Evening star., 1948-10-14
By Alex R. Preston

Voters from rural areas OF three
Northern Virginia counties will re.
ceive an extra ballot November Q.
Fairfax County Agent Joseph z
Beard estimates that not one per.
son out of so knows what it is for.
All Virfinia voters will receive q
ballot listing presidential, senatorial
and House candidates and another
for a constitutional amendment or
election day. But voters of Fairfax
Prince william and Loudoun Coun.
ties, who live outside of incorporated
cities and towns, will receive thiro
ticket to be marked for election OF
three Northern Virginia Soil Con-
servation District supervisors.
Most farmers presumably have al
least some idea of the duties OF the
soil conservation supervisors. Or
the other hand there are thousands
of persons with a "city outlook
those WHO work in Washington
who maintain homes in the country
and who do not understand the
duties of these officials, according
to MIR. Beard.
Three Seek Reelection.
The three supervisors whose
names viii appear on the ballot al
are seeking reelection. They art
Edward C. Norman, Purcellville
Loudoun County; Stuart T. De Bell
Centreville, Fairfax County, ane
Lester w. HUFF, Nokesville, Prince
william County.
They are unopposed and each Is
running without regard to political
afiliation. There is nothing, how
ever, to prevent Republicans and
Democrats from nominating candi-
dates to oppose one another as Is
done in some other Virginia districts
Virginia: ratified the Federal Gov
ernments soil conservation program
when the General Assembly passed
the Virginia Soil Conservation Dis
tricts Law in 1898. A special ref
erendum by the landowners OF the
three nearby counties was held April
26, 1945, and the present district was
established then.
The official program OF the pres
ent supervisors declares:
THE district was organized as q
means of yacquainting the people in
the district with the seriousness oi
uncontrolled erosion; to encourage
landowners to use the most effective
practices and procedures in the con-
servation of soil and soil resources
and to assist landowners and opera
tors in the actual establishment OF
erosion control practices on farms.
Few Recognize Powers.
Few realize that the SUPERVISOR
occupy a. status that gives them
powers to make rules with the force
and effect of law. Because the
supervisors have not. thus far
cracked down to force compliance
most of those who are cognizant Of
the setup regard the supervisors
merely as an advisory group.
Mr.. Beard said the Northern Vir-
ginia district supervisors have not
had to resort to inforced consetVa-
ton practices. It has been the
other way around. He said the
supervisors are besieged with re-
quests from farmers for advice or
such matters as reforestation. ero-
sion control crop rotation and re-
lated matters.
The soil conservation district
should not be confused with the
Production and Marketing Admins
tration of the Agriculture Depart
ment which subsidies certain ap-
proved conservation practices. The
PIMA also is administered at a local
level but membership is voluntary
among farmers who elect their own
committeeman, usually at below
the-county level. The committees
disburse Federal aid for such prac-
tices as application of lime and fer
tilizers to maintain productivity OF
the sni1