School of Forestry at the University of 

 Nebraska when he was appointed Field Assist- 

 ant in June 1914. Director Sampson highly 

 praised his academic training, his rapid, ac- 

 curate work, and his pleasing personality. 

 Weyl's diaries for 1916 and 1917 record 

 widely varied tasks: emptying precipitation 

 tanks at Areas A and B, getting the snow 

 stakes ready for winter measurements, work- 

 ing on the greenhouse roof, working on plant 

 succession studies, taking photographs, mend- 

 ing the telephone lines, working on poison 

 plant records, working on climatology compu- 

 tations — and many more. "Talking over work 

 with Sampson" is a frequent entry. No won- 

 der the Director liked young college men as 

 workers! Mr. Weyl was coauthor with Dr. 

 Sampson of "Range preservation and its rela- 

 tion to erosion control on western grazing 

 lands" when the USDA Department Bulletin 

 was published in 1918. 



Salaries in the early days were unbelievably 

 low. A. W. Jensen recalled, "To begin with, 

 the rangers' salaries were $60.00 per month 

 for the short period they worked. I succeeded 

 in getting them raised to $75.00 before I left. 

 They fed their own horses and received no ex- 

 pense money." In forecasting needs for 1916, 

 Director Sampson listed his own salary at 

 $2,200, plus $500 for expenses, and 

 commented: 



However, now that most of the construc- 

 tion work is well along, it is believed that 

 the Director will be available personally 

 to do an appreciable amount of experi- 

 mentation, so that three assistants will 

 suffice. 



Temporary assistants for the summer field 

 season were paid $75 a month plus $25 for 

 expenses. A permanent Grazing Assistant was 

 to receive $1,200 per annum plus $250 for 

 expenses. 



Another facet of life for Station personnel 

 in the early days that startles modem-day em- 



ployees was the parsimony with which sup- 

 plies and ordinary office conveniences were 

 supplied. This is graphically revealed in the 

 following memorandum, dated November 29, 

 1927, from Director Forsling to the Opera- 

 tion Office of District Four in Ogden: 



We are now entering upon the sixth 

 year that the Great Basin Experiment 

 Station has had offices in the District 

 Office in Ogden. During all of this time 

 we have been using office tables as sub- 

 stitutes for desks. Upon one or more oc- 

 casions last year and the year before 

 when some equipment from the Veter- 

 an's (sic) Bureau was available I made re- 

 quest of Mr. Pearson or the Maintenance 

 clerk to consider the needs of the Sta- 

 tion for double pedestal office desks. 

 This was taken up again by memoran- 

 dum or letter this fall. No desks have 

 been received todate (sic). I understand 

 that the unit of the Veterans Bureau at 

 Salt Lake City has no more surplus 

 desks. 



At the present time it is necessary for 

 Mr. Nelson and myself to keep papers 

 and other material such as one will ordi- 

 narily keep in a desk tied in bundles or 

 stacked in baskets and piled on top of a 

 book-case unit we have. There are many 

 other little conveniences that a double 

 pedestal desk affords that we do not 

 have. I think that the merits of our need 

 are comparable with those of the average 

 office. In all probability the headquar- 

 ters of the Great Basin Station will be 

 maintained in Ogden for a number of 

 years and we hope permanently. I would 

 appreciate it very much if early consider- 

 ation would be given to the procurement 

 of two double pedestal desks for use by 

 the Great Basin Experiment Station if it is 

 thought that procurement of such equip- 

 ment for the Station is a legitimate thing 

 for the District office to do. 



8 



