El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-02-24
An ASTOUNDING FACT.
One-half Our Imports AgriCul-
ture Products.
ATALK WITH SECRETARY MORTON.
Senator Chambers Memory General
Miles and His Friends-English as "She
Is Wrote" - The Ex-Queen of the Ha-

WAsHINGTOS, Feb. 1S.-[Special. Sec
rotary Morton, the retiring chief of the
agricultural department, has had many
hobbies, but none more valuable to the
country than his efforts to promote foreign
demand for the produce of American farms.
In conversation today Secretary Nor
ton called my attention to remarkable
fact, one which caused me much surprise,
and which, doubt not, will surprise most
readers of this dispatch. Just about one
half of all the imports to this country"
said Secretary Morton, ''are agricultural
products. This may appear incredible, but
it is true Taking all the agricultural i'm
ports, including articles not grown on
American farms, the percentage of all
our agricultural imports in 1892 was
so, or little more than one-half; in 1898
it was As; in 1894, nearly 90; in 1895, so,
and in 1896, 49,
Sugar. Coffee and Wool.
"You do not mean to say that one-hah
of all the imports of the greatest argicul-
tural country in the world are agricultural
products?''
That is just what do say. OF course
a large part of these importations is rep
resented by such articles as tea and coffee,
which we do not produce, but they arc
agricultural products just the same. Let
me give you some interesting figures. Our
total imports in 1896 We're in round num-
bers $3.50, 600, 600. More than $3.50, 600, 600
of these We're agricultural products, or SIS. 80
for every man, woman and child in the
United States. The largest item was sug
ar, $50, 600, 600, and sugar is a farm prod
uct in our country. The next largest item
was coffee SS5, OOO 900. Next in order was
wool, to the amount of $50, 500, 900.
The fourth is hides and skins, which reach
the enorOmus total of $50, 600, 900. Fifth
is silk, with s27, 900, 900. Sixth came
fruits and nuts, $40, 600, 900; seventh, to-
bacco, SIG, 500, 900; eighth, tea, s13, OOO,-
900. These are the large items comprising
more than $500, 900, 600. 1t will be noticed
that only 1925, 600, 900 of this total is repre-
sented by articles which American farmers
do not produce. -
what was the remaining seventy odd
millions composed OFF,
well, you VIII be surprised at some OF
the items. Cattle, live, 81 500, 900; horses,
1862, 600; sheep, 1888, o0C; bristles, 81, 435,
900; cheese, S1,491 600; feathers and
down, 81, 1856, 900; glue, $3.50, 600; grease,
81, PA, 900; hair, 1,244 900; meat prod
ucts, 81 ,052, 600; sausages and sausage
skins, 1868, 900; in all, animals and their
products, $40, 900, 600. Why, we imported
nearly So, 900. 600 of breadstuffs, including
$4,000 in barley, 1856, coo in wheat
and 81, O50, 000 of macaroni and other food
preparations OF wheat.
But this is not ALL continued Score.
tary Morton. eve imported last year So
SIS, goo worth of cotton and nearly $12,-
900, 600 of fax, hemp, iute, MANILA, sisal
grass and other fibcrs. Think of this coun-
try importing nearly So, 600, 0OO worth OF
hay in a single year and over $4,000, 00O
worth of vegetable oils, 50, 1S5, OOO worth
of plants, trees, shrubs and vines, nearly
$1,000, 600 worth of seeds, s31, 600 worth OF
straw and So, 500, 600 worth of vegetables
With proper development and variation OF
our agricultural industry" concluded the
secretary, 1--WE ought to cut off large part
of this importation and supply the market
with home grown products
A Good Memory.
Senator Chandler of New Hampshire Is
said by his colleagues to have the best
memory of all the members of the upper
house. When he feels inclined to do so,
Mr.. Chandler can repeat almost word for
word any speech which he may have heard
on the floor of the senate. He has re.
markable faculty for this sort of thing,
and on tests has been known to reproduce
from memory a short speech made by some
other senator almost verbatim. Newspaper
correspondents have endCavored to utilize
the New Hampshire senator's extraordi
nary memory by getting him to tell them
what was said in executive session, but
Mr. Chandler invariably declines. Il ad
init am newspaper editor, he says,
but l am not correspondent. Mr.
Chandler owns paper in his state, foI
which he writes when he gets time.
There has been q good deal of gossip here
about the efforts of certain friends OF Gen
eral Miles to raise funds with which to
present him with a house in Washing ton.
Senator Allen of Nebraska introduced a
resolution calling on the war department
for information as to what law there is on
the subject of army officers receiving gifts.
There is no such law. Generals Grant
Sherman and Sheridan received gifts Of
homes from their admirers, and General
Grant was the recipient of two such pres
entS.
Specimens of English.
Some fearful specimens of English find
their way into public documents, but prob
ably nothing worse than the following was
ever perpetrated: The other day Senator
Hill introduced bill, the title of which
read, "a bill to authorize the public build
ing in the city of Buffalo to he built an ad
story and in the Lcdy Of the bill
it is rccitod that the public building now
being erected in the city of Buffalo may be
erected an additional story"
One of the interesting subjects sure tc