The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-02
STAB TN THE BACK
CONGRESSMAN BR0MwELL's Pc
CULIAR ATTACK ON l.. l.. MAY
s CO., OF ST. PAUL.
WHERE re CANNOT BE CALLED.
THE SENSITIVE OHIOAN SEEMS TO
HAVE THOUGHT HE WAS BE-
ING APPROACHED.
COULDN'T USE OFFICIAL FRANK,
So He Flew Into n Rage-The Core
spOndence Which Tells the
Whole Story.

Congressman Bromwell, of Ohio, seems
to be very sensitive individual He
has discovered, or thinks he has, that
the firm Of L. L. May & Co., purveyors
of seeds to the government have been
trying to bride him. Mr.. Bromwell went
out of his way to call the attention Of
the house of representatives to this al
legged Wickedness on the part of the
st. Paul firm, and made a cowardly at
tack on the firm from the floor of the
house, leaving the seed men without
a chance to reply to his criticisms or
to obtain redress in law. The first in
timation of the Ohio mans sensitive
ness was given to the public through
the Associated Press dispatches on Sat-
urday, when the following statement
was sent out in the Washington report:
The free distribution of seeds by the de-
partment of agriculture raised interest
ing discussion. Mr.. NOrthWay (Rep., o.
serted that Secretary Morton endeaYored TO
discredft the custom by procuring poor seeds,
and Mr.. Cromwell (Rep. o. charged that the
seed firm of May & Co., of st. Paul, had at
tempted to bride him by an offer Of 15G0
packages of seeds free to refrain from calling
the goods they furnished the department.
1t will be noticed in the correspond
ence. which follows that the Ohio man
charges it was the assortment Of seed
which aroused his ire, but in his speech
on the floor of the house it was the
quality of the seed which excited his
surprise and disgust" Evidently Mr..
BromwelI knew that he could not be
nohn Nv I1x IL
charges, which are tantamount to the
direct assertion that L. L. May & Co.
sought to bride him with $12. 1t Is
difficult to say whether. or not it was
the amount that offended the congress-
man. But it is regarded as laughable
to suppose that the ST. Paul florists
would attempt to curry favor with the
penny statesman from the western re-
serve, as he is unknown to the st. Paul
people, is without influence so far as
the business Of the department of agri-
culture is concerned, and l.. L. May &
Co. do business directly with Secretary
MortOn's department. The government
test of the seeds furnished by Mr.. May
was in the neighbCrhoOd of SO per cent,
which was considered far above the aV-
erage, and Mr.. Cromwell is the only
person who has made any complaint Of
the quality of the seeds. May be Brom-
well was sore because he couldn't work
his frank, as the correspondence shows.
He wanted to be a good fellow with
his farmer constituents and sought to
have Uncle Sam pay the freight on the
seeds he wanted Mr. May to- furnish
him at government contract price. Only
the nerve of congressman like Brom-
well, it is claimed, would enable a man
to make such a request from business
| house.
The beginning of Mr.. Bromwelps out
burst Of virtuous indignation dates
back nearly a yearGgo when he wrote
as follows to the ST. Paul firm:
.TELL-TALE CORRESPONDENCE.
WASHINGTON, D. c.. April 20, 1851. L.
May & Co., Minneapolis, Minn.-Gentienen
I have asked the secretary of agriculture to
have my flower seed quota sent to my ad-
and have forwarded him the blank franks for
that purpose, which you will no doubt re-
ceive within a day or two. I will be under
obligations if you will forward them to me
promptly, as / wish to get them out before
ad fournment.
I also desire to know whether you would
be willing to sell me additional quota at
about the figure paid by the department. The
varieties and number of each to be the same
as contained In my quota but the seeds to
| be unsealed, so that can make my own Sc
! lectionS before putting them UP to mail. l
will thank you for a prompt response 10 this
Inquiry. Yours truly, j. H. Bromwell,
M. c. Second District, Ohio.
Two days later the following reply was
mailed:
| ST. PAUL, Mimi. April 22.-1896.-Hon. j.
Il Cromwell, Washington, D. C.-Dear Sir:
We have your valued favor and in reply beg
/ to say that we will be on the watch for your
! franks and give same cur prompt attention
! concerning lhe supplying you with additional
! order OF seeds, We quote you same at Sc per
/ thousand packets, put up five in an envelope
/ sealed We will also send them direct to
! your constituents if you will forward us
| franks addressed. In case you desire to put I'D
the collections yourself, we will tie them in
| packages of 100 packets each, and on re-
ceipt of frank forward them direct to you
/ at Washington.
The seeds We are supplying the department
! are of the very best quality and we know
j will give perfect satisfaction. Of course YOU
realize that at the above price there is prac-
! ucally nothing in It for us, except a good ad-
vertisement, but we appreciate the fact that
! that is considerable. Awaiting your COM
mands. We are, yours very truly,
L. L. May & Co.
ORDERED MORE SEEDS.
Then Mr.. Bromwen wrote ordering seeds,
enclosing his check in payment, as follows:
WASHINGTON, D. c.. April "a 1861,
! L. May & Co.: Enclosed find my check for
| So to pay for 1900 packages, as per your
! letter Of the 22nd inst. desire them loose so
| that can make my own selections If
you can do 50, it will be great accommoda-
! ton to me if packets Of the same kind Of
| flower are put up separate bundles and label
ed ON the outside. Also send me the out
side mailing envelope unsealed 1 desire them
sent to my address in Washington, D. c.,
to which my regular quota is also to be
delivered, viz. 1S47 @ St, N. w. 1 also en-
4 close you my frank on card board addressed
! to myself. As 1 understand it, these can be
forwarded at once without waiting for the
| franks on the regular quota. The latter I
would like to have sent also as soon as pos
| sible. Yours truly, j. H. BromwelI.
The reply and acknowledgment follow:
| ST. PAUL, Mimi, April 80, 1851 H.
| Bromwell, Washington, D. C-Dear Sir:
We beg to acknowledge receipt of your order
for 20O0 packets Of flower seeds, and check
for $12.0o to cover cost of same.
This order will have our careful attention
! and go forward in a day or two as per your
1 instructions Yours truly.