The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1905-08-03
NATIONAL GRAFT HUNT
Crusade Extending to All the De.
partmentS.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WILL BE NEXT.
The Charge Made That Some Of the Officials
Are Interested In q Publication In Which
They AotIcipste Their Government Reports
BY Articles Written by Them and Illustrated
at Government Expense.

Washington, d. c. Especially The
crusade against graft in the executive
departments, which has recently dis
closed state of affairs in the Depart
ment OF Agriculture almost or quite as
bad as that which involved the Postoficc
Department last year, will soon be di-
rected toward the Geological Survey.
and possibly agains tthe Bureau of Fish
erles, commonly called the Fish Com
mission.
The Geological Survey is under the
Interior Department. and the Bureau Of
FISHERIES is branch of the Department
OF Commerce and Labor Ii was made
known that charges have been preferred
against leading officials OF the Geolog-
ical Survey, alleging that they own
stock in the Mining World. journal
published in Chicago, and that they
have exploited in that paper certain
scientific theories and discoveries which
they have obtained at the expense Of
the United States
A big fuss has been made by other
magazines, who declare that they are
being Disseminated against They de-
clare that paid officers of the United
States arc using for individual profit
information which they have obtained
at the expense of the government and
which rightly belongs to the people.
1t is charged that four of the directors
of the Mining World Company are Of
fcials of the Geological Survey, and
that, in addition 10 receiving their divi-
dends, they are under engagement to
write exclusive articles for the maga-
zine. The information contained in these
is usually published in advance of the
official reports of the survey officers,
which are available for the public gen
orally
The matter will be referred to the
Keep Commission for investigation The
commission is expected to find out in
cldentally why it is that the results of
professional Investigations and re-
searches carried on by the Geological
Survey are almost invariably withheld
from official publication until from six
months TO two years after the time of
completing the work 1t is a matter
OF common knowledge in Washington
that many of the most interesting and
vital interests connected with the work
of the Geological Survey appear in sci
entihc journals and popular magazines,
profusely illustrated with pictures and
sketches made at government expense,
many months before the official reports
OF the survey are given to the govern
ment. These magazines articles almost
invariably bear the names of some OF
the survey, and the articles are, of
course, paid for. The case which led
to the charges just made public is that
of the Mining World.
II. c. ReiSer, chief clerk of the Geo
logical Survey, and acting director in
the abSense of Director Wolcott, ad-
mitted that several members of the sur
vey were stockholders in the Mining
World, and he said there might be some
ground for the charge that information
obtained at the expense of the govern
ment has been sold for a price, but he
said that Director Wolcott had always
disapproved of this practice Mr. Reiser
was not inclined to regard the matter
very seriously.
In connection with the charges against
the Geological Survey, complaint has
also been made against the Bureau OF
Fisheries and the Bureau of Forestry
The reports of both bureaus are al
ways from year to three years late
and the interesting matter is frequently
sold to magazines in advance. In con-
nection with the Forestry Bureau one
instance is given in which there is sup
posed to be no graft, but merely the
"red-tape" delay of which President
Roosevelt complained when he appoint
ed the Keep Commission.