THE OMAHA SUNDAY, BEE : JUNE 23, 1912.
Uncle Sam's Big Department Store Supplies 100,000 Consumers
DON'T EMI
B
Copyright, 1912. by Frank 0. Carpenter.)
RISTOBAL, Canal Zone, Pan-
el araa. I want to tell you how
1 Uncle Sam feeds and clothes
I Lt. - 1 Tit
the old patriarch undertook
this big job at Panama he
found the stores" here very poor. The na
tive merchants' did not understand the
want!) of the Americans, and they tried
to sell us poor stuff, at high prices. It
Vas absolutely necessary In the manage
merit of the canal to have the men well
fed and well cared for, and so Uncle Sam
became merchant, and he has established
. here one oi tne biggest department stores
of .the world. He- does not insist that
any one buy of htm, but his prices are m
i low and his goods are so good that no one
thinks of purchasing anywhere else.
The business began at the start of our
work on the canal, and it has now grown
until it amounts to almost $6,000,000 per
year. . The number of consumers is now
about 100,000, and this Includes the rami
Ilea of both the silver and gold employes
upon the canal and the railroad. - All are
practically dependent upon the govern'
. roent for their food and clothing, which
Uncle Sam sells almost at cost. The gov
ernment brings fresh bread to their front
doors every morning. It puts away the
lea In' their refrigerators and even, sup
plies them with their fuel, which It stores
away under the porch.
Uncle Sam's Bis Mercantile Business
Before I take you through the Immense
warehouses and other government plants
of the mercantile establishment here at
Cristobal, let me give you a few Items
as to the extent of the business. The
sales last year embraced more than
4,000,000 pounds of fresh beef, and
250,000 pounds of mutton aad lamb. The
chickens handled In Uncle Sam's grocery
store numbered 400,000, and the turkeys
and ducks one-fourth as many. He sold
600,000 pounds of bacon, 9,000,000 eggs and
altogether over 88,000 tons of food sup
plies of one kind or other. Some of the
groceries ran into the millions of pounds.
This was so of the flour, which weighed
2,000,000, and of evaporated and condensed
milk, which footed up a gross of 8,000,000
pounds.
Uncle Sam sold last year a million
pounds of peas and beans, 700,000 cans
of tomatoes, 200,000 of fish and 68,000
cans of pork and beans. His sales of
potatoes aggregated 7,000,000 pounds, and
of onions more than a million. He sold
.226,000 dozen oranges, 66,000 cantaloupes.
120,000 grape fruit and about 10,000
watermelons. '
A little further on I will take you
through his bakery here at Cristobal,
where last year he made over 6,000,000
leaves of bread, sending out from 20,000
to 25.000 every day. We shall visit his
laundry where 3,500,000 pieces of clothing
were washed last year, and go into plants
where, EO0.0CO pounds of coffee were
rcasted, $:CO,000 worth of Ice made and
from where more than 100,000 gallons of
ice( . cream were shipped out to canal
employes.
Indeed, our patriarchla'. uncle has in
stitutions here big enough to supply
almost every want of . the Americans and
foreigners who are employed upon the
canal, and notwithstanding the fact that
we are 2,000 miles from the base of sup
plies,, he is satisfying these wants at
prices as low as at, home, and In some
cases i lower. Moreover, ' his buslnesi Is
not' only self-supporting, but it pays a
small profit It is, In fact, one of the
big-little wonders of our great work at
Panama.
Hott Uncle Sam. Bays His Supplies.
This great department store Is under
the commissary of the canal. Its head
Is Colonel Eugene T. Wilson, the chief
subsistence officer, and Its business Is
as carefully done as that of any great
factory or trust. The purchases are in
bulk and the prices are cut to the
minimum. Competitive bids are gotten
as to everything and . the government
buys where It can the best and the
cheapest. "
California products, for Instance, are
shipped down by sea to save the cost
of railroad transportation over the con
tinent. Some goods are bought In
Europe and shipped direct to Panama. !
