The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-07-03
CHARG1A 4aary @rT LING
IT AT HIGH Pklx,
CREDITS SERVICE. ga
DEPARTMENT IS ACCUSED
in REPORT OF The AUDITOR

Lively Row Precipitated in Which
Charges and Counter Charges Are
Handed Back and Forth. Balm
sen Goes at Length into History
of Matter.
Hog cholera serum, as manufac-
tured and sold by the state college of
agriculture, has precipitated a row
between DR.. Peter F. Bahnsen, state
veterinarian, and DIR. Andrew M.
Soule, president of the college.
His Charges.
DIR. Bahnsen charges DIR. Soule
with using the serum plant at the
state university as a means to get
unjustifable high appropriations
from the state legislature; with SELL
ing serum to the farmers of Georgia
at abnormally high prices; with fail
ure to provide serum sufficient to
meet the demands when he had serum
in plenty, and with using his infiu-
ence to discredit DIR. Bahnsen's SER
vices as state veterinarian.
In reply DR.. Soule declares that
DR.. Bahnsen is making his sensa-
tional charges simply to direct at
tention away from charges against
the veterinary department that are
said to be contained in a report to
the governor from L. P. Cheatham,
employed as an auditor in the agri-
cultural department.
In Browns Hands.
This report is now in the hands of
Commissioner of Agriculture j. j.
Brown. 1t is understood that in it
Mr.. Cheatham, who was employed to
audit the several branches of the de-
partment on the retirement of James
D. Price, former commissioner, makes
sensational allegations in the report
regarding the manner in which Dr.
Bahnsen conducted the affairs of the
veterinarian Office.
DR.. Bahnsen's charges are con-
tanned in a report to the commits
sioner of agriculture. Cheatham he
accuses of being a tool of DR.. Soule,
through whom DR.. Soule is seeking to
attack him and to discredit his de-
partment.
Goes Into History.
DR.. Bahnsen goes at length into
the history of the manufacture of
hog cholera serum in the state. In
1908, he says, the department of
agriculture began to experiment with
the serum, which was then SIS a pint.
He says he advocated the establish
ment of a state serum plant, where
the serum could be manufactured for
farmers at cost. In 1911, he says,
he and Judge H. w. Hopkins of
Thomas secured the passage of a bill
by which the state college of agricul-
ture was to make the serum at S. a
pint. He says the college refused to
cooperate with him in putting the
bill through, although a hard fight
against it was made by the state
board of health, which favored an
other bill giving the board $4,000 an
nually to distribute the serum.
Much to his surprise, he said, the
state college, which began to make
the serum in 1912, charged $3.50 a
pint for it, and a protest from him
was unavailing toward lowering the
price He says the college authori-
ties left it to him the next year to ex-
plain the high price to the state leg
islature, but that he did finally Sc
cure a reduction by buying in the
market and selling serum in open
competition with the college. When
this happened, he declared, the col
lege announced that through extra
ordinary skill and efficiency and the
practice of economy" it had managed
to reduce the price to meet DR.. Balm
sens figure. DIR. Bahnsen charges
that "the college dealt unfairly with
the public"
DIR. Bahnsen claims that at various
times the state college refused to let
him have the serum in sufficient
quantities for his department, though
the college had plenty of serum it
self. He goes into details regarding
the charges Mr.. Cheatham is said to
make against him, and replies to
them with sensational allegations
against Mr.. Cheatham himself.
The latest in the controversy is
another card from DR.. Soule in which
he says the records of the college are
open to the trustees and the COM
missioner of agriculture for inspec-
ton.