SPECIAL OFFER
;
THE, LEDGER
Will send -you they
Ledger from now un-"
til January ,1, 1915,
for 35 cents. ...
Dolj Job nrintiu"
of every, description.
Prices - and Quality
Guaranteed.
VOLUME .'31;
, , - - - rf WINDSOR, N. a; THURSDAY OCTOBER pTHf1915. x - No 17
Origin,? Growth and Explanatian
Of
A year has' parsed since .the cooper
ative agricultural extension act of
S 1914, commonly known as
May
the
Smith-Lever Extension Act,; went' into
pffect. In that period much has been
accomplished in creating or perfecting
the administrative: machinery forbear-
rying on me exvension wore in ;jgri
culture and home economics in the de
partment and the 8everaf States,
general lines along v which -these
The
ex
tensive enterprises will be conducted
have also been quite well determined.
All the States have assented to the
provisions of. the : act either through
A
their governors or their legisla :ures
and the action of the $ governors -ha9
been ratified by all the legisla ;ures
which have been in regular session
during the year. - A "single agicul-.
tural college in each - State has- been
designated as i the beneficiary of
act, thus providing for; a unified
ministration of - the .act within
State , In - several States where
this
,ad
the
the
college designated is not coeducational.
a cooperative arrangement
for
the
work in home economics t has t been
made with the ' State college for worn-1
en, and similarly in a few States hav
ing separate Jahd grant colleges for
negroes a cooperative ; arrangement
has been made -for extension vork
among people jof that race.. L ; - t ;
EXTENSION i- SERVICE IN EVERY STATE.
In all the States the colleges
ing charge of the work ' under
hav-
the
Smith Lever Act have created, exten
sion divisions or services and have
brought under these divisions all their
extension work in agriculture
and
on
In
not
home economics' whether carried
with Smith-Lever (or other funds,
some States these ' divisions' ' are
yet. as jdear:cut asJs desirable;. ad In
some cases old State laws or gen
eral administrative regulations of
the institutions adopted years ago
have thus far continued in confusing
union of the extension organization
with that of the experiment' stajion.
In thirty two States a separate officer
is in charge of the extension worK
usually under the title of directoj-, in
thirteen States -the. extension director
is also director of the experiment I sta
tion or dean of the college of agricul
ture. and in three Statesjthee is still
an acting director! In alhaost e irery
State the extension work has already
become such "a large and; varied enter
prise that a separate officer in ac tive
charge of its operations and t devc ting
his entire time to this" work : is essen-,
tial to its highest efficiescy: . :
In 20 States "the s farmers'., i isti7
tutes are still carried on bvj the State
Department of Agriculture, though in
a number of-States there ia a move
ment for their transfer to the agricul
tural college and this has taken place
in South Dakota. In practically ; all
the States where' the institutes have a
separate 'organization f there is some
kind of a cooperation with Hhe i grit
cultural college in this 4 work. " W iere
the institutes'are sunder the direction
of the college; , they : are vUndergping
more or less reorganization with a
vew to making, them-more : deffinitely-
demonstration and educational.
STATES 'RELATIONS SERVICE
The plans for the unifying 'of
management, of the agricultural
the
ex
tension enterprises within the' States
ere met by the Secretary of Agri
culture, in the first, placed; by the
creation of a States" Relations Com
mittee for the general supervision of
all the extension enterprises I of J,the
department bureaus and of the 'epop
erative arrangements with thev State
stitutions involving the use of Smi'th
Lever or department - funds for dem-
onstrations or other forms or exten
ion work. This committeeyhas low
been succeeded by a permanent States
Relations Service created by 6n
gress inrac"cordance vwkh the Se'fcret
tary's recommendations,"' which begin
nng with July 1, .1915, will rjave
among its functions' the' duties fare
viouslyperformed by the States Kela
"ons Committee. ':. j'.;
A.U the State agricultural' colleges
receiving' the benefits of the Smith
ever Act have entered "into coopera
11a relationa with the "department,
and In ACS Oi-i .. . ' . r i - '
t. "! - ""nea inese institution and
ue aepartmeht are CondnnHnrri nil
extension work in Nasriculturo
Farm Demonstration Work
and home economics under the - terms
ufa general. Memorandum of under-
standing," which is used ; as the basis
for -a great - variety of cooperative
f agreements. - i '
COUNTY - AGENTS IN 1,000 COUNTIES
mere nas oeen remarkaoie unan
imity in the acceptance . by the States
of one of the fundamental i features
of the extension enterprises which; was
developed . by . "the department " with
funds wholly under its control prior to
the passage of the Smith-Lever Act.
