60 AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



it is quite accurate to assume that at the time this supplemental fund 

 was established anybody supi>osed that it was to be a i)ernuinent ap- 

 propriation. 



Mr. Christie. I think you are ri^ht, Mr. Chairman. But it was 

 hoped — and it surely has been the hope of everybody — that we would 

 return to a more or less normal ba<is. Cnfoi tunately. wt- have not 

 returned to that basis. 



fOrXTV AGENTS AN IMPORTANT FACTOI!. 



Then, there is another factor. When the Smith-Lever Act was 

 passed we had the county a<^ent only. In addition has come the 

 greatest demand for home demon^^tration work and boys' and jiirls' 

 club work. It has been necessary to advance those interests and 

 develoj) that side of the work. Naturally the cost has increased and 

 has placed a burden on the institutions on that account. Takin*: 

 these factors all into consideration we can not luuulle all the work 

 with only Smith-Lever funds. AMiile I understand that Conjiress 

 hoped that the Smith-Lever fund would meet the needs of exten- 

 tion work, conditions have chanfjed since the passajie of that act. 

 If we could go back to the previous situation, with railroad fares at 

 2 cents a mile, gasoline at 11 cents, with meals from 85 to 50 cents, 

 as they were when we began this Avork; if we could go back to a 

 basis of a lower cost of printing and other reasonable expenses, then 

 we could do as nnich work with the Smith-Lever fund as we aiv 

 doing with the Smith-Lever fund and the supplemental fund. 



Mr. Anderson. I do not fool myself with the idea that tiiat time 

 is coming. 



Mr. Christie. That is the unfortunate condition we aie expi-rienc- 

 ing at this time. I do wish to impress this fact, that the agricul- 

 tural colleges, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the 

 Secretary of Agriculture himself have all given this whole matter 

 very serious consideration. It is not a matter of supi)orting the de- 

 partment in connection with the i^erfornuince of this work, or of 

 supporting the agricultural colleges, but it is a uuitter of trying to 

 render service to the farmers at this time — service which 1 think is 

 greatly needed. 



PROBLEM OK ORGANIZINC ACiHICll.TrKAl. IMidDli HON. 



Ml". Anderson. I would like to ask you one (piestion. if 1 can 

 express myself so our minds will meet on it. To what extent is the 

 extension service giving its attention to the j)robU'iM of organizing 

 agricultural jjroduction i 



Mr. Christie. I wontler if you would mind just developing that 

 a moment. 



Ml'. Anderson. AMiat I have in mind is this: 1 am pii'tty thor- 

 oughly <-onvinced in my own mind that one of the very lai'ge factors 

 which influence the cost of distribution, particularly, is the fact 

 that the farmer sells in small (|uantities and sells an uustandardi/.etl 

 ])ro(liict \ery lai'gely. Ihere is no substantial ell'ort made to stand- 

 ardize the production in areas so that the buk of the pi-oduct goes 

 into jirimary or teiuiinal markets and thus makes the cost of han- 

 dling less. 



