EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. 43. August, 1920. No. 2. 



In common with most activities of the Government, the Federal 

 Department of Agriculture is financed primarily by annual appro- 

 jjriations. These appropriations are provided mainly l)y the Agri- 

 cultural Appropriation Act, which prescribes in considerable detail 

 most of the Department's lines of work for the ensuing year and 

 limits (luite clefinitcly its allotments for these various purposes. For 

 these reasons the passage of the act by Congress is an event of annual 

 importance to the Department and to all Avho are interested in its 

 activities. 



The latest of these acts, covering the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1921, Avas signed by President Wilson May 31, 1920. It carries 

 appi'oi)riations aggregating $31,712,784. This represents a decrease 

 over the total in the corresponding act for the previous year of 

 $2,187,427, and is approximately $0,000,000 less than the estimates 

 made l)y the Department of its needs for the year. 



The reduction in appropriaticms is divided among a large number 

 of items, and affects the work of practically every bureau. It inevi- 

 tably foreshadows a material curtailment of well-established proj- 

 ects and the complete elimination of other undertakings, some of 

 them of long standing. Its seriousness is also increased by coming 

 at a time when, as was pointed out by Secretary Meredith in dis- 

 cussing the situation, " a dollar, as we all know, buys much less of 

 everything than it formerly bouglit and also does considei-ably less 

 work. Even if all the appropriations had been retained at the old 

 figures, therefore, the Department would have been seriously handi- 

 capped in carrying on its work effectively." 



Notwithstanding the many reductions, most of the Department's 

 allotments were, as a matter of fact, continued on the previous basis. 

 In some cases increases were allowed, and a few new lines of work 

 ■were authorized. 



No alteration was made in the salary scales of the Department. 

 All recommendations of salary increases were omitted from the esti- 

 mates pending a report from the Congressional Joint Commission 

 on Keclassification of Salaries in the District of Columbia, and no 

 action was taken following the presentation of this report on March 

 12, 1920. A civil service retirement law was adopted, however, under 



101 



I 