Tropical fruits coma from Jamaica and j
the other islands of the West indies, j
contracts for fresh meat are made an
nually at Chicago on the basis of a
percentage above ' or below the sale of
live animals in the stock yards as re
ported in the Drovers' Journal, and by
the specifications only the hfghest class
of meat can be sold. The meat is so
carefully packed and shipped that , of
the 4,000,000 pounds not twenty pounds j
have spoiled in a year, and it is de
livered as fresh as though it" came from
a first-class butcher shop lh Chicago.'
The greatest care Is taken as to the
Shipment of goods, all perishable stuff
coming In cold storage chambers, and
that In such a way that the loss is
borne by the shipper. Many of the sup- 1
plies are bought in bulk and- put up In
packages here. Some are manufactured
on the ground, and, in fact, a mighty
business is carried on at- the lowest pos
sible cost. ; ' ' "
The government has a chemical labor
atory to test its purchases, that it 'may
know whether they are up to sample.
It weighs everything, and it has weights
and measures sent down by the. Bureau
of Standards at Washington. Some of the
scales are so fine that they will weigh a
pencil mark or a hair. In fact, I pulled
out an eye-winker and laid it upon one
of them. The test was made inside glass,
and the needle indicated that it weighed
one-ten-thousandth of a gram. . !
Tho Government Cold Storage Plant.
But we can see something of this fea
ture of Uncle Sam's business heie at
Cristobal. Let us first enter the cold
storage plant. This Is made of cement
and it covers acres. The building Is One
of the largest in the world, and it Is so
arranged that the goods can be taken
from the ships to the cold storage
chambers and from them direct to the
cars which carry them to the . retail
stores and the consumers. There Is one
train which goes out every morning.
Before entering , the cold storage plant
we are warned to beware of the cold. It
is hot here In the tropics and the freezing
chambers .are almost as cold as the pole.
The men .bring us overcoats, and we
jump from the heat to the cold. Our
first room., is a Vegetable cooler, the tem
perature' of which is 60 degrees below
that on the outside of the building. We
are In a long hall about fifty feet wide
filled with bales and boxes of vegetables
and fruit There are tables at the s'ides
at which men are sorting potatoes, cab
bages, cucumbers and celery, picking out
the bad and throwing away anything that
is decayed or not up to sample. There
are aleo-pineapples and grape fruit from
the West Indies, and as we pass the men
tell us that they are now selling 60.000
i oranges and grape fruit every week. ' I
-
am
ask what the grape fruit is worth and
the cold storage man replied: ,
"We are now selling them for 4 cents
apiece, although the price quoted at home
is 8 cents and upward."
.v Further on they are sorting lettuce and
lemons, i The. lettuce comes from New
Orleans, the lemons from Jamaica. .
EgKM, Butter and Cheese.
Passing through rooms kept cool by the
dry air system, we enter storage halls
devoted to ergs, butter and cheese. The
cheeses are kept by themselves. .They
are of all sorts, from some as big as
wagon wheel to others no larger around
than the palm of your hand. This room
is kept cool by the brine system and the
pipes which line It are covered with snow.
A little farther on. is the egg cooler,
which Is also lined with brine pipes.' It
is filled with crates of fresh eggs, which
are now being sold at the rate of 40,000
a day. Every egg has to be tested before
it leaves this cold room, and over there
at the right you may see the process of
testing. It is done by means of a box
In which an electric .light shines. The
box is closed except for a hole the size
of an egg in one 'side. The "man takes
an egg and places it over this hole. If
it is good the light shines right through
end makes it look like an egg of real
gold. If it Is bad the egg will not be
transparent. It will look streaked and
spotted, and If rotten almost black.
All but the best eggs are : rejected, and
s record Is kept of every egg handled.
We look over the reports and find that
in the last batch of 21,000 only forty-four
eggs were bad. That is only about two
bad egBs to the thousand. The eggs are
all candled before they' leave New Or
leans, and only the good ones are paid
for. Those which come ' cracked are
saved and used. In the bakery.; .
The same care. Is employed as to the
butter. Uncle Sam buys the best the
creameries can furnish, and that only in
bulk. It used to be: that, butter was sent
down in prints, but it was found that it
cost 8 cents more per pound to bring It
that way,, and , that it did not keep as
well. For this reason the government has
Its . own buttericuttlng . machines and It
cuts and packs its own prints. The but
ter now, sells "at 42 cents a pound, and H
is of the grade which costs 6 cents more
than that in the states. ,' ,
, Fresh Beef for Panama.
