The Washington times., 1935-12-16
By LEON w. SHLOSs

AuteEnaLlOnAl NoWB service
SCS: Soil Conservation Service.
The SCS, born Of the Recovery
Act to arrest wanton wastage Of
Americas soil, escaped the sweep
ing death blow dealt the children
Of MIRA by the Supreme Court
and became a permanent agency
to combat erosion and dissipation
Of Mother Earth.
The SCS is unique in that it
was made by a man." although
usually in the Capital the office
makes the man.
The man is H. H. Bennett, So
year-old North Carolinian and
'farm boy" who has devoted 80
years to the work Of saving and
improving the soil. To the smiling,
slouchily-attired Bennett his work
is "the cause" The history Of the
SCS is so interviewer with his
career that its record might best
be related through the story Of his
life.
Born on a farm, Bennett studied
agriculture at the University of
North Carolina for two years. His
funds exhausted, he went to work
in a drug store for two years at
$25 a month to earn the money
with which to complete college.
A friend in Washington advised
him of a Civil Service examina-
tion for a position in the Bureau
Of Soils and Chemistry, Agricul-
ture Department. Bennett hiked
to the Capital, only to be told the
examination had been especially
planned to expedite the advance
ment of two experts then working
in the Bureau, and that his
chances Of passing the quiz were
negligible.
Takes the Exam
Having nothing to lose, Bennett
took the examination and re.
turned, disconsolate, to North
Carolina. A few weeks later he
was apprised of his appointment
to the position.
He attacked Immediately the
problem of soil wastage. In 1927
he obtained funds for conStruc-
ton and operation of 10 erosion
experimental stations throughout
the Nation. Findings at these
points revealed the need for quick
and determined action to arrest
erosion, if America was to be
saved from an eventual metamor-
phosis into a Nation Of burning
sands.
In 1888 the recovery act called
for establishment of soil erosion
service in the Interior Depart
ment. Secretary Ickes called on
Bennett to head up the organiza-
ton. In March, 1885, IckeS or
dered the SCS transferred to the
Agriculture Department. Two
days later Secretary Wallace or
dered incorporation of the expert
mental stations and all other ero-
Sion-fighting agencies of the
Agriculture Department into the
SES, thus bringing together all
Federal agencies of this type.
starr or 6UO here
On April 81, 1885. President
Roosevelt approved an act calling
for specific action against erosion
and moisture losses. Bennett thus
had achieved his ambition-crea-
ton Of a powerful machine with
which to fight his battle. The
new agency was named the SCS.
Now a staff of 600 in Washing
ton and 1000 in the field are
supervising the activities of $4,000
SCS workers on 141 demonStra-
ton projects and 125,000 "bor-
rowed" CCC enrollees in 500
camps are carrying out demon
strations on smaller scale. Both
groups are engaged in bringing to
the farmers of the Nation knowl-
edge in how to most advantage
ously till and conserve the soil.
The direct SCS projects COM
prise $4,000 to 100000 acres each
in extent, affecting in each in
stance as many as 5000 farmers
within q watershed. Workers are
paid the security wage and are
not concentrated in camps, the
only requirement being that they
live near enough to the project
to report daily.