The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-02-11
BREACH IN BOARD
STILL WIDE OPEN
MIR. Beverley Here to Make Fight
on Churchnan-Adams Bill
to the Last.
DEMANDING AN INVESTIGATION
Hints That Interesting Fact"
May Be Brought
Out.
10 the Last.

Hon. j. II. C. Beverley. vice-president
of the Board of Agriculture and Imm-
grafton, reached the city. last night.
and will be here several days in an
effort to have the churchman- Adams
bill recommitted in order that he may
secure a hearing, a privilege which he
requested some time ago in letter to
Senator w. a. Garrett the chairman of
the Senate Committee on Agriculture.
The request, he declares. was ignored.
Some of the members of the committee,
however, were not aware that the let
ter had been received. among them
being Senator Fletcher.
Mr.. Beverley states that the impress
sion which seems TO prevail in the
House that the bill. as passed by that
body, is a compromise measure. and is
satisfactory to the board. is not correct.
a measure which would have been sat
isfactory to the board was prepared.
bnt its most important provisions .3I he I'VE
is now before the Senate.
Opposition to Bill.
Mr.. Beverley. giving his reasons for
opposing the Churchman-Adamsb BILL as
amended which is now before the SEN
ate, said: Il object 10 this bill, as do
the members OF the board who have
served longest upon that body. and who
are therefore familiar with the work
inEs of the department, because it
transfers the management and control
OF the department which is vested by
the Constitution in the board, from
true this bill starts out with saving
clause that the department shall be I'M
der the management and control of the
board. The specific provisions in the
bill. however, defining the powers of
the commissioner, give him practically
the entire management and control
leaving the board only the privilege of
meeting occasionally and of electing
an auditing committee of three.
I think such bill utterly unwise
I believe the department will be more
efficiently managed by ten farmers
one each from the different congress
with the president of the Agricultural
College at Blacksburg, than by one
man located between four brick walls
in the city of Richmond. These far
1ner members of the board know bet
ter the conditions and needs of the
farmers Of the various sections of the
state than the commissioner possibly
could. Not only that. but being far
affected by proper administration of
the laws governing the department
Ihey could be more surely relied upon
to have 4the laws carried out Then,
too. the department is supported en-
tirely by money taken directly from
the pockets of the farmers. by tax
Of 5 cents per ton on every ton of
fertilizer he buys. Why should he not.
through board of farmers, themselves
contributors to this tax, control a
department created for his benefit, paid
FOR with his money. and which the Con-
stitution declares shall be so con-
trolled.
Enforce Fertilizer Law.
Speaking as an officer of the board,
will say that body Will not be salts
fted with any bin that does not give
n Ia NIat yl,.z
nent OF the fertilizer, law, and author
,ty to make rules for printing and issu-
Ing bulletins. and control of farmers
Institutes: First. because the board can
he more surely relied upon to enforce
the execution of the fertilizer law than
2. commissioner who is an elective Of
ncer. whose policy would be not to
offend fertilizer manufacturers, deal
while long line of violations of the
law have been reported, the commits
sioner has had only one prosecution,
and this was at the earnest insistance
of member of the board. Second
as to tho publication Of the bulletins,
The same reason obtains. A COM
missioner might fail to report brands
of fertilizer falling below tn. guaran-
tee, or might do 1T in so inconspicuous
a manner as to render the bulletin
worthless to the farmer, or he might
II he saw fit, having entire control
fail to issue a bulletin. or he might
f f'iiahSc MS " auNtIllSe
himself rather than disseminate use
ful information to the farmers.
Brands Below Guarantee.
until member of the board urged
that it be made conspicuous by print
ing on a separate page at the front o.
the bulletins, there was nothing III
The fertilizer bulletins 10 call attention
70 those brands falling 10 per cent. be-
low the guarantee
"A board member is better qualified
to know when. where and on what sub
districts than the commissioner can
possibly be. II the commissioner has
control of farmers Institutes he might
use his privilege OF holding them pre-
Nlous 10 his election to canvass the
STATE al the States expense. and do
grade farmers institute work 10 a po-
illicai eleeloneerinG tour. | had on
one occasion, when president of the
board TO caution ii lecturer that such
abuse would not be tolerated."
About Tia, Telegram.
Referrlng TO the commissioners de-
NAL OF Inc correctness Of the state.
,nent made by Mr.. Beverley in reeurd
70 the telegram which Mr.. Koiner
claims was an acceptance OF his resig-
nation as statisticlan the yice-pr
dent OF the Board stated THAI he had
just received from the Bureau OF Sta
ttStics copy of the much discussed
Telegram, and that its wording cor
roborated his tBeverleY'sj statement.
mir, Koiner made special trip 10
Washington said Mr., Beverley, presum.
ably for the purpose Of securing a
copy OF this Telegram, but he return
cd with no copy 70 make public though
q press report from Washington an
nDlneed that the telegram was on
ftla at the bureau.