Mr. SINCLAIR. You will agree that any campaign put on like that under the Agricultural Adjustment Act for the control of wheat, or cotton, or corn, or hogs, and so forth, must be largely cooperative with the farmers in order to be a success. Mr. CANNON. That explains the lack of success in Missouri. Mr. SINCLAIR. And must have a great majority of the farmers behind it in order to be a success. Mr. CANNON. That is undoubtedly true. Mr. SINCLAIR. Now then, your thought, as the result of contact with farmers, is the same as mine and everybody else's, that the farmer is an individualist, to a large extent. Even though you are going to do something to benefit him, he probably does not want to go along in some cases, or he may be misinformed. There is an element of time entering in to put such a program over, and of course there may be, and sometimes is, a seeming bringing of the program to them against their will, when that is about the only course that can be pursued. Mr. CANNON. I cannot see anything at all was to be gained by antagonizing the farmer when he was the man to be won over to the plan. Mr. SINCLAIR. I realize that. Dr. WARBURTON. When these appointments were made by instructions from the Secretary, they were made from the Civil Service register, which limited us in our choice. If one of you had been on the receiving end of the protests from State directors as to the people they got from the Civil Service lists, you would have heard a lot more about them than any of you have said this morning, because frequently at the top of the list were men who had been tried out as county agents and had been dropped because they were unsatisfactory. They were graduates of a college, and had two or three years' experience as county agents, and were on the Civil Service register, and they were able to get the jobs, but they were men whom the Extension Director would not have taken under any circumstances if he could avoid it. In one State the first man on the Civil Service list was a man who had been dismissed as county agent a few months before because it was found that he had misappropriated some funds. Of course, he did not state that on his paper he gave to the Civil Service Commission. Mr. CANNON. You could have avoided this by selecting practical men who were agreeable to the farmers instead of trying to capitalize : their misfortunes to serve your own purposes. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES Mr. SANDLIN. Under the heading "Salaries and general expenses," the next item is: General Administrative Expenses: For necessary expenses for general administrative purposes, including personal services in the District of Columbia, $12,426. Dr. WARBURTON. I submit the following statement for the record: Appropriation, 1932.. Appropriation, 1933. Appropriation, 1934 Estimated obligations, 1934. Budget estimate, 1935. Increase, budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 1934.-- $15, 260 15, 000 13, 846 11, 785 12, 426 641 The reduction of $1,420 in the estimate of $12,426 for 1935 below the appropriation of $13,846 for 1934 consists of: Impoundment of 6% percent of 15 percent pay cut.. 5 percent salary restoration.... Total... $769 -1, 292 +641 1, 420 WORK UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION This appropriation covers the general expenses of the Office of the Director of Extension Work, except the Director's salary, which is paid by the Office of the Secretary. The principal items of expense are for the clerical staff of the office, including a personnel section which handles all the personnel work of the Extension Service, and for the Director's travel. Dr. WARBURTON. The remaining items, which have not been discussed, include the items for the support of the Extension Service in Washington, consisting of three offices, the Office of Cooperative Extension Work, for the general administration of extension work in the States, the Office of Motion Pictures, which is a general service unit for the entire department and the Extension Service in the field, making motion pictures for distribution through county agents, teachers of agriculture, and others, and the Office of Exhibits. The item on page 47, general administrative expenses, is for the central office of the Extension Service, except for the salary of the Director of Extension, which is included in the appropriation for the Secretary's office. This item carries the appropriation for the clerical staff in the Director's office, doing personnel work for the entire Extension Service, a secretary and clerk to the Director, and a small amount of money for the travel of the Director. The estimate is practically in the amount which we were permitted to expend during this year, except that it is slightly increased to cover the 5 percent restoration of salaries. FARMERS' COOPERATIVE DEMONSTRATIONS Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is: Farmers' cooperative demonstration work: For farmers' cooperative demonstration work, including special suggestions of plans and methods for more effective dissemination of the results of the work of the Department of Agriculture and the agricultural experiment stations and