EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXIX. October. 1913. No. 5. 



The conditions developed by several of the recent changes in 

 directorship illustrate the results of loose organization and lack of 

 a sufficient measure of formality in the management of the experi- 

 ment stations. They emphasize the difficulty and embarrassment 

 into which a station may be thrown by the retirement or withdrawal 

 of the director unless there has been some systematic and orderly pro- 

 vision for records of the various lines of activities, the plan for 

 financing these, the development of new lines, and an outline of gen- 

 eral policy. 



The station is to be looked upon as a permanent institution. It 

 has its own funds, and it should have a definite aim, a program, and 

 a policy. It is composed of a group of men working, not individually, 

 but collectively and unitedly, as an organized body. It should suffer 

 as little shock and setback as possible by a change in directorship; 

 and provision to guard against this should be made from day to day 

 and from month to month, recognizing the permanence of the institu- 

 tion and the liability of change. Such provision is a part of good 

 administration. 



The director of an experiment station is not merely the adminis- 

 trative officer but he is the natural leader, and as such is the most 

 fundamental factor in building a strong institution. His personality 

 and viewj)oint will have very much to do with the zeal and enthusiasm 

 of the men and the general effectiveness of the station. But its 

 strength can not rest alone upon his individuality if it is to be more 

 than a one-man station and have permanence. A leader in any line 

 who so organizes his enterprise that it all centers in him and carries 

 the plan in his own mind can not be regarded as an efficient organizer, 

 but builds only a house of cards. The whole enterprise collapses or 

 is thrown into confusion when he steps out, and permanence and 

 continuity are only preserved with great difficulty. It is one of the 

 tests of a director that he builds something which will endure, de- 

 velops and puts into operation a plan, establishes an ideal, dis- 

 seminates an inspiration, a sentiment, and an attitude, which will 

 remain an invaluable legacy when he has gone elsewhere. In this way 



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