We find, the chambers colder and1 colder
as we go on with our journey. Those In
which the turkeys, ducks,' squabs and
milk-fed chickens . are kept is, only 12
degrees above sero, and the fowls are
frozen stiff. Here, there are fresh fish,
oysters,-canvas back and teal ducks, as
well as sweetbreads and' other such
things. I take one of the chickens In my
hand and pound a box with it. It is as
solid as jce.'and I have little difficulty .In
breaking the boards.
A little further on' Is the meat cooler.
the temperature of which keeps the flesh
as hard as a glacier. Immense quartm
of beef hang from the racks. There are
700 quarters in this single room, and this
wiiL.iast .only five 'days.,' The- beeves
come in by the thousand at a ti!pment,
and they go out, almost as fast.' It takes
more than 6,000 cattle a year to, supply
the canal employes, and about a' ton of
pork chops are consumed every day. . As
to corned beef, the government makes its
own. It has vats connected with .he cold
storage department which have a capaj-
lty of 20,000 pounds. It takes about 2,000
pounds of such meat every day to suppiy
the demand.'
100,000 Gallons of Ice Cream.
Uncle Sam makes his own ice cram
and, he sells his employes 880,000 worth
every year. This Is sent out in tnh.
the hotels and the retail stores. The
flavors are changed five or six times a
week, and there Is a special arrangement
for supplying ice cream on Sundays. As
to the ice itself, that la made in the cold
storage plant. The amount manufactured
w " a y. and the Ice receipts for
one year are more than 8200,000.
Uncle Sam's Bakery. f
But suppose we fly from th tvi.."
the tropics. Ve can f do so nvmiri...
from the cold storage plant to the bakery
m wuicn , are not far . away
The bakery is one of the largest on earth'
and everything: there is done upon a big
scale. The dough is kneaded by machin
ery In a big Iron trough, tl com. ..t ,
loaves, being; cut by a douah ama.
which makes seventy-two loaves - every
minute. One batch of dough will make
1.800 loaves. The ovens ate great cham
bers walled with porcelain, each of which
will bake 900 one-pound loaves at a time
Altogether they can make 25.000 n.L
In one day, and from 20,000 to 25,000 loaves
are now being consumed every twenty.
wur nuuro. ine employes of the bakery
are both white and colored, with a white
man at the head. f .
Uncle Sam's laundry is "another bir f.
ture of this mercantile establishment It
consists of several large halls which are
filled with Jamaica negresses, washing
and Ironing. The ; clothes are passed
through : five waters from cold to hot,
while the machinery scours out the dirt
The wringing is done ty centrifugal force
in machine like those used fn ......
making, and the Ironing has the M of
electricity. The latter work is nwfnrm.rf
by negro girls who receive from 7 to id
cents an hovr. Each has an eictri w
OSf :'ft3lK fchfe Wry
t v v, v.-cw?. . .'.y-.. . I
Zfaz-E cSkzff JUizzmza 'cSkoymrtjt jrsa JS-zac&czc Jkojnuvf 25qarz
fastened to a tube over her head, and she
uses an ironing board covered with white
cotton which Is so supported that it is
level with her waist. ' As to the white
shirts, , they pass through pressing ma
chines, and the collars have special ma
chines of their own. About 4,000,000 pieces
are washed and ironed every year, and.
the , annual income of the institution is
almost 8100,000. . '
Nevertheless the prices are low. Linen
coats cost 11 cents each; collars, 1 cents;
(jraciousjxevealed palesbSutjfi
Wrinkles Will Surely Go,
APearlySkinWillSurel
Come, and the rorm Will
Take on a Glorious
Contour of Un
rivaled Beauty A
si
SAY, what yo will, there are
three things wnich are the
vrv hasia of beauty. With
out these three you may as well
rniiM uo your mind that all
y,1mosturelyhfaiLl V
win almost surely laii.
tnese mreo uui'
v.. 7n in a certain manner and
b1.29?,Vl trtments- other-
w th S?ti,oUirh TSSviU be doing
wise, aitnougn you wm w
Hnfnhose things right In
other worayowlll'Wne right
church but the wrongpew. v
.. , tu- hin7 rnnstltute
The '"f'SHiy success Then
the very ensence of my b "
everythlng else . " Lsv
culture became marvelouBly easy. I
had something . 8e fhing
woman will l ave to uo the same thing,
Exercise wont do it ; DtoUng .na seep
ing won't do It But you can 00
spite of late suppe r "rVlaS
ommission of heavy, botheraome exercise.
