The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-07
Secretary Wilson Is Trying to
Supply II.
THE EXPERIMENT IN BUTTER.
A Hobby Which Seeks to Apply Science
to Agriculture Postmaster General Gary
In an Employer.

to better crops, higher prices or new and |
more profitable products for his farm. AS |
an instance of his alertness in this direc-
ton l am able To tell the story of how the |
secretary conceived the idea of sending |
American butter to the English market. |
1t will be remembered that the govern
ment started in the butter business some |
months ago as an experiment., buying |
quantities of butter and sending it at
different times to London to be sold In the |
open market for what it would fetch. BY |
getting carefully detailed reports as to the |
objections to our butter or the method of |
packing it the secretary is now confident |
he will in short time be able to tell |
American butter makers just how to go |
about it to capture their full share Of the I
British market.
Butter and Cotton.
The idea came to the secretary while he /
was seated at the wedding breakfast Of
Miss Gary, daughter of the postmaster
general, in Baltimore. Beside him was
Baltimore gentleman who Is engaged in
the export grain trade. This gentleman
told the secretary of the large quantities
of corn he was shipping to Denmark. Mr.
Wilson at once wanted to know what the
Danes did with American corn. He was
lulOIiDtu ilub IL was lNNl w NiIb NpNo NhASii
produce the prime butter with which the
thrifty Danes have captured the rich Eng
lish market and held it against all rivals.
Secretary Wilson pricked UP his ears. eff
American corn will make butter good
enough for English tables in Denmark,
why should it not make such butter in the
United States?' he said to himself. "Why
should our corn be exported raw when If
we go at it right we can sell it in the form
of butter and make the double proiitl'
Immediately on returning to Washington
he gave orders to buy butter for the ac-
count Of the agricultural department. and
to ship it to England. This experiment Is
working out very well, and promises to be
q great help to the American farmer in
time.
When some Of the southern senators sue.
ceeded in getting an amendment TO the
tariff bill putting duty on cotton, Secre-
tary Wilson pricked up his ears again. He
wanted to know why cotton needed protec-
tion Postmaster General Gary, who is
thoroughly familiar with the agriculture
as we'll as the business of the south, in
formed him that the protection was needed
for the sea island cotton, superior article,
which comes into competition with Egyp-
tian long fiber cottons for threads and GER
tain other special manufactures. lnciden-
tally Mr.. Wilson learned that the sea is
land cotton, grown upon small strip OF
sand islands stretching along the coast for
about 100 miles in Florida and South Caro-
lima, is worth fully twice as much In the
market as ordinary cotton.
This was quite enough. At once Mr..
Wilson started an inquiry as to why this
sea island cotton cannot be grown in other
parts of the United States. If there are the
same soil, climate and humidity elsewhere,
why can't the same crop be grown? That
Is what he wants to find out. And in
order to find out he has set the machinery
| of the department, with its scores OF scien'
tiflc men and experimenters, to work.
Practical Agriculture.
Secretary Wilson'S hobby is the practical
/ application of science to agriculture. He
| likes the scientific men who throng the de-
| partment. He approves of their employ
| ment at good salaries, but he does object
| to their working for the sake of science.
! He cares nothing for their beautiful re-
| ports, for their elaborate theories. 1.-The
| trouble with most scientific men, says the
| secretary, sis that they work for other
| scientific men. They want the approval
| and applause of their contemporaries. Thq
| man want them to work for is the farmer.
| If they can't show me what they are doing
! for practical agriculture, i will take their
cases in hand" He has sent letters to the
! heads of all the scientific bureaus of the de-
| partment requiring them to demonstrate
| what they are there for and what they are
doing
| Postmaster General Gary has already be-
come one of the most popular men In the
new administration. He is plain, old
| fashioned, accessible. He looks and acts
like a gentleman of the old school, ana
has not the slightest affectation. NOW
and then some fresh young congressman
imagines the postmaster general is yer
dant in politics and that he may dc easily
imposed upon, but one or two attempts
in that direction satisfy him that he is
barking up the wrong tree MIR. Gary
looks somewhat like an innocent Quaker,
but he cut his eye teeth in politics many
wears ago. In fact, he has spent fortune
in the game of politics simply because ne
loves it and likes to help his friends.
MIR. Gary and His Men.
Mr.. Gary is best known as business
man, and II all the employers In the couh
try were like him there would be no strikes
or lockouts. Mr. Gary has 90 men IN MS
| employ who have been there more than 81
|
and his fathers before him for 81 years
and is still carried on the pay roll, though
he doesn't do any work He Is an over
seer in the cotton mills, and puts In or
appearance once in awhile just because ~
likes 10 and not because it Is expected. III
the Go or 81 years of operation of their cot
ton mills the Garys have never had strike
1t has occasionally been necessary TO re
duce tho wages of the men. When con
fronted with a necessity of this sort, MI
Gary calls all his oyerseers into the Office.
He tells them that what he has to do is
more painful to him than 1t is to them OF
to the men. He explains the business
conditions which make the step impera
tive, and then the overseers and the mer
under them understand quite as well a.
the proprietors The reduction Is put II
force, the overseers explain everything tt
the hands and there is no grumbIng
Some day things brighten up, market'
are better and prices higher. Without
word of notice the men find their Ole
wages. or, perchance, still higher ones, IL
Nh ~