GOVERNMENT WORK FOR THE FARMER. 25 



to him, and he says, " Pat, what are you sitting back here 

 in this coach for? Don't you know that the last car is the 

 easiest to jump the track, and that accidents are more apt to 

 happen in the rear coach?" "Well," says Pat, "why don't 

 they take off the rear coach then ? " Now that is the way with 

 us. Of course, they couldn't take it off, and we cannot stop 

 our development. Furthermore, we cannot afford to if we can, 

 for, as a matter of fact, we have competitors all over this broad 

 earth of ours. Our wheat growing industry must compete 

 with South America. Our cotton growers must compete 

 with the cotton grown in Egypt, in Porto Rico, in the West 

 Indies, and in other countries all over this broad globe. If 

 we are to keep in the van of this great commercial ad- 

 vancement we must hold our present position. We must have 

 investigators. We must advance all along the line. I think 

 that is what you are doing, and it certainly is a most satisfactory 

 situation. 



Now the Department of Agriculture has a part to play in 

 this great development. We use four thousand men investigat- 

 ing the subject, and with such a number as that at work there 

 is bound to be something doing. I think I could give you pos- 

 sibly a more interesting talk if I was to talk on tobacco or on 

 some particular subject with which I am familiar, but I am 

 here to talk about the Department. 



Now we have in the first place our organization. The 

 great Department of Agriculture is divided into bureaus which 

 represent certain subjects relating directly or indirectly to 

 agriculture which they are investigating. Take our weather 

 bureau. Who has not heard of the weather bureau of the 

 Department of Agriculture? We are expending $1,500,000 on 

 this bureau annually. Still we hear some say, what has it ac- 

 complished. I have heard it said, ladies and gentlemen, that 

 the most important work of the Department was to furnish 

 us with something to talk about. Well, all of us like to talk 

 about the weather at times. That may be true, for the weather 

 is of special interest to us all. But I want to tell you that the 

 bulletins of the weather bureau are in every city, and almost 

 every town of this country. With the daily maps the report 

 goes to every village and hamlet in this broad land of ours, 

 and you know and I know that every mariner before he sails 

 looks at the weather report to see whether there is going to 



