THE WAR GARDEN VICTORIOUS 69 



sion. The Pennsylvania Railroad alone, on its lines 

 east of Pittsburgh, gave out during the season of 1918 

 more than 20,000 copies of these instruction booklets. 

 The division superintendents and their assistants acted 

 as the distributing agents. In addition they frequently 

 assisted in other ways in helping to arouse the entire 

 local and community interest in this work. Through 

 the posters, displayed conspicuously on bulletin boards, 

 the attention of hundreds of thousands of other persons 

 besides railroad employes was called to the urgent need 

 of war gardens and of conserving food. Local station 

 agents were also a powerful factor in the work. Not 

 only did they encourage the company employes to 

 engage in gardening but they assisted in other ways to 

 arouse interest. 



As a sample of what the railroads did in this direction, 

 here is an extract from a general notice, signed by 

 R. L. O'Donnel, assistant general manager of the Penn- 

 sylvania Railroad, which was posted along all the lines 

 of that road. This was addressed "To all employes of 

 the Pennsylvania Railroad." It said: 



Owing to the interest shown, and the substantial 

 results obtained by employes of the Pennsylvania Rail- 

 road in the cultivation of war gardens last year, the 

 Management will renew for the present season the 

 arrangement by which vacant land belonging to the 

 Company may be available to employes for garden pur- 

 poses, at a nominal rental. . . . All employes who are 

 able to do so, are urged to take advantage of these 

 opportunities by cultivating war gardens this spring and 

 summer, thus assisting our country in the production 



