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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1916)
BIG OCEAN FE mr BETWEEN HALIFAX AND ALLY PORTS Chief Among Transport Boats Is the Former Giant Liner, Olympic. CARRIES 7,000 MEN ON TRIP Another of tho "Ferry Boats" Em ployed In Transporting 8oldlers and Munitions Is the Lauren tic Great Secrecy Observed. New York. Loss than COO mlleH from New York city, lesa tlinn 18 hours' dlstnnt In the mntter of tlmo, Great Britain Is maintaining one end of the longest, most dangerous and most Important ferry servlco In tho world. "Ferry scrvleo" may sound like nn odd phrase, for tho moment, to be used In describing an overseas trans portation system, but so frequent are tho sailings, so great the numbers of men and tons of munitions and sup plies carried that tho expression Is really the nptest to bo found. Halifax, N. S Is tho western termi nus of tho great ferry. Its eastern ends nro Liverpool, London, Havre nnd nordcaux. Few Americans, unless tho tiling falls directly under their eyes (und unless they nro helped, oven then, with n llttlo Information that is mighty hard to get), can rcallzo what nn Important seaport Hullfax Is und how much Is being done there. On n vacation trip n.few dnys ago I steamed Into tho harbor of Halifax through n narrow space, n "gate" they call It, between two lines of flouting mines that extend from shoro to shore on tho llttlo steamer Florlzcl of tho Red Cross lino, writes Joseph J. O'Neill In tho Now York World. As wo straightened out for our doclc thcro camo Into view nn Immense four stack steamer a tnllo or so away from us. She looked rather familiar at llrst glance, nnd oven more so when vlowcd through tho glasses. Undoubtedly slio was ono of tho huge passenger lners tnnt nil New Yorkers nro used to seeing in their own bay; but thero was something wrong about her. Sho looked different Sho was of tho dull gray of tho British navy, and on each sldo of her, forward and aft, protruded long, wide-mouthed guns. The Twenty-Elght Ten. "What ship is that?" overyono asked. But tho patriotic British ollleers of tho Florlzcl wero not telling. "Probably something In the trans port service, or an nuxlllnry crulsor, or tho like ," they replied. But If this was n transport or an nuxlllnry cruiser It was an unusunl one, for thero nro mighty few boats afloat tho slzo of this great gray inon stcr. By driblets Information ubout tho vessel In tho harbor camo to tho cars of tho curious vacation voyngora after thoy got ashore. Tho town Is filled with khukl-clud Tommies, of course, Appealed toffor "-o nnnio and busi ness of tho big craft they would usu ally roply: "Cawn't sye, sir, really." Finally wo got this far: "They call hor Twenty-eight Ten Transport Twenty-eight Ten." Then, at lnpt, I chanced to meet nnd fraternize with a Onuadlnn soldier, n chap who had just returned from tho other sldo, wounded, nnd one who was glad to get a bit of news about tho United States (because this was con fldontlnl ho belonged hero himself, and showed mo proudly his United States citizenship papers which ho had carried with him throughout two years of scrapping in Belgium and Franco). "That's the Olympic." "Thnt big hooker out there? Why, that's tho Olympic 1" ho said. "I Just camo over In her, and tomorrow morning she's going out with n pretty full cargo of Tommies. Sho's nothln' but n bloomln' forry those days I" And thnt's what sho was tho Olym pic, tho former prldo of tho Whlto Star line, sister ship of tho Ill-fated Titanic, and formerly ono of tho most luxurious passenger liners allont. But now sho Is Transport Twenty eight Ten. , And next morning, so early that the dawn-pink hadn't yet shown over tho eastern horizon, tho Olympic went out on one of her regulnr ferry-runs. Sho Just slipped out. without a whlstlo blnst, without n sound, Indeed. And, as my friend In khaki had said, sho took with her a "pretty full cargo or Tommies," Now, If you had rambled rbout Hall fax tho night before and asked pri vates or olllccrs hero and there, "What's tho big boat taking away when Bho goes?" you'd liavo been told, "Oh, n few hundred men, mnybu; a bit of supplies, too." And watching tho Olympic slide off through the hciuI durkness you wouldn't have been greatly Impressed. But if you had had better sources or Information as 1 had. thanks to mv original Tommlo-pal und some others you might hnvo learned that Insldo tho dark gray hull wero 7,000 men con- signed to Tie French front 7,000 stnl wart young ohnptffrom tho forests und wheat Helds und towns qf tho vaBf Do minion of Canada, for tho most nnrt. That was tmprcssivo enough, thnt great number of lighting lads housed within one giumt hull. But far more Impressive was tho Information thnt cuino to me casually from tho wounded mnn, nnd then was corroborated by others. "There's 