of improved methods of agricultural practice, at farmers' institutes and in agricultural instruction, and for such work on Government reclamation projects, and for personal services in the city of Washington and elsewhere, supplies, and all other necessary expenses, $684,648: Provided, That the expense of such service shall be defrayed from this appropriation and such cooperative funds as may be voluntarily contributed by State, county, and municipal agencies, associations of farmers, and individual farmers, universities, colleges, boards of trade, chambers of commerce, other local associations of business men, business organizations, and individuals within the State. Dr. WARBURTON. I desire to submit the following statement in reference to this item, Mr. Chairman: Decrease, Budget, 1935, compared with estimated obligations, $1,574, 430 1,483, 320 1, 420, 189 1, 065, 142 684, 648 380, 494 The reduction of $735,541 in the estimate of $684,648 for 1935 below the appropriation of $1,420,189 for 1934, consists of: This appropriation is used for financing the Office of Cooperative Extension Work, the Office of Motion Pictures, demonstrations on reclamation projects, and, by allotment, for salaries of extension agents in the States. By far the larger part of the approximately 6,000 State and county extension workers are under Federal appointment, either without compensation or paid at rates running up to $50 or more per month. The compensation of these workers from Federal sources is arranged by the State directors of extension, out of allotments made to the States from this appropriation at the beginning of the fiscal year. These extension agents are made employees of the Federal Government, as well as of the States and counties, by appointment under this appropriation. The Office of Cooperative Extension Work examines and recommends for approval budgets and plans of work submitted by State directors of extension, involving the expenditure of Federal and State offset funds; makes an annual examination of extension expenditures in each of the States; and gives general supervision to cooperative extension work. It employs subject-matter specialists who represent the subject-matter bureaus of the Department in their contracts with the State extension forces, receives and tabulates annual reports from all extension agents, and prepared press material and reports on extension work. Economic extension work.-Under this project special attention is given to the extension of information to the States along the lines of cooperative marketing and farm management. The results of investigations of, and information available from, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and State experiment stations, particularly along the line of price trends, the agricultural outlook, and intentions of farmers to plant crops and breed livestock, foreign and domestic supplies, and demands for agricultural products, and other data of this nature, are assembled and made available, insofar as possible, to the State extension services. Demonstration on reclamation projects are conducted in cooperation with State extension services in the employment of extension agents in counties which include reclamation projects. The work of these agents is practically identical with that of other extension workers, their activities of course, being directed especially toward successful farm operations on irrigated land. Because of the special relationship of the Government in reclamation projects, more than the usual share of the expense of maintaining these agents is paid from Federal sources, this being the allotment from which such payments are made. The office of motion pictures, in cooperation with the subject-matter bureaus, prepares motion pictures illustrative of the various phases of the Department's work and makes these pictures available to the public through extension workers and other Department employees, vocational teachers, and other agencies. The films deal with important lines of work in which the Department and cooperating State institutions are engaged. Their aim is to acquaint the public with agricultural methods and significance of important activities, and by making common property of the results of scientific investigations, to spread knowledge of improved methods in agriculture, forestry, road building, rural engineering, and kindred pursuits. Dr. WARBURTON. This item, Mr. Chairman, is a sort of dual purpose item, as it has been used. Part of the money is used in Washington for the Office of Cooperative Extension Work, for salaries and other expenses of that office, and the amount for the office of motion pictures is also carried in this item. In previous years something like $950,000 to $975,000 has been allotted to the States for direct payment on the salaries of Cooperative Extension agents. The reduction of $413,170 in working funds for 1935 represents a reduction in the total amount allotted and disbursed by the Department of Agriculture for salaries of extension agents in the States. A frequent arrangement in the employment of a county agent is for him to receive a part of his salary from either State or Federal funds