Evening star., 1932-10-31

of this section Of the department; wait
ing for Office of Education surveys on
educational finance, educational proVl-
SionS for handicapped children, reports
on health education, kindergarten-pr
mary education, school building service
and professional education, all of which
are being delayed by virtue of reduced
appropriations; waiting for land sur
veyS on which hinge the transfer of the
public domain under the General Land
Office and seriously hamper the efforts
Of the ever-increaSing number of home
SteaderS to stake out claims on which
they hope to make the livelihood Of
which they have been deprived by the
current economic situation.
Education Program in Peril.
Appropriations for the Office of Edu-
cation, a function of the Interior De-
partment which touches directly or in
directly virtually every home in the
Nation, were cut 35 per cent by Con-
greSs. AS a result, that Offices whole
educational program is seriously threat
ened and every employe, from Comm!s-
flOner John Cooper down, must take a
l5-day furlough or 10 to Is employees
must be dismissed before the end OF the
1888 fiscal year, next June 80.
This is a serious matter in an office
as meagerly statfed as this one" said
Miss BeSS GoodykoOntZ, assistant COM
missioner, where the discharge of one
specialist means also the closing out of
service and research in whole field OF
education"
One of the few officials who would
frankly discuss the effects of the econ
omy act. Miss Goodykoontz continued:
For example, there is in the office
only one person to keep an up-to-date
record of educational legislation, to is
sue summaries of legislation on particu-
lar topics, to answer inquiries from leg
islators. State superintendentS and other
officials. Still another individual repre-
sentS the Office in the field OF industrial
education and guidance, another must
be responsible for whatever tolloW-up
there is of the national survey OF Secon-
darv education, and still another for as
sistance TO school officials and to others
in school finance.
When one of these individuals goes.
the work in his field is dropped. To
choose between eliminating health edu-
cation, dergarten-prlmary educatlon
school building service or professional
Il II
"A second serious result or the re-
duced appropriation lies in the restric-
ton in types of research which may be
carried on. Research by questlonnalre
onlv sets definite limits in the types OF
problems which may be undertaken,
and in the character. accuracy ana
completeness of the data which may be
secured. For several years the research
staff in the office has worked con-
scientiously to further investigation
through field studies, which, though local
or sectional, are Of universal interest 10
educators. This past year has seen the
DEVELOPMENT of several such field studies
However, the present decreased apprO-
priations for travel offer a considerable
setback to the continuance Of this type
Of investigation.
Publications Reduced.
"Another serious consequence is the
reduction IN the number of publications
and in the number of copies of publ
cations available for distribution. In
line with the functions as stated in the
organization act of 1867, the Office OF
Education should G) collect such sta
tsticS and facts as shall show the con-
ditiOn and progress Of education III
the several States and Territories q
'diffuse such information and 80
otherwise promote the cause Of educa-
tion throughout the country.
There has been a so per cent in
crease in the letter-mail requests for
information IN the past years. and 1t
is interesting to note that in the past
year. while appropriations for printing
ard distributing information were beng
reduced 45 per cent, requests increased
10 per cent.
Fourth. the reduction of appropria-
tions delays the program of national
surveys of problems which are Nation
wide, such as educational finance, edu-
cational provisions for handicapped
children etc. and by so doing delays
the savings and improvements which
follow such Nationwide studies"
The Geological Survey, whose far
flung activities cover the length and
breadth Of the Nation and its pos
sessions, suffered perhaps more than
any other bureau in the department.
Only one-third the number Of usual
survey parties were sent into the field