The Pulaskian., 1919-01-17
FARMERS ASKED
 TO COOPERATE
NEW COMMISSIONER OF AGRl CULTURE WOULD AMEND GlN- NERS' LAW TO SUIT THE
 COTTON GROWER.

Farmers and ginners throughout the state have been sounded on the Arkansas Warehouse, Marketing and Gin Regulating law by Jim G. Fergu- son, the new Commissioner of Mines, Manufacturers and Agriculture, with the result that there is a strong pos sibility of harmonizing the differ ences.
 "The ginner complains to me be- cause of the clause in the law re- quiring him to make bond with a H. censed bonding or indemnity com pany, claiming that is is a useless expense for the reason that he can amply safeguard the state by fur nishing a pond with his neighbors as sureties," said MT. Ferguson yester- day.
 Tn order to get the views of both sides in the controversy about certain features of this new law I have talk ed with a great many people and I have attended meetings of both the Farmers Union and State Ginners' Association. In the discussions l have
 
 that might not be corrected by legis- lative amendment.
 Tn it's present form the law re-. quires the ginner to take from each bale of cotton ginned by him two samples, weighing not more than 1-3 ounces each, and place same in separate sealed packages, one of hn rlo 4n ho +D owner of the cotton and, in case the cotton is deposited in warehouse, the other to be delivered to the ware house manager Against this re- quirement the ginners arose in force. They ask why samples should be talk en if the owners of the cotton do not want them, and if there is no local warehouse why two samples should be taken.
 q find that the Texas law provides that only one sample shall be taken from each bale, from at least three parts of the bale, when the owner of the cotton requests such a sample. This would restrict the cotton grading to those who really want it's benefits and would conserve the considerable amount of cotton taken in samples under the present law .
 Under the law the ginner is not compelled to send cotton samples to the Commissioner of Mines, Manufac- lures and Agriculture or the Bureau of Markets, but many samples have been sent during the past season and part of the cotton graded and reports made to the owners. These accuntu- later samples during a season amount to several bales of cotton, running into considerable money value. The law does not say what shall become of these samples. I shall recommend that the samples so obtained by this department be sold and the funds de- rived therefrom deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Warehouse and Marketing fund, to be used to pay for the classification, grading and handling of these sam pies and for the purpose of conduct ing an educational campaign to en- tighten the public on the importance and significance of warehouses and better marketing facilities. etc. / MT. Ferguson says that he has strongly recommended to the govern or and will urge upon the General Assembly the passage of a bill pro viding for a new geological survey of the state, covering all mineral re- sources and including a republication of all previous geological reports, many of which are now out of print. No survey has been made in recent years and some of the most valuable information concerning the minerals of the state are contained in the un- published reports of Prof J. c. Bran ner, former state geologist, the pur- chase of which MT. Ferguson recom- mends.
 Another thing to help in the devel- opment of the state, which MT. Fergu- son is asking the legislature for, is an appropriation, which will permit the gathering of information concern ing the agricultural resources of Ar kansas and the publication of this material in pamphlet form for dis tribution to homeseekers, this work to be carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of Crop Estimates of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Ar kansas has many millions of acres of