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
