. even
after the defects III the law hal been
officially reported. But the best eyi
dence of the effect Of this method Of
pums hment is found in the subac-
guent reports Of the department..
Ims plan (of italicisiag deficient
brands) was first adopted in 1884.
An examination Of our reports since
that time will show that there has
been steady improvement in the
value OF fertilizers. 1t was not OK
pected that it would in one season
result in bringing evory brand up to
the guarantee, because new brands
are being introduced every year, and
the manufacturers Of such brands,
not having realized the effect Of this
penalty, might take risks that those
VINO had been once exposed would
afterwards avoid if possible. With
the exception OF The ammoniatcd fer
tlllZcrs III q single season, the i'm
provement i'll the grade of fertilizers
has been marked. Take, for instance.
the very report that you so garblcd
IN making your charges. It is there
shown that the averages OF the man
u1acturers guarantees for ammoni-
ated fertilizers for that season were.
Available phos. acid 8.22:per cent.
hnIloIlla. 2.19 per cent.
Iotasn. 1.49 per cent.
Commercial value, $2O.79.
The averages Of the analyses by
our chemist we're:
Available phos. acid. $50 per cent.
Ammonia. 2.61 per cent
IotaSh PIT per cent.
Commercial value, $14.l7.
Now this shows that, taking the
general sales throughout tho State,
these goods: for that reason exceed
the manufacturers guarantee in:
Available phos. acid. LOS per cent.
| Ammonia. O.53 Der cont,
Potash. OG8 ncr cont
Commercial value, 1868 per ton.
Why did you not explain this also?
| Was 1t because you had determined
to dcnOunce the department of agri~
culture, regardless of facts, and sim
ply made use of such garbled exc
tracts as suited tho purpose you had
II view! L am forced to that conclu.
sion. This is confirmed by the fur
ther reply you are said to have made
when you were asked what had be-
come of the money of the department
and replied that you "did not know"
The report III which you found 80
much to condemn, contained, az you
well knew, an itcmizcd statement Of
every expenditure mado by tho do
partmont for that year. You, there
fore, did know the purposes for
which it had been expended, and