The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-17
MADE AN ATTACK ON STEVENS.
RESULTS OF AGRICULTURAL DE-
. PARTMENT CRITICISED.


sold in 1898 Than During Last
Year-Has the same Number of In
spectOrs Before.
Atlanta. Feb. 16.-The Daily Critic, pub
lished at Marietta, Ga, in a recent issue,
charged Commissioner of Agriculture o.
Il. Stevens with injuring the school fund
by increasing the number of fertilizer in
spectors, for the purpose of paying politi-
cal debts. The excess arising from the in
spection of fertilizers and the sale of tags,
after deducting the expenses of the depart
ment goes to the common school fund of
the state. The Critic charged that Col
Stevens predecessor turned into the
school fund for 1895 nearly three times
as much as the present commissioner did
in 1899.
The Critics article is as follows:
Light wanted"
"Mr. o. B. Stevens, Commissioner of
Agriculture in a letter published in the
Atlanta Constitution of Jan. 81, makes the
statement that the force of state chemists,
working the entire year. could not analyze
more than 5000 samples of fertilizers
This being the case, the public would
like TO know why Mr.. Stevens should have
appointed during his first year in office be-
tween forty and fifty fertilizer inspectors,
when twelve or fifteen men could easily
have taken the 5000 samples that the
chemists could anayze?
"If Mr.. Stevens did not appoint from
forty to fifty fertilizer inspectors, then the
people of Georgia would like to know how
many he did appoint? This Information
has been given every year for the past
twenty years, in the annual reports
of the different Commissioners of Agri-
culture, but if Mr.. Stevens first annual
report is examined it will be found that
this Information is carefully omitted.
mfr. Stevens books not being accessi-
BILE TO the public, conclusions can only be
formed from other sources of Information.
In the report of Controller General Wright
for 1899 il will be found that Mr.. Stevens
turned into the state treasury from the
inspection of fertilizers a little more than
5000 net, while his predecessor in 1898
turned into the treasury nearly three
times that amount This money goes to
the public school fund, and it is plain that
this fund must suffer when political debts
have to be paid"
What Col. stevens Says.
Col Stevens, when seen in regard to the
above article by the Morning News CORE
spondent said that he employs the same
number of fertilizer inspectors that Col.
Nesbitt did, namely. twenty-three and
that, after he went into office he had to
pay the salaries of some of the inspectors
left over by Col. Nesbitt.
In answer to the charge that his prede-
.cessor had turned into the school fund in
1898 nearly treble what he. Stevens, had
in 1899, he said that Col. Nesbitt turned
into the treasury in 1898, $26, 1895, out of
which the salaries and expenses were paid
and that he, Stevens, turned in $l69l447,
out of which the expenses were paid. This
apparent difference he explains in the fol-
lowing manner: In 1898 the sales of fertl-
liZer tags, he says, were $45, S. while in
his first year, 1899 he sold only $35, 400 81
there being 50, 546.5S more tags sold in 1898
than in 1899 and this added to the amount
he turned in the treasury, Sl6,9l4.47 would
aggregate SIG, 46105 or s947.7O more than
Col. Nesbitt turned in, had the sale of fer
tilizer tags in 1899 equalled that of 1898.
From Col Nesbitt's printed report for
the year ending Sept 80, 1898, the sale
of fertilizer tags is given a. $42,97460, or
some s.. 900 less than what Col. Stevens
says the figures are. Col. Stevens quite
naturally made the mistake in giving the
total including the sale of tags for that
year and the balance brought over from
the previous season. 1t will, therefore,
be seen that there is approximately diff
ference of $1,000 in the sale of tags for
the two years.
From the Controller Generals books the
following figures are gathered: In 1898 Col.
Nesbitt paid into the treasury SIG, 3.35
out of which IS, 81 was paid for salaries,
leaving a net balance of SIS, 401OS that went
to the school fund. In 1899, Col. Stevens
paid into the treasury $15,S3327, out of
which s9O2610 was paid for expenses,
leaving a net balance of IS. S07.17 that went
to the school fund.- or SS59S91 more in
1898 than in 1899, and as there were 81, 1893 10
more tags sold in 1898 than 1899, according
TO the figures presented by each commits
sioner in his printed report for these re-
spective years, there should be taken into
account in comparing the net amount
turned in by Col. Stevens in 1899, as
against that by Col. Nesbitt in 1898. AS
b Col. Stevens net balance in 1899 was
$6,S0717, this, added to the difference be-
tween his and Col. Nesbitt's sale OF tags
for 1899. IS, S93.47, would have been sl5,65064
turned into che school fund had the sales
been as great i'm 1898.
Chemist Could Not Do 1t.
Col. Stevens reiterates what he said in
the printed communication referred to by
the Critic" in which Col Stevens said
replying to a criticism made by Mr. H. ].
Lamar of Macon:
"Our critic goes on to say that the state
chemist should sample each and every
sack. The state chemist never samples
any sacks II is not my desire that he
should know whose goods he is Analysing
nor is 1t his He knows the samples by
numbers only as he analyses them and in
no other way. Now. let us consider fol-
moment the practicability of Mr.. La.
mars plans of samplng each and every
sack. Approximately. 100000 tons of fer.
tilizers are sold in Georgia every year
Put into sacks of 200 pounds each VIC
have 100000 sacks; this would mean 1900
900 samples for the chemist. BY working
their entire time for the whole year with.
out stopping 10 figure up results and ge
out a report the chemist and his two as.
sistants might possibly accomplish 30N
complete analyses. or 1000 per chemist
To accomplish 100000 ANALYSES would re
quire 1900 chemists. Surprising tina
many competent men could be obtained a
a salary of 81 900 each, we would have {
salary list of 100000 for the chemists