The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1917-09-07

.#LPNeSt8 United States department of agri-
yFtbkfC NJ. culture all can say is that said
49, wW person is comedian who can't
ZK@s3rA0. c0mede. Pardon the assumption
IA E-sss>zgSP,R- but can prove this. In fact
lH @SJy1srs"%L would bet Of SamueI's per.
a4aaszAaN.aauuuuzuAD fecty good beaver hats on IT,
The other day took dinner at
the Doughnut Cabinet in the New Willard hotel In
our capital city and had talk with Uncle Sam
ana rev Of his congressman. Oh, no, this Dough
nut Cabinet has nothing to do with kitchen cabI-
net, nor that tasty breakfast morse-it's the room
which some of your Uncle Sans servants are said
10 seek when they want to talk IL over" and dine
DIT ut the same time | simply took notes as |
talked with Uncle Sam and his servants One
congressman was In a particularly oquaclous mood
ana his thoughts turned toward agriculture.
you KNOW" said the congressman, II was back
nome while before election and met Farmer
Smlth whom knew ns boy. Naturally was
glad to see him, but couldn't help pulling my time
worn offer on him, the formula for which runs like
this; My dear Smith have at my disposal a long
ist OF bulletins published by the department OF
agriculture mt Washington; also have a few pack
ages OF seeds selected for me by the departments
scientists. II would afford me great pleasure my
Ola friend to send to you either the goods or some
OF the bulletins What win It be- SMITH
Nov. Smith has moss growing on his dome.
even II he dd take Oft his cap and scratch his head
before he made his decision. lie had received both
bulletins aud seeds from many times before
Wen said Smith, 4 think would rather have II
bulletin with live thought In II than seed with a
dend germ
Apparently Farmer Smith appreciates my bulle-
tins" exclaimed Uncle Sam. I'm glad to hear
that for I'm making every effort to put into them
the practical knowledge dug out by my scientists
and investigators Last year | distributed through
you congressman aud the department of agriculture
upward OF l40OOO00 copies of Farmers Bulletins
the subjects of which covered In some respects the
entire gamut of the widely varied activities of the
department, Hut II is impossible for rae 10 supply
even the six million farm families with all of the
bulletins issued Consequently the bulletins of the
department are regarded as n foundation work
upon which the superstructure Is built
40 supplement- these bulletins decided about
three years ago to have regular service bureau
such as Is provided by some OF the large business
enterprises, only mine was TO tap reservoir so
great and so deep as to contain nm inexhaustible
fund of unbiased. scientific information. l chris
tened this innovation office of information and II
has lived up to its name
"Iu order to start tho office of information on the
right basis from the standpoint Of the newspapers
aud other periodicals, l secuted about for some
time and finally secured the services OF two old
New York newspaper aud advertising men and put
them into the office with instructions to get their
facts right by referring the stories to the scientists
for tnal q, X, but to write or edit them the
periodicals would publish them and the people
would read them II was difficult task, but II has
been accomplished, as evidenced by the miles of
clippings of stories sent to the by the various clip
ping bureaus, This convinced me that was get.
ting moro of the departments Information before
the people supplementing the bulletin service.
You wouldn't believe IL. but some people con
fused this maiden effort and thought had started
"a publicity campaign. Far from IL They did not
realize the difference between tho giving out of In
formation of purely educational character. based
upon tncts for which the people already had paid
their money. and the usual publicity matter The
office OF information performs the service of max
Ing available to newspapers and other periodicals
In the form with which they are familiar the
practical knowledge dug out by the departments
scientists In field and laboratory Investigations.
These men, trained In their spcclalties. are neces-
sartly not newspaper advertising men and, there
fore. do not know the periodicals want their ar
tclcs prepared
Only occasionally does "A scientist possess a
nose for news aud even less frequently can he
press his news la a way that would escape the
ylgilant eye aud active hluc pencil of editor.
only the other day heard congressman say An
Investigator Is who has found cut What cv.
crybody already knows and tells about IL in Ian.
suaEu which nobody understand
'sThs statement about the language used by
many scientists certainly Is true, but have to pay
my respects to them Investigators. Their dir.
Hcult lingo Is necessary Is them, although TO the
Iuymun tt may not always bee advisable to de-
scribe common rainfall as falling mvteoric water
or 10 write about the elimination and toNlcity ot
ruUctn ia uyphrvctamlsed mhhits-whatever that
means The scientist. however. insists on Il for
,lrucy's sake. and accuracy Is his middle name.
You might wcu try to pump the ocean dry"
continued Samuel with emphasis, "as to exhaust
, Information OF my scientists along their special
unrs Much to the delight Of the boys In the
ofrcr however, IL Il not always necessary 60
-pump' this knowledge. Scientists frequently are
very susceptible to attack by the Bacillus Scribcndi
The manuscripts resulting from the work Of this
scrlbbllng bacillus are put into shape by the
office Of Information But. Tor one reason or an
other, this germ at times becomes cnCySted and Il
is necessary to inocuate an new spot This the
office does by interviewing scientists who are busy
chasing mlcrOorgantsms, which the newspaper man
can't do. or are exhausted from telling the people