FEB. 24 
HE BUBAL 
gj 
EB. 
425 
(Continued from page 123.) t 
with Prof. Comstock which need not be Introduced t 
here, but which also shows that no Idea of rein- t 
statement could possibly have occupied my mind. 1 
I send only one letter to confirm what I say [bet- ' 
ter NO. 8.] 
one word as to the Commissioner's closing state- ] 
ment: i 
While all tills was progressing, letters from ] 
various persona were received, evidently at the. 
Instance of Prof. Riley, to secure his reinstatement, 
In the Department,. These facts will, I think, sus¬ 
tain the statement that Prof, rilley Industriously 
tried to get back Into the Department after he had 
resigned. 
This is of a piece with all the rest, l flatly deny 
having asked any soul t.o send such a letter, and I 
am not aware that any were sent. If the Com¬ 
missioner has received such, he can easily ascer¬ 
tain whether they were penned at my Instance, 
and there Is no person l n any part of the globe who 
can truth fully testify that 1 requested him or her 
to write such a letter, though such may have been 
written without my knowledge. So far from mak¬ 
ing any such request, It, Is a fact that while a num¬ 
ber of Influential men called at my residence, after 
the pubUcatlon of my letter of resignation, either 
to express approval of my course or the hope that 
I would remain, I begged all who expressed the 
latter view to take no steps toward that end, as I 
would under no circumstances remain under Hen. 
Lc Duo. As a specific illustration In point, Senator 
Paddock expressed the wish to go to the Com¬ 
missioner with a delegation In my behalf, and 
desisted only at my Instance, as he Is ready to 
testify. There is one person to whom (prior to the 
circumstances that led to my final attitude) 1 
admitted the possibility of remaining U the Com¬ 
missioner should udrnll his error and desire me to 
remain. It was upon the suggestion of Senator 
Davis, of Va., present chairman of the Senate com¬ 
mittee on Appropriat ions, that I submitted to the 
Commissioner the proposition to hove the em¬ 
ployees of my division provided for In the regular 
estimates. Mr Wm. U. Kdwards, of Coalburg, W. 
Va.—a well known entomologist, and old-time cor¬ 
respondent of mine—was In my office the very day 
of my resignation, and expressed his surprise and 
regret thereat. Upon relating the salient facts of 
the matter he offered to see senator Davis, with 
whom lie had acquaintance, and I consented that 
he should, since he knew me well and I desired 
Senator Davis to have the facts, hut not with a 
view or reinstatement. 
There Is good reason to believe that I could have 
brought sufficient lntluence to bear to accomplish 
reinstatement had 1 wished It; tor I liave since 
seen a divisional head discharged by the Com¬ 
missioner but retained upon political lnfiuences 
being brought to bear on him, notwithstanding he 
had. In private correspondence, characterized and 
abused the party In a most severe and deroga¬ 
tory way. 
A lew closing words In explanation of the testi¬ 
mony adduced. The letters are copied verbatim 
from press copies or files. I have used only such leu 
ters or parts of letters as were absolutely necessary. 
The correctness of the statements followed by the 
letter H lu brackets can be vouched for by Mr. L. 
O. Howard, who was my clerk and assistant. He 
knew of my correspondence on the sub|ect,for most 
of the letters were dictated to him. A student at 
Cornell, he proved a capable and efficient clerk, 
and was Interested with me In having Prof. Corn- 
stock as my successor, since 1 had him appointed 
upon the latter’s recommendation His testimony 
Is weighty; but the tact that I do not send it shows 
how difficult It Is to get the truth when It affects 
persons having great patronage. Mr. Howard was 
willing to testiry, Out fearing that to do so would be 
to forfeit his position (the Commissioner having, 
It appears, announced that no friend of mine 
should remain In the Department) 1 hesitated to 
urge it and he finally went to the Commissioner to 
ask permission Ho reported that the Interview 
was unsatisfactory, and upon my urging him that 
li was best in the long run to tell the truth, he 
agreed to be at my house the present evening to 
do so, but sent a card Instead stating that It was 
Impossible, yid that he was to leave “ on the 6:30 
train to-night to be gone some time.'’ 4 
Mr. Schwarz, whose statement [marked S] I send, 
was fiiy clerk and assistant in the early part or my 
connection with the Department. The com¬ 
missioner found fault with him for no other reason 
than his German nativity and diffident address, 
buittt my earnest solicitation I was allowed to 
keep him as a field agent, and he was In the em¬ 
ployment of the Department and In constant cor¬ 
respondence with mo till I left, since which time 
he has been engaged by the Ifntomologteal com¬ 
mission. The evidence which l send of the other 
employees of the Department, [marked '‘Various”] 
who all expressed deep regret at my resignation, 
and with whom 1 consequently spoke on the sub¬ 
ject, Is but negative, but Important under the cir¬ 
cumstances, as I should have availed myself of the 
lntluence of some of them, had I desired reinstate¬ 
ment. in the same category Is the fact that after 
my annual salary In the Department had been 
reduced to$i,'.>00, as heretofore explained, I had 
financial reasons, aside from the others men¬ 
tioned, for not caring to remain, since the salary 
of my present position is $3,coo. 
