The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-21
EIGHT GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA
1874-1901
No. GA New Department and New Politics
Edward A. O'Neal, Governor

on a salary of S210O. He was allowed
clerks on fixed salaries.
To find man capable under the law
must require a painstaking search of the
entire population of the state. The prime
requirement of the commissioner was he
must be a practical cultivator of the soil.
! In the nature of things. a practical cul-
tivator of the soil must be a man who
lives in his own fields, who travels little,
whose opportunities for study of books
are limited whose contact with general
society is accidental and brief
The act creating. this new department
and new state office was concluded in
81 sections, most Of them full of elabora-
! ton.
The commissioner must at once travel
the state over, organizing in every beat
agricultural clubs" these to be formed
into county associations" and these al
ternately to be organized in a State
Agricultural Association
The prescribed duties were enormous in
volume and the intricacy startling. Agri-
cultural statistics in Alabama "and other
states" statistics relating to Industries
in general, the commissioner must col
lect. He must establish an intimate cor
respondenee with the newly created fed
eral department at Washington. He most
Investigate all diseases of graln all dis
eases of orchards and find remedies. He
trees. lie must know how to select ma
terial for fence, and how to put it To-
sether and must understand drainage and
irrigation; knowledge of live stock in
general and the dairy in special: knowl-
edge of the geology of Alabama, must
all be familiar with him. He must main
tain correspondence direct in all the
counties from regular appointees for the
purpose
The forest. the mines, the fields and
their products must be described in a
hand book prepared by the commits
sioner and illustrated. He must keep a
registry of such lands as the owners may
desire to sell through the department. In
other words. the department must be con-
sidered a real estate agency with "a reg
1stry fee of 81 for each tract or lot"
In addition to such voluntary entries as
might be made the commissioner must
take from the books of the state auditor
the registry of land which may be held
by the state for sale for non-payment
of taxes
The essentially practical work cut out
by the act for the new department was
to protect farmers in the purchase of
commercial, fertilizers. A general use of
these subjects of commerce had sprang
up suddenly. Adulteration. short weights
and various tricks of trade in them We're
srievous complaints of the users A
check upon the abuse had become nee
essary. The department was the logical
resort.
a plan to raise up a politician, how
ever, sby state patronage could not have
been more ingeniously concocted There
was resultant organizing of a class and
this class dominant The statutory Gre
alton must inevitably draw from the po-
itieal organization, the democratic and
conservative party A commissioner with
the organized dominant class at his back
would contend for 1.-THE survival of the
1ttest" in the conflict. his promotion
being the issue Joined This rule of cause
and effect soon appeared. Suffice it to be
said in this column that the statute law
of Alabama in effect organized a political
party, founded upon a class. The head
of the organization was paid salary
% per cent greater than that of the at
torney general and four-fifths of that
paid to circuit judges and chancellors.
JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE.