Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1920-02-21

A RATTLE OVER FREE SEED.

| are besieged BY requests from their
colleagues that their extra supply
be turned over to them. Some mem
bers OF both houses, however have
other means Of securing an extra
supply, which they refuse to DE-
vulge for fear others will learn
their methods and initiate them.
Each Of the $4,000 packages the
senators and congressman receive
contains five small packets Of
seeds, such as are on sale In gro
Gerry stores and seed houses. This
year the entire output Of the de-
partment was over 12,000, 600 pack
ages, each containing five packets,
bringing the total up to $4,000, 900
packets.
| Last year the output was some
millions short, each senator and
congressman receiving only $4,000
packages Of vegetables, and 1000
Of flowers, but the demand was 80
great, and the number of their con-
stituents who were disappointed in
not obtaining any Of the seed was
so large that the appropriation for
the purchasing and handling Of the
supply was increased to the pres
ent figures.
The increased demand, the mem
bers believe, was partly due to the
extensive propaganda the food adj
y,,tv, fekw soI
ing the people to increase the food
supply of the country as well as to
! preserve 1t. Persons living in
I apartment houses grew their fresh
vegetables in window boxes, and
those having any ground at all,
even the tiniest Of plots, felt it their
patriotic duty to put this ground
under cultivation and produce all
food stuff they possibly could.
Having grown their few bits Of
vegetables the window box farm
ers" found that a few fresh rad
! ishes, or an occasional head of
crisp lettuce, made very accept
able addition to the daily menu,
especially when the vegetables were
favored with the knowledge that
they were home grown, and cost the
/ producer nothing. So this year,
the same persons who grew their
vegetables as a patriotic duty, are
planting them because they like
them and look forward to having
them on their tables this summer,
or canned for next winter.
! Thousands of letters are received
each season by every member OF
congress, asking for such and such
vegetable seeds. The season really
opens before Christmas when the
southern members begin receiving
appeals from their constituents in
the far south, and does lot end I'M
til the latter part of April when the
last package of seed is finally
shipped out of the house and SEN
ate office buildings.
The individual distribution OF the
seed, is not however the only
means by which the members in
crease the food production, and in
cidentally their own popularity,
Thousands of packages are sent to
newspapers in small towns, or
placed in grocery stores in small
communities, with the invitation to
help themselves, with Mr.. SEN
ator's or Mr.. Congressman's COM
pliments."
This latter practice came in for a
special attack by Mr.. Blanton who
charged that the seed was being
used for campaign purposes by the
members, and not going into the
hands of persons who really need
them.
| He referred caustically to the
we'll known practice Of shipping the
seed to political leaders in various
communities, and demanded that
the government, If the seed dis
tribution was to remain, take the
politics out of it" and let the de-
partment of agriculture handle it.
Already the department receives
thousands of requests for seeds
which it has no authority to fill, and
can only refer the writer to his
senator or congressman. Practi-
cally the entire output is distrih-
uted through the house and senate
Office buildings, or franked out from
the big warehouse where they are
stored waiting for the COMPRESSION:
al order for their distribution.
The department of agriculture
which handles the seed business OF
congress, and which is likewise the
governmental agency which de-
votes itself assiduously to a study
OF the improvement of the output Of
the soil, is strongly opposed to this
congressional distribution Of seed
1t considers the appropriation for
the purpose almost wholly wasted
1t states that the constituent would
be better served if he were given a
quarters worth of sugar or flour
1t laments the fact that, while
congress is maintaining the fairness
OF its seed appropriations, those fol-
the continuance of experimental
work that would eventually put
tens of millions of dollars into The
national treasury are being elm.
mated or cut to the bone.