Show our government Govern ment how it operates by william Bru bruckart chart FACTS FOR THE FARMER 0 of tile the senators created quite a f furore aurore in the recent session of 0 congress by ills his criticism of 0 the department part ment of agriculture for what lie ha called a woeful waste of money la in printing pamphlets and documents for the information of agriculture the senator suddenly seized by a desire for economy selected a pamphlet which lie he described as the love life of a bullfrog 0 on n which to make his own play for publicity it was true that the department of agriculture had issued a pamphlet concerning bullfrogs bull frogs although I 1 tailed failed to find I 1 in it t any reference to his love lova life on the other hand band that document contained the results of a study of that little friend of man in order to show how greatly he helped by ills his insatiable appetite for certain kinds of insects protecting the health of the nation and the crops the farmers grow obviously it seems like a waste of money until you know how tan far each reach ing the investigations of the tha department prove to be it to Is however proper ta aft 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 the recognized tact fact that farmers as everyone else have suffered in the worst depression of modern history it Is my deliberate conclusion that farmers would have been worse off except for the help hell of their government go eminent in this connect connection lon there are not thousands but millions of these pamphlets documents books leaflets and printed material tor for newspaper publication sent out each year by the department if its work la is to be of nid aid to those for whom it la Is intended they must be made mada acquainted with it so it does seem that government erime n t expenditures of this kind are ju up to a certain point just as valuable indeed as are other funds spent by the department in the alia thousands of studies researches experiments peri perl ments and administrative direction of its work ork it is readily understandable how agriculture gains from scientific lOc work that results in prevention of cholera among hogs hoof and mouth disease among cattle rust to in wheat and others of that character likewise the experiment station in your state it if you have happened to visit it gives you a clear idea of results to be gained from doing things a certain eav hut but it Is not so easy tor for the person who has not tracer traced each oper atlon through to its enrichi son mon to see where some expenditures arii ju justified stIfled all tile the while and in countless ways the scientists of tile the department are seeking to find facts facts of value to the farmer and when they have helped tile the farmer they haab like likewise wige performed a service for the man id ia tile hie city since agriculture Is fundamental in our economic life thus we vie find in the department of agriculture bureaus of animal industry and dairy industry of 0 agricultural economics and home economics one relating to plants and another relating to control of foods and druss drugs in interest of peoples health to mention a few of them rach ling has its place and purpose fach each has been created by a congress that saw a need tor for the work that it was to do it may seem strange at first thou thought glit that the weather bureau and the bureau burall L of public roads should have been lodged in the department of agriculture 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 oc the federal government in cooper co operation with the states for construction of public roads had their inception tion from a desire to enable farmers to reach markets right on top of this came the desire to enable farmers to receive their mall mail through the far flung system of rural mall routes and so that agency has gone along year after year jear in development of the preat great est system of public highways ex ei in any nation on earth it was the same with the weather bureau farmers with perishable crops crop needed information as far in advance as possible and the government tried to arrange it for thera them of course in later years the weather man has come to be a vital altal factor in the life of the air pilot and in commer caal lal and industrial effort as well but it t remains in the department of agri culture for the good and sufficient reason eason that it can be administered ettor bette there than in any other branch of f the government and tho the purpose of t its inception remains as its fundamental basis of operation 0 mi 1932 western now vulon union |