The experience of the past , twelve
years has fully demonstrated the value
of the county . agricultural people on
theiniarms and in their homes the re
suits of practical, experience and scien
tific research in agriculture ; and home
economics and .securing thp practical
application of these . results through
demonstrations and otherwise. There
is therefore "general agreement that
nothing is more important in the ? de
velopment of extension features, un-s
der the new conditions arising from
the Smith Lever i Act than the estab
lishment in: each county, of permanent
headquarters for extension 5 : work, in
charge of. a competent county agent,
who sh,all act as the joint representa
tive of the local community, tbe State
through itB agricultural college, and
the nntiori through its Department . of
Agriculture. : It is believed that in
this way. the need of the agricultural
Deople in - their several communi ties
can be best determined, and whatever
help the State and the Nation can give
them in their agricultural and home
problems can be most speedily and ef-4
fectively, brought to ;them. Alarge
share .of the department extension
funds, much money derived from State,
county, and ;local sources, and a; cbn
iidef able'portion" of the mitfi. Lever
fund have therefore been devoted to
the maintenance ?: and extension of the
county agent system. There' are now
over 1,000 counties B in the 48 States
which have county agents. '
: On the whole these agents have
been ;very' successful in 'winning the
confidence -of the farming people; and
the tangible; results of their work are
very; encouraging. - xne personality or
the agent is, of course, a very large
factor in"defrmining the measure of
bis r puccess. His"; understanding: of
tbe real .problems of tlje -region in
which he is working, his ' sympathy
with rural people, and his ability to
meet them on their own ground and
actually i convey , to them, important
practical instruction and information
in a convincing way are i among the
essentials. ; jWhen to these ' qualifica
tions are .addedf studious inclinations
.and habits, the possession of accurate
and up-to-date knowledge of the practice-
and science of agriculture and.
? business ahility of high ; order, we have
a very; able :and ; useful ; naan whose
services will mean much for -l the. agri
cultural and social advancement ofhis
county. - . - " -
SPEClAtr TRAINING FOR COUNTY AGENTS
Considering the limited number of
agricultural college graduates--; and the
numerous avenues for congenial : work
which are opening up to them it is not
surprising that up to the present,: time
it has'not be6h practicable to obtain a
sufrliept 'number of such 'graduates
with the practical experience and other
qualifications required for the position
of county ; agent. There ;will be J a
steady demand for men of thorough
training combined with satisfactory
practical - experiencs. to fill these po
sitions. ; Thecolleges have therefore
a special duty to train the future ex
tension workers and it is encouraging
to notice ihat they are beginning . to
feel Jbeir responsibility in this direc
ticn. ; . , ' ; . .
- ORGANIZATION AMONG FARMERS. :
Inasmuch as it: is impracticable for
the county agent to " deal altogether
with individual farmers, the problem
of .the organization of groups of farm
people through whom they may work
is -assuming 'great importance. . Two
general types of such organizations
are. now being; utilized.; 'Gounty or
ganizations, often called farm bureaus,
are being formed which are expected
to take the initiative in securing county
or local financial support f or the county
ofTont f olrA nart in the selection" and
and" appointment of ths. czznt, end
t tr
stand behind him in his efforts to ad .
vanpe the agricultural interests of the
county: Many of these drganizatibhs
include business and professional men,
as. well as farmers, .and their complex
organization has given rise to epeeial
problems. It is, however, V now very
apparent, that while the " cordial, sym
pathy and support of all classes of our
people in the movement for- the im
provement of agricultural conditions fs
very much to be desired, the farming
people themseyes should; control and jn
the end. determine" the character and
work' of, the organizations on which
the extension system must depend for
itsjocal support. ? - 7 : '
Another type of local s organization
being tested in' various places is the
small communityjclub; t Where a con
siderable number of these clubs . exist
in ,a county they are often. confederate
10 iorm some Kind or a; county organi
zation. 'X The; exact relations of organi
zations of either type to the extension
s stem, the breadth and variety., of
their functions relating . to extension
work ; or- other - enterprises; and the
most effective forms . for their organi
zation are as yet largely undetermined
and they must-still be considered. as in
the experimental stage v
: : WORK FOR BOYS AND GIRLS V; V
Another important line of extension
work which has been developed in a
large way by the department and the
agricultural colleges prior to the pas
sage of the Smith Lever. Act and , which
has been carried over. into their new
extension organization ia the boy's and
girl's club -work. In the Southern
States this enterprise is organically
associated with the county agent work
but in the other States has a more
separate , organization. . Through - the
club work the extension agencies, are
brought into -close"; touch yvith, the
State and local officers and ( teachers.
who largely itooperate in the forma
tion .and management" of ; the - clubs.
