The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 3, 1916, Page 5

PLOT to secure the’ removal from the faculty of the State : Agricultural college atFargo of . 3 H. L. Bolley, noted plant path- ologlst and botanist,” connected with ‘the dnistitution almost ~since its founding, has just caused another sensation at’the college. .The plotters have had a tempomry setback, although given all the aid and comfort possible by the new state board of regents, which; according to well-founded belief among friends of ° " the college, is interested in humxhatmg Or removing many of the vetemn mem- bers of the faculty." Professor Bolley is famous wherever - - farmmg is practiced as ‘the man who dxscovered a means of eradxcatmgothe- potata scab and’ he is credited 'aniong’ sciéntific meén as the man who saved the flax-growmg industry - in. the United States through breedmg of a wilt-résist- ing strain of flax. This latter accom- plishment has won him a position among the foremost scientists of the world, and the paint industry of the United States ‘'owes him a debt of gratitude for savmg - the linseed oil business.” . - BOLLEY FAMOUS FOR “SOIL SICK” THEORY Besldes “this Professor Bolley has ome famous for his theory of “wheat-sick” &oil, a theory that is mot accepted everywhere as’ yet and which has called down on his head criticism from many powerful sources. In fact, the present effort to secure his removal from the Agricultural college is based - on charges g growing out of 'his* famous “Bulletin 107,” containing the statement of his “wheat-sxck" soil theory. Professor Bolley also stirred up a lot e of opposition when he opposed, a few years ago, the ama.lgamauon of the Better Farming association, a Big Busis ness - organization, with the North Dakota experiment station, and he has got in bad with the powers that be on many ‘occasions- through his loyal sup- port. of Ex-President Worst. of the college, removed by the regents recently. When Dr. Ladd, present head of the college, was under fire for- lis ‘enforce- ment of the pure food laws and his work in pointing out the abuses of the present wheat grading system, Bolley and Dr. Worst backed him ‘up.. In fact, Bolley has always been identified with the people at the Agricultural college who have fought the people’s fight,.who have been active and unafraid in point- ing out various public abuses and who . Tlus ls an 1llustratxon from Bolleys : famous “bnlletin .107,” - printed in -1913, ;nd is one of the 'photographs he was accused of “faking.” ‘Bolley stated: the picture represented bundles of wheat, each from ‘the same number, pf seeds gown, but ‘all except bundle No. 5 on the left from seed inoculated by some"sort of wheat disease. The charges state that. the numbers of : some of the bundles of diséased wheat were shifted by Bolley before - ‘photographing, ~to better “illus- trate his ‘point. - Bolley says if this: is _ true it was done by one of the two men -making the - charges against him, who had d’nu-ge ‘of the expenment nnder his directlon. S RGeS ./A. Veteran Educator, Renowned Scientist, - Hounded by Series “have mcurred the wrath of Big Bumess . and the politicians. Dr. Worst, when he was removed as president by the -regents, said that the regents intended eventually “to get” of “Investlgatlons he hastened to Presndent Ladd' of the college with them and demanded their ° immediate investigation. The charges were technical in char- acter, having to do with statements Professor H L. Bolley, world famous plant pathologist at the North Dakota -Agricultural college, who has been under fire for years for his fight for the farmers and the people of the ‘state and who'is now the target of charges brought to secure hls removal. Bolley, because of the opposmon against the. plant pathologist in high -places, to which the regents- were turning a sym- pathetic ear. Dr. Worst- was: out. of the college only a few months when’ the up.’ PRESENCE OF BOLLEY IRRITATES THE .“INTERESTS” " While it has'been ‘generally known to friends of Bolley for years that his presence at the college and his work irritates certin powerful influences both within and without the college, the actual filing of the recent charges came like a bolt out of a clear sky, because the move "to' remove -Bolley was not expected from that 'quarter. - Two men in the employ of- Bolley, who had worked with him in his experiments for several years, presented chargés ‘against their employer to President Crawford .of the . state board of tegents. The men used to start this attempt at *gettmg" the veteran botanist were W. H. Meércer and .D. G.