1,250 Yankee lads In thnt outfit, too. They'ro part of tho Amer ican Legion that's been recruiting nil over. Canada. A Retired U. 8. Army Officer. More than that, there was an Amer ican army ofUcer (retired from tho scrvleo of tho U. S. A. with high rank) acting us second in command of this battalion of Ynnkco lads, I was told by several persons who had amplo means of knowing. They named his name nnd said that so enthusiastic was he about tho cause or tho allies that he was content, even eager, to accept a lieutenant colonelcy In this battalion, although he had been of far greater position than that in the army of his own country, nnd was really one of the best known of tho older "Oghtlng men" In Uncle Sam's service. I am not giving tho name here, bo cause it was whispered In confidence, and it wns said that ho didn't wnnt it known Just yet that ho was fighting In tho servlco of n foreign monarch. But all this the departure of 7.000 boys In khaki was but tho Incident of a slnglo day In tho port of Halifax. Tho men wero assembled secrotly. pouring In at night over tho lines of tho Intercolonial railway, nt ono of whosfi piers the big Twenty-eight Ten wns tied u. And when tho town was dark and quiet they wero marched aboard her and, though you could got within n block qr so, you couldn't ap proach near enough to sco tho throngs clustered on her decks, for you wero halted by n bayonot politely pointed nt your brenst Urcut Britain keeps such movements pretty secret. A few words moro about tho Olym pic. Thero uro Roveral reasons why she Is In the British transport scrvleo and is making trips across tho Atlan tic almost on n regulnr schedule which runs approximately Uko, this: Flvo days crossing, threo days loading, off again. One reason Is thnt sho is commo dious and speedy. Sho enn turn off her 211 knots with enso nnd sho can out run (and several times has dono so) the fleetest U-boats Germany can send af'T her. Practically Unslnkable. But tho most Important reason Is tluit kIii I the nt-nrem approach to an iinxlnkrihlo boat thnt Ih floating. After the Titanic went dowti. It will bo re numbered, tho Olympic was fitted with an "Inner skin," n complete second hull, six root Insldo of the outer shell of her. Another big vessel slipped quietly out of Halifax harbor that day. She was not so large as Transport Twenty-eight Ten, nor did she enrry such heavy armament. The guns thnt frowned from her sides wero of no more thnn six-Inch diameter, apparent ly. She, too, had a number. But be foro tho letters were chiseled off her bows and stern she wns the Laurcntlc. "Just In, u few days ago, from Now Zealand nnd Australia with a load of gold bullion millions," 1 learned. "She's off ngalu, now, riding light. Se cret orders." A low-lying, slim-bowed, wnr-grny yacht with two rakish pipes and a mess of small guns slid speedily through tho hnrbor. Sho was onco the Winchester, well known on the Hudson and nbout Now York hnrbor and tho Florida resorts as tho speed craft of tho son of "Broadway" Rouss. She was sold early In tho wur and has since been a scout, steaming swiftly to sea to watch for possible enemies while tho troopships and sup ply vessels prepare to make their reg ular runs ove. tho Greut Ferry. Of these latter craft there aro plenty. Warships on the Watch. The Lovlnthun, n high, heavy bat tleship of the class rapidly becoming extinct, goes In and out ou unknown errands. Sho wns going to be scrapped Just as the war broke, but olio's dono splendid 'service since. Four-funnelcd cruisers, threo nnd four-funneled destroyers ply seaward, then hurborward. From tho heights of tho city, where standi) tho Citadel, now armed with modern and powerful rifles, ' helio graph mirrors wink to other helio graph mirrors across tho mouth of tho harbor a tnllo or so nway. . At night time huge seurchlights scruti nize every ship which approaches any whero near tho cntrnnca'to tho port, From Halifax tho little Red Cross liner Florizel carried tho vacation voyagers, of whom 1 was one, to St., Johns, N. F., which occupies two days. Then we had four days ashore, and then two days at sea on tho return; trip to Halifax. During tho tlmo wo wero awny no less than 18,000 moro Canadian light-! ers, In addition to those on tho Olym-; pic, had departed. Slnco tho begin ning of tho war, I was told, moro than 1150,000 men have steamed from the! port, and not one has been lost nt sea: through any action of tho enemy. It's a mighty Interesting nnd mighty! warllko plnce, this close to New York ferry terminus. VALUE OF CONCRETE ROAD FIRST Mi TO SIT III CONGRESS' Miss Jeanette Rankin Runs Away Ahead of Her Party in Montana. CAMPAIGNS ON HORSEBACK Makes Her Own Hats and Is an Ex pert at Maklno Lemon Pies Intends to Push Extension of Child-Labor Laws. Missoula. Mont. Jennetto Rankin. tho llrst