The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1902-03-27
The Marietta journal.
NESBlTT TO STEVENS.

Hon. R. T. Nesbitt, candidate for
commissioner, addressed the following
open letter to Commissioner Stevens;
Farm Hill, near Marietta, March IS,
I9o2.-Hon, O. B. Stevens, Atlanta, Ga
My Dear Sir; As there are some matters
in regard to the administration of the
agricultural department on which the
people of Georgia should be informed,
and as your views and mine in regard to
the duties of commissioner of agriculture
differ very widely, and as we are both
candidates for this office, l invite you to
public joint discussion of these issues
at such times and places as we may be
able to agree upon. l propose to lay
bare your extravaganza and waste of the
peoples money, and also your failure to
protect them in their use of i1luminat-
ing oils and offer you this opportunity of
public reply.
I. In the meantime please answer ex-
plicitly the following questions in an
open letter:
How many fertilizer inspectors have
you employed since taking charge of the
department of agriculture What are
their names, their place of residence,
their terms of service, their salaries and
their travelling expenses? How many
have you on duty now?
2. Why have you repeatedly refused
to give this information when requested ?
3. AS these inspectors are paid from a
direct tax on fertilizers, and as the sur
plus from this tax goes to the school
fund of the state, does not each unnec-
essary inspector diminish the school
fund to the amount of his pay?
a. Why, i'll your pamphlet, purporting
to contain the oil law, do you omit most
important section III regard to inspection
in bulk, which reads as follows:
SIN all cases where oil is inspected in
bulk, before said oil is put into barrels,
it shall be the duty of the inspector to
either see the oil so inspected put into
barrels on which he has put his official
brand, or else he shall again take sam
pies from among the barrels into which
said bulk oil has. been unloaded, before
he shall place his official brand upon
said barrels"
This section is for the protection.of
consumers of oil against frauds and
authorizations; why do you not charge
your inspectors with the importance of
its enforcement? Why do you allow
them to test from the tank car, brand
the empty barrels and leave them in the
hands of the oil companies?
S. When you engineered this bill
through the Legislature, why did you
strike out the following protective sec
tions of the old law?
(a) when the oil inspected shall
stand higher test, the inspector shall
designate the same by his brand"
(b) inspectors shall inspect from
time to time oil in the tanks of retail
dealers, whether previously inspected or
not, and if the fluid is below the stand
ard, the same shall be seized" etc.
was in the senate when this bill was
under consideration and know its his
tory. You remember that, through mu-
tual friends, you sought my support of
this measure, and as final argument l
was told that one of my best friends
would receive the position of state oil
inspector if the bill became a law. NY
reply was that l would mot vote for the
bill If my own son was to be benefited
by it. Yours truly,
r. T. NESBITT.