Evening star., 1922-12-10
U. S. AGRICULTURAL
Department WILL
BE REORGANIZED
CONTINUED from First Page.)

were combined into one extension
office with two divisions instead of
two extension offices with eleven di-
visions. That permits a saving, in
creased efficiency and more logical
arrangement. After all there are only
two problems in extension work, %
what you are going to teach. and (2)
how you are going to teach 1t. So
two new divisions have been set to
work: % the division Of program.
and (2) the division of methods. Pro-
gram decides what to teach and
method decides how to teach.
The extension work of the depart
ment has to do with administration
of the Smith-Lever funds which now
amount to many millions of dollars
year. These funds must be matched
by the states for employment of coun-
ty agents. home demonstration agents
and boys and girls club agents.
There are now about 1000 persons
employed in this cooperative manner.
all of them doing extension teaching
OF this number 2.1O0 are man agents
working directly with the farmers.
and located permanently in the coun-
ties; 500 are women working in the
homes and 200 are either men or
women working with the boys and
girls; the rest are district and state
agents. or specialists and supervisors
Last year there were $4,000 boys
and girls enrolled in the club work
and they produced products in the
club activities valued at more than
$1,000 900 Through this agents sys-
tenn the extension work has reached
100000 farm homes last year by
personal contact of these agents.
Seven millions of federal money was
put into this work to which was
added ss.7Oo 900 of state money.
Proposed Changes.
So much to show what has been
done in preliminary organization.
Here comes the proposed reorganiza-
tions:
No increases in appropriation are
asked. only authority to reorganize
for the purpose of getting more ef
fiCient organization and economy. In
view of the $50 200 saved by the ere
economies and the 100000 saved by
consolidation of the extension offices,
it seems certain to the officials of the
Department of Agriculture and to
members of the House appropriations
committee that the proposed reorgani
Zation means great saving as well
as il. creased efficiency.
To get the background for the re-
organization picture. it must be ex-
planned that the county agent is not
the only extension work carried on
by the Department of Agriculture. In
addition there are exhibits at the Va
riouS fairs, motion pictures and spe- /
cial lines of extension work carried |
on largely by bureaus with the de- |
parment. These lines of work are
not properly co-ordinated and have |
CO. ordination only through the Sec !
retary'S office AS the Secretary is so
busy with multifarious duties he can !
not give much personal attention to
this work.
Two years ago Congress authorized
the employment of director OF |
scientific work. whose duty is the CO.
ordination of all of the research work
of the various bureaus. Congress also
authorized at the same time an office
of regulatory work. The duty of the
man in charge of the Office of regu-
latory work (police powers) is to CO.
ordinate all of this sort of work. The
ramifications of this police work are
tremendous. much greater than most
people suppose. 1t includes the ad-
rninistration of the pure food and
drug act. tick eradication. meat in
spection. packer and stockyard adj
mniStration. the work OF the federal
horticultural board. barberry. corn
borer. blister rust. boil weevil eradi-
cation and the activities OF the In
secticide board. etc.
Heretofore the Secretary of Agri- /
culture has been the only co-ordina-
ton. Now the director of scientific
work and the director of regulatory
work are the Secretarys represen-
tatives in carrying out coordination.
Now we have come to the main
feature of the proposed reorganiza- .
ton.
practically every bureau and Office
of the department. First, scientific or
research: second. regula tory or police
power. and third. extension service.
A co-ordinator has been provided for ;
the first and second. The Secretary
ity to place a co-ordinator in charge
of all the extension work of the de-
partment, who will be on par with
the directors Of scientific work and
tary will have one person in charge
of each of the three main functions
of the department. who will be di-
rectly responsible to himself.
Divisions Of Omces.
If that is granted. as seems Ger
tam. it will permit the department
to place under that extension direc-
tor all of those Offices which are
nothing but extension offices. There
are three of them: First. reorgani-
cation Of extension work now in the
states relation service; second, the
office of exhibits. and third the Office
OF motion pictures
These offices furnish the avenue
which the work of the depart |
ment flows out to the people in whose |
interest it is carried on. They are not
creative offices but machinery for doing I!
the work and all offices are interested
in them. +,
The reorganization also proposes that !
similar offices realing with the super i
vision Of scientific work shall be placed /
under the director of scientific work /,
and that Offices merely furnishing the !
avenues or machinery for carrying on
work shall be attached to !
the office of regulatory work. AS it is !
Acc toto