congresswomnn. is thlrty-flvo vears of ace and makes her own hats. Sho Is moro Interested in cniuiren. than in anything' elso In tho world, with tho posslblo exception of votes for women. Sho is about llvo foot four inches In height, slender, with light brown hnlr not red, her friends Insist nnd has nn unusual storo of energy. Sho Is tho daughter of ono of tho best- known of the Montnnn pioneers, who wont west when tho state was so sparsely nettled that It resembled a wlldorncss, nnd she and her tnreo sis ters havo learned to "rough it" In the big western state. Sho was graduated nt tho University or Montana, became an ardent suffragist while a glr), and went to Seattle to study voice culture nnd then enmo to Now York city to tako a course at tho School of Plillnn thropy In that city. Ardent Suffrage Worker. Miss Rutikin was among tho early and most ardent workorB for suffrago in tho West beforo any stntcs hud granted women tho vote, It was said, and fought actively for amendments In Washington and California. In these campaigns, it Is said, sho went Into mines and to farms to nrguo per sonally with men and women to In duco them to light for suffrago. Sho obtained u placo as a field secretary of tho National American Woiuuu bur frago association after leaving Now York city and went to Honda to es tabllsh suffrago uanljuitlona them Sho Is credited with having dono more, perhaps, than nny other woman lu tho statu to obtain suffrago for tho women of Montana. Then nfter hard fight sho was nominated for con gross by an overwhelming vote in the primaries, und election day, it is re ported, she had to tight somo of the Old Guard Republican leaders In her own state as well as tho Democrats Sho did a large part of her cumpalgn Ing on horseback. Hor friends Joined hor In creating electioneering Innovations. Sho illdn' finish her campaign until election night, It Is said. Ou election day her QHlW iff i'Jf -sJt-p.- SM Engineer Compares It With Other Types of Highways and Shows Its Many Advantages. "A concreto road will tend to puH nny community out of the mud und stay oilt," according to A. N. Johnson, highway engineer, who for n number of yenrs was connected with tho ofllco of public ronds, United States depart ment of ngrlculturo. In speaking on the subject of con creto roads, their construction nnd Value to a community, ho said : "Clean, hard, well graded sand nnd pebbles or crushed stone, mixed with cement and water to form a mass of quaky or Jcllyllko consistency, oven-' lunlly hardens Into stone. When such a mixture is lulu so that sums iu reet wide by from 80 to 50 feet long nro formed, you havo n pavement with n durable, non-skid surface making pos slblo higher trnfllc speed with lurgo loads drawn by fewer horses or less tructlvo power a road open to trafllc 805 days in the year briefly, a con crete road. "Successful concreto road construc tion requires, first, proper preparation of n foundation or subgrade. This moans compacting Uio soli where tho concrete is to bo laid nnd providing dralnngo so that water will not remain under tho concreto slabs. Upon thp properly prepared foundation concrete Is placed lu ono or two layers or courses. This means thnt somo con creto roads ure built nfter what Is known as tho ono-courso construction. "Tho first consists of u relatively rich . concrete mixture throughout; the sec ond of a somewhat leaner mixture for base, with a richer top or wearing course applied before Uio concreto in tho base has commenced to harden. Usually where the slabs forming a con creto road are greater than 10 feet wide, or whero tho roads must cross low, frequently wet nnd hence poorly drained spots, re-enforcing In the form of mesh fubrlc Is embedded In the con creto whllo pluclng. This assists to prevent the slabs from cracking, either as tho result of settlement of the foun dation or from the heaving due to frost action "High wearing qunllty of the con creto road results from using prop erly graded, clean, hard sand and crushed rock or pebbles. These must bo combined with cement nnd water In proper proportions. Cement makes a firm binder. It holds tho sand or brok en stono so tightly together that mod em trafllc produces but little wear on the surface and cannot dislodge the particles. "Concrete roads cost In the neigh borhood of $15,000 per mile to build. When built the cost of keeping them la repair, owing to the permanence of concrete, Is nn average of only $50 per mile. The enormous annuul saving in tho maintenance of a ccncrctc rond compared with other types Is shown by statistics authored from MassachU' setts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York for eight years, These combined statistics show a total averugo cost ter mile of $008 for main tenance of roads .built with material other than concrete, whllo a concreto rond costs only