allotted to the State from the appropriations we have just discussed, and part from the county, and probably $25 a month direct from the Department, which gives the agent whatever prestige there may be in a departmental appointment, and the franking privilege. Some agents have appointments without compensation, which gives them the franking privilege for their official mail. Mr. HART. All county agents have the franking privilege, have they not? Dr. WARBURTON. Not unless they are under Federal appointment. Mr. HART. Practically all of them are under Federal appointment? Dr. WARBURTON. Practically, if not all are under Federal appointment, yes. REDUCTION IN FUNDS Mr. SANDLIN. I see that this appropriation is reduced from $1,420,189, which was the amount appropriated for 1934, to $684,648, the Budget estimate for 1935. Dr. WARBURTON. The appropriation for this year was $1,420,189, and the cash withdrawal figure which we were given at the beginning of the year was $1,065,000, as shown in the figures on page 50. The estimate for 1935 is $684,648, which is a further decrease of nearly $400,000 below the amount we were authorized to expend for this year. That necessarily will result in a considerable decrease in the allotments to the States from this appropriation, as we do not see how we can make any reduction in our Washington staff, with the very large increase in the volume of correspondence and other work which is coming to the Extension Service as the result of what we are doing for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. So it seems necessary to pass on most, if not all, of this cut to the States. The theory back of that is that if this work is to be continued for the Agricultural Adjustment Administration we can utilize to better advantage the Agricultural Adjustment Administration funds for cooperative employment in the States than we can for employment in Washington. It is difficult to set up new positions and make new appointments under present conditions, and we avoid that wherever we can. AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITS AT FAIRS Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is: Agricultural exhibits at fairs: To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to make suitable agricultural exhibits at State, interstate, and international fairs held within the United States; for the purchase of necessary supplies and equipment; for telephone and telegraph service, freight and express charges; for travel, and for every other expense necessary, including the employment of assistance in or outside the city of Washington, $66,510. Dr. WARBURTON. I submit the following statement in connection with this item: Increase, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 2, 760 The reduction of $18,490 in the estimate of $66,510 for 1935 below the appropriation of $85,000 for 1934 consists of: This appropriation item affords the means by which the Department provides the public with agricultural information in exhibit form which has come to be recognized as one of the important teaching methods. It also enables the Department, through the maintenance of a trained staff, to effectively coordinate the general exhibits work of its bureaus. The activity is carried on through a cooperative arrangement with State and interstate fairs within the United States by which the Department furnishes the exhibits and personnel for their management and demonstration, and the fairs share in the transportation costs of exhibits shipments, furnish without cost to the Department exhibition space, drayage, and labor for unloading and reloading cars at exhibition points, common labor for unpacking, installing, dismantling, and repacking the exhibits, and janitor, watchmen, electrical, and such other special services as are necessary to accomplish creditable displays. Mr. SANDLIN. How much is going to be spent from the 1934 fund for that purpose? Dr. WARBURTON. The 1934 allotment is $63,750. The increased amount put in the estimate, bringing the amount to $66,510, is to make up the additional 5 percent for salaries. Mr. SANDLIN. You had appropriated for 1934, $85,000? Dr. WARBURTON. The appropriation for this year was $85,000, which was reduced by 25 percent in cash withdrawals. CENTURY OF PROGRESS EXHIBIT Mr. SANDLIN. What about the fund for the exhibit at the Century of Progress in Chicago? There is nothing carried for that this year, is there? Dr. WARBURTON. A transfer of funds amounting to $61,245 for the fiscal year 1933 and $40,505 for the fiscal year 1934 was made from the State Department to the Office of Exhibits, Extension Service, under the appropriation for exhibits at the Chicago World's Fair Centennial celebration. This appropriation was for the purpose of employing personnel, purchasing materials and the making of contracts necessary in designing, preparing, assembling, transporting, installing, demonstrating, and arranging for the safekeeping of the Department's exhibits at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, and their return to the custody of the Department and restoration to such condition as will permit their use at subsequent expositions and fairs. |