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Show Our Government How It Operates By William Bruckart FACTS FOR THE FARMER ONE of the senators created quite a furore In the recent session of congress by his criticism of the Department De-partment of Agriculture for what be called a woeful waste of money in printing pamphlets and documents for the Information of agriculture. The senator, suddenly seized by a desire for economy, selected a pamphlet which he described as "The Love Life of a Bullfrog," on which to make his own play for publicity. It was true that the Department of Agriculture had issued a pamphlet concerning bullfrogs, although I failed to find In It any reference to his love life. On the other hand, that document docu-ment contained the results of a study of that little friend of man In order to show bow greatly he helped by his Insatiable appetite for certain kinds of Insects, protecting the health of the nntlon and the crops the farmers farm-ers grow. Obviously, It seems like a waste of money until you know how farreach-lng farreach-lng the Investigations of the department depart-ment prove to be. It Is, however, proper to point out that without all of these scientific studies, farming would not be what It has proved to be, a gigantic resource of a great nation. That statement Is made, notwithstanding not-withstanding the recognized fact that farmers, as everyone else, have suffered suf-fered In the worst depression of modern mod-ern history. It Is my deliberate conclusion con-clusion that farmers would have been worse off except for the help of their government In this connection. There are not thousands, but millions mil-lions of these pamphlets, documents, bonks, leaflets and printed material for newspaper publication sent out each year by the department. If Its work Is to be of aid to those for whom It Is Intended, they must be made acquainted acquaint-ed with It. So. It does seem that government gov-ernment expenditures of this kind are justifiable up to a certain point; just as valuable. Indeed, as are other funds spent by the department In the thousands of studies, researches, experiments ex-periments and administrative direction direc-tion of Its work. It Is readily understandable how agriculture gains from scientific work that results In prevention of cholera among hogs, hoof and mouth disease among cattle, rust In wheat, and others oth-ers of that character. Likewise, the experiment station in your state. If you have happened to visit it. gives you a clear idea of results to be gained from doing things a certain way. but it is not so easy for the person who has not traced each operation oper-ation through to its ultimate conclusion conclu-sion to see where some expenditures are justified. All the while and in countless ways, the scientists of the department are seeking to find facts, facts of value to the farmer, and when they have helped the farmer they have likewise performed a service for the man in the city, since agriculture is fundamental funda-mental in our economic life. Thus, we find in the Department of Agriculture, bureaus of animal Industry Indus-try and dairy industry, of agricultural economics and home economics, one relating to plants, and another relating relat-ing to control of foods and drugs In interest of people's health, to mention- a few of them. Each has its place and purpose. Each has been created by a congress that saw a need for the work that It was to do. It may seem strange, at first thought, that the weather bureau and the bureau bu-reau of public roads should have been lodged in the Department of Agriculture. Agricul-ture. But the functions they performed at the time they were organized were more intimately related to agriculture than to any other economic effort. The vast annual expenditures of the federal government, in co-operation with the states, for construction construc-tion of public roads had their inception incep-tion from a desire to enable farmers to reach markets. Right on top of this came the desire to enable farmers to receive their mail through the farflung system of rural mail routes, and so that agency has gone along, year after aft-er year, In development of the greatest great-est system of public highways existing ex-isting In any nation on earth. It was the same with the weather bureau. Farmers, with perishable crops, needed information as far in advance as possible and the government govern-ment tried to arrange it for them. Of course. In later years, the "weather man" has come to be a vital factor in the life of the air pilot and In commercial commer-cial and Industrial effort as well, but it remains In the Department of Agriculture Agri-culture for the good and sufficient reason that it can be administered better there than In any other branch of the government and the purpose of its inception remains as its fundamental funda-mental basis of operation. . 1932, Western Newspaper Union. |