THE 8EM1-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
LEGISLATURE ENDS
CONDENSED NEWS
OF INTEREST TO ALL.
ft IP
WHAT TO DO
AND br?
THIRTY-FOURTH 8E8SION ENDED
TUESDAY, APRIL 13.
HOW TO DO IT
(Sir EDWARD fr CLARK
TAFF C0maP0MJ1T of the MJmttt rtWMPM UWOJt
ASIIINGTON. For nearly two years
tliero lias been nn attempt on the
part of the agricultural department
to spread useful agricultural and
household Information among the
peoplo through tho medium of tho
press of tho country. Tho attempt
has been highly successful, ns per-
1 haps tho readers of nowspapers uo
hot need to bo told, for tho Interesting and and at
times compelling writings of tho oorvlco men have
boon before them from day to day.
In tho department of agriculture there Is an of
flco of Information which wns created in Juno, 1913,
lleforo Its establishment thoro had boon no active
effort to give directly to tho peoplo tho results of
tho department's work. Walter II. Page, at pres
ent tho Amorlcan ambassador to Great Britain, said
on this subject of gottlng agricultural Information
to tho peoplo that tho dopartment "Had been resor
volrlng an enormous mass of Information collocted
with tho pcoplo's monoy and which tho peoplo were
entitled to get."
In tho past thoro wore Issued at frequent Inter
vals publlcatlonc largely In bulletin form, but with
the exception of moro or less perfunctory notices of
their appearances comparatively Httlo was done to
inako tho public awaro that they woro at Its dis
posal. Ono of tho first things that tho' olllcc of In
formation did, thoreforo, was to develop a systorn
by which absolutely accurato newspaper stories
based on tho material contained In theso bulletins
could bo sent out to such nowspapcr, which It
ficcmod reasonable to oxpect from tho nature of tho
various subjects, would bo Interested In publishing
them for tho sako of their readers. This work still
forms a largo part of tho activities of tho ofllce.
Soino time ago there was n criticism of what wero
called tho publicity efforts of tho department of agri
culture Tho critics did not understand at all the
nature of tho work which was being dono. Thoy
Hecmod to think that a press agency had been es
tablished simply for tho purposo or booming tho
nctlvltloBjOf tho agricultural department with avlow
perhaps, as some of tho critics may hnvo thought'
of saying something kindly occasionally ubout tho
ofllclals of goyornmont concornod In tho work
Criticism passed quickly, for congress wns told In
n letter to Speaker Champ Clark of tho houso of rep
rescntntlvos of Just what tho Information work of
the department consisted, and n sharp lino was
drawn between tho nature of tho Information which
was being sont out and tho usual stuff which is
turned out by a publicity bureau which Is not at
nil necessarily nn Information buroau.
In tho letter to tho speaker of tho house tho sec
rotary of ngrlculturo said this:
"Tho nation is spondlng through tho depart
ment many millions of dollars in acquiring agrl
cultural information. It would bo little short of
criminal to spend millions of dollars to ncqulro
Information and not to uso every posslblo effi
cient agency availablo for placing it at tho dis
posal of tho pooplo as promptly as posslblo. It
s tho purposo of tho ofllco the ofllco of informa
tion, with ns little delay ob posslblo, through
every propor medium, to glvo tho knowlodgo
vhich tho department possossos as tho result of
Investigations and flold work to nil tho peoplo
who dosiro it or should havo It. Tho ofllco un
dertakes to deal solely with facets, with sugges
tions of remedies, and of methods of npplying
thom In every field of ngrlculturo." '
Prior to tho timo that tho ofllco of information
wns created nearly all tho printed mnttor con
voying Information was In tho form of bulletins
und circulars and tho Issues woro not very vol
uminous. Frequently a groat deal of time was
required finally to proparo tho bulletin, to print
It and to distribute it. It was Inevitable for
many reasons that theso bullotlns could not
reach tho greut mass of the poople who would
be interosted in them. Many farmers did not
know that tho service was at tholr disposal.
Thoy know nothing about tho bullotlns or which
ones of thom would be holpful to them, nor did
they know how to socuro thom. Moroovor, tho
publications largoly wero teehnlcnl, woro dif
ficult to interpret, to understand and to apply.
