Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-02-06

|
parte, special counsel for the govern
ment on the charges made by >. w.
| Tulloch, formerly cashier of the WASH
ington city post office.
Shepherd, Texas, criticized the pres
ent systetm of the distribution of seeds
and gave notice that he would propose
an amendment providing for the dis
tribution of new and untried seeds in
stead of standard seeds that can be
purchased in the open market. he
read a letter from a constituent who
asked him to send certain seeds and in
addition a suit of clothes, remarkinS
that the writer had as much right to
expect a suit of clothes as he did seeds
such as are now sent out.
He declared that the system was
degenerating into a farce and said that
| if the congressional comedy continues
and drifts into a continuous perform
ance congressman will no longer be
statesmen but seedsmen.
Bell, Cal, taking up the paragraph
i'll the bill providing for pomologicol
| Investigations announced that he
| would propose an amendment prOvid-
| ing for an increased appropriation for
| this work and made a strong appeal
for aid for the vineyards of Califor-
mia and the Pacific coast.
LuckinG, Mich, calling attention to
the manufacture and distribution of
hlack-leg RACINE by the agricultural
department said he would offer an
amendment restricting the number of
doses that may be given away by the
| government, as the amount given
away is detrimental to private enter
prise.
| Gambler, Miss, defended the system
of seed distribution. Mr.. Sheppard
said that when he first came to Con-
gress he thought the principal occupa-
| ton Of q new member was to send
seeds to his constituents.
Maynard, Va, urged that provision
he made for the publication of statistics
relative to rice, tobacco and trucking
products of the same character as are
now published concerning other agri
cultural products.
Lucking made an unsuccessful ef-
i fort to secure an amendment to the
| bill so as to restrict the distribution of
| black-leg vaccine by the agricultural
department. During the discussion on
the proposed amendment, Mr.. Burle-'
son, Texas, read the following extract
from the testimony given by Secre-
| tary Wilson before the committee on
agriculture.
| BLACK leg is a disease that affects
young animals. mostly calves. The peo-
pie had great difficulty in getting serum
that was powerful enough to treat it, We
make it here for probably one-tenth of a
cent a dose and We send out a million and
a half doses year free to the people
and the result is that wherever We send
it black leg disappears. We are pushing
prevent black leg it will die out. 1t is
| the same rabies. If you muZzle your
log in the District of Columbia and al
low no other dog to come in. the rabies
| The love for the pup is stronger than the
| love for man. woman or child in the Dis
muzzled here. That is the theory on
| which We are trying to experiment with
black leg and We are succeeding"
On motion of Mr.. Haugen, an amend
ment was adopted to prevent the adulter-
alton of grass seeds.
A lively discussion arose over the ap-
preparation for seeds for free distribu-
ton. Shepperd Texas. was successful in
l securing the elimination on Il point of
order of the section of the item providing
for the distribution of the seeds because
| of single paragraph relating to the
method of franking, which the chair held
to be subject to a point of order.
Wordsworth, n Y, proposed an amend
ment restoring the section of the para
graph eliminated and this was amended
on the motion of De Almond, Mo, so as to
restore the eliminated paragraph.
| Shepard then sought to further amend
ny having inserted provision to the ef-
| feet that all seeds purchased and dlstrib-
uted shall be, among other things. rare.
untried and uncommon. A point of order
against the amendment was overruled by
the chair on the ground that the amend
ment was the language of existing law.
but on vote Sheppard's amendment
failed.
| The vote on Wadsworth's amendment as
amended by De Almond, which put the
bill in its original form. received an over
wheming ma jorty. the vote being Id to 3.
| Applause on both sides greeted the re-
suit.
Lind, Mimi, in criticising the present
seed system read from an official report
to show that of $270,00O expended in the
distribution of seeds. something like $780,
900 went to defray the expenses of the dis
tribution, leaving the remainder for the
purchase of seeds. He characterized the
present system bad, and said the mon
Iey could better be expended in furthcrfng
agricultural schools. He suggested CIV
ing the country respite for one session
from seed distribution.
Shafroth, Col. defended the present
lsystem of distribution, pointing out bene-
fits observed in his own state
| Adams. Wis, made an appeal for an in
crease in the appropriation for aSricul-
tural experimental stations, but q point
of order against the proposed amendment
| was sustained
Hepburn. Iowa. proposed an amendment
to the paragraph providing for public
road inquiries so to appropriate $55,000
instead of $4,000. and urged its adoption,
but it was lost on vote.
| The agricultural appropriation bill was
then passed and. Mt 5.15 L. M, the House