The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-18
UNCLE JERRY IS ROASTED
The Bucolic Secretary Roundly
Scored for Extravaganza and
Utter Uselessness.
Sarcastic Comments on Hts On
cial Pictures of Grasshoppers
and Chinch-Bugs
Enormous Growth of the Expenses OF the
Agricultural Department-No Ade-
quate Return Therefor.

WASHINGTON March 4.-Uncle Jerry
Rusk's department of agriculture got Il
roasting in one of the New York papers the
other morning for what is termed its out
rapeous and reckless exp~ensiveness, the in
competency of it's work and the fay.orltism
that pervades every bureau. The article IS
carefully prepared aud congress ia given Its
full share of blame for the evils hat are
alleged to exist. The appropriations for
the agricultural department. have increased
from $25O,OOO ten years g to S2,25O,o0o
for the current fiscal year. A vast amount
of this money is wasted III useless bureaus,
needless Investigations, and the publica-
ton Of tons of literature of no use to FAR
mers or anybody else for the reason that
much of it is prepared by theorists and
other incompetents and that which might
have scientific value is technical and In
comprehensive to the average agricultural
mind, OF the useless officials the writer OF
this blast at Uncle Jerry's department. says:
The second item in the agricultural bill
appropriated SIS, 100 for the division OF &C
counts and disbursements. Tn force con-
sists of a discussing clerk at $4,000 a year,
an assistant disbursing clerk at S2,uWn, a
cashier at $500, fou clerks at S1.60o, a
%bookkeeper at $1,400, a property clerk at
n. 400 and two other clerks whose salaries
are 1920 and $1,000. Here Is = stan OF
twelve employees to disburse S2,00O,oW a
year. The office is so small and the clerks
40 numerous that they can't keep out OF
each others way. OF course they don't do
much, There is not much for them to 90.
The hardest work they do is to get on the
rolls. After they have done this they feel
that thew are entitled to a comparative rest
during the remainder of their term OF ser
vice.
"Take the library for another illustration.
The bill provided for a librarian at $l,oOO,
IN assistant librarian at $1,4OO. a clerk at
ST. 600 and a messenger at 5000. Here Is an
expenditure for clerical help in the depart
ment's library of $500 a year. Then there
ia the division of illustration. For this
division $40 0 is appropriated. 1t consists
of a chief artist at $1,000, three assistants
At 81. 400 each. FIVE at 81, 200 each, n wood
enoraver at $1,000, one assistant wood en-
prayer at $500 and another at $1,000
Three years ago two men, whose salaries
aggregated $3, 200, performed all the duties
Of the division. This labor is now divided
among twelve men at an annual cost TO the
taxpayers of $4,000"
These are the gentlemen who draw the
pictures for Uncle Jerry'sbooks and things,
those likenesses of chinch bugs and beetles
and erasshOppers with which Uncle Jerry
ia wont to instruct the rurc.. mind. Tn
charge is made, too, that the agricultural
department is q kind of an aims house fo1
relatives and other dependents of the pow
ers, and plenty of instances are cited where
whole Manifestations and sons ant
dauphters-are all on the rolls. The whole
article afforded Uncle jeremiah some
mighty interesting reading.