Ono of tho particular duties of tho depart
ment's offico of information is to put tho mattor
which comes from tho different bureaus In tech
nical or scientific form Into language which lay
readers can understand. It seemed easier and
bettor to tho department ofllclals that tho ofllco
of Information should choose tho matter of spo
clal value to particular districts or sections of
tho Union and to havo it distributed to such sec
tions quickly, It had boon found that delay In
Issuing tho ofllclal printed bulletins and In mail
ing them often defeated tho ends of real service.
In case of tho appcaranco in somo district of an
Insect plaguo or of a dlsoaso that menaced the
stock, quick action, of courso, it wns realized,
was necossary to accomplish results. "
Tho inauguration of the sorvlco of information
as it is at present carried out necessitated a most
efficient mailing system which would onnblo the
tofflco to clrculato its material among thoso
classoB of publications and in thoso sections of
the country which could dorlvo boneflt from It,
jand at tho samo tlmo avoid a distribution thnt
tvould bo oxpoitBlvo to tho govornmont and use
oss to tho nowBpapors and, if thoy Bhould pub
hlsh it, to tholr readers.
Now thoro is u mailing system Installed and
under operation by tho division of publication
and by moatiB of it tho publications of tho coun
try aro classified geographically nnd by tholr
character. Now It Is posslblo to transmit a
story to all tho nowspapors In tho United Stntos,
to all tho nowspapors In any city or group of
IcltlcB, to. all tho farm publications In tho country
or in any stnto, omitting tho gonoral nowapnpors,
(to tho trado papers of any ono or all of tho
jtrodOB, to dally nowspaporB tn big cltloa alone,
tor to thoso In small county seats alone In short,
jirucMcally any deslrod combination ot publlcn
tlont U possible.
C01Yl270ir$
From this It will bo Been that each story, with
its fund ot human intorost and useful information
combined, rcnchoB a different circulation, "tho
distribution bolng governed entirely by tho range
of applicability of the information it contains."
It is tho dosiro of tho office of information to
prepare thoso stories so that thoy may be printed
without editing or rovision. It is In this that lies
ono of tho strengths of the agricultural depart
ment information service, for It means that scien
tific torms and phraseology aro ollmlnated wher
ever possible, thnt tho significance to tho pooplo
of tho bulletin on which tho story is based Is
omphaslzod, and that specific, but easy, instruc
tions aro given to enable tho peoplo to do that
which tho bullotln recommends. Tho stories,
thoroforo, can bo called "constructive news."
Thoy toll tho peoplo what they can do and how to
do it.
Tho department of ngrlculturo takes great caro
to make its stories accurate. Everything that is
put out by tho ofllco of Information Is submitted
for approval, first, to the author; second, to tho
chiof of tho ofllco or bureau which haBichargo
of tho subjects with which tho story Is con
cornod; third, to a socpnd chief of bureau in
order that ho may check up any unduo em
phasis on ono particular aspect of a given prob
lem, and, fourth, to tho secretary or assistant
Bocretary of agriculture for filial approval.
It would scorn that with thoso safeguards noth
ing can bo sent out which will bo misleading to
tho pooplo. It can be said that since tho ofllco
ot Information was creatod It has beon a rigid
rulo to avoid any nppoaranco of personal pub
licity. In tho Information stories which aro sent
out nolthor tho names ot individuals nor oven
tho nnmos of tho different offices and bureaus
in tho department aro printed unloas thoy aro
absolutely ossontlal to tho story. Every Btato
meht that is mado is given upon tho authority of
tho dopostmont and not upon that of a part of It.
No storlos nro sont out from tho ofllco of infor
mation about what tho dopartment of ngrlculturo
intends to do or hopos to do. Neither Is anything
said In prniso of tho department's work. Plain
stntemonts nro given of whnt has boon dono nnd
recommended. This Is all. It can bo snld that
Boomlngly this policy has brought about a vory
approclablo change In tho way in which tho
nowspapors regard agricultural nows. Onco tho
dally press was Inclined to consider that tho
only Interesting stories woro thoso which woro
porBonal In character, woro sonBatlonal or what
might bo called freakish. Now It 1b bollovod that
tho newspapers aro much moro disposed to mens
uro tho valuo of n story as nows by tho value
of tho Information It convoys.
Tho ofllco of Information does not mcasuro tho
worth of nowBpnpor circulation by numerical
standards, but rnthor by tho appropriatonesB of
ench story that it sends out to tho necessities
of tho rcodors. So It can bo snid that tho farm
papers aro regarded as a much more valuablo
medium than tho dally press for purely agricul
tural storlcB, nnd tho papers circulating In rurnl
dlBtrlctB as much moro valuablo for tho same
kind of reading mnttor.
