The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-09
Seeds for Pntronnre Only.


Secretary Morton and the garden seed
statesmen at Washington continue to have
fun With each other. 1t is the secretaIy's
play just now. and he is making the states
men see stars. Morton began the game
by refusing to waste the peoples money
in the purchase and distribution of seed
which never did anybody, except the
statesmen, any good. and to continue a
seed bureau as place in which the states
mems relations and favorites could be
tucked away at the expense of the govern
ment. The statesmen came back at him
with powerful debate in congress. in
which the secretary was fguratively made
a floor mop of, and which was followed by
the adoption of a mandatory resolution,
directing the secretary to resume the pur-
chase and distribution of seeds right away,
before the beginning of the next campaign,
whether he thought the distribution was
a bad thing or any other sort of an old
thing. The statesmen gave the secretary
to understand that they had the spending
Of the peoples money, and they proposed
to spend it as they pleased, and as much
of it as possible for their own benefit.
AS soon as the resolution was passed, the
statesmen began to write letters to the
secretary, begging him to appoint certain
persons, whom they named, to places in
the seed bureau. The employees of the
seed bureau have nothing much to do ex-
cept to put seeds in little envelopes and
seal them up, and paste labels on them,
and then tumble the packages into can
vass mail bags and cart them to the post
office. The seed bureau has been regard
ed as a good thing for the patronage dis
pensing statesmen. But it will hardly be
so considered hereafter. For here is where
the secretary has played another trump
against the statesmen. He has put
the bureau under the classified service,
and all who get appointments must stand
most rigid examination. The secretary
has himself prepared the questions, the
answering of which will require pretty
thorough knowledge of botany, phyto-
graphy, phytology, vegetable physiology,
| deterioration, agrasstology, arborozation,
dentrology and alloIogy. The statesmen
to do with the putting up and addressing
to their constituents of seed packages. It
is to be expected that Senator Vest and
Lon Livingston will again be heard from
in speeches of burning Indignation But
the secretary has got the law on his side.
Yesterday dispatches quote Senator Har-
ris as saying, with regard to the silver
issue: 1--WE believe that the people have
been duly educated" That is, they know
just as much as Senator Harris thinks
they ought to know. Nobody else has had
the assurance to say that the United
States is a nation of financiers, whose ed
ucation is complete. Any such claim is so
bald and absurd that it does not need to
be combatted. 1t is noted, by the way,
that the Washington Star says extraor-
binary activity is apparent in the liter
airy bureaus of the parties and factions in
Washington, and that the silver leaders
are having printed and will circulate A..
100000 copies of the speech of Congress
man Towne of Minnesota, and probably
several hundred thousand copies of Crisp's
speech and other free silver speeches.
This does not look much like the silver
ties generally agree with Senator Har
ris that the people are duly educated"
1t is gratifying to learn from the Star that
10000 copies of Congressman's Turner's
speech against the 16 to 1 idea will be
distributed.