people and to aid them in what they want to know, how to cure meat or protect eggs, and real problems of that sort; and the work succeeds where the problem touches the interest of the people and not the things they know best how to do. In our work in the South, we have come in close contact with the health problem among the rural people; problems of eradicating flies from the home and keeping out the mosquitoes are some of the things we have had to teach. Some of the first lessons the country women get are lessons in sanitation, teaching them how to can so that the stuff will not spoil but will keep. They get the whole subject of bacteriology put to them in a very practical way, and they learn that they must sterilize the cans and all other implements they handle. In that way they get their first lesson in real sanitation. Mr. ALMON. Do I understand you are making these suggestions to show what has been done between the National Government in cooperation with the States in that line of work, as tending to support the theory of this bill, that this work provided for by this bill could be carried on to advantage by means of similar cooperation between the Government and the States? Mr. KNAPP. That is all, just for the purpose of showing what the effect of the support by Congress has been. Mr. ALMON. From your knowledge of the character of work of which you have supervision, are you of opinion that this cooperation between the national Government and the States, for the line of work intended to be cared for by this bill, would probably meet with the same success? Mr. KNAPP. Unquestionably. I am not here Mr. ALMON. I understand you do not claim to be an expert on this character of work? Mr. KNAPP. Not at all. And further, I will say I have not had an opportunity to examine the different bills, but the essential thing I am saying is that cooperation between the Federal Government and State activities sharing in the expense within the State, that that cooperative management of the work in the States has brought very great success. And it is bringing success in the administration of the Federal Road Law, as you may know. Mr. ALMON. Yes. Mr. KNAPP. I am simply here to testify to the success and the fact that you can approach the rural people with the cooperating machinery of this kind and accomplish the purpose that you have in mind. And I am quite certain that the purposes sought by this bill, which are necessary, can be accomplished by the cooperative machinery. Miss RANKIN. How do the States respond to this demand for appropriation by the States? Mr. KNAPP. In the majority of all the States at the pretent time. the appropriation to offset the Smith-Lever fund is made by the legislature in a lump sum to the agricultural college. There are a few States where the taxation situation is such that the State is somewhat poor and where their annual budget is pretty close to the maximum taxing power that they have in the State, where they appropriate some of the money and the rest of it is appropriated bythe counties. That does exist in quite a number of the States, I should say probably about one-fourth of the States. Mr. ALMON. Mr. Chairman, I want to say that I have some personal knowledge of the work that is being done by this department, over which Dr. Knapp presides, and it has been a great success in Alabama and other Southern States where the work was first introduced, and great credit is due to Dr. Knapp for the continuation of this splendid and most efficient service that was inaugurated by his very able and distinguished father, who was really the originator, in a measure, of this extension work. STATEMENT OF MRS. HELEN MCCLEARY. Mrs. MCCLEARY. I am present at the request of Dr. Lee Frankel, of the Public Health Association of America, and at the request of Dr. Josephine E. Baker, of the Society for the Prevention of Infant Mortality. Both of these doctors have big meetings in New York to-day and could not be present, and they have asked me to go on record for them that no action be taken on this bill until the members of those two organizations can be heard. As I understand, they do not wish to oppose the bill, but they wish to present some amendments. The way they understand, the bill now provides for the development and organization of the work without in any way considering the State organizations, and there are some States which have organizations at the present time that might do a big work, and in other States they desire to suggest amendments where they can cooperate and coordinate the work. |