The United States School Garden Army 



Extracts from School Life, Oct. 1, 1918, U. S. Bureau of Education 



WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WAS ORGANIZED— FUNDAMENTALLY 

 A SCHOOL PROBLEM— RESULTS OF THE 1918 CAMPAIGN 



Origin 



The United States School Garden Army was organized in March 

 of 1918, growing out of the school and home garden work which 

 had been inaugurated by the Bureau of Education in 1^14. 



President Wilson set aside $50,000 from his national security and 

 defense appropriation to promote the work for the first six months. 

 He has since appropriated $200,000 more to carry the work through 

 another 10 months. 



Purposes 



Two main purposes prompted the planning of the United States 

 School Garden Army: (a) Increased food production and (6) 

 training of school children in thrift, industry, service, patriotism, 

 and responsibility. 



The Bureau of Education undertook to accomplish this through 

 the organization of the United States School Garden Army. It is 

 a problem both of production and education, and belongs to the 

 schools. 



Plan 



The plan of organization involves : 



(a) A general director, who is responsible for organization, 

 propaganda, and administration. 



(6) Regional directors, who are charged with the responsibility 

 of writing instructions upon gardening that will enable supervisors 

 and teachers to take a garden company successfully through a 

 season, even though not expert gardeners. These instructions 

 have been put out in leaflet form and sent from the central office to 

 all who applied for them. 



(c) Assistant regional directors, who work under the regional 

 director and whose duties are similar to those of the regional direc- 

 tor, excepting that of writing garden leaflets. 



(d) Co-operation with the State councils of defense through a 

 State representative appointed by them. 



The army plan of organization was adopted and has proved to 

 be very popular and efficient. Simplicity of organization was 

 desired, however, and but few of the divisions of the army were 

 paralleled in the Garden Army plan. 



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