The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1909-02-04

that the state board of agriculture
should be placed under direct con
troll of the states administrative
powers so that it could exercise and
enforce authority conferred upon it,
the election of its members was TAX
en- away from the agricultural So
cieties of the state and full authority
was conferred upon the governor to
appoint the members of that board.
There are ten members, and two ap-
| pointments are to be made each
| year for fve-year terms so that
terms will expire in rotation. The
law contains a clause authorizing
the state agricultural society to
make recommendations for such ap-
| pointments but these recommends
tions are not binding upon the gov
ernor.
! When the change occurred last
year the board stood six republicans
to four democrats. This was suffi-
cicnt to give republicans full con-
troll of the board, and all of its mem
bers were appointed by Gov. Harris.
Having a majority of the board the
republicans felt that they could per-
petrate such political control, espe-
cially if the state were to remain un-
der the sway of republican COVER
nors.
Both of the members whose terms
expired this year were republicans
They were DIR. H. M. Brown, of Hills
boro, president of the board, and l..
P. Bailey, of Tacoma. 1t was this
same DR.. Brown who became involv-
ed in litigation last fall as the re-
suit of alleged transactions with
wool growers of that section.
To have reappointed Brown and
Bailey would have left the board re-
main six republicans to four demo-
Gratis. To have appointed two demo-
Gratis in their stead would have re-
versed the situation and made the
board six democrats to four republi-
cans.
Had Gov. Harmon done this he
would have been assailed instantly
by carping critics as having injected
partisan politics into the state board
of agriculture, regardless of the
fact that it was already warped with
partisanship.
By appointing one democrat, Jesse
F. Cross, of Fayette county, and one
republican, Jacob Beidler, of Lake
county a former member of congress,
Gov. Harmon made the state board
of agriculture a bipartisan body
consisting of five democrats and five
republicans. 1t being an even num-
bered board, Gov. Harmon could do
this If it were an odd numbered
board he could and would have made
the majority democratic, which
could not have been criticised.
By making the board bipartisan
Gov. Harmon put the agricultural
interests of the state above the plane
of party politics. He proved the
sincerity of what he said in his in
augural address and in dis remarks
to the annual meeting of state agri-
cultural society, on the value and
Importance of conserving and de-
veloping the agricultural interests of
the state.
Contrast tuis action of a demo-
cratic governor with the partisan
action of a republican senate in pass
ing upon his appointments. The
nominations of Gross and Beidler for
members of the board of agriculture
and of Sullivan for state railway
commissioner to succeed Morris,
who was illegally reappointed by
Gov. Harris, were sent to the senate
at the same time. The partisan re-
publican senate confirmed the nomi-
nations of Gross and Beidler, but
continued its obstructive attitude to-
ward Gov Harmon in the matter of
| lap-over appointments made by the
retiring governor when it referred
the nomination of Sullivan to it's ju-
dietary committee, which had just
made a report to the senate in re-
ply to Gov. Harmons special mes
sage that was perniciously partisan
in it's hostility to the democratic gov
ernor. Later this judiciary commit
tee rejected the Sullivan appointment
through the medium of indefinite
postponement. That is the kind of
partisanship which animates a re-
publican senate.