The Snowflake herald. [volume] (Snowflake, Ariz.) 1913-1969, 1922-06-16

'parentiy got something for nothing, paid for these
seeds. since the cost of the purchase and distribu
ton came out of the public funds
Doubtless this seed business all seems peaceable
enough TO The voter who gets the seeds but good
mess, he should be in Washington when the annu
al furry these same seeds is on! IFS really
as exciting as tWO-ring circus, for there are two
SEED furrleS going on at one and the same time.
One furry is going at Uncle Sans seed ware
mouse where small army of girls is doing up the
seeds and lntSting on the franks of the members
1Of congress and hustng the packages off to the
mails.
The other furry is in the capitol where congress
us hghtlng tooth and tOenail over the question of
whether 1T will distribute seeds again next spring
you see, Uncle Sans fiscal year begins July l
leach year and he has to make a seed appropria-
itlon year i'll advance-Or no seeds. SO this
tspring, while congress was fighting out the same
old fight seeds for 1923. the 1922 distribution
of seeds was going merrily on under appropria-
ItiOn made after prolonged fight in the spring of
1927.
The fight over the seed distribution usually runs
Iabout like this; The appropriations committee
reports the agricultural department appropriation
bill without the seed item. Some "seed man" Of
ferS seed amendment. The ants object to the
amendment a point of order. If the speaker
rules against the seeds the house overrues him.
Then the bin goes to the senate and the senate
throws out the seed amendment. The bill then
goes to conference and the senate and house
iwrangie over the seed item-with other items
until an agreement is reached. It's like game of
IpOker-bluff and raise. And of course there's al
ways show-doWn-for the agricultural appropria-
ton hill must he passed. seeds or no seeds
This year the fight unusually prolonged
but usual the seed men in the house had their
way. The agricultural bill carrying $3.50 100000
contained al item of 100000 for the free distrbu-
ton of seeds in 1928.
In the course of the house debate this spring
Representative Bill G. Lowrey of Mississippi. a
''seed man." read into the Congressional Record an
interesting article Uncle Sans seed distribu-
ton from the Washington Sunday Star Here are
some of the points brought out in the article:
At cost of 100000 food products TO the value
of $l30OO0,OO0 will be grown from 100000 packages
of vegetable seeds and 10000 packages of flower
seeds which are being sent out from Washington
by each and every one of the 90 senators and 435
members of the house under 100000 franks free
poSlage) to home gardeners in every State in the
Union.
Now. let us look the historical BACKGROUND
for this annual graft" The purchase of seeds
and plants by the government may be said to
date back to colonial days. AS early as l743 tbe
British parliament granted 100000 TO promote the
cultivation OF indigo and other crops IN the Amer-
can colonies, and the assemblies of the various
colonies appropriated small sums from time to time
TO encourage the cultivation of plants new to the
country, such as hops in Virginia mulberry trees
for silk culture in Georgia and VINEYARDS for th.
establishment of American wine industry
In 1889, through the efforts Of Henry L. Els
worth. commissioner of patents an appropriation
of $1,000 was made for the purpose of collecting
and distributing Seeds prosecuting agricultural in
vestlgations, and procuring agricultural statistics
with which $4,000 packages of seeds were pur-
chased and distributed This aDpronrIation
marked the beginning of the Department of Agri-
culture
Demands upon members of congress for seeds
became so numerous and insistent that 1t was i'm
possible to fill the orders with new varieties of
seeds. The practice of sending out. larger and
larger quantities of vegetable seeds thus developed
During the years from 1889 to 1893 practically
the entire seed appropriation was expended for