. This trio consists of "t-dC0P11e"
eradication of wrlnkhjs, second, malting
the ailrfn TPftfl OI HOUTDi n.O cwv -w-f
and with a Woon like tha petals or a
rose; tmro, ine w". .. --
form and the to ,,ne8 01
contour and luxurious fulness.
. i O r
There are other things, of course, be-
sides these three, but 1 mention them as
absolutely basic, right at the start. Be-
atn on these now. Follow the instruc-
florin which I give you below and I can
,. vnu that you will marvel at the
change in yoursen wneu ; i"
i i four hort weeks thereafter.'
Th treatment I give you is aosoiuie-
ly different from anything I have ever
before heard of. and J have for a long
tlme been importuned by my friends to
reveal the secret to them. I did so to
those whom I thought would follow my
Instructions, and invariably the result
has been glorious yes, beyond their ex-
pectatlone. The results upon myself
drawers,- 6 cents, and cuffs, cents per
pair. The charge for washing a silk shirt
is 10 cents; for a dress shirt, 10 cents; a
suit of pajamas, 10 cents, and for a union
suit, only 8 cents. The family laundry
work is also cheap. . A , bedspread costs
10 cents; a blanket, 20 cents, and a nap
kin, 1 cent. You can have a sheet washed
and ifoned for 3 cents' and a towel for 1
cent. Connected with the establishment
is a pressings department, where men's
coats, trousers and vests and women's
were, 1 will say, truly mar
velous. No other word will
express It
- I want each one of you to
' begin today by using the fol
lowing secret. . By a liberal
and faithful application of it
you will soon find that all
the creams you have been
previously using are cast in
ihm Hhnrln T n"vulf uxor! 1-
uie enaao. i nyyseir used ai-
most everything sola ror
U1
W43
3-
th p and I
i.nr 'v""'-
Y wUI find your skin taking on ,
beautiful radlanck a nurilv inc&scrih
.. .,,-----;--..-----,
"Poia in your complexion win
w,y with the muddy or ashy color.
A softness will supervene which will be
adorahiA Ynn,. fan m r.i
can do it, and might aa well atart aether. you will
nW" h 'h(
- Jn ft Vt nfen?.'"
WaTe Pan and 't it come to a boll. Add have ever used for
two tablespoonfuls of glycerine. Keep this purpose. Of
stirring, while adding little by little oni this, take 8 tea-
ounc ' zintone. until It is all dissolved, spoonfuls three or
Then ,et coo, If four tlir.ws a day
thick to pour easily from a bottle, thin In a wine glass of
a down a little with more hot water, water, after you.r
When cool pour lnt0 a bo , Th6meai. I have
cream will be white and satiny. found this to be
After bathin ln th morning, hold a peculiar tonic
wet fowel to fM se , t)'m f - lvw Mtonlen)rig
several minutes. Rub this cream on the results in a few
enUre face beraUy ftt tn t, weelts. tlme The
nlnhlnir lha oblr. all w .
c Md apply your w ,
powaer. Repeat this again at niaht.
omitting the powder." of cours"e unless
desired. You will soon see the result
Any good drug store will sell you the
tintone for about fifty cents.
o
v .
Now for the wrinkles: I will repeat
what I stated last Sunday for the bene-
fit of others.
in a liLrirn'hnwl noup nn.hif i
hniiinr , water in thin nnn i i.n..
spoonfuls of glycerine. Place this bowl
in a pan of water on a slow fire. In a
few minutes add two ounces of eptol
and continue stirring until, all is dis-
solved. At first it will look like Jelly,
when it will start to cream. When it
does this, remove it from the fire and
stir constantly until cold. Then keep
It in ajr-tlght Jar. You should be able
skirts and waists are cleaned and shapes
at fixed prices.