an averugo of $50 per mile per year. "Reduced to an average basis nnd distributed, over n period of 20 years under a $1,500,000 bond lsue, tho av erage cost 01 a concrete ronu to a farmer living on land vulued at $80.03 per acre Is S')i cents per aero per year, This estimate Is based upon proposed concrete road construction In Vermilion county, Illinois, nnd Vermilion county has Just accepted bids for 141 miles of concreto highway. Distributed over a period of years and equalized among tho fanners und taxpayers who nro thus enabled to reach their market town 005 days In the year and more quickly than ever before with larger loads drawn by fewer horses, tlje coslt of 11 concrete road is negligible. So a concreto road is relatively cheap be cause n profitable Investment" Washington Taxpayer Slowly Easing Conscience WASHINGTON. Who Is "II. D. V.?" Haunted, apparently, by n sense of remorse that demands completo atonement, a person signing these Initials Is sending every month to the collector of tnxes of tho District government n flve-dollnr bill, urging encn urn that It bo credited to- tho "conscience fund" of the District. There is never nn explanation ns to why the sender feels called upon to contribute the money, nor nny In dlcatlon ns to how many of these live dollar bills will have to bo sent before full recompense Is made. From the fact that the money 1 sent In monthly Installments, how ever, officials In tlie collector's ofDce nssuro thnt "H. D. V." Is not nny too well off, and thnt many self-denials must bo made to meet the payments. Thus far a total of $15 has como from the mysterious contributor. Two of the three Installments were sent from Atlnntlc City, nnd tho last from Washington. With no other clue ns to the address of the sender, nil thnt Collector Prince has been able to do each tlmo Is to Issue a general "Thank you." (THIS WILL EASE I MY COKSCIEffCC j Has Funniest Job in District of Columbia VARIOUS members of tho District government may claim to nave tho Hard est, tho most Irksome, the most complicated, nnd tho superlntlves of nil sorts of Jobs. Charles F. Nesblt, superintendent of Insurance, says he has the fun niest. Not that ho doesn't work no, ho Is some claimant there, too but the leaven of humor Is his almost daily. Tho other day a series of com plaints began coming In against n con cern with a high-sounding Biblical name. This was only one of a score 'of such organizations, claiming to pay sick nnd accident benefits, which turn up continuously to lighten Nesblt's Jbusy life. Superintendent Nesblt summoned tho "president" of the concern, a dapper, red-bow-tled, gentleman of color. "I hear your company hasn't been paying clatms. Don't you know you; '.can't do business in the District? You haven't any license," the visitor was ,told. "Now, boss, you'se surely said a moufful. "Wo sure can't seem to do busi ness that's why wo ain't paid them claims. But we tries to collect mos Iregulnh, sub." Nesblt told him ho would have to stop collecting In tho absence of a license. "Say, here, does this license cost money?" "Yes." "Well, Mister Nesblt, that's Jest the way this govn'ment carries on. Now, ,1 ain't got no money to pny claims with yet, you-all want me to pay for a ; license so I can pay dem claims." The organization has stopped collecting, but has not started paying Tho next laugh camo irom tho report or nn inspector. A colored woman- 'complained that sho had been ill for two weeks, and. no benefits had been paid. The insurance company stated that no medical certificate had beei I received from her. Tho inspector called around to ask -her about this. "Laws, honey, I clean forgot. Just you llf up that scarf on tho bureau and there's your certificate." The Inspector found the certificate, all right, nnd four more, for four f successive weeks In advance. ; Proposed National Forest in Washington Area THE proposed and planned conservation of the power ofrtho Potomac river 1 above Washington, the submergence of many localities nnd topographic ;featurcs long familiar to Washington people, and the conversion of the river from Great Falls to a point near the Llttlo Falls into u lake call to mind a plan for conserving the high wooded1 f lands along the river. It was a plan to which considerable publicity wns given nt nnd following tho National Conservation congress held nt St Paul, Minn., In 1010, nnd it Is still alive. William M. Elllcott of Baltimore suggested the creation of a great na of Columbia. It was proposed to ac tional, park bordering on tho District compflsh this by acquiring reserva tions along the Potomac, Pntuxent and Anacostla rivers, covering territory lUetween Washington, Annapolis nnd Baltimore, and preserving the Palisades and banks of tho Potomac from Mount Vernon to nnd beyond the Great falls. A committee of the Amcrlcnn