Government in the United States, National, State and Local

by James Wilford Garner

The Bureau of Mines, created in 1911, is charged with conducting investigations looking toward the prevention of mine accidents, the introduction of improvements in the general health and safety conditions, the conservation of mineral resources, etc. The bureau reported in 1913 that it had brought about a reduction in the number of fatalities due to explosions, from 30 to 13 per cent.

The Department of Agriculture.—A so-called "department" of agriculture was established in 1862, though its rank was only that of a bureau and its head bore the title of commissioner. From time to time, the scope and functions of the "department" were extended until 1889, when it was raised to the rank of a cabinet department with a secretary at its head. Like the other departments, it is organized into bureaus, offices, and divisions.

The Weather Bureau has charge of the preparation of weather forecasts and the display of storm, cold wave, frost, and flood warnings for the benefit of agriculture, commerce, and navigation.

The Bureau of Animal Industry conducts the inspection of animals, meats, and meat food products under the act of Congress of June 30, 1906, and has charge of the inspection of import and export animals, the inspection of vessels for the transportation of export animals, and the quarantine stations for imported live stock; supervises the interstate transportation of animals, and reports on the condition and means of improving the animal industries of the country.

The Bureau of Plant Industry studies plant life in its relations to agriculture. It investigates the diseases of plants and carries on field tests in the prevention of diseases. It studies the improvement of crops by breeding and selection, maintains demonstration farms, and carries on investigations with a view to introducing better methods of farm practice. It conducts agricultural explorations in foreign countries for the purpose of securing new plants and seeds for introduction into the United States. It studies fruits, their adaptability to various climates, and the methods of harvesting, handling, storing, and marketing them.

The Forest Service is charged with the administration of the National Forests. It also gives practical advice in the conservation and handling of national, state, and private forest lands, and in methods of utilizing forest products; investigates methods of forest planting, and gives practical advice to tree planters; studies commercially valuable trees to determine their best management and use; gathers statistics on forest products, in coöperation with the bureau of the census, and investigates the control and prevention of forest fires, and other forest problems.

The Bureau of Chemistry conducts investigations into the chemical composition of fertilizers, agricultural products, and food stuffs. In pursuance of the pure food law of 1906, it examines foods and drugs intended to be sent from one state to another, with a view to determining whether they are adulterated or misbranded. It also conducts investigations of food stuffs imported from abroad and denies entry to such as are found unwholesome, adulterated, or falsely labeled. It also inspects food products intended to be exported to foreign countries where standards of purity are required.

Other Bureaus, whose duties are indicated by their titles, are: the bureau of soils, the bureau of crop estimates, the bureau of entomology, the bureau of biological survey, the bureau of markets, and the bureau of public roads.

The Department of Commerce embraces what remains of the department of commerce and labor created in 1903, and divided in 1913 by the creation of the department of labor. It is charged with the promotion of the commerce of the United States and its mining, manufacturing, shipping, fishing, and transportation interests.

The Bureau of the Census is charged with the duty of taking the decennial census of the United States, including the collection of such special statistics as Congress may authorize. The first census, that of 1790, was taken under the direction of the United States marshals in their respective districts; the statistics collected related only to population, and the schedule embraced only six questions. In 1880 the use of the marshals was done away with and a corps of census supervisors provided. Until 1902 the machinery for taking the census was organized anew for each census, but in the latter year provision was made for a permanent census bureau. The schedule of inquiries has increased from decade to decade until it now embraces a wide range of questions relating not only to population, but also to vital statistics, agriculture, manufactures, defective and criminal classes, cotton production, statistics of cities, state and local finances, transportation, mining, and various other matters, the results of which are published in a series of large volumes and in special bulletins. At the head of the bureau is a director, who is aided by an assistant director, a number of statisticians and experts, and a corps of local supervisors and enumerators. The census work was in the charge of the department of state until 1850, when it was transferred to the department of the interior.