To sum up the matter: l accepted a position In 
the Department of Agriculture with the object of 
accomplishing practical good. In proportion, as l 
did so, envious obstacles had to be encountered. 
Not choosing to cringe and tawn, I resigned. The 
commissioner either const rued, without reason, my 
endeavors to remove unjust accusatton Into en¬ 
deavors to he reinstated, or has wittingly conspired 
to misrepresent mo. The same manners that 
ofiended me have made him many enemies, and 
he lays much at my door that comes from his owu; 
tor It is an old saying that. If a man once wrong 
you he becomes your enemy. I challenge ueu. 
Le Due to furnish proof Of a single person In or out 
of the Department, to whom I expressed a wish to 
* laiter.—I have since learnt that his absence was due 
to the Illness of a relative. 
he reinstated or whom I asked to either see him or s 
write to him for that purpose; and I stigmatize P 
the report of conversation as an outrageous false- I 
hood In so far as It. attempts to give color to such c 
wish. t 
Apologizing to those whom I have been unwil¬ 
lingly compelled to refer to In this matter, and 
regretting, sir, the necessity for so long a com- ( - 
mimlcatlon on a matter of so little public interest, 1 
I trust that you will bear In mind, as an excuse 
for its length, that your charges touched my sense 1 
of pride and honor and that I write In defense of ( 
my veracity. Respectfully yours, 
Washington, D. C„ Feb. ‘2d, 1W. C. V. Riley. 
S. 
I hereby testify that, I was In constant corre¬ 
spondence with Prof. Riley after learning through 
Urn of bis resignation, and that 1 was present with 
him the last, day of April, 1379, and while express¬ 
ing my regrets thereat and hopes that he would 
remain In his position as Entomologist to the 
Department of Agriculture, bis correspondence 
showed that he himself had no such Intention, and 
he declared t hat he would not remain under Gen. 
Le Due for any consideration. E. A. Sohwarz, 
Washington, D. C., Feb. 2d, 1SS0. 
3. [Cyrus Thomas to C. V. Riley, Apr. 3, 1879.1 
Your letter just to hand, both together. The re¬ 
sult has been what I expected. I regret very 
much your haste, as It Is always best never to 
decide under excitement where the matter Is 
Important. 
1 have already received two telegrams from the 
Commissioner offering me the position. To the 
first I replied mildly that my engagements were 
such that 1 could not accept the position at pres¬ 
ent. A second came, extending the time ; to this 
I replied by letter that I could not accept, tn any 
case, as It, would be no pecuniary advantage to me, 
and to break up housekeeping and move to Wash¬ 
ington would entail a heavy expense. I have also 
written to him regretting that any difference 
should have arisen between you which made It 
necessary to sever your connections. I took the 
liberty to remark that I was aware from an Inti¬ 
mate acquaintance with you that you were some¬ 
times hasty, but that I was fully satisfied It was 
your Intention and desire to be fair and honorable 
in your dealings and Intercourse with others and 
that exhibition of haste or Impatience on your 
partiurose more from habit than willfulness. I 
also stated to him that If it were possible to ad¬ 
just your differences, It would be gratifying to 
the friends of both. That as you were young, 
and ambitious and your ability as an entomologist 
acknowledged, 1 was sure you would be of great 
benefit to the Department. 
I also informed him that the Insertion of the 
words “Cotton Worm” in the olauBC making ap¬ 
propriation for the U. 8. Ento. Com. was done 
without the knowledge or desire of the Commis¬ 
sion, that you had Informed me It was done with¬ 
out your knowledge at the time and contrary to 
your wish, and that I was fully satisfied of the 
correctness of your state mem, as I knew this was 
not in the plan of the Commission 1 added at 
the close that I had no desire to suggest any 
course In this matter, but wrote to prevent him 
from obtaining a wrong Impression In reference to 
the insertion of “ cotton Worm” In the appro¬ 
priation. _ 
4. [Riley to Thomas, April 7,1369.] 
