VOL. 1

No. 1

W

C. W. WARBURTON

ITH this issue the Extension Service of the department begins a monthly publication which is planned to reflect all phases of extension activity. The purpose of this publication will be to keep extension workers in every part of the United States acquainted with the latest results and methods in the extension field, to exchange news of activities in the various States, to be instructive, to indicate the sources of information and assistance helpful to the field, to center attention on the major objectives of extension work, and to encourage pride in the profession of the extension teacher. An organization such as the Extension Service, in which approximately $25,000,000 is invested annually and which employs over 5,800 men and women trained workers will surely find a national extension journal a distinct aid to progress. The advantage of having each and every agent informed regularly, promptly, and effectively regarding new objectives adopted, new policies formulated, and new teaching methods developed is readily apparent.

The department Extension Service has endeavored in the past to reach the field through a number of mimeographed periodicals covering such phases of its activities as boys' and girls' 4-H club work, county agricultural agent work, home demonstration work, extension work in home management, horticulture, plant pathology, animal husbandry, forestry, and poultry. These mimeographed publications are being superseded by the REVIEW which will deal with all phases of extension work and will carry representative material in each field.

The need of a printed national extension publication has been felt for many years and from time to time efforts have been made to establish one. As early as July 17, 1915, C. B. Smith, now Chief of the Office of Cooperative Extension Work and at that time in charge of extension work in the Northern and Western States, sent a memorandum to A. C. True, director of the States Relations Service, recommending such a publication. In

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this memorandum, Doctor Smith made a strong plea for "a systematic extension publication that shall represent the entire service and meet a need that is now felt by this office and all the extension force of both the department and the colleges with which we come in contact in the field." Doctor Smith then went on to detail what he conceived to be the form and extent of such a publication and it is interesting to note that the present REVIEW will incorporate many of the ideas he then outlined.

Nothing tangible developed from this memorandum but the idea did not die. From time to time, during the past 15 years, the subject was revived only to be met with difficulties in obtaining authorization and funds for printing such a publication. As the years passed and the extension organization became larger and more complex, it became imperative that means from a national standpoint be developed for reaching and assisting the field worker. These means took the form of circular announcements and mimeographed bulletins which have grown greatly in number as the demand for such information increased. Numerous mimeographed bulletins have been issued at stated times, either quarterly or monthly. Although this mimeographed material has proved helpful, such a method of publication is only a temporary expedient.

Recently the demand for a regularly printed publication has become insistent. The subject recurred with increasing frequency and had many advocates both in the field and in the department. Not only those connected with the administration of the Extension Service but the Office of Information, through its director, Milton S. Eisenhower, advocated such a publication. As a result, on January 16, 1930, Secretary Hyde sent a letter to the Bureau of the Budget strongly advocating the publication of an extension service house periodical. On January 22, the Director of the Budget authorized the issuing of the publication by the department and the EXTENSION SERVICE REVIEW, a dream of 15 years, became a reality.

The REVIEW will feature from month to month statements or stories of outstanding extension accomplishments and methods. In this way it will be able to present a picture of extension progress that should be an inspiration and help to every extension worker.

The field will be represented as fully as our space permits by news items, statements, and stories contributed by the several State extension services. It is to be hoped that every worker in the field will come to feel a personal interest in this publication and will make every effort to contribute to its success by furnishing material of outstanding interest and value to other workers.

In view of the fact that the extension forces are cooperating closely with the Federal Farm Board in its educational program, the REVIEW will from time to time direct the attention of our field agents to statements issued by the board, to facts and data obtainable from it, and to any publications or other teaching material which may be made available by the board for extension use.

The REVIEW will contain an editorial page in which will be reflected the policies and opinions of the Extension Service. We hope these editorials will be of help to extension workers and will serve to strengthen extension field activities. Administrative announcements and important changes in organization and personnel will be published month by month as occasion warrants. New publications of interest to extension workers will be listed from time to time. This publication will also carry information on important decisions, policies, and plans affecting the extension organization of the country and on the various services available from the Department of Agriculture. It is our hope to present in the REVIEW the best type of pictures illustrative of extension activities so that we may see as well as read what the service is accomplishing. We hope to make the EXTENSION SERVICE REVIEW in the fullest sense what its name implies, the official organ of the entire field force as well as of the Washington office.

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