and branch offices were established in local communities. The
success of the whole scheme depended, first of all, upon
cooperation between national, state, and local governments.

Thousands of county agents and local rural community organizations
discovered and reported local needs to local employment offices,
which in turn distributed the information by means of the
district, state, and national organizations. Fifty-five thousand
post offices became farm-labor employment agencies, postmasters
and rural carriers acting as agents. Railroads cooperated both in
reporting needs for the districts through which they run and in
distributing labor to the points where needed. Newspaper offices
served as employment bureaus. The operators of nearly 8000 rural
telephone companies weekly called up the homes of two million
farmers to inquire as to needs. State and county councils of
defense, chambers of commerce, labor unions, farmers'
organizations, and other volunteer agencies afforded channels
through which the farmer and the laborer were brought together.

From January to the end of October 1918, approximately 2,500,000
workers were directed to employment (not all farm workers). In
that year the enormous wheat crop of the western states was
entirely harvested by labor forces organized and moving northward
as the harvest ripened. "Teamwork between the county agricultural
agents and farm-help specialists of the Department of Agriculture
and the harvest emergency force of the United States Employment
Service is considered largely responsible for the excellent
results." In a similar manner assistance was given in harvesting
the corn and cotton crops, the fruits of orchards and vineyards,
and the vegetable crops of the country.