EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. 37. August, 1917. No. 2. 



The responsibilities of the administrative officers of our agricul- 

 tural institutions have been brought out in a new light by the en- 

 trance of the country into war. The new and imprecedented demands 

 have imposed a heavy tax upon the organizations of these institu- 

 tions and tested the provision which had been made for handling the 

 various phases of the agricultural work. The experience has de- 

 veloped the broad field which these administrative officers are at- 

 tempting to cover through their own personal efforts in a manner to 

 raise anew the question whether sufficient provision has generally 

 been made in the administrative machinery to insure strength and 

 elasticity and bring the best results. 



Manifestly no organization could fully provide against such an 

 unusual contingency, but the more complete the organization the 

 better the added strain may be distributed. The special demand 

 upon these institutions has just begun, and their opportunity will 

 not close with the war. Hence the question of strengthen iiig the 

 organization where necessary is a pertinent one at this tirtife. 



An important step in the direction of progress was made with the 

 grouping of the various forms of agricultural activity in the uni- 

 versities and colleges, differentiating them and their forces, and 

 bringing all into a well-knit organization. This provided more defi- 

 nitely for centralized administration and established relationships 

 and responsibilities more clearly. But in the provision for the ad- 

 ministrative machinery the process often stopped short of the ideal, 

 probably for reasons of expediency, and in the growth of the institu- 

 tions it has not caught up with the original plan. 



As a result, the general administrative officers in normal times are 

 directing such a variety of important enterprises, constantly becom- 

 ing more complicated, that only the things of most pressing im- 

 portance can be gone into thoroughly. This is the case with any 

 large organization; the chief officer can deal only with the larger 

 questions of policy and practice, and must maintain his contact with 

 the various features through associates. But unless provision is made 

 for these in such an institution, many things of real importance to 



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