Let me assure you that my resignation was cot 
so hasty as you seem to Imagine. I have the sym¬ 
pathy of most persons In the Department, and, 
had 1 not resigned at the time, I should have done 
so a week later after learning many tilings In re¬ 
gard to Le Due that 1 did not know before. 
[Riley to Thomas, April 10,1870.] 
• * • The Department, salary is stjoo.oo. I do 
not sec In what way the commissioner can offer 
you more, because the clause glv lug the entomolo¬ 
gist, additional compensation, which was In last 
years’ bill, has been stricken out. ne may not 
have been aware of this when he wrote you. One 
thing Is sure, he has no legal means of increasing 
your compensation, and I should In all probability 
have resigned under the circumstances, had I not 
done so for other reasons. Now I cannot well see 
how you are to be quite as well off financially 
under these circumstances as you are with your 
present position; but as I wrote you this morn¬ 
ing, you know best about your own affairs, and, I 
myself being out and you In this rather unpopular 
Institution, 1 write mainly to say a word In behalf 
of Mr. Howard, my present assistant, and Mr. 
I’ergande. 1 am satisfied that you have everything 
to gain by retaining them, and it would be a con¬ 
solation to me to have some assurance from you 
that they would bo retained under your charge. 
I hesitated really more about my resignation for 
I'organde’s sake than for my owu, as I was instru¬ 
mental In bringing him hero. If you can give me 
assurance on this head for their benefit, I shall es¬ 
teem It a favor. Yours ever, 
C, V. Riley. 
P. S. I want you to understand me fully about 
the salary. 1 shall Inclose, In order that you may 
fully understand it, the Department appropria¬ 
tions as they will be made this year and as they 
are tn the Legislative bill reported to the present 
House by the Democratic caucus. The bill differs 
materially from that of last year tn being more 
particular In requiring the Commissioner to pre¬ 
sent lull statements of expenditures and In pre¬ 
venting any diversion of the appropriations from 
the specific purpose for which they are made; 
and these changes have been made because of re¬ 
ported lrregutarltlcs In the Commissioner's man¬ 
agement. In the clause on page "9, referring to 
cotton Insects, there was Last year a provision 
euabltng the Commissioner to give me fiooo.uo ad¬ 
ditional compensation. That has also been 
stricken out. 
i am thus parricular simply because I wish you 
to be on your guard and not do what you think l 
have doue lu resigning—a foolish thing. 
Washington D. C. Feb. 5.1SS0. 
Editor of Rural New-Yorkkr. 
Dear Sir .-—Prof. C. V. Riley has very courteously 
shown me a portion (from c T to c. 1. 7) of his s 
proposed comments on my communication to the \ 
Hon. Wm, G. Le Due of Jan 16, which communi¬ 
cation was published In your paper of the 3tst c 
ult. and has propounded the following questions. 
“l. Is not the statement correct ? t 
2 . Did I ever express to you a desire, or did any t 
one else ever state to you, on my authority, that l 
I desired to be reinstated? 
3. Was not my conversation last December In i 
New York to tbe effect that had you been more 
earnest It) disabusing the Commissioner of his 
error, my resignation might have been prevented; 
In short that It, referred to your action prior to and 
not after said resignation?” 
While I have no disposition to assist In pro¬ 
longing a newspaper controversy, which can re¬ 
sult In no possible good to any one, justice both 
to Prof. Riley and myself requires that I should 
notice Ills statement and request. 
That portion of his statement submitted to me 
Is in some respects correct as far as T know, and 
in others not correct as 1 understand matters. 
I shall notice only the essential points. I have 
now no recollection that Pror. Iilley ever In direct 
manner expresed to me bis desire to be rein¬ 
stated in the Department, but, I have a distinct 
recollection that a rew days after his resignation 
had been accepted, Mr. Cowing, one of the 
clerks of the Department, had some conversation 
with me on the subject during which tbe matter 
Of Interference In legislation was brought up, and 
the Idea advanced that could the mind of the 
Commissioner be disabused from tbe Impression 
that Prof. Riley had no hand In the legislation, 
the difference between the Commissioner and 
Prof. Riley might be adjusted, and Prof. Riley 
remain. Mr. Cowing says: 
“ As Prof. Riley disclaimed any such Interfer¬ 
ence, l remarked If such fact was shown to the 
satisfaction of the Commissioner. I thought it 
would result in an amicable settlement of the 
misunderstanding, and that his resignation might 
be withdrawn. My recollection is that Prof. Riley 
acted upon tills suggestion.” 