No absolutely accurato Information enn bo hnd
as to tho extent of tho circulation given to Infor
mation Btorlos by tho agricultural dopartment
sorvltu. It, is Bald that clippings aro received
from only one clipping bureau
and that theso afford only a
rough kind of indication of tho
extent of tho uso of tho materi
al. Calculations, however, havo
been mndo and it is perhaps
likely that thoy aro under rath
er than over tho mark. It Is
believed that Just before tho
outbreak of tho European war
tho material furnished by the
Information office appeared each
month on approximately 300,
000,000 printed pages. At tho
close of tho last fiscal year, Just
about twelve months nftor tho
Information service had been
established, tho division of pub
lications mado a report to the
effect that the demand for Farmers' Bulletins
was 44 per cent greater than during tho previous
fiscal year. Of courso a certain proportion of
this percentage must bo laid to tho Increased
number of publications and to tho Increased
population, but making all allowances it seems to
be plain that tho public was much hotter In
formed about the exlstcnco of the bulletins and
much more Interested In them than ever it had
beon before.
While the department extends the usefulness
of tho Farmers' Bulletins among tho people by
familiarizing thom with tho publications' con
tents and valuo, it also sees to it that stories aro
propared for' publication that aro much more
Btrlctly news from tho point of view of tho news
paper editors. Theso stories are usually warn
ings of frauds or of pestilence, or decisions and
announcements connected with tho enforcement
of tho meat Inspection law and food nnd drugs
act and other statutes of regulation which aro
administered by tho department of agriculture.
In the days before tho creation of tho office of
information tho only organized method of spread
ing nows of this character, which is almost al
ways of considerable and oven great commercial
importance, was to send it out through tho malls
In the form of circulars. The delay frequently
was costly to tho people and tho Interests con
cerned and It was necessarily unsatisfactory.
Undor tho present system Information is sont
out at onco from the department's office by tele
phono or messenger to tho press associations and
to representatives of newspapers which aro like
ly to bo interested in tho matter and who aro
within reach.
The usefulness of this work is shown in tho
prompt publication of every quarantine order
affecting tho foot-and-mouth disease Thjs sub
ject, howover, had attained such proportions that
it is likely the nowspapors themselves would
havo secured tho information through tholr own
representatives, but there are other cases and
many of them, whoro tho Btorlos could not be
covered because if tho dopartment did not glvo
out the Information voluntarily nothing would bo
known of it. A case in point which may be cltod
was an elaborate attempt to palm oft on tho
farmers In tho corn bolt region a preparation
alleged to cure hog cholera. The sellers pre
tended that tho proparntlon was recommended
by tho department of agriculture. This fraud
was suppressed whon through tho ofllco of In
formation tho nowspapors In tho territory con
corned received a full stntomont of tho facts
In tho case.
Many of tho department's activities, moreover,
havo to do, not with tho farmer, but with thoso
who manufacture farm products into food or
handlo, store, or market thom. Tho department's
specialists aro constantly making discoveries for
preventing losses, dovislng methods for manu
facturing now products or Improved methods for
handling or manufacturing old products. Here
tofore It frequently happened that ono progres
sive manufacturer would learn of theso things
nnd thus gain nn advnntago over others in tho
snmo trado who had no knowledgo that tho in
formation was availablo. Under tho present
system tho ofllco of Information quickly com
municates tho details of theso dlscovorlos or im
provements to nil trade papers in tho class af
fected and to nil Important dailies in tho ter
ritories whoro such manufacture is a prominent
industry.
Tho offico of Information In addition to tho
sorvlco of tho character outlined prepares a
"Weekly Nows Letter" to crop correspondents
which has tnkon tho plnco of tho "Crop Report
er." This "Weekly Nowb Letter" is eon', to all
tho voluntary crop correspondents serving the
department, to Inspectors, agricultural college?'.
correspondents, and to other persons In n pod
tlon to make uso of tho material. It has n cir
culation approximately of 103,000 weekly.
In all tho work of tho ofllco of Information tho
effort Is simply to plnco at tho disposal of the
peoplo tho Information .lilch tho department Df
ngrlculturo primarily was organized to obtain for
tnoir benefit. In none of tho material is thoro anv
attempt to gain promlnenco for any Individual or
branch of govornmont, or to prnUo or to crltlclzo
anyono or in any way to influonco legislation.
