The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-08-05
GIVING AWAY SEEDS.
Washington EmpIoye Says It is q
Civic immortality.


said a Kansas man employed in the
department of agriculture, is a civic
| immortality in its conception ard RI
| diculous farce in its execution Why
I should not the government give away
| medicine to sick people who ask for it
| thrOF yh national legislators If it gives
/ away seed to farmers2 There may be
some excuse for the indiscriminate dis
| tribution of seed when it is of a partic-
| ular species which has been tested and
| discovered to give better results than
| that ordinarily used by the agricuI-
| turists OF the United States Several
| years ago the department OF agricu1-
! ture did make such experiments with
/ European wheat and found that it was
/ inlmensely superior in reproductive
1 and food-making characteristics to that
| in general use in this country. This
recognized, and according to official re-
| ports, which have every reason to
! believe are accurate, its introduction
/ eventually led to an increase in the
/ wheat production of the country.
Such examples as this are used to
! bolster up the seed gift business, but
/ they are without bearing on ordinary
/ conditions. For a long time past the
| department of agriculture has been
/ buying seed from private firms. It does
not distribute seed which has been the
subject of experiment and whose dis
/ tributi0n has been found to be a worthy
undertaking in the interest of national
/ economy. Not at all It sends out lot
of seed which has been bought from
Tom, Dick and Harry, whoever would
sell at the lowest price to the contractor
| who supplies the depart ment with it's
| seed for distribution. What earthly use
/ is such a seed? You might just as we'll
send farmers 10 or 10 cents each and tell
| them to buy seed of the variety they
/ want. The joke about this IS that on
| every package of seed sent out by the
| department of agriculture there is
printed: please inform the depart
ment of the results secured by planting
| the inclosed," or words to that effect
| If any farmer took the pains to notice
such an invitation, the most accom-
| plished expert of Secretary Wilson's
| corps could not make any deductions of
value from it. No one, not even the
contractor, could tell where the seed
referred to came from or just what
variety it was"
Probably the longest trip ever under
took by centenartan Is now being
taken by a man by the name of Amos
Martin of Princeton, Pa He passed
through Washington yesterday for
/ that he is 102 years of age, and is maxi
ing the trip on foot. When seen by the
State Journal representative while in
| Washington Mr. Martin said that he re-
Gently sold some property at Fairmont,
near LeavenWorth, by letter, and that
he was going there to sign the deeds
| 'Of course" he said, Il could give
power of attorney and 1t would not be
necessary for me to go, but I want to
make one more visit to the west. I have
been in nearly every state in the
| to Leavenworth is said to be about LILO
miles. and the old man viii walk it
/ alone.
Miss Julia r. Pearce. formerly resi-
| dent of southern Kansas and a student
| Of the State Agricultural college at
Manhattan, has arrived in Washington
| to accept an appointment rendered her
by Secretary Wilson of the department
OF agriculture, as an expert analyst IN
the bureau of soils. After completing
a in ECia0Ca several
at Manhattan Miss Pierce was appoint
ed librarian of the college. This posi-
ton she held until dismissed by the
Populists in 1897 She then removed to
| California, where she was appointed
to a position in the State Agricultural
college as a soil analyst. It was at this
college that Secretary Wilson's atten-
ton was attracted to Miss P1erces
scientific ability, while he was west
with the presidential party. He then
made her an offer to come to Washing
ton which she readily accepted.
Consul Thomas II. Norton. at Harput.
Turkey in his official report to the
state department yesterday stated that
an organization known rs the American
agency for eastern Turkey has been
formed, with native manager Avetis
G. Adjemian, who was employed for a
few years at the Kansas Agricultural
college at Manhattan, and who has
Travelled through the farming regions
Of the United States. The purpose of
this organization is the Introduction of
American agricultural machinery and
American methods in the fertile Harput
plain the population of which is today
denser than that Of England
Mr.. and Mrs. A B. Ravens and Prof.
and Mrs. Carl Pryor of Lawrence, pass
ed through the national capital this
week on their way to the Buffalo ex-
position
The contract for carrying the mails
from Farmersburg to Sedan, Kansas,
has been awarded to s. A. Lovelace of
Land. Kansas to s. A. Hoppar of Dres-
den-
Senator J. r Burton will address the
people of Atchison on Labor day. Con-
gresham Cochran of Missouri, a for
mer Kansas man, has signifed his in
tention of also being present on that
event.
Mrs. J. H. Rothenburg Of Leaven-
worth, accompanied by her daughter,
Miss Emma, passed through Washing
ton on their way to Buffalo
DR. Charles Williams has been ap-
pointed a pension surgeon at Washing
ton, Kansas.
Dr. Charles w. Fish has been ap-
pointed q pension examining surgeon at
Kingfisher, O. T., and DR.. Sylvester
Kociel at Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
L. WILLIAM THAVIS.
American Yachts at Cowss.
New York, Aug 5.-A dispatch to the
Herald from Cowes gives the following
concerning Americans and American
yachts at the regatta: The list of
includes the Aphrodite, an American
vessel haInDxrfr7sy to Cant Oliver PaVne.