The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-17
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JOKER Of THE CABINET.
q
He Is Your Uncle Jerry Rusk and
He Tells Of His Depart
ment.
New Story Illustrating His Wit,
Which Is Like That OF
Lincoln.
ideas Of Illuminating and the General Sub
ject of I~rrigation-Thc Future OF
tho Farmer.

fsnecial Correspondence Of The INDEPENDENT. J
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.--President HARRISON
ID the head of the government, but the
time will come. If it has not already at
rived. when the secretary of agriculture
will be recognized as representing the econ
oroi, thews and sinews of the country. Our
farmers have just began to make an I'M
nortant discovery--the discovery OF them
selves. The expression and epitome OF
their power and interest are lncarnate IN
Secretary Rusk. Let them, therefore,
strenpthen his hands; for the greater they
make him, and the larger the approprla-
lions at his disposal. the richer and the
HAMMER will these United States become.
II Won have read Charles kingsley's great
work Of "Westward Ho, or the Adventures
Of Amyas Leigh" you know what sort OF a
looking man Secretary Rusk is. He is a
MAGNIFICENT son of Anak, six feet two inches
in height. broad shouldered, stately, genial,
with clear blue eyes and a clear, rudy
complexion. He weighs, / suppose, about
o5O mounds, and looks strong enough to fell
n bullock with one blow of his list. Inc
white mustache and chin beard that sweep
down IN his breast only serve to show that
uOOWAl oA AAAs ~
age attacks him in vain. He is in every re-
spect n fitting representation OF the gigan-
tic au,icn,.ural interests of America. Tow
ering vitality, intellectual grasp. saRaelty
and humor, glow and twinkle IN HIS aspect
To hold converse with him is as refreshing
as to spend a day on a great western farm.
No better piece of good fortune could be-
fall the farmers than to have this man
safely domiciled in the department OF agri-
culture. And with such assistants as Mr..
Willetts, tho assistant secretary, and Mr..
Hill. Ill q chief of records and editing, not
to mention the rest of the staff, it is safe to
saw that whatever is not done for the bene-
fit Of farming interests cannot be done at
all. -
"Come ~early!'' was the tip ! had received
regarding my visit to the secretary. Mr..
Rusk himself is nothing If not prompt. de
is uniformly the first to appear at the cabi-
net meetings. and when OH one occasion he
happened to be late, and thew joked him
on being the "Tail OF the cabinet,"-''You
may have your joke gentlemen quoth tine
stalwart secretary, but it IS the tail that
keeps the flies off the rest of ua!!e Mr.. Rusk
ID al his desk long before business hours
begin for The rest of the department. And
when / get to working here said he to me, |
II sometimes forget when lunch time
comes, and don't get anything to eat" Mr..
Rusk looks as if he might eat a very solid
luncheon, and vet he is anything but a hun-
CRY looking man.
ia the attitude of the department OF agri-
culture on the subject Of rainmaking?"
The secretary regarded me steadily, and
then his eyes began to twinkle. Il got a
telegram yesterday" said he; it read:
"Pleaso send us a rainmaker." I answered.,
1--WE have no rainmaker TO sen you. You
will have to look to a higher source. There
was an appropriation Of $1,000 to make
rain, but it is exhausted. But they had me
believing in the theory at one time," added
the secretary with a chuckle. There came
made down in the southwest somewhere,
and it is said that they made their explo-
sion, and it rained cats and dogs. But then
came a scientific man who had been pres
emit, and he said it didn't rain a drop. +
told him that couldn't be. for I had a letter
from q cowboy who was on the spot, and
that / was confident that a cowboy we'll
knew when it rained. On being confronted
with the cowboys statement, my scientist
said this reason he had said it hadn't rained
was because he hadn't had his ~rain-guage
with him! And it turned ont that not only
did it actually rain, but that the weather
bureau had foretold rain three days pse-
tlnuSth LIZ u DocA DalGly
in time to get off thelr explosion before it
came down."
''Then what is your inal conclusion on
the subject?" I inquired.
Mr.. Kusk looked out of the window. The
wind WAS west, the air dry, the sky blue,
md not q cloud to be seen. ".They couldn't
make it rain out there to-day" said he. eff
used up all the explosives in Washing
So we are left to infer that rain
making is not yet regarded by the depart
as an established scientific fact.
What about Salton lake?a I then asked,
for l was interested in the irrigation of the
Great American desert. SIS the water from
the Colorado, or is it from underground?''
This opened up the whole subject of irri-
The secretary was inclined to the
belief that theS alton lake water was from
a subterranean source. 1t was not sea water
all events; whatever Salton might attach
it was derived from the soil. The investi-
cations carried on by the department as to
~artesian we'll water had demonstrated that
border In the north to that Of Mex
leo in the south. Submerged dams for stor-
ing and enticing the underfow waters nave
been successfully operated. The connect
ing area of this underground flow, which
at only a moderate depth below the
ls vastly greater in some parts of
the country than the true a~rtesian flow.
I'm one way or another, there is no ques-
ton as to what irrigation is doing" added
Mr.. Rusk. "Ten years ago they were say
ing that not eleven million acres of arabic
land remained east of the Tooth meridian;
to-day over fifty million acres nave been
taken up for farming. Values of arid lands
increased from 100 to 800 per cent.
Our investigation did a great deal in a very
short while. but we were hampered by in
sufficient appropriations and extraordinary
provisions as to time, and We hope to do q
great deal more if they give US the chance.'
"Is congress. then, not generous in the
matter of appropriations?'' asked |.
MIR. Rusk nodded his head, moved un-
easily in his chair and gave me q look which
spoke volumes. A chief of division, who
was sitting at my left. spoke out:
"Ihis department." said he, sis the only
one under government that is connected
with the creation of w~ealth-the others all
spend it. 1t is the literal truth that We IN
vest hundreds i'll our chemical and micro
scopic Investigations, and In our experiment
station, and the profit from those invest
ments is counted by millions. Our export
of meat and animals has more than doubled
since this department established its in
spections. and issued guarantees of sound
ness. Our analysis of the grape disease in
California actually preserved the industry.
Our forestry division may have incalcula-
BILE effects. not only in regard to the timber
itself, but in the relation of forests to rain
fall and climate. Our experiment stations
are q means of popularizing the teachings
OF scientific research more effective than
any yet devised; our chemical exposures OF
adulteration-o
by the way" interrupted Mr.. Rnsk, get
ting up m taking q handful of roasted
coffee berries from the mantle-piece, what
do You think of that cofiea?'
1t looked I'll fgt einGe no IN cp1ar oi1a and