This has raised many interesting ques
tions regardin gtha-rela tfoaa 'wbicb the
club work might or .'should sustain
with the 'regular ' school instruction
in agriculture ; and home econolmics.
For example, it is practicable and de
sirable to consider the club work as in
the nature of a home protect for the
pupils and to give .school ' credit for
this work? . Undoubtedly ' such ques
tions will , require much; consideration
by 'the extension officers Ir. the future
r For many years 'the agricultural col
leges have done a large amount of ex
tension work through the ; members of
their faculties, and experiment station
staffs'.. At first this was purelylinci
dental to their regular duties, r but as
the demand for , extension work bas
grown' a somewhat definite r and, ;in
many cases, a large share of the " time
of Bpecirihsts in various !, branches' of
agriculture and ; hornet economics-' has
been devoted to this work.'. More re
cently in some institutions certain of
ficers have been set apart wholly, for
this service with vthe coming of large
.funds for extension --work under the
Smith-Lever Act.: much . attention is
being given to the x enlarging r and
strengthening of the force of extenr
sion specialists . is practically . all ".the
States."-,
These officers are .expected to sup
piemen the work of. the county: agents
by giving ; thenvad vice and : - assfstsnce
in connection with ; special problems
which arise in the counties, to carry on
short practical courses of instruction,
often called movable schools,: in Varions.
parts of the State, to conduct demon
strations along special - lines, . to pre
pare extension publications, ttf address
meetings, of farmers,' to answer the
inquiries of county agents, or farmers
on a great variety of subjects; etc.
In general, they re to gather 'Up the
available: knowledge in; their; several
specialties, - and especially the know
ledge pbtanied by the State experi
ment stations which bears directly on
the farmers' problems within the State
to put this knowledge in effective f orm
for delivery; to the farming people,
and to carry it to them directly or
through the county agents by word of
mouth, demons trations, or publications.
'-. STATUS OF EXTENSION SPECIALISTS ;
The organization of such a force on
a large scale is giving the administra
tive efficeers of the colleges much
trouble and perplexity. : The determi
nation of thestatus of the extension
as members of the college faculties
and their ""lelations to the teaching
force' and station staffs is by ho means
an easy or simple matter.- The 'ques
tion r.3 to how far ths extcr.ion
specialists should devote all their time
to extension work orr should combine
such work with .teaching 'or rese.arc't
1 is
a t very complicated one. Obvi
ously there js great , danger that perp. " ."vc "iUl" U
sons employed on the extension staff: Rlch Square neighbor the Ror.
wilf waste much time and l energy in Lnoke Chowaii TimeS.V ' BrO. Con-
traveling about on indefinite errands,
will do too much offhand Stalking of
fiW .tn r J f t T t?.0ef 8UPe.r,
ncial students of their; suhjects.. wiH
noi give sufijeient to the planning and
conducting of worth-while demonstr
tions, will , make f their " teaching tDaj
theoretical or sensational.- etc.
The standardization of the work of
extension specialists has hardly begun.
The , colleges are practically compelled
to increase their : number rapidly by
the appointment of the best available
personnel. -They? must not, however.
neglect to establish, some reasonable
system for scrutinizing the work of
these ;offce"s with a view to determin
ing its real value as measured by its
practical; results. It is believed that
such specialists should be called upon
from time, to time to; outline their
work quite definitely in project state
ments to be reviewed and approved,
by the, extension director. They
should be encouraged to restrict their
principal endeavors in any one year
to a few. well chosen and f strictly
limited subjects and should be made
to feel that their success will be
measured largely : by; their ability to
secure definite results along, these
lines. Many of, the projects for
specialists thus far; submitted to the
department under Smith Lever Act as
far" too general and do not reveal.' any
thorpuch study of what- is actually
needed or feasible. This is undoubted
ly due in part to the rush of work im
posed on the extension- officers during
the past year, and it will be I expected
that there will .be definite improve
ment along this line in the near 'future-.
The difficulties ' of the colleges in
the proper development of their , ex
tension .staffs .and. enterprises are
greatly "enbanced ' by " the extravagant
expectations regarding the immediate
effect of this work on our agricultural
advancement entertained by .the public
partly as a result'of enthusiastic propa
ganda conducted by various agencies.