- Milbrath, Bolley’s -assistants.: One, Mercer, has not been workmg at - the . college since . about " April 1, on account of - an appropriation for the work having run out, but the other; Milbrath, was employed at the college at the time the plot against Bolley was' sprung. “ The two assistants went" to President Crawford - of the regents with their charges and:met a willing listener. President . Crawford did not stop to'lay-the charges before “the 'board _of regents, as” would have been the' natural course "of ' events, but present. plot te Tremove Bolley bobbed & made by Professor Bolley in his famous bulletin 107 on’ “wheat-sick” soil.” It was charged that Bolley “made state- . IIITI IAIITI lfillflllm COIIEFE GOVERNMENT AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION ...... 17 rom” : ; NORTH DAKOTA —imaie. . Bulletin No. 107 > Sonl Trovbles and Seed Deummmn Gattes of Soll Sickness in Wheat Lands. Possible Methoda of Control. Cropping Methods, with Whest. . Py H:L Bolley. =EToi Any farmer. teacher or lludnl in the State may heve this nutw- 7 wmailed to his 30dréss, free of charge upon applicatioh. PARGO. NORTH DAKOTA, U, . A. DECEMBER, 1913 ° 'Thi§ is' the famous bulletin in which Professor. Bolley' enunciated -his “wheat- sick”. soil - theory, which.caused: a furor among botanists, aroused the ammos'ity of Big Business and resulted in charges attacking Professor Bolleys profes- slonal standing, " : YOU Can t Afi'ord to Mlss the_ Announcement on Page 24 of ThlS Issue .charges " and . ~Another:-picture-- from -“bulletin . 107** | concerned in the charges against Bolley4 “"He statéd that the ‘big bundle w wheat from ‘land sterilized by his stea process. to .eliminate. disease, while the ; other bundle was from the same number. of seeds on non-sterilized land. He said ! the big bundle was taken from land that | had raised 40 consécutive crops until i€ P . was sterilized, showing the land was not exhausted for wheat and that fertilizer was not “what it needed. Thé*chargés say hé could not prove there had beén 40. consecutive . crops on the. land, Bolley says he attempted only to esti- mate the humbér of crops and it makes no difference so far as his-theory i8 con< cerned whether it was 30, 35 or 40 crops. He points to this to show how ‘trivial the charges arre agamst him. ments in thls bulletm without sufficient proof,- that he faked photographs and that . in ' general the bulletin was uriscientific and unreliable. The board of regents admits that the two.accusers of Bolley made .a lot of charges .con- cerning, trivial thmgs which they did not expect to prove. ~ Secretary Brewer of the regents explains this by -saying a lot of charges were made so that the chance of proving a few would be better as in thé case of a prosecutor who brings 20 or -30-indictments with the hope of getting a conviction on only one or two. They shot in all directions in the hope at least of one of the bullets would h1t the man they were after. " SCIENTISTS FLOCK TO SUPPORT OF BOLLEY On "receipt of the charges against Bolley, President Ladd, as ordered by Mr. Crawford, appointed a ‘faculty eom- mittee to investigate. them. This com= mittee was” composed of, Professqrs B S. Keene, C. B. Waldron and L. Van g, Professor -Bolley. was required to make a detailed answer,to the charges,. which he did, utterly dxsprovmg most of the satisfactorily explaihing the remainders In. -addition,.the com= mittee_determined to ascertain Bolley’s standmg as a sclentlst which had been questioned by the men making® the charges and by President Crawford, who had given weight to the charges by ordermg them investigated. The mveshgatmg commxttee senfi letters to scores of scientific “fien throughout. the country, among whont - Bolley and his- work - were . of course, well. known. The result surprised even Bolley’s friends. A universal testimohs ial of confidénce in and praise for Bolley, as. a scientist and appreciation for the great work he has done for agriculture was brought ‘out. * Scientific men and agricultural = experts - of the: 'various agricultural college of the country, men connected with the United States deparb- ment of agriculture and expertd con~ neeted “with big industries; like:'the paint industry, which consumes' agricul- tural products, and many others wrote the committee in highest praise of "“Bolley ‘and” his’ work.” There could be no.‘ douht of . Bolley’s: ‘standing as a scxentxst and ‘in his profession. He was - held in high esteem everywhere. ~ - ‘ As ‘to the speclfic charges brought ‘against Bolley in regard to bulletin 107 he had no difficulty in convincing the (Contmued on page 16) SRR s fter Bo ley’s Goat! | 3 & P SN § §