ORGANIZATION AND STATUS OF WORK 207 



SELECTING AND SUPERVISING AGENTS 



The most common plan of selecting county agents is the 

 nomination of several suitable candidates for a county by 

 the college, from among whom the county committee selects 

 one that it believes can best serve the county. By this plan 

 the college is able to draw on a wider range of candidates, 

 and local nominations, which nearly always make compli- 

 cations, are avoided, but the county committee actually 

 makes the final choice and, therefore, feels responsibility for 

 its agent. In some states the college makes the appoint- 

 ment and assigns the agent directly to the county. Occa- 

 sionally, the county selects its own candidates and asks 

 college approval of its choice. In any case, the agent should 

 be approved by both parties. 



The candidate selected becomes the official representative 

 of the state college of agriculture and of the IT. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture in his county, as well as the agent for 

 the cooperating county committee. From the Department 

 he receives the government frank. The state college usually 

 pays at least one hundred dollars a month or twelve hun- 

 dred dollars a year toward the salary of each agent in the 

 county, about one-half of which is commonly derived from 

 the federal and one-half from the state sources. Some states 

 pay more and a few less. The county agent then represents 

 all the parties concerned, individually and cooperatively, 

 but his chief job is to carry out the program mutually 

 agreed upon. 



Prior to the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, county 

 agents were appointed by and reported directly to the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, in the South through 

 the district supervisors. Beginning in 1914, however, super- 

 visors, known as state leaders, who are the joint represen- 

 tatives of the Department and the colleges, were appointed 