As I understand It Prof. Riley did act on the 
suggestion of Mr. Cowing, and obtained letters 
from some Senators aud others tending to 
show he had done nothing In the matter of the 
legislation. I certainly obtained the Impression 
from the conversation with Mr. Cowing and from 
Prof. Riley’s subsequent action In obtaining the 
letters that he desired reinstatement Whether 
my Impressions were well grounded or not, Is for 
others to determine. All this was some days later 
than the date of his resignation. 
My impressions were that Prof. Riley’s remarks 
In New York In December last, applied to rein¬ 
statement, from the simple fact that I did not 
know of any matter of which It was necessary to 
disabuse the mind of the Commissioner previous 
to the date of resignation. 
Prof. Riley assures me, however, that he re¬ 
ferred to such action as I might have taken 
previous to his resignation This statement of 
course I wifi not dispute. I have no disposition 
to Injure Prof. Riley, or make any statement cal¬ 
culated so to do. I recognize his great merit in 
his chosen branch of science, and did more to 
have his services retained by the government, 
than he Is aware of, and I did It under the Im¬ 
pression that It would he agreeable to him, and 
in accord with his desires. 
Very respectfully 
E. A. Carman. 
6 . [Thomas to Riley. April U, 1879.] 
An examination of the bill sent me by you con¬ 
vinced me the Commissioner could not pay me *3,- 
000 , as promised, without violating the law directly 
or Indirectly. He also gave me reason to believe It 
would be brought to $3,5uo. This flattering offer, 
with others he obtained and sent, pressing me to 
accept, prevailed upon me to indicate my accept¬ 
ance. But, fearing some slip, I very cautiously 
accepted his “telegraphed piopositian" which 
read “ salary sulllclent ami three thotisand.” This 
left me ample excuse if anything implied should 
be omitted. Again, he said that one thousand 
more would be given by the present bill. As It is 
evident to me that he cannot carry out his propo¬ 
sition, 1 am under no obligation to accept. 
say a word for me ? I have no idea to whom to 
write. 
I think I could arrange matters here so that I 
could hold on to this place while trying that. 
I received your telegram to-night ou my return 
from Elmira I had learned rrom another source 
that Le Due was to be there and so went over 
this A. M. 
With many thanks for your kindness and Inter¬ 
est. Iam, very sincerely yonrs. 
J. H. Comstock. 
(A) [C. Y. Riley to Hon. J. D. C. Atkins, Chairman 
House Comm., on Appropriations, March 31st 1879.1 
I wish to ask you to do me a personal favor. 
There were added to that clause, as reported to 
the House by your committee, without my knowl¬ 
edge and to my great surprise, the words—“and 
the cotton worm.” Itpon learning the fact T Im¬ 
mediately wrote to Senator WtDdom and Sena¬ 
tor Paddock, as chairmen respectively, of the Sen¬ 
ate committees on Appropriations and Agricul¬ 
ture, begging them to have these words st ricken 
out, and explaining that the Commission was 
created for the special Investigation of the Rocky 
Mountain locust, or grasshopper, and that an In¬ 
vestigation Into the habits and best means of com¬ 
batting the cotton worm was being made by this 
Department, and that a clause appropriating 
therefor was already in the Legislative, Executive 
and Departmental blit then pending. 
I feared at the time that the addition of these 
few words would be chargeable to my efforts and 
would compromise me as Entomologist of the 
Department in the eyes of the Commissioner. My 
fears have been Justified, and. having had noth¬ 
ing to do with the matter, T beg of you, for my 
own satisfaction and for my own honor before the 
Commissioner, to communicate lo him such facts 
as you, as chairman of the Committee, undoubtedly 
possess, regarding the manner tn which these 
words were Incorporated Into the bill as it came 
from the committee. 
[Letter from Senator Paddock to C.V.Riloy. Ap’l. 2,1879.1 
From first to last you expressed your disapproval 
of the words put into the entomological provision 
“and the cotton worm” and asked me to have 
them eliminated In the Senate. You drew an 
amendment wlilch 1 sent to the commltte to that 
end, but It was overlooked by the committee. 1 
took the acHon that I did on the floor in reference 
to that provision, on the spur of the moment, be¬ 
cause I was apprehensive that to attempt the 
change there might defeat all. I supposed that 
you would not be satisfied with my action then In 
that regard, but I did what I thought the temper 
of the Senate demanded. Your record throughout 
Is as I have stated it, and to that I will be sworn If 
necessary. 1 have been and expect to be a good 
friend of the Agricultural Department. 1 shall 
take a good deal less Interest In It If you leave it. 