What we have) seen, so far, might be
called Uncle Sam's wholesale mercantile
establishment. It Is the warehouse and
the factory and the central station from
which all the goods are distributed, The
work of selling the merchandise is dono
largely in retail stores, and , for thle
purpose the government has twenty-two
branches, one at each canal center. They I
to ant eotol at any Kood drug store and
it should not cost you more than fifty
cents. Tbis will last quite a while.
Apply this cream every morning with
the tips of too flnsers. after washing
your face, wltii very warm water ana
soap. Cao very liberally around the
eyes on the forehead, on either sloe of
the mouth, everywhere. After you havs
applied It take up tba flash In your
fingers, pinch It and roll it for a few
milJUWMi until um
-nmr.!ilon powder.
minutes until trie cream uimiKia.
tmJwUi the en,! of wrtnkles.
This cream will not grow br.
V" I Oev.eltoumentoffD'Vm Hurt..
Ha.ii'X' momem DeilWB w.
mira nut loi dbrrei. WelT,
t immArA'ir Baorrcrt 'iyf
(ties (irtfiriaw tfitemituKitfai
fta vuoie;. S'amw ff tttlwej
Yaleska
Suratt and
Herjiger
are electricity,
vacuum 1 n a t r u-
menta, etc., all
- all .
pose. If J
Pint of 1
to no purpose.
in a half
hot water you dis
solve two cunces
- -
or ruetone and a
half nf .-.
.'C,P 7
all well mixed to-
K.eM
get at t
you can
the drug
i Ana linl
store for
to?. '
It is, of course,
entirely safe. If
more knew of this
secret there would
be many more
happy women In
the world. It will
I0U LOOKJN 1HE
not fall you. You
will anoint the development a great deal
hv maannrinir the bust with the eptol
cream mentioned anove.
"
HARRIETTE L- No, washing the
face with warm milk will not whiten
the skin, as you see fron.' your own ex-
perlence. You cannot do better than use
the xlntone treatment I mention above.
Your freckles will also quickly disap-
pear. -
cover too principal settlements alongr the
Canal Zone, and are found also at Porto
Bello and Toro Point. In these stores
goods are sold in exchange for coupons,
which can be procured by employes from
their timekeepers or from the officers of
the government and Panama railway on
invoices. Tou can buy nothing in the
stores except with coupons. A twenty
dollar gold Pteco would not buy a paper
of pins, nor a ten-dollar bill a lead pencil.
The system is all arranged on the coupon
basis, and one must carry his coupon
book to the store and let the clerk take
out the checks which represent the
amount of your purchase. These checks
range In denomination from $1 to 1 cent,
so that anything can be exactly paid for.
The business la done after a rigid ac
counting system. Cash registers are em
ployed, and the salesman makes out a
sales slip for each purchase.
The goods are. taken to too stores on
the cars from Cristobal, and there la a
special refrigerator train every morning
which has eleven cars filled with meats,
Ice and perishable goods, and ten other
car loaded with other goods. This train
tarts at 4:30 every morning, and' It
the one train which is always on tuna.
In addition to the goods sold in the
tores, there is a big mall order business.
Messenger go around every day to the
home of the employes and take their
order, receiving coupons therefor. These
are sent into the central office, and the
good are brought back the next day.
All the bread I delivered at the houses,
and It is so of the Ice, meat and gro
ceries. The wagons of h quartermaster
come to the chief storage train, and the
housekeeper ha her supplies even more
regularly and more quickly than In the
states. No charge 1 made for delivery.
