The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-09-23
A Question Answered.

Hon.. Victor |. Spear, of the Board of
Agriculture, addressed last week the fol-
lowing letter to the Free Press:
" In your issue of 10Th instant, notice
you raise the question whether or not the
Board of Agriculture has been guilty of
favoritism and political jobbery or not, and
follow the question with extracts from the
Messenger and Clipper which would seem to
indicate that it has. Without pleading
guilty or otherwise to the charge, state
ment of what has been done would seem to
be called for and let the public judge the
case.
"The work done by the board has been
entirely voluntary and gratuitous on their
parts and was undertaken as matter of
experiment. 1t has published 5000 copies
of pamphlet, containing III pages, nearly
one-half of which are already circulated.
1t has issued $1,000 copies of the same mat
ter as supplements to various papers in the
state which were willing to use them. 1t
has paid out over $50 in advertising outside
the state and has no unpaid bills
AS we had only about 5000 to devote to
this work, it became a necessity that we
add to this amount which was done by
taking paid advertising, the unoccupied
farms, or some of them, were published free,
all other matter paid at a rate fixed by the
board and in all cases the same for like
space.
" AS to favored newspapers, every paper
in the state was invited to take the supple
ment, free for its paid circulation outside
the state, or at $3.50 per thousand for the
state circulation, and all who used them
used them on these terms. The printing
was done at the WATCHMAN office and at
price which good authority upon such mat
tiers pronounced reasonable. In regard to
circulating the supplements, it is matter
of regret to the board that all papers could
not use them the same week, as it was
arranged and expected that they should.
The WATCHMAN is not in fault here, as l
understand it. The WATCHMAN had posi-
tive orders to have pamphlets ready to
distribute at the extra session, even if
something had to be left out. 1t was also
arranged to give out the supplements in
advance of the pamphlets. One of the cuts
for an advertiser delayed the work several
days and finally arrived at the Office Mon
day of the week preceding the extra ses-
sion. To do the press work and get the
supplements to the papers in season to be
used that same week, seems to have been
too much of an undertaking, as manysof the
papers say they did not receive them in
season to use that week. Instead of a few
favored papers taking this supplement,
over half the papers in the state used it for
their circulation outside the state. Only a
few used it for the state circulation, and
they paid for it. All could have had it on
the same terms and were twice asked to
| take il. These statements cover in the
main, | think, the charges referred to.
However much the work in itself deserves
crititicism however many mistakes of
omission and commission may be found, all
of which we shall be thankful to have
pointed out, the motive which has inspired
| and actuated each of the members in the
work which fell to them, l judge to have
been solely and only desire to bring
about good to their state"