I hope you will withdraw your resignation—and If 
you do not that the Commissioner will return It to 
you. I am 3ure very many of the best friends of 
the Department here and elsewhere will be greatly 
dissatisfied with such a change. 
VARIOUS. 
I addressed letters to various persons prominent¬ 
ly employed in the Department, stating the charge 
of my endeavoring to get reinstated after resign¬ 
ing, and requesting reply to the question “ Did I 
ever express to you any desire to be reinstated?” 
The written replies are: From Geo. Vasey, botan¬ 
ist, Never; from Wm. Saunders, supt. grounds, 
No; fromThos. Taylor, mlcroscoplsL No; from B. 
F. Fuller, disbursing clerk, No; rrom Peter Collier, 
chemist, “/ ham no recollect ion t hat you ever 
tlhl from C. Worthington, statistician, “ the sub¬ 
ject was never been mentioned . " rrom Mr. L. O. 
Howard, my then clerk, No; from Mr. W. J. Cow¬ 
ing, No. 
To some I gave positive assurances at the time 
that l would not remain under present manage¬ 
ment, and Messrs. Saunders, Taylor, Vasey, How¬ 
ard and Cowing have testified to the fact. 
Jflouniltural. 
[Riley to Thomas. April 14th, 1S79.] 
I have never had anything to say about any 
caustic letters that you may have written to the 
Commissioner; tor 1 have known nothing about 
them beyond wbar. you have told me. It the Com¬ 
missioner has enemies wno love to make capital 
out of my resignation, mine Is not the blame, and I 
am far from desiring to bring you Into my quarrel 
with the Commissioner. 
7. [Telegram from Thomas to Riley.] 
Pana. Ills., April 17th, 1879, 
Prof. C. Y. Riley, 
Cor. 13th and R. W., D. C. 
I have sent Commissioner withdrawal of accepts 
ance and final declination. Thomas. 
8 . [J. H. Comstock to O. V. Riley, April 8th, 1879.] 
It had not occurred to me to apply for the posi¬ 
tion of Entomologist until 1 received your letter. I 
have, however, this morning sent a letter of ap¬ 
plication as you suggested. With many thanks 
for your kindness, I am faithfully yours, 
J. Henry Comstock. 
[Comstock to liiley, April 10th, 1879.] 
I saw Le Duo to-day; and he told me that 
Thomas had concluded to accept the position at 
Washington. So that ends my hopes In that di¬ 
rection. I write now to ascertain It you will ap¬ 
ply for the position made vacant in Illinois. Of 
course Illinois would be delighted to procure your 
services could they make It worth your while to 
go there. If you do not go there, will you tell me 
what course to take to work for the position, and 
GROWING PLANTS 
LIVING ROOMS. 
peter b. mead. 
(Continued from last issue .'< 
Of Carnations decidedly the best for rooms Is 
Sarah Mead. It is a very free bloomer, and de¬ 
liciously fragrant. It should be in a south room. 
A beautiful plant, for either a south or an east 
room, Is Lopezla elegaus. It is Iu bloom nearly all 
winter. It should be pinched back during the 
summer tlU about September, allowing no flowers 
to appear. Ardlsla crenulata is a fine berry plant 
for any room. Coronllla glauea, an old favorite of 
the ladles, will do best In a south room, hut very 
well In an east room, it remains a long time tn 
bloom. Lobelia gracilis is a fine drooping plant. 
Seed may be sown as late as August or September. 
Does well In an east or a west room. 
Fora hanging basket you can have Russellla 
juncea, Polypodium Kurrudrlanum, Eplphyllums, 
Antherlcum reptuis, vutatum. varlegatnm, etc,; 
hut never put more than one plant of any kind In 
a hanging basket. The objects usually sold for 
hanging baskets are deplorable parodies on good 
taste and “ the eternal fitness of things." For a 
fringe tor the window nothing Is better than Ivy. 
For a warm south room a phuitof Heliotrope Is 
lndlspensablo tor Its grateful fragrance. So, also, 
a plant or two of the winter-flowering Begonias 
are desirable for their constant aud graceful 
bloom. Fuchsias will do best In a south room, but 
very well Indeed also lu either an east or a west 
room. Speelosa, Mrs. Marshall and Buehanam are 
the best for rooms; the last, Indeed, Is one of the 
best for winter blooming, either In rooms or In the 
greenhouse, that I have ever grown. It will, with 
