Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-11-24
Rusk.s LAST REPORT.


The Commissioner of Agriculture Explains
tho Great success or his Department.
WASHINGTON, Nov 2L-Secretary
Rusk has sought to make his fourth and
last annual report as head of the de-
partment of agriculture a valuable
document and has grouped together
many interesting facts to show what a
great agricultural people we are and
what proper thing 1T was to make the
prime commissioner of agriculture a
cabinet officer
He says we sent abroad last wear
5000, 600, 900 of products more than we
had to import from foreign nations, and
80 per cent of these products were
agricultural. He claims some credit
for that because he shows an increase
OF 40, o00 600 pounds weight of pork sent
to countries which formerly excluded
American pork and $40, coo, 600 value in
crease in our exports of live cattle. All
this comes from the increased precau-
tons to secure healthfulness of Amer
lean food products.
The regulations inforced for the pre-
vention of Texas fever have alone saved
cattle growers more than three times
the cost of running the whole depart
ment, and as to the suppression of
emphatic and eloquent Notwithstand-
ing the assertions to the contrary of
wicked and prejudiced London newspa-
does not exist in the United States
This result. he claims, has been OBJ
tanned at a cost less by 800, 600 than
was paid out by Great Britain during
seven years as indemnity for slaught-
cred cattle alone. He also points out
that the total loss to the cattle growers
of Great Britain by this disease in
deaths alone amounted to not less than
half billion dollars, and that this is
the only country where the disease,
having once gained foothold, has been
entirely eradicated.
He explains why our wheat did not
realize the big hopes raised by the short
crops in various European countries in
1891 by saying that those anticipations
OF. enhanced prices failed to take into
account the changed conditions now
surrounding the production and mar
keting of the worlds wheat crop.
He has undertaken experiments with
imported seed to secure the production
of a home grown cotton which will
meet all the requirements for which
Egyptian and other cottons are now
imported He also wants the United
States to raise its own raw silk instead
of sending s25, 900, 900 a year abroad for
the raw material, and he thinks we
might also save SCI, 900, 600 a year which
we now spend on imported fibers.
Many difficulties have attended the
introduction of a new food, generally
regarded in Europe as not suitable for
human consumption. A mixed corn
and rye bread was found necessary to
secure keeping qualities in a country
where all bread is made and sold by the
bakeries, and corn grinding machinery
purchased in America is now in use in
several mills in that country. One re-
suit is the maintenance of the price of
corn in the face of largely increased
exports, conditions which have hereto
fore always accompanied great depre-
citation in prices The corn exports for
1890, the only year in which they have
equaled those of the present year,
brought the price down to a fraction
under 40 cents a bushel at the port OF
shipment, against a fraction over 55
cents per bushel this year, difference
aggregating, on the exports of the past
fiscal year, not less than $4,000, 600.
The report is the first from the cabi-
HGG W huO It's way W GIS EICSiUChC =
desk.
Secretary Rusk throws cold water on
the rainmakers- The experiments are
being Loyalty made, as congress direct
ed, but the facts in his possession do
not justify the anticipations formed by
the believers in this method of artificial
rainmaking.
AS his last word the secretary ex-
presses his profound appreciation of the
cordial sympa thy and broad Intelligence
with which the president has uniform
ly needed the needs of agriculture. He
predicts that the people of this country
will learn to appreciate that and the
fact that this is the first administration
during which the department of agri-
culture held the rank of an executive
department of the government and was
presided over by a chief executive who
never failed to appreciate the impor-
tance of agriculture. its dignity and its
Inc fo the country n large