Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-04-26
Of INTEREST 70 farmers FARMERS.
SPEECH OF HON. A. c. LATiMER, or
SOUTH CAROLINA, ON THE
AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL
Delivered in the House OF Representatives or
Monday, April 8, 1900.

cal year ending June ~, l90l--
MR. LATIMER said:
MIR. CnAlRMAN: | desire to Offer
an amendment to this section. In {
word, | desire to increase the appro.
priation for farmers bulletins by the
amount Of $4,000; and in order
that the section may be in harmony,
| desire in line I, on page 25, tC
strike out the words "thirty-seven'
and insert "iifty y-sevcn," making the
the increase OF $4,000, rs i have
proposed.
In line II | move to strike out the
words "two-thirds" and insert il
lieu thereof "four- -fifths."
In line |, on page 2G, strike on
the word "June" and insert the wore
"March.'
In line 10, on the same page, strike
out "eighty" aud insert cone hun
drcd and y so rs to read Gin all
sos, 900"
Mr. Chairman, this bill appropri,
atcs $37 800 for the purpose of print.
ing farmers bulletins. Onc-third ot
there bulletins arc allotted to the
Secretary Of Agriculture and two.
of them are for Congressional dis
tribution. In other words, each
member Of the House has allotted
to him about 5000 bulletins to bc
sent to his constituents. There is
hardly an agricultural district in this
Union that has not more than $4,000
farmers in it. There are more than
100 bulletins on different subjects,
every one of them Of great interest
to our farmers, and yet we are de-
MED by this committee and this APP
preparation the right to have more
than 5000 bulletins, hardly enough
to send one third Of our constituents
one each.
Why this niggardly appropriation
touching matter Of such great i'm
portancc? This committee has in
this bill appropriated $7S0,000 for
the experiment stations. Why spend
this large sum Of money in furnish
ing means to carry on experiments
III farming? Why pay large sums
OF money in salaries to experts in
agriculture and then refuse to print
the result OF these experiments Mr..
Chairman, it is this valuable informa-
ton, obtained at such great cost to
the Government, that the people
want. Thousands Of dollars are
to maintain an army
III luzon Tor the purpose of plunder,
and to rob the poor Filipinos
Of liberty and their homes but when
we ask for the sum of $4,000 for
the purpose Of printing farmers bull
lctins and distributing them where
they will be read and prove valuable
to the great agricultural interest that
feed the nation and furnish two
thirds OF the exports to forci On coun-
tlicS and that enrich this nation, we
meet the complaining lawyer, not
with his usual claim that it is un-
constitutional, but that it is waste
and that the people do not want the
bulletins because they have not
asked for them.
Mr.. Chairman, the people do want
them, and they expect, and have q
right TO expect, their representation
in Congress to look out for their in
tcrcst and not wait to be written to
Tor what they want, but to send
them every good and valuable thing
that belongs to them or that they
are entitled to. Mr.. Chairman,
charge this committee with disrc-
Spcct to Il majority of this House,
when they failed to write $4,000 in
the bill Tor increase in appropriation
for farmers bulletins. | canvasscd
tins House with 4 petition to the
Committee on Agriculture, asking
that the appropriation for seed be
increased by $40, 900; for bulletins,
$1,000; for agrostology, $4,000
and 22G members signed that pcti-
ton. ! went before this committee
and urged this increase in the differ
cmt items. The committee wrote
in the bill $4,000 for seed and
$4,000 for agrostology, and the
chairman admitted upon this floor
this morning that the increase was
allowed in compliance with that pc
tlllon, and yet Il y denied the in
crease for bulletins.
Mr.. Chairman, one member stood
upon this floor and charged tha,
members who signed that petition
did not know what they were sign.
ing that seed was wanted, not bul
lctinS. hardly think in this grca,
legislative body Of intelligent mcr
they will let such a statement be
proven by the record when the vot,