Agricultural advancement, over large
areas arid amqpg farming people of
very diverse elements is ; necessarily
a slow, process. ' buperticiai results,
of ten. very beneficial as far as f they
go, can be obtained, it may be, in a
comparatively . short time. Propa
ganda wisely,; planned may be; useful
but they Will fail of permanent success
unless they are followedTup,J)y patient
and continuouVeducation.. x
'-'.v '.. PRACTICAL EDUCATION ''
The Smith-Lever Act has provided
the means for.a permanent system
of popular practical educationjn agri
cultural and home economics,' so or
ganized as to preserve the autonomy
of our State -agricultural institutions;
to encourage and. de velop ; local - initia
tive and self-help and at the same
time to bring to. the support' of the
State institution and. local organiza
tions : the National- Department of
Agriculture ; witb its broad -ou tlook
on our agricultural problems and its
force of scientists and " experts " who
have specialized "in various lines or
have had .wide opportunities for study
and observation in certain directions
The most .encouraging things about
the. extension . development y in
the United States during the past year j
has been ; the formation on a grand
scale of a cooperative ; system involv
ing National, . State, and local organi
zations and the general good will and
cordiality which .has 'marked the ref
lations of these agencies in : the inaugu
ration of , this system',: A .few. of ! the
major features of this vast, enterprise
and, some of the outstanding adminis
trative problems with which it will
have to deal have been briefly touched
upon in this article. It is obviously
impracticable in so . short' a space to
give an adaquate idea of the immense
range and great .intricacy of 'a work
which ' will untimately touch every
phase of the industrial, home, and
community life of pur agricultural peo
ple. iExperiment Station Record, Au
gust, 1915, U. S. Department of
Agriculture'. -
A " few shorfcweeks and- the
town pessimist will be cussing
the cold weather. But let him
cuss It's his chief cecupc.tion
in life. -
ash uj ..increase in vcicbo
, . i - ' , ' . : '
! r 4-1' u,
nor is generally both accurate
and wise in his com men t3. In
i this case he writes Without the
- . , 7 . x. . .
f?cts: . The clear intimation m
ilS article IS tnat OUF COmmittCO
tailed of ts purpose; and that
they were in a combination vrith
Mecklenburg and : other coun
ties in the matter of tax reduc
tionr The telepfione .from hia
office to the Register; of Deeda
office of i Bertie;; county would
have given, the facto, if he had
taken the trouble ; to ; ask for
them. VVe answer. ;
First; .The Comraissioncro of
Bertie county thought that a
fifteen per cent raise on the land
values in Bertie 'county was ex
cessive, They know thq prop
erty valuation and worth in Ber
tie county and they decided that
a raise of fifteen per cent !waa
out of proportion to what other
counties were, paying : under all
j the, circumstances. The ' Com-.
j missioners sent D. R. Britton.
Chairman of the . Bpard, Hon.
Thomas Gillam and J. H. Mat
thews to Raleigh to go before
the Tax j Commission and place
the, facts, before that body.
They did so in a business way, ,
with convincing facts and figures
The Tax Commission " took, off
thirty-three and a third per cent ,
of the raise and the committeo
came home and went about their
seyeral employments. TheOom
missfoners were justified in their
position and in the results ob
tained. N Bertie county cheer
fully pays; , it3. part of , tha
taxes to run the-State Govern- :
ment but she does not want to
pay more than her share. ; She
protested, in the .proper way;
was heard, and was needed. 1
That is what has become of the
committee. c ; 1
Second:" Bertie county's, com
mittee' had tio agreement with
Meek I en burg, or wi th any o th er
county. Bertie bounty's reduc-
tion had been made and its com
mittee at home before" Mecklen
burg went to Raleigh. It is no
concern o f ours,, what was done
with Mecklenburg's protest. '
Bertie had nothing to do With
it; never had any agreement of
any kind with it. We stood on
our own complaint and that waa
heard and heeded. - '
fThe story that Bro. Connor
says is going around is a fablo
so ;far as v Bertie county is con
cerned. ; 4 -
What T has become of
the committee' our neighbor f
Bertie appointed to secure a
modification of the order of
the State, Tax Commission
raising the: tax assessment
on real estate in Bertie. 15
per cent, to equalize it with .
the other - counties in the -State?
; The story goes that
Bertie and the other pro
testing counties after hear
ing the case as put up by
. Mecklenburg county agreed -.that
they would be satisfied
"with one-half of what tho
commission would give tie ck-'
lenburg, " and. as the Char
lotte Observer says, "mat- -f
ers turned out so - this prov
ed to be' one-half of nothing.
Held strictly to their bar
gain, these protesting counties-
would have to take a
little raise and be satisfied
with it."
r r - f r'
it f
? -