All of us know that Uncle Sam means well by the hundred million members
of his family, but few have any adequate appreciation of the many
varied forms in which Uncle Sam lends a helping hand. His service
is apparent everywhere in city, town, village and farm--and in the
great desert wastes and mountain heights. It is worth while to take a
sweeping survey of the whole field of Uncle Sam’s helpful operations:
HELPING THE FARMER. Uncle Sam supplies a wealth of information about
the planting and growing of crops, with crop estimates and statistics
of agriculture. He supplies weather reports and gives helpful
information on the control of destructive insects and birds--also on
the fostering and improving of live stock. He gives advice on forest
lands and forest fire protection. He helps in building rural roads
and assists in farm management and in the procuring of farm help. He
advises the farmer in marketing and in rural organization and farm
finance. He gives information concerning diseases prevalent in rural
districts. He supplies courses of reading for farmer parents, and
assists in the work of rural schools. He spends large sums of money
in administration work in the Department of Agriculture to help the
condition of the farmer, the farmer’s wife and the girls and boys on
the farm. He directs their education and shows them how to improve
their living conditions. His office of information supplies documents
full of valuable practical suggestions for the farmer.
HELPING THE SETTLER. Uncle Sam reclaims desert lands and places them at
the disposal of settlers. He encourages the establishment of homesteads
and conducts forest service and geological surveys to develop land and
make it valuable.
HELPING THE BUSINESS MAN. Uncle Sam gives assistance and information
to almost all businesses--and carries on, at enormous expense, special
work for the Mining, Fishing, Fur, Lumber and Shipping Industries. He
pursues scientific experiments with agricultural products and develops
water power for commercial use. He protects the business man with the
Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
HELPING THE WORKING MAN. In the Department of Labor a vast amount of
Service is devoted to securing employment for laborers, supplying
information concerning labor conditions, pursuing practical
investigations for the safety and health of the working men. He acts as
a community organizer, advising and supervising, and is a mediator in
disputes on labor questions.
HELPING THE IMMIGRANT. He greets the immigrant with an intelligent and
careful scrutiny as to his health and general welfare. He opens the
eyes of the immigrant to his opportunities in the United States, and
helps him to get employment. He instills in him ideals of industry,
integrity, and good citizenship.
HELPING THE NEGRO. Uncle Sam supplies statistics and detailed reports
concerning the education of the Negro. He gives assistance to the Negro
farmer, instruction to the Negro woman and children in home economics
and in school and home gardening.
HELPING IN THE HOME. Uncle Sam pursues investigations and gives
advice concerning the practical problems of the home. He is ever
inspecting foods, drugs, meats and the quality of milk and water. He
will permit no foul or tainted food or drink to reach the mouth of the
mother or children. He carries on an employment bureau of service,
giving information and advice. In the lives of children Uncle Sam’s
helping hand is ever to be found. He prepares publications and gives
information and conducts courses for the education of children in all
branches of knowledge, stimulating, particularly, vocational education,
in agriculture, and in the trades and industries. For the protection
of children he enforces the Federal Child Labor Act, and to keep them
well and healthy he has devised enticing plans for outdoor occupation
in school and home garden, that they may be sound, healthy and fit for
worthy citizenship.
If you want to know anything about the management of the country; if
you want to make the most of yourself as a citizen, write to Uncle Sam.
[Illustration: THE MENTOR]