Closely allied with the work of the Department of Agriculture is the
irrigation service, which is reclaiming millions of acres of land
otherwise useless, by furnishing it with unfailing water. The National
Forests are under the direction of the Department of Agriculture,
which employs about two thousand rangers and fire look-outs.[A] The
Biological Survey has successfully found methods for destroying the
rats, chipmunks, mice and ground squirrels which cause losses of many
millions to the farmers. Millions of copies of printed circulars and
pamphlets on various phases of farming are printed. No agency of
the Government reaches so great a number of the active workers and
producers of the land.
[A] See Mentor Number 165, “Reclaiming the Desert,” and Mentor Number
156, “The Forest.”
_Uncle Sam in Trade_
[Illustration: A SEASHORE MAIL ROUTE ON THE PACIFIC COAST]
Besides their agriculture, our forefathers always pushed shipping
and trade. They were keen on the Indian fur trade, and produced salt
meats, grain “naval stores,” (pitch, tar and turpentine), potashes
and pearl ashes, timber, and other things, and sold them to European
countries. In return they imported calicoes and “oznabrigs” (which were
a kind of linen) “paduasoy” (which was Italian silk), hardware, guns,
tools, china, and the rich cloths, velvets and satins which Colonial
gentlemen delighted to wear. When the United States came into being as
a Government, it paid very little attention to commerce, leaving the
merchants free to develop their trade with all parts of the world.
It is only in recent years that Uncle Sam has realized how he can help
the merchant, the shipper and the vessel owner. Not until 1903 was
there an office at Washington charged with the duty to “promote foreign
and domestic commerce.” Not till 1913 was there a distinct Department
of Commerce, within which were grouped some of the most important
services rendered by the nation to its people. For example, commerce
includes such varied services as lighthouses, steamboat inspection,
fisheries, navigation, and the coast survey. In addition the Department
of Commerce comes very near to the complicated organization of the
business of the country, through its Bureau of Corporations, Bureau of
Standards of Weights and Measures, and Bureau of Foreign and Domestic
Commerce, as well as the Census Bureau, which collects a variety of
statistics.
[Illustration: WOMEN AT WORK IN A COMMUNITY CANNING KITCHEN