| Show agricultural department WILL BE PURIFIED secretary wilson has no intention of resigning but will free his bureau from all taint of graft sf oyster bay july 31 secretary WU son will reorganize the entire crop statistics oc the department or agriculture according to information here tonight already he is seeking men of character standing and education to conduct the work ot the bureau in whom the farmers and growers of the country will have implicit conn dince and who ali place the reports 0 the bureau on a standard of excel lence never heretofore achieved one man he has found although he does not at this time wish to publish his name the other three he hopes to secure in a chort time two ot them will be men and both will be experts in cotton and tobacco statistics this in brief Is one of the ideas which secretary wilon elucidated to president roosevelt today iio arrived here on tho lone island train at 1220 p TO and with baron rosen the russian ambassador waa conveyed to the presidents home prior to his conference with the president secretary wilson was not communicative munica tive it was known that he came to oyster bay to discuss with the president aba situation in the department of agriculture as developed by the alons now in progress in the bureau oc statistics and of plant industry but he declined to go into any details until be had talked with the president in addition to tho inquiry which Is being made into the alleged irregularities which have developed tho secretary on his own accord Is makl nga rigid in of other bureaus 0 tho department part ment his determination being absolutely sol to purge it of any talat 0 corruption in his work secretary wil son has the approval of the president whose direction has been to eliminate every form of graft in the department at the conclusion of hia conference secretary allson talked frankly about somo phases of the work of in bis de apartment part ment ho was asked whether there was any likelihood of his early of bis portfolio as ec detary of agriculture iio replied with a smile do you remember the story of andrew fairs service in sir walter scotta hob roy andrews master was going to discharge him in fact he told him to go andrew said 1 I wont go why not asked the mas ter because I 1 wont replied andrew well you are discharged declared the master 1 I wont go retorted andrew if you dont know when you have a good servant I 1 know when I 1 have a good master glnn Is not a precisely parallel case continued tho secretary but it serves to illustrate the situation I 1 have not been asked to go and I 1 am not intending to resign I 1 am going to stick to my post and continue to build up that great department you will recall that when I 1 went there I 1 found practically nothing but a few roll top desks and a halt dozen starved scientists sanco that alme wa have built up an important branch of the gov aia are trying every day to make it better since I 1 took charge of it people have been let out ol 01 its service for various reasons many of them on charges of one kind or another 1 we make it a paint to keep only first class men and women the purpose of the now in progress is to purge the department of all selfishness and and that end will be accomplished it is my purpose and it Is thea purpose of the president no I 1 have not the idea of resigning continued ahe secretary I 1 see mr jordan president of the southern cotton growers association Is demanding my resignation in an interview published now I 1 have not a thing to say abott mr jordan he may say what ha uleasea about me that hla own people do not agree with him however is evidenced by a telegram which I 1 have ewt received here it is washington july 31 to hon james wilson bay dear sin in reference iio the interview of dr harvey jordar published morning in the washington post I 1 will say that I 1 cannot endorse the same the farmers and coa grow ers of the south have confidence in your honesty anad ability to purge the department of and they hops the preside interfere with the great wor now doing for them E S P alce president southern cottri ers association 1 I have no intention of bacon evolved in a newspaper cont with sir jordan or anybody have my work to do and im gotes to do it I 1 what have you to say mr secreta ry about mr jordans statement wat you did not collect new figures on me cotton acreage 1 only this replied secretary wah son the reports which were recel veo from the departments reporters in the field were placed in tho hands of a board appointed to make new estimates from them that board estimate differed from the estimate made by hyde and holmes by S 12 1 2 per cent that Is correct I 1 believe but it U jg not it is the report of the field reporter and not of the department hitherto it Is true tho figures probably have been juggled and changed and we hav eliminated practically any future jug alery pt that sort the situation yo u understand was peculiar we probably never would have discovered what the difficulty was bad it not been for fact that two speculators got into a quarrel about a woman have you heard anything about mr hyde be has gone to europe aft plied the secretary grimly 1 I had no idea he was going away from the country when he left the department I 1 received a letter from mrs hyde explaining that she was responsible for his departure that she had fujs chased herself his steamship trans port atlon and had insisted that he go away on account of hie health she said ha was in danger of a nervous collapse concerning the inquiries now being mado into the scandals by the depart ment of justice secretary did not care to talk manifestly said bo it would scarcely be proper for me to discuss the work of another department particularly ticul arly in tha besent circumstances only two cases are now before tha attorney general from my department that of holmes and that of dr moore what may be the result of the inquiries I 1 have no idea dr moore had accomplished complis hed some fine results and if he only made clear to the department entire connection with the allro company I 1 think we could havo kept him ou a straight course secretary allson outlined his new plan for the bureau of crop bics tics this Is entirely new he said and never has been published it 13 nay intention to create a board with assistant secretary hays at its head which shall handle all crop appointed a board a little while ago tho bembera of which handle the statistics individually and turn in their results to mo ot mr hays the prea ent board is a sort of makeshift make shift at air it was the beat we could organize in a hurry from people jn the de cartmen part men it Is my intention to organize a board of four men of whom will be biora the south the other two win be from bolher barta of the country they will be the best men we can fand jn the country men of character standing and education they wall be experts la f whom the country will have absolute confidence all reports will be bent to die from the field and I 1 will place them at aba proper linw tn the bands r of theeb scientists each will AD his estimate will be resolved by me or by assist secretary hays the member of the board will spend some of time in traveling in search 0 any information which may bear upon their worl through the work of this board I 1 think ace shall have perfectly reliable estimates made of all crop conditions this plan will be better than that providing lor only ose man at the bead of the bureau of crop statistics that one man might leava the department he might get sick or be might prove to be a rascal this idea eliminates any of these ties then too it will insure perfect security and confidence secretary allson left at 4 SO p m for washington he will go west in a few daya probably bat the date tor his trip haa not been fixed i |
