Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-29
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

H LIZA L i I'LL w i -.
If the ideas Of the Secretary Of Agri-
culture, the assistant secretary and
some of the
Second Assistant leading chiefs of
Secretary Needed. ' ,owea ont ae the the
Department of Agriculture may soon
have the newest of important govern
ment officials on it's rolls, for the need
for a new assistant secretary for the
department is said to be already acute.
Having one Of the greatest volumes
of business to transact Of any of the
departments, the great agricultural
agency Of the government has never
theless faced this work for years with
only the two important executive off,
GERS. while some other departments
with no greater volume Of business
have three and even four assistant Sec
retaries. In recent years the work Of
the department has increased rapidly
as closer contact has been established
with the farmers of the country and as
duties of the department have been
greater and greater demands have been
made on the time of the Secretary and
his single assistant. y
This expansion has been most noticeable
in the regulatory activities. which deal
with such matters as meat inspection.
administration of the pure food ana
drugs act. the cotton futures act and
plant and animal guarantees. 1t Is
proposed, therefore. that new assist
ant secretaryship be created to take
care exclusively of this regulatory
work, and it Is probable that provision
for the new official will be asked from
the next session of Congress.
The division of labor made possible
by the creation of the new office will
also take cognfzance Of the recent rapid
growth of two other departmental ac-
|tivities-the Office of farm management
and rural organization. and the agri-
cultural and domestic extension work.
1T Is probable the present assistant. MT.
Vrooman, will devote himself largely
to these latter activities. leaving the
Secretary more time to devote to his
general administrative duties.
X
The recent designation by President
Wilson of approximately 10000 acres
of marsh land and
National Bird lake in Arkansas as
pA national bird res
1sesoAs"'loAs. ervation brings the
number of such tracts to sixty-nine
and forms an important unit In the
system of refugees for bird life that has
grown up in recent years.
Here each year come vast numbers OF
waterfowl and plume birds, some to
rest before completing their migrat1ons
and others to breed. Heretofore hunters
and plume collectors have lain in wait
for the migrants and slaughtered theW
by thousands.
The situation in the Big Lake neigh
borhood, as the country of the new
reservation is known, Is little dlHer-
ent from what it has been In many
other parts Of the United States; but
gradually the federal government: oent
on saving it's feathered inhabitants
from extinction, has singled out the
spots favored by great numbers oI
birds as resting or breedlns its
laws around them. The withdrawal OF
the Big Lake refuge adds to the us.
of bird reservations practically tns ias.
important tract in the United Ssa. ss
not already included on mhar The
executive order will be the means; VI n<
olopists say, of conserving numerous VI
thousands of feathered creatures.
Practically all of the pro have
tions originally intended as sucn, nase
been created by executive order IN .ne
Ia at ten wears. The value OF the
walton principle had been demons.. 1ied
before. however, by what may DC 1870 1870
accidental refugees, or when sortant
reservations were the most 1mpoIt ahl
On some of these reservations tnou-
sands of birds congregated. ana as LIZ
tracts were under federal oWhelsn,p
hunting was not permitted me Va.us
Of projecting birds was u oenO" became
more thickly settled and natural pree1
ing grounds and resting places OF p'Ius
became better known 10 nunteLs' ~
need for a further extension OF 'ne pro
lection became evident. The biologlcai
survey of the Department OF Agrlcui,
ture also had grown in importance aiiu
Rad learned much of the migratory
ha hits of American birds. and SO was IN
a position to advise as to their proeee
ton. a,,,..s
tho f1rst exclusive national bird reser-
vation was established March IA, 1898.
on Pelican Island, Fla, spot lons
known as bird paradise. hrsto e',
island, La, another tract frequented pS
vast numbers Of birds. especially dur
ing winter months, was set aside as
bird refuge the following year Inc
need for reservations in the northern
regions. the goals OF summer LIE
IS,
nv the establishment of refugees m
North Dakota, Oregon, washington ana
wyoming February 3. 1909. the west
ernmost of the reservations was desig
mated in the Hawaiian Islands IN the
midpacifc, and before the end OF the
month the easternmost refuge was es-
tablished over 5000 miles away in Por-
to Rico. ...
vary greatly At one extreme are light
house reservations, often mere rocks
or patches of sand offshore: and at the
other is the great Yukon Delta reserVa-
tion in Alaska, which contains hundreds
Of square miles of tundra between the
mouths of the Yukon and Kuskokwim
rivers. While the biological survey OF
the Department of Agriculture has the
care of birds on the various reserva-
tions, the custody of the various tracts
resorted to by birds lies in many HANDS.
The exclusive bird refugees are under
the survey, the lighthouse reservations
are under the lighthouse bureau. tne
life-saving stations under the coast
guard, the fisheries reservations unoer
the bureau of fisheries. the national
parks under the Department OF the m
terror, the military parks under the
War Department and certain western
irrigation reservoirs and their banks