3G2 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



experimented and sought for expert advice of all men in the coun- 

 try who were able to give such expert advice, and taken advan- 

 tage of it to bring matters to their present condition, if not this 

 committee? And this committee is condemned for its success. 

 Again, the investigating committee say, on page 6: "There are 

 to-day no known colonies in existence and no immediate danger 

 of serious outbreaks." Yet the committee in charge is con- 

 demned, and the investigators say suppression is all that is 

 necessary. 



On the same page the investigating committee criticise those in 

 charge of the work for the number of officials employed, as direc- 

 tor, assistant director, superintendents, agents, inspectors, etc. 

 As a member of the committee from the first year, I wish to say 

 that the appointment of these officials was made necessary by the 

 exigencies of the case. Being obliged every year, from the late- 

 ness of the appropriations, to employ a large number of new men, 

 having lost many of our best men, it was absolutely necessary to 

 have a sufficient number of skilled and experienced men to instruct 

 the new men. Each appointment, each increase of an official was 

 made deliberately after investigation by the committee. These 

 officials were in part made necessary by the immense amount of 

 territory that had to be attended to. Work in thirty towns is quite 

 different from work in a single shop, even though there may be 

 several rooms in that shop ; and to enable those in charge to know 

 and to keep in close touch with all that w^as going on, not one of 

 those officers could be spared. 



Again, the report of the investigating committee says, on page 6 : 

 " When it becomes necessary to suspend field work, owing to the 

 exhaustion of funds, officials are retained, doing privates' work, 

 at no reduction of salary." That is true, and it is true because 

 the committee believed that to be the most economical plan for 

 the State. These officials, superintendents, inspectors, etc., are the 

 skilled men of the force, — men of the most experience, of the 

 greatest reliability ; men the most capable, not only of directing 

 the force, but of performing the work ; and they were retained for 

 two reasons : first, because it was probable that the work would 

 be again undertaken, and, if so, because of the loss of many ex- 

 pert men, it was absolutely necessary to have a sufficient number 

 of men capable of instructing the new hands; and, second, those 

 men were retained because, if they were not given employment, 

 being bright men, capable, and the kind of men everybody desires 

 in their own work, they would get other employment, and we 



