The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1915-04-23


Z7cEl4yUf established. the division of pub
sSZz2K lications made a report to the
effect that the demand for Farmers Bulletins
A per cent greater than during the previous
fiscal year. OF course a certain proportion OF
this percentage must be laid to the increased
number of publications and to the increased
population, but making all allowances it seems to
be plain that the public much better in
formed about the existence of the bulletins and
much more interested in them than it had
been before.
While the department extends the usefulness
Of the Farmers Bulletins among the people by
familiarizng them with the publications
tents and value it also to ii that stories
prepared for publication that are much
strictly news from the point of view of the news
paper editors. These stories usually warn
ings of frauds of pestilence, decisions and
announcements connected with the enforcement
of the meat inspection law and food and drugs
act and other statutes of regulation which are
administered by the department of agriculture.
In the days befor~ the creation of the Office OF
information the only organized method of spread
ing news of this character, which is almost al
WAYS OF considerable and even great commercial
Importance, was to send it out through the mails
in the form of circulars. The delay frequently
costly to the people and the interests con-
cerned and it was necessarily unsatisfactory,
Under the present system information is sent
out at once from the departments office by tee-
to representatives of newspapers which are like
y TO be interested in the matter and who are
within reach
The usefulness of this work is shown in the
prompt publication of every quarantine order
affecting the foot-and-mouth disease This sub
ject, however, had attained such proportions that
ii is likely the newspapers themselves would
have secured the information through their own
representatives but there are other cases and
many OF them, where the stories could not be
covered because if the department did not give
out the information voluntarily nothing would be
known of ii. A case in point which may be cited
was an elaborate attempt to palm off on the
farmers in the belt region a preparation
alleged TO cure hog cholera The sellers pre-
tended that the preparation recommended
by the department of agriculture. This fraud
suppressed when through the office of in
formation the newspapers in the territory con-
cerned received full statement of the facts
in the case.
Many of the departments activities, moreover.
have to do, not with the farmer, but with those
who manufacture farm products into food or
handle. store, or market them. The departments
specialists constantly making discoveries for
preventing losses, devising methods for manu-
featuring products or improved methods for
handling or manufacturing old products Here
tofore it frequently happened that one progress
sive manufactures would learn of these things
and thus gain an advantage over others in the
same trade who had no knowledge that the in.
formation was available. Under the present
system the office Of information quickly COM
municates the details OF these discoveries or inn
provements TO all trade papers in the class af-
fected and to all important dailies I'm the ter
ritories where such manufacture is prominent
industry
The Office OF information in addition TO the
service OF the character outlined prepares a
Weekly News Letter" TO crop correspondents
which has taken the place OF the Crop Report
err" This Weekly News Letter is sent to all
the voluntary crop correspondents serving the
department to inspectors. agricultural colleges
correspondents. and to other persons in a posi-
tion to make use of the material II has a cir
culation approximately Of 100000 weekly
In all the work OF the Office of information the
effort is simply to place at the disposal of the
people the information .hich the department of
agriculture primarily was organized TO obtain foe
their benefit In none Of the material is there any
attempt 10 gain prominence for any individual or
branch Of government. or to praise or to criticize
anyone or in any way to influence legislation.