The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1901-01-10
Premiums Withheld and Items
Not Paid Charged.
McKeen Replies With Denialof Most of
the Charges Made.

/ much less State College official. for his
committee work at the State and New
England, or other fairsf And furthsr-
more, in q similar line, is q charge OF w.
I'll, Moody Of 500, expenses attending
Farmers National Congress in one of the
states west of the Mississippi. II the
Board OF Agriculture deliberately calls
such expenditures legitimate items of
institute expense IL is quite time for them
to revise their code.
There are items charged up to the state
In that report 10 the legislature, and of
course paid to the party rendering the
account, that were never incurred. Also
one considerable Item that we happsn 10
incidentally know OF, that was charged
up for several times more than the bill
paid. These may be looked upon by the
Board "a small matters, but they are
suge estiye, and SO long as crooked, Ger
tainIy are not tr fling.
There is still another matter In this
same connection that certainly cannot
have escaped the knowledge OF the Board,
that does nut eeeIu 70 ba In accord with
sound buainesE lasstho1g Acaey Is urawE
promptly from the state treasury By
the secretary OF the Board on bills and
accounts as they occur, and is paid out
by him to thoen TO whom 1t belongs
when he gets ready or when the parties
will wait no longer. Many OF these un
paid bills have been of long standing,
anu SOME Ql LutILla We HANe KOOu It1hgn
for believing, have never been paid. We
run on to these facts in scurrying about
the state in the interests of agriculture,
and running up against parties involved
Many months after bills nave been due.
or after premiums have been awarded to
the dairy conventions, the inquiry has
been made to us as to why tine money
has not been paid. Even on the occasion
of the interstate butter exhibit at the
Portland dairy convention, held two
years ago. parties outside the state have
inquired Of US why their awards had
never been paid. This last september
parties stated TO us that their awards,
made year ago at the Lewiston dairy
convention, had not been paid. As late
as the last of November we saw the rec
ord OF premium paid to a well known
dairymau, awarded at Lewiston eleven
months before, and for which the money
had promptly been drawn from the
state.
December l, 1899, Secretary McKnse
put in bis bill for "halance-of premiums
awarded at dairy conference at Lewis-
tnn.H December Sd and 4th, S2ll "a, and
the warrant was drawn December 29, and
the money paid December 30 1899. This
money, or that drawn before the balance
was struck, failed to reach the parties to
which 10 was awarded until after the
Eastern State fair in one case after the
State Fair In another, In November with
another, and a few days before the dairy
conference at Augusta, December q and
z, 1900 in another. This money, belong
ing TO the several individuals to whom
it was awarded, was held by the secretary
from December 30, 1899, until September,
October, November and december, 1900.
The stipend OF q thousand dollars be-
longing to the State Pomolcgical Society
was drawn by the secretary of the Board
on his personal account in inc month OF
April. The last half OF this the society
was unable to obtain from him until the
the next September, ana then only on the
eve OF threatened exposure at the annual
meeting to. be held that night. These are
all matters for which the Board must
assume responsi bility or acknowledge
that tt has no power 60 control. and there
by admit Its weakness.
Then the expenses of the department.,
aside from It's specific appropriations,
nave increased to an extent tnat uay well
receive the careful attention OF the Board
Tru9, these expenses do not come out OF
the Board appropriations. but they come
out of the state treasury all the same,
and have to be met by the taxpayers.
The single item of postage alone, In the
report TO the Legislature Oh two years, ago,
is named as S962 for that year. The mat
ter Of the monthly bulletins, originally
intended as crop bulletins only, as now
managed, has amounted to cost that
may well be looked after, heing the past
year almost 5000, In addition to postage,
which has been about SO per issue until
within few months. From an inexpen-
siye crop report few months OF the
productive season ON the farm, 10 has as
sumed the form OF a magazine OF agricul-
tnre for free distribution to everybody
who wants 10.
The October issue OF this publication
attests that it has mailing list OF S,700
names, and still increasing, and It In
vites q full and more exhaustive treat
ment of ali subjects, thus still further
Increasing the size, and making 1t a
journal OF general agriculture for free
distribution, pnblisheu by the state.
Wnile the provisions of the law require
that the cost OF bulletins OF the Board be
covered by the Board appropriation icy
its work, yet such is not the praotice. In
addition to all these ia the cost involved
in the issaing ana fending out OF ls,V00