The Service of Uncle Sam
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.
THE MENTOR
THE PLAYGROUNDS OF UNCLE SAM
The National Parks at a Glance
Arranged chronologically in the order of their creation
[Number, 16; Total Area, 9,552 Square Miles]
| NATIONAL PARK and Date | LOCATION | AREA in square miles | DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Springs Reservation 1832 | Middle Arkansas | 1½ | 46 hot springs possessing curative properties—Many hotels and boarding-houses in adjacent city of Hot Springs—bath-houses under public control. |
| Yellowstone 1872 | North-western Wyoming | 3,348 | More geysers than in all rest of world together—Boiling springs—Mud volcanoes—Petrified forests—Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, remarkable for gorgeous coloring—Large lakes—Many large streams and waterfalls—Vast wilderness inhabited by deer, elk, bison, moose, antelope, bear, mountain sheep, beaver, etc., constituting greatest wild bird and animal preserve in world—Altitude 6,000 to 11,000 feet—Exceptional trout fishing. |
| Yosemite 1890 | Middle eastern California | 1,125 | Valley of world-famed beauty—Lofty cliffs—Romantic vistas—Many waterfalls of extraordinary height—3 groves of big trees—High Sierra—Large areas of snowy peaks—Waterwheel falls—Good trout fishing. |
| Sequoia 1890 | Middle eastern California | 237 | The Big Tree National Park—12,000 sequoia trees over 10 feet in diameter, some 25 to 36 feet in diameter—Towering mountain ranges—Startling precipices—Fine trout fishing. |
| General Grant 1890 | Middle eastern California | 4 | Created to preserve the celebrated General Grant Tree, 35 feet in diameter—six miles from Sequoia National Park and under same management. |
| Mount Rainier 1899 | West central Washington | 324 | Largest accessible single-peak glacier system—28 glaciers, some of large size—Forty-eight square miles of glacier, fifty to five hundred feet thick—remarkable sub-alpine wild-flower fields. |
| Crater Lake 1902 | South-western Oregon | 249 | Lake of extraordinary blue in crater of extinct volcano, no inlet, no outlet—Sides 1,000 feet high—Interesting lava formations—Fine trout fishing. |
| Mesa Verde 1906 | South-western Colorado | 77 | Most notable and best-preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in United States, if not in the world. |
| Platt 1906 | Southern Oklahoma | 1½ | Sulphur and other springs possessing curative properties—Under Government regulations. |
| Glacier 1910 | North-western Montana | 1,534 | Rugged mountain region of unsurpassed Alpine character—250 glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty—60 small glaciers—Peaks of unusual shape—Precipices thousands of feet deep—Almost sensational scenery of marked individuality—Fine trout fishing. |
| Rocky Mountain 1915 | North middle Colorado | 358 | Heart of the Rockies—Snowy range, peaks 11,000 to 14,250 feet altitude—Remarkable records of glacial period. |
| Lassen Volcanic National Park 1916 | North middle California | 12 | Contains Lassen Peak (10,437 feet), hot springs, geysers and lakes. |
| Mt. McKinley National Park 1917 | Territory of Alaska | 2,250 | Contains Mt. McKinley, loftiest summit in America, 20,300 feet. |
National Parks of less popular interest are:
| Sully’s Hill, 1904, North Dakota | Wooded hilly tract on Devil’s Lake. |
| Wind Cave, 1903, South Dakota | Large natural cavern. |
| Casa Grande Ruin, 1892, Arizona | Prehistoric Indian ruin. |
MAKE THE SPARE
MOMENT COUNT
