The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1897-02-13
THE CONGRESSIONAL FREE SEED
HUMBUG.

The WING very recently called the atten.
ton of its readers to that colossal fraud
upon the Government Treasury, the free
seed humbug, by which under the pretence
of aiding the farmers of the country, each
Congressman is given the perquisite of sin
teen three bushel bags of seed, containing
10000 packets CT vegetable seeds, 1000
packets of flower seeds. and $50 quarts
field seeds all of which is paid for by the
government to tn" tune of $3.50 10000 for
the year 1897.
Now the position is a perfectly logical
one, that il the government can be Justly
required to supply the farms and gardens
of the country with seeds, the owners Of
those farms and gardens can with equal
justice, ask a paternal (?) government to
furnish the tools and machinery to plant
and harvest the seeds, and of course it fol-
lows with equal reason, that the obligation
to furnish the horses and stock to work the
machinery is no less binding upon the
government.
Once reverse the time honored maxim,
that the people are bound to support the
government, and not the government to
support the people, and there is no end, at
which the idea of a paternal Government
can be limited
But it was not so much to argue the
pernicious length to which this idea of
paternalism can be carried in a popular
form of government like our own, as to
show the colossal statistics of the Con-
gressional seed hunbug that we now revert
to the subject.
Last year the government distributed
Congressional seed perquisites, that re-
quired three freight trains OF ten house cas-
each to haul. Their weight was 5G5, 756
pounds, the postage on which if paid by
individuals would have been S74 520.9G.
The seeds were sufficient to plant 16, GIL
acres OF land, or strip rod wide and
36, Sl7 miles long, or once and half times
around the world, or a garden so long that
an express train would be 81 days 81 hours
travelling from one end to the other of it.
Or, if the seed had been planted in a single
row, it would have been 175, 39l miles
the earth at the equator. In all, the veget-
able seed was in 10, l25, 900 packets.
These figures would indicate quite
sufficient robbery of the L. 5. Treasury, as
seed perquiste for the constituencies of
ambitious Congressman, bnt for this year
the amount OF the free seed steal is Just
double that of last year, viz, 19,053, $50
packets of vegetable seeds, 1,0l2, 800
packets of flower seeds, and 292, 925 quarts
Of field seeds. There is enough seed for
100000 900 tomato plants, which would
plant AZ, s26 acres; enough cabbage seed for
1882 acres; turnip seed for 40,7l3 acres,
and sweet corn for 10, 232 acres.
1t would require vegetable garden of
1886 acres to plant this seed. The total
weight of the seed is 1, 300 900 pounds, and
rs railroad box cars would be required to
haul it,
~ Will coou 1he Iostoihce department
over 500, 10000 to distribute this seed to
tn order Of The average Congressman.
Not tic least interesting feature of the
work of distribution of "free seeds" is that
onion seeds have been sent down south,
and cotton seed sent north, the differences
Of climate not being taken into considera.
ton in the Congressional grab
1t is safe to assume, that not five pei
cent. of the free seed sent out by the
government is ever sown, the bulk of il
being wasted, OF used for chicken feed
AS political ticker for admring con.
stituencies in the wild and woody outlying