THE DEMONSTRATION WORK 



On the other hand, an agent who merely considers him- 

 self a teacher at large and who goes from school to school 

 giving lectures, and who maintains a column in the county- 

 paper for dishing out stale and common place information, is 

 liable to be cut off for lack of funds. Publicity from the 

 successful demonstrations will promote the work and receive 

 encouragement, but results must be the foundation upon which 

 it is based. 



The history of the financial support of the Demonstration 

 Work reads like a romance. In 1905 the total expenditure 

 was just a little more than $40,000. By 1910 there were 

 approximately 400 agents and a total of about one-half million 

 dollars from, federal, state and local sources. In 1915 there 

 were about 1,500 agents and nearly five million dollars from all 

 sources. Before the next five year period had elapsed the 

 number of extension workers had exceeded six thousand and 

 the total financial support was considerably more than fifteen 

 million dollars. 



These totals were reached in 1918 while the war was in 

 progress. At that time there was an emergency appropriation 

 and a great many urban and assistant agents. When the 

 large emergency appropriation was withdrawn, however, and 

 the number of agents consequently reduced, it was very signifi- 

 cant that the increased amount of local aid funds was so 

 large that the total financial support did not vary much. For 

 the fiscal year, 1919-20, it was $14,253,944.00. This clearly 

 indicates that there is a substantial supporting sentiment 

 backing the work and that it is, therefore, upon a permanent 

 footing. 



As long as the principles enunciated by the founder of 

 the work are faithfully followed, there need be no uneasi- 



about its permanency. In 1906 when there were only a 



[I«2] 



