The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1897-07-07
HELP FOR THE FARMER.
Secretary Wilson Is Trying to
Supply II.
THE EXPERIMENT IN BUTTER.
Postmaster General Gary Is an En-
plOyer Of Men-Soms Good
Characteristics.
THE EXPERIMENT IN BUTTER.
Mr.. GARY LOVES POLITICS

WASHINGTON. July 6.-[Special. l-Secre-
tary Wilson Of the agricultural department
has a hobby, and that hobby Is "doing
something for the farmer" The hard
headed Scotchman is always on tho look
out for some means of helping tho farmer
TO better crops, higher prices or new and
more profitable products for his farm. As
an instance Of his alertness in this direc-
tion / am able TO tell the story Of how the
secretary conceived the idea Of sending
American butter to the English market.
It will be remembered that the government
started In the butter business some months
ago as an experiment, buying quantities Of
butter and sending It at different times to
London TO DO sold In the open market for
what IL would fetch. BY getting carefully
detailed reports as to the objections to our
butter or the method of packing IL the SEQ
rotary is now confident he will In short
time be able to tell American butter max
ers just how TO go about it to capture their
full share Of the 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 gen.
eral, in Baltimore. Beside him was q Bal
timore gentleman who Is engaged In tho
export grain trade. This gentleman told
the secretary of the largo quantities Of corn
he was shipping to Denmark. Mr.. Wilson
at once wanted to know what the Danes
did with American corn. He was informed
that It was fed to the COWS which produce
the prime butter with which the thrifty
Danes have captured the rich English mar
ket and held IL against all rivals. Secre-
tary Wilson pricked up his ears. "lf
American corn will make butter good
enough for English tables In Denmark,
why should 1t not make such butter in the
United Statesf'' he said to himself. "Why
should our corn be exported raw when II
we go at 1t right we can sell 1t In the form
of butter and make the double profltf'
Immediately on returning to Washington
he gave orders to buy butter for the ac-
count of the agricultural department and
10 ship it to England. This experiment is
working out very well and promises to be
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 a duty on cotton, SEQ
rotary Wilson pricked up his ears again.
He wanted to know why cotton needed
protection. Postmaster General Gary,
who is thoroughly familiar with the agri-
culture as we'll as the business of the
south, informed him that the protection
was needed for the sea island cotton, a
superior article, which comes into compe.
tition with Egyptian long fiber cottons
for threads and certain other special man
ufactures. incidentally Mr.. Wilson learned
that the sea island cotton, grown upon q
small strip Of sand islands stretching
along the coast for about 100 miles in
Florida and South Carolina. Is worth
fully twice as much In the market as or
binary cotton.
This was quite enough. At once Mr..
Wilson started an inquiry as 10 why this
sea island cotton cannot be grown in 9th.
or parts of the United States II there are
the same soil. climate and humidity else.
where, why can't the same crop be grownf
That Ia what he wants to find out. And
In order to find out he has set the inaohin.
cry OF the department, with Its scores Of
scientific 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
department. He approves Of their en-
ployment at good salaries, but he does OBJ
ject to their working for the sake OF sol
ence. He cares nothing for their beautiful
reports, for their elaborate theories. "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. The
man want them TO work for Is the farm
or. II they can't show me what they are
doing for practical agriculture, will take
their cases In hand" He has sent letters
20 the heads OF all the scientific bureaus Of
the department requiring them TO demon
strate 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 fash
toned, accessible He looks and acts like =
gentleman Of the old school and has not
the slightest affectation. Now and then
some fresh young congressman imagines
the postmaster general Is a yordant In poll
tics and that he may be easily imposed
upon, hut one or two attempts In that
direction satisfy him that be Is barking up
the wrong tree. Mr. Gary looks somewhat
like an innocent Quaker, but he cut his eye
teeth In politics many years ago-in fact,
he has spent fortune In the game OF poli-
tics, simply because he loves 1t and likes
80 help his friends.
mr.. Gary and His Men.
Mr.. Gary Is best known as a business
man, and II all the employers In the coun-
Try were like him there would be no strikes
or lockouts. Mr.. Gary has 90 men In his
employ who have been there more than 10
years. Ono man has been in his employ
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 overseer
In the cotton mills and puts la an appear
aneo once In awhile just because he likes
20 and not because ID Is expected In the 80
or 81 years OF operation Of their cotton
mills the Garys have never had strike
ID has occasionally been necessary 70 re-
duce the wages Of the men. When con-
fronfod with necessity OF this sort, MIR.
Gary calls all his ovorseors into the otiice.
He tells them that what he has TO do e
moro painful 10 him than II Is TO them or
10 the men. He explains the business con-
dltIons which make the step imperative,
and these the oyorsoers and the men under
them understand quito as well as the pro-
prIotors Tho reduction Il put In force.
Iho ovelaaars explain everything 10 tho
hands and thero Is no grnmbling. Some
day things brighten up, markets are bet
ioI. prices higher. Without word OF no.
tIoo lhe men nnd lheif old wages or per
chance still hiGhef ones In their envelopes
Saturday night This has occurred time
aud n4.In, and al che employees have most
W .I.10 u.I4u11