TOTAL OF 308 BILLS PASSED
Appropriations for National Guard
Amounts to $67,500 for
the Blennlum.
Lincoln. Qavols of the speaker
and tho lieutenant governor whack
ing on tho stands at each end of the
second floor of tho state capltol
Tuesday brought tho thirty-fourth
session of tho stato legislature to a
closo ut 3:30 p. m. Tho ceremony
was witnessed by more members than
usually remain to thq end. Tho last
bill acted upon was the mammoth
maintenance appropriation measure
Tho conference committee's report
was adopted without a fight on any
of the items. Tho total carried by
this measure was $2,7G9,820, as
against the $2,G5t7,910 carried by tho
bill when it loft the houso and
$2,800,720 when it left tho senate.
In the conferenco tho houso was
raised $112,910. This was a decrease
of only $17,500 over tho sumB at
tached by tho upper chamber. The
voice of Secretary of War Garrison
crying out In tho east for tho solons
to Increase the appropriation for the
national guard over tho pittance al
lowed by, tho houso, was heard in the
capltol. The appropriation was
boosted from the $37,500 allowed by
the houso to $07,500, or a restoration
of what tho guard was given by the
1913 legislature. In conferenco tho
live stock Banltary board was allowed
$31,500. Tho irrigation board and
the stato engineer wero trented to a
conferenco raise amounting to near
ly $18,000 over the house figures.
The stato superintendent was cut
down to $25,000. Figures on tho ap
propriations of the present session
show that tho total will bo between
$600,000 and a million dollars lower
than 1913. That too, in splto of the
fact that state institutions required
moro money thnn thoy did then and
In spite of tho fact the educational
Interests of the stato had to have at
legislature passed in all 308 bills.
Last season the legislature passed
2C9 bills. Outside of tho Greater
Omaha act, probably tho legislation
along good road lines and tho Pal
boy automobile act, may be consid
ered to bo among the leading legisla
tive acts. Among the concluding
acts of the lower houso was the
adoption of a resolution endorsing
tho administration of President Wil
son and his cabinet.
Seven Food Bills Passed.
Tho food commissioner's depart
ment fared very well at tho hands of
tho 1915 legislature Of the seven
bills In which Food Commissioner
Harman was interested, not ono fell
by the wayside. Ono of tho meas
ures passed makes it a felony to sell
diseased meat. Tho dairy bill pro
vides for dairy inspection from May
1 to October 1, under tho former law
it was only for tho three summer
months. It also authorizes the do
partment to put tho buying or sell
ing of cream on a quality basis. The
weights and measures amendment
provides for three Inspectors instead
of two. Tho stock foods' law requires
tho filing of the namo of each ingred
lent with tho food commissioner, an
analysis and a $5 feo from the manu
facturer for each brand. Tho con
centrated feeding stuffB law requires
tho branding of' mixed feeds or parts
of wholo feeds with a fat, protein or
fibre analysis.
Adds a Judge to the Ninth.
Tho Nichols bill, adding another
Judgo to tho Ninth Judicial district
and putting two moro counties in that
district, wns signed by tho governor,
dcsplto tho fact that tho legislature
did not see lit to provide for an extra
Judge for Lancaster county in that
bill. Tho governor asked for the
latter, but tho senate did not agrco
with him.
More Escort Wagons Arrive.
A carload of escort wagons has
been received by Adjutant General
Hall of tho National Guard in Ne
braska, Tho wagonB aro furnished
by tho federal War department.
Gibson fob Kearney Normal.
Tho state normal board has elected
H. H. Gibson of Cornell univorslty,
head of the dopartment of biology
and agriculture at tho Kearney nor
mal school.
Jury Commissioner for Douglas.
""Governor Morehead signed tho
Jury commissioner bill for Douglas
county and tho loan shartt bill,
Dorchester Hap Plea.
Citizens of Dorchestor have put in
tholr caso boforo tho Railway com
mission for additional passenger sorv
lco from tho Burlington. Tho Sallno
county towns want trains Nos. 2 and
3 to stop.
Property at Full Value.
Advoates of taxation reform won
tholr only victory of tho session
when tho houso passed the Saunders
bill, Senate File No. 161, providing
that all property shall be listed by
tho assossor at its full value.
Fremont Ilro loss for yenr Is $118,
000. The Randolph Commercial club has
been organized.
Falrbury Presbyterians dedicnto- u
$15,000 church.
F. J. Kovar won tho postofllco pri
mary at Schuyler.