In the Cristobal Commissary, ,
Tou may be interested In seeing one of
the local stores. Take that here at Cris
tobal. It is situated on a corner in the'
heart of the town. It is about 100 feet
front by 200 feet deep, covering all told
almost half an acre. Entering, you find
yourself In an establishment much Ilk
a department store, The room la filled
with shelve and counter, divided up
into department, and each ia devoted to
one kind of goods. Here there la nothing
but hardware, over there are glassware
and china, and farther on are ahelvet
filled with dry goods and notion. Thar
i on department for cigar and tobacco,
1 another for drugs, and a third for meat
and groceries.. The meet branch ha a
cold storage room in which three or four
butcher are kept busy cutting roasts,
chop and steaks for the customer. Here
everything 1 - sanitary. The meat is
wrapped up in the cold storage chamber
and handed out through a slot. .
The stores are thoroughly organised.
Each ha It whit manager and It white
assistant storekeeper. The . other clerk
ar mostly West Indian, because they
are cheaper than whites, receiving only
Irom 825 to $46 per month.
I would say that I have patronised
these store a great deal during my stay
on the isthmus. Through the commissary
I have been able to buy one of the book
and have made my purchase with the
coupon, f I find the price much lower
than those of the local Panama estab
lishments, . and in many cases they are
as cheap or cheaper than at home. There
is no question as to the prices, for the
government publishes a full price list
every week or so, and one can tell just
what anything and everything costs.
FRANK O. CARPENTER.
CELESTINE The condition . of your
hair la certainly deplorable. Next Sun
day I will reveal the hair secret which
my friends have found excels anything
ever before used. . Hope you can wait
until next Sunday. Space forblda here.
O. S. L. Get from your druggist two
or three ounces of a 8 per cent solu
tion or boric acid. Wash the eyes night
and morning with this formula and they
will fairly glisten after a time. It la
entirely safe.
KIMONO Tour crow's feet muet cer
tainly be very pronounced. It is too
bad at your age. But don't worry. Use
the eptol treatment I have given in
these columns and your soul will be fill
ed with gladness when you see the result
after a time. Just keep at it It has
proved highly successful in worse cases
than yours. I have aeen these resulta
with my own eyes.
'1 It JZT
v. .... .u' i a m
j. . . aTtrTaaTTIr 1 1 iri Iit "! i i nil lissssl I W aa,
You WaMARmATlE Change In Yourself.When
ni&JWR nuH0Kl l intwi t.
NARSISSUS The article you mention
j a proprietary article, and I could
not recommend It
Next Sunday I will give you several
more secrets on other topics. I can per-
sonally guarantee the splendid results
0f all the treatments I have given you.
for I know whereof I speak.
HOTB. Inquiries should be directed ts
Kiss Valeska Borstt, ear of this new-
paper.
SOAP
And Cuticura Ointmpnt will care for
your skin. ' No other emollients do so
much to clear the akin of sunburn,
heat rashes, redness cad roughness,
and do it so quickly and economically.
Ontlean Sat u4 Otatswst 1 ferns the
vwl. Llbenl twil of etek MiM trM,lta
B-t-book. ktinm "Cutionr." Vtfi. IS. Boftofc
STMUr-fM4 tkere ia aoafort with Oau
rSotpBktaBtiok. Libera! (sawls hm. ;
Paste
"RATTLE CAP"
will make Ants disappear
from any house within
twenty-four hours
25c
At Grocers and Druggists
- -i'
-Ui.jVV'-
Interest cDovcd u
sayings deparfcent d
3 per annuo . .
The United States
National Dank of
Omaha gives prompt (
and courteous service,
affords absolute secur
ltv and has a most con .
venlent location.
Torfftweif .
Coroer
SxfeeofA
tad FaroMi
SffCftS
Ctptt
$7MtCC3
Ssrptst
WM. J. BOEKHOFF,
Beall : DMUh -
Phones- ETiiKi. ;
Every.
WOMAN
should know about the J
wonderful -
Marrel "Whirling Sproy"
SYRINGE
Rest safest most convenient.
. If your druggist cannot supply the
MAKVtL, sena scamp ror uiuvmicu.
DOOK sesiea. uonisins airvenui
Invaiuaoie to laaies.
MARVEL COMPANY
44 EartZSM Street
NewYetk
ror sal by Sherman ft MoCoaneU
Srng Co. Mail ordero aollolted. ..
' SUNDAY BEE NOT
COMPLETE WITHOUT
COLORED COMIC "
"SUPPLEMENT.
Ant