The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-12-10

htei oot' go Iu saw the government frOr
the loss threatened by further inaction
THE DEPARTMENT. OF AGR1c1rr
TURE.
The department of agriculture 10 CO :,
timatelyf related to the welfare &c 90 ~
people and the prosperity of our nat;on
that IL should constantly receive the CO..
and announcement of the governmo ".
From small beginning it has grow,
TO De the center of agricultural inteIli.
Sence any tne source of aid and encour.
agement to agricultural efforts Iarnr
sums of money are annually annronria a ! IA -
for the maintenance of this denartment
and It must be confessed that the legisln.
non relatlng to it has not always been
directly "a the interest of practical farm
ing or. properly guarded against waste
and extfdyagance. So far. however q :
public money has been appropriated fair
~ and sensibly to help those who actual.
ly I'LL the. soil, no expenditure has been
more prpItapiy made or more generally
approved BY the people @' "''
Under the present management of the
department. Its usefulness has been en-
HANGED ia every direction and at the
same time strict economy has been en-
forced to the utmost extent perlnittad
by congressional action. From the re.
port OF the secretary it appears that
through careful and prudent financial
management, he has annually saved n
large sum from his appropriations. ny
gregating during his incumbency and IN
to the close of the present fiscal year
nearly one-ffth of the entire amount nm.
propriated. These results have been ac-
complished by conscientious study of
the real needs of the farmer and such
a regard for economy as the farmer
ought to appreciate. supplemented by u
in q department which should be con-
Quoted in the. interest Of agriculture in
stead OF partisan politics. The secreta
ry reports that the value of our exports
of farm products during the last fiscal
year amounted to S570,OOOOOO an in
crease Of $17,000,000 over those of the
year Immediately preceding.
This statement is not less welcome be.
cause of the fact Notwithstanding such
increase, the proportion of exported agri-
cultural products to our total exports of
all descriptions fell off during the year.
The benefit of an increase in agricultural
exports being assured, the decrease in it's
proportion to our total exports is
more gratifying when we con-
slider that it is owing to the fact that
such total exports for the year increased
more than $75,000,0O0.
The large and increasing exportation of
our agricultural products suggests the
great usefulness of the organization
lately established in the department for
the purpose of getting to those engaged
IN farming pursuits reliable information
concerning the condition, needs, and ad-
vantages of different foreign markets.
lnasmueh as the success of the farmer
depends upon the advantageous sale of
his products. and inasmuch as foreign
markets must largely be the destination
OF such products
1t is quite apparent that a knowledge
of the conditions and wants that effect
these markets ought to result in sowing
more intelligently and rcaping better
promise of profit. ...r
Such information points out the way
to prudent foresight in the selection
and cultivation of crops, and to a release
from the bondage of unreasoning mo-
notony of production, glutted and de-
pressed market and constantly recur-
ring improbable term. In my opinion
the gratuitous distribution of seed by the
department as at present conducted
ought to be discontinued. No one can
read the statement of the secretary ON
this subject and doubt the extravaganza
and questionable results of his practice.
Professed friends of farmers, and Ger
tainly the farmers themselves are natur-
ally expected to be willing to rid de-
parrment devoted to the promotion of
farming interests of a feature which |
tends 80 much to its discredit.
The weather bureau now attached |
to the department of agriculture has con-
tinued to extend its sphere of usefulness,
and by an uninterrupted Improvement in
he accuracy of its forecasts has greatly
increased its efficiency as an aid and pro-
lection to all whose occupations are re-
lated to weather conditions Omitting
further reference to the observations of |
the department, l commend the secre-
tary's report and the suggestions it con-
tains to the careful consideration of the
congress.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.