Tho Boy Scout movement is being
pushed at Louisville
Plorco went dry by thirty votes.
Mayor Duff wns re-elected.
Tho thirty-fourth session of tho
ntnto legislature Is ended.
City Clerk Bratton of Hastings 13
serving his sixteenth yoar term.
George Bantel dropped dead while
plowing in his field near Kearney.
Seward bonds for now high school
building carry. Ninety women voted.
Tho Missouri Pacific railway is
contemplating a new yard In Omaha.
Tho first grand Jury Investigation
over held in Hastings will open
May 10.
It. S. Braunor, a farmer living four
miles north of Stanton, committed
suicide.
Sentiment toward paving some of
tho principal streets in Stromsburg la
growing.
Fire destroyed the rcaldenco of S.
A. Milgrim at Hooper, causing a loss
of $1,200.
Will Rinderspachor, Hastings butch
1b circulating n petition to be appoint
ed dog catchor.
Tho oil tractor meet to be held at
Hastings this year has been post
poned till next year.
Victor Snyder has purchased the
elevators formerly owned by W. H.
Lowis, at Alma and Everson.
Nebraska soli conditions are Ideal,
says Secretary Mellor of tho stato'
agricultural board in a bulletin.
Adam McMullen, elected mayor of
Wymoro, orders all card tables out
of tho cigar stores and pool halls.
State Engineer Johnson has adver
tised for bids on tho Platte river
bridgo at North Platte, to cost $43,975.
Charles W. Bryan, brother of W. J.
Bryan, was nominated city commis
sioner in the primary election at Lin
coln. Tho Hastings schools will hold a
May fete at Chautauqua park May 0
and 7, with Miss Katherino Kohl as
May queen.
Ben Deeder, Holt county, was kill
ed by falling from a windmill tower.
Chadron expects free mail delivery
after July 1.
The Kearney district of the Catho
lic church will bo honored shortly by
tho establishment of a parochiat
school in that city.
A petition has been issued at Hast
nigs asking that Amy Robinson, tho
only woman physician there, bo ap
pointed city physician.
Elbert Moren, living near Johnson,
suffered a broken arm and internal
injuries when two teams and a wagon
load of oats ran over him.
Farmers' Business association gets
the Bell Elovator and a company of
farmers and business men buy the-Trans-Mississippi
elevator at Sholby.
Nebraska is to be represented by
1,500 feet of moving picture reels in
tho series of reels along tho Lincoln
highway that are to be shown at tho
San Francisco exposition.
Tho Spanish war veterans of Ne
braska will hold their eighth annual
encampment In Omaha April 27 and
28. Governor Morehead and ex-Senator
Thurston will bo speakers.
A continuous search 1b being kept
up for tho bodels of Mrs. Archie Fer
guson and her two little daughters,
who It Is believed leaped from tho
steel bridge Into the Platto rivor at
North Bend.
Deputy game wardens over tho
stato are warning peoplo .not to tako
stock In rumors that a now law pass
ed allows people to fish and hunt in
their own counties without a license.
Such a bill passed the house but did
not get through tho senate.
Nebraska's winter wheat crop is es
timated at from 101 to 104 per cent
of normal by tho Burlington crop ex
perts in the first weekly report on
conditions, by tho road. Tho ten
year average of conditions at this
season Is taken as tho normal. Con
dition in tho Omaha, Lincoln and
southeastern Nebraska districts was -reported
101 per cont and in tho
southwestern part of tho stato at 104
per cent.
Tho now city council of Grand
Island has been organized with tho
election of August Meyer as presi
dent. Committees havo beon appoint
ed to work on tho new sowor proposi
tion recently passed by a popular
vote.
Suit has been filed In tho federal
court by Frank R. McCormlck, re
ceiver of tho First Nntlonnl bank of
Sutton against tho Luobben Baler
company asking for funds alleged to
havo been lost Just boforo tho fnlluro
of tho bank. Tho amount sued for
Is $21,C91.G8.
Manager Matnoy of tho Kearney
Stato lenguo baseball team, stated
that ho has forty men signed for the
season.
Tho Nebraska Stato Pharmaceuti
cal association will hold its annual
convention In Omahn, Juno 7 to 10.
Hendquarters will bo at tho Hotel
Fontenolle.
Slnco tho suit of William B. Lucas
and others against tho Ashland Light,
Mill and Power company, was begun
In tho Saunders county district court
In 1907, at Ashland, nlno persona
Identified in tho case, have died.
1