Institute of Architects on the conservation of natural resources Glenn Brown, William M. Elllcott, James Knox -Taylor ;anu uass unuert drew up a report indorsing this proposition. It Is pointed out that the presence of cleared lands within the forest boundaries would not be a disadvantage because tho best of tho farm lands could bo used as experimental farms in co-operation with the department of .ngrlculture, while those less adapted for ngrlculturo could be planted in. forests. There nro many foreign trees that have not been fully tried In this 'country under forest conditions. The rato of growth of most of our native species, under tho most favorable conditions as would result in planting, had not been determined nt tho time of the discussion of tho Capital National forest, and It was reported thnt "the Held of forest experimentation is a large and promising one which would find here the ideal conditions for its fulfillment." Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin. friends, telephoned to practically ev erybody In tho state who had a tele phone, according to reports received here, and greeted whoever answered tho telephone with n cheery: "Good morning! Have you voted for Jcunetto Rankin?" Makes Famous Lemon Pic. "Miss Rnukln Is n very feminine woman," ono voung woman who had known her hero and who Is now a re porter on a New York evening paper said. "Sho dances well and makes her own hats, und sews, and lias won genu ine fame among her friends with the wonderful lemon meringue pie that sho Inakcs when sho hasn't enough other. things to do to keep her busy. "Sho Is tho sort of girl who won'ti stop until sho has got the results she Is nfter, nnd It will bo lots of fun to see her In her first fight In congress., Among the things which Miss Ran kin has announced that she will tight for In congress Is extension of tho child labor luws--sho Intends to rep resent children ns wull as women tn cougrcss natlonnl woman suffrago,; mothers' pensions, universal compul-' sory education nnd similar proposi tions. It Is expected that sho will lu-i troduco n now national suffrago bill: ns soon ns sho lias tho opportunity. MONEY FOR IMPROVED ROADS Big Taxpayer la the Man Who Foots the Bill for Every Improvement of Public Nature. Moro thnn $18,000,000 was' paid In fees for the registration of motor driven vehicles in tho United States last year. Ninety per cent of this wns spent In tho malntennnco of old roads and tho building of new roads. Additionally tho motorists paid by far tho larger proportion of all taxes which wero levied for good roads pur poses. As n rulo tho big taxpayer Is an an tomoblle owner and ho Is the mun who foots tho bill for every public Improve ment'. Houston Post. Old A Columns Reproduced by National Museum T TnH National museum a weird nnd beautiful model has been erected. At the front entrance of the building havo been plnced two great columns surmounted by lintels of wood, tho whole forming nn arch. history of the original columns is a very ancient one. From them has been learned much concerning tho aborigi nes of Central America. Archeology has disclosed tho fact that nt the portal of every place of worship two great columns stood guard. No slnglo completo example of theso columns has over been found, and tho erection of the model In tho museum was made posslblo under tho personal direction of Dr. W. H. Holmes. "I have eagerly vatched tho con- The religious Total Mileage at Close of 1314 Placed at 14,817.19 Miles 39 Per Cent Surfaced. struction of our model of those grent-feathered serpent columns found In the neluhhorhood of Yucatan nt tho entrnnco of numerous tcmmVs and frpmmntlv GOOD ROADS IN NEW JERSEY scattered down tho dopes of tho pyramids or burled in the great mass of debris about their bases," salu, Doctor uoinies. "Tho significance of the column Is n very fascinating ono common to nearly every branch of native art. Tho feuthered-serpeant god Quetznlcoutl of tho Aztecs (quetzal a beautifully plumuged bird of middle America, and coatl the snako), nnd tho corresponding deity Kulkulknn of the Maya people (kulkul bird, and kan snake), held llrst placo In tho mythology of these peoples. Nearly tho entire surfneo of tho body represented in the column Is covered with plumage typifying the bird element, while tho general conforma tion, tho projecting tongue, bulbous fangs, fear-Inspiring eyes and beaded rnttlo symbollzo tho snake. The deslro of tho peoples was apparently for a god that like tho bird could fly nnd yet bad the readiness to Etriko 'character istic of the snake." The total rond mileage of Now Jer sey at tho closo of 1014 was 14,817.10, exclusive of streets lu towns. Of this, 8,807.45 miles, or 80.8 per cent, were surfaced. Of tho latter, 2,858.52 miles wero gruvel, 1,809.24 untreated macadam, and 417.03 miles bituminous
