The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-04-27
People Do Not Want the Cheap Stiff
That Is Sent to Them.
MONEY COULD BE USED OTHERWISE
Stop Should Be Put to the Practice of
Conqressmen Sending Packages
to Their Constituents.
FREE PRESS BUREAU,
WASHINGTON. ID. c.. APRIL q


was to have come up for consideration
in the house of representatives this
week, but the committee on appropria-
lions asked the chairman of the COM
mittee on agriculture, which prepares
the agricultural bill, to give way in or
der that the bill providing for the expend-
itures in the District OF Columbia during
the next fiscal year might have the right
of way. After several consultations
with Speaker Cannon, Chairman Wads
worth consented to the program laid
out and in consequence the farmers of
the country will not know definitely for
several days just what it is pro-
posed to do for their advertisement. The
agricultural appropriation bill carries
this year a total appropriation of about
seven millions of dollars, in round fig
ures, The first money appropriated by
congress was provided in a bill which
authorized the commissioner of patents
to expend zone thousand dollars in the
purchase and distribution of rare and
valuable seeds and in the publication of
agricultural statistics" That was sew
enty-five years ago. The department of
agriculture was created in 1862 as a bu-
reau of the interior department. The
head of this bureau was designated as
THE commissioner of agriculture and
later, during Cleveland's first admins
tration, the position was raised to the
dignity of cabinet office. rt
=: =
Through all the years since Norman
Coleman, of Missouri, was first appoint
ed to hold the portfolio of agriculture,
the amount of money provided for the
valuable seeds has grown until last
year a third of million dollars was
made available for this purpose. But in
all these years the principal use to
which the money has been put has been
the purchase of just as many cheap
seeds as could be secured for the money
at the disposal of the secretary of agri-
culture. Instead of using this fund in
the purchase and distribution of rare
and valuable Seeds" the secretary has
apparently considered his duty perform.
ed when he bought as many seeds of the
commonest varieties as he could get for
the money. 1t is true that some valu-
able seeds have been secured. Sugar
beets from Germany, Kaffir corn from
Africa and alfalfas from various parts
of the orient have been introduced into
the agricultural regions of the country.
But the bulk of the money has been ex-
pended in the purchase of commonest
varieties of garden seeds, such as Gu
cumber, lettuce, turnips, onions, toma-
toes and like garden vegetables, without
any benefit whatever to the farmer or
10 agricultural science.
Some. years ago President Cleveland
returned the agricultural appropriation
bill to the house without his approval
because he disproved of the ''seed ITEM
Since that time there has been grow.
ing disposition to cut out altogether this
useless waste of public funds. Useless,
because the seeds distributed are Meth.
er new nor useful in the way of educat-
ing the agricuturist. But all efforts to
cut out the free seed clause of the bill
have been abortive until the present
time. This year, however, under the
leadership of Messrs. Wadsworth and
Cocks of New York, the committee de-
clded to leave the free seed clause out
of the bill, and as it will be reported
to the house, that one item of about
$1,000 is eliminated.
Of course there will be vigorous at
tempt to put it back when the bill comes
up for consideration, but there is a
growing sentiment throughout the coun-
try in favor of. the committees action.
Thousands of letters have been received
by members of the house during the
past few weeks commencing the action
of the committee in striking out the
free seed clause of the bill. These let
tiers are evidently spontaneous and they
demonstrate that the people of the coun-
try generally, even the recipients of the
bounty" of the government are not at
tracted by the receipt of five cents
worth of vegetable seeds.
r II -
Whenever a measure of public impor
lance is before congress for considera-
ton, interested parties find no difficulty