The herald., 1896-10-23


commission. BY the same methods il
captured the valuable property, five
stations and stocks of trees of the state
board of forestry then in charge OF
Moore, Moffit & Spreckles, whose poll
tical patronage work had laid them
open to attack. This valuable work OF
the viticu1tural commission stopped
short never to go again. Not wine
grower, nor vineyardist in the south,
that we have interviewed. knows of a
single useful result to him since the
change. The commissioners property
is locked up and costs the state $1,000 a
year to bee ared for. The guardian of
the wine cellar has to take special
course and is reported the only student
in such course. Three of the forestry
stations have disappeared altogether,
no one knows how or where. The stock
of forest trees is gone and none have re-
placed them. The Chico station is a
disgrace to the stae and the Santa
Monica station is run on the dog-in-the-
manger policy They neither do any
thing themselves nor allow others TO
do anything. Scholars and students
have been excluded from this station
and several times insulted into the bar
gain. The work of introducing useful
forest trees by the forestry people was
discontinued. Their Identification and
study of the native forest trees never
took another step. The timber map of
the state is just where the forestry peo-
pie left it and their excellent and effect
i've work on forest fires was stopped
with the result that the forest fires have
grown worse each year this self-praise
college has had charge. The utter in
competency OF the management is only
matched by the brazen effrontery of
it's self-praise One of the college Off
ented and brilliant newspaper writer.
This gentleman, for number of years,
has furnished the press with articles
full of praise for his superior and his
college. This agricultural college, ac-
cording to its own officers is the finest
in the country its work is the best, its
officers the most industrious and intel
ligent. Altogether this talented Of
ficer's letters about the college of agri-
culture, its work and its officers makes
it and them very fine indeed.
One newspaper after another has
come to realize that this fulsome self
praise is not an accurate statement of
fact Newspapers that desire to tell the
truth have learned that this brilliant
writer's letters are a deception.
The facts are that the farmers OBJ
tain no tangible returns.
The viticulturists are thoroughly dis
gusted. The forestry people and the
botanists who desire to preserve the
forests against fire and destruction and
to study tree life are deeply disap-
pointed in the petty hostilities and total
collapse of all intelligent plant and
forest work. Amongst those who are
acquainted with the facts and directly
interested in farming, viticulture and
forestry, we have not found one single
person who approves the personal
enmities, black lists, incompetency
and immodest self-praise of the agricul-
tural college. Rumor has it that the
Washington people are also disgusted
and are trying to cut loose from the
Berkeley college. Lobbying seems to
be the most effective work of this COL
lege. The state does not pay for the
constant attendance on the legislature
of these so-called agricultural officers.
Taxes are not paid to an agricultural
college to support lobby nor to write
newspaper articles setting forth their
large ability. On October 18th, the
Times was fooled into printing as "spec-
ial Berkeley correspondence one of
these self-laudatory articles by the agri-
cultural college This letter is partly
in the old line Of self-praise and partly
in excuse for non-results. The writer
says that the other students "irreyer-
entity call it the "cow college. " Then
he admits that they have no students to
show for their enormous expenditure
He says: THE number of regularly
enrolled students in COW college is not
large" We should say not, two a year
for twenty-four thousand dollars of
professors salaries is not much. But
this he explains by claiming that out
siders come in for special courses
courses we presume like the man at the
wine cellar with thousand year to
stay there.
The modesty of these people is shown
by the following from the same letter:
This California agricultural college
was the first one in the United States
and it stands today at the head of all
others in America
We cannot have anything better than
the best and if these successful lobby
lists tell us that they are smarter than
anyone else it might be impolite to dis
believe them. This last letter is signed
by a Mr.. Henderson, but it is in the
same style. in the same excellent liter
ary garb of their habitual self-praise
man. He praises the farmers institutes.
In these the useful work is all done by
local talent. These institutes are popu-
lar, but they should not be run with
black list The truth is that Southern
California needs local control of it's
stations and agricultural work and
should seek to put this important busi-
ness in the hands of a college here so
that it would be in touch with the peo-
pie. We need something practical. The
people here care nothing for brilliant
and impractical writer's who praise
themselves to the sky and do nothing
except on paper. We do not want a dis
tant agricultural college that tells us
that sugar beets can not be grown at
Chino-that is what this concern did
we want earnest truth seekers and not
a htghbinder band of political lobbyists.
M'KINLEY AND LABOR