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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1917)
THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. America's Worv.de Cotton Crop 61 Robert h. MouKorx Government experimenters have found it has high food value for both man and beast : : A gold mine for the South, it has become one of this nation's most profitable "war brides" V I OU ciiii wit cotton" has become the slogan of the forces engaged 111 on- mf Ihmnlnir ntlll nwirn nrmlv tho Smith's chluf agricultural product. The South Iiuh been thrilled with the vl nlon of u fnrm crop which cannot only clothe the world and provldo tiio base for huge quantities of powerful explo sives but enn supjily food iih well. Everyone known the Important pnrt cotton la ylnylng In tho making of tho high explosives needed to win tltnnlc battles on land and Men. In recent years im ever Increasing number of Im portnnt uses have been found for cottonseed and other wnntc. Cottonseed meal hns been used for yearn In the preparation of food for nnlmnls and In the making of rooking compounds, but experi ments made recently In Oklahoma nnd In other parts of tho South havo demonstrated that cot tonseed meal when properly combined with other inntciialR makes tin acceptable flour, and can also nerve an a substitute for meats, owing to Its rich ness In protein. Tho hulls are now being used In preparing feed for llvo'stoek, and aro consumed In mormons quantities. Anothcr-by-product which Is serving the country well at this time is llnters, tho short lint removed from the seed In thecourso of Its preparation for nntlng purposes. Lltiters arc almost pure cellu lose, which Is the base of ono of tho high explo sives used In most of tho armies nnd navies of the world. And pound for pound, cottonseed will provide as much lard as any hog, tho seed from B bale of cotton yielding ns much htgh-grado lard rs five average hogs, ' Tho orformous Increase In the demand for cot ton, combined wUh conditions In America and other parts of thoWorld which havo reduced tho nvnllablo supply, assures the South a period ot prosperity. When newspapers printed stories re cently regarding tho spectacular feat of cotton In climbing to 27 cents, the 'highest point since J.871, they gave but a hint of tho prosperity which has been brought to tho South by Its war bride. t 3 kt j I HPHf f ) E8BMI8ffi' KLJ''-W f f II corroxr muz) Christmas Gifts That Are Sure to Please "What Shall I Give My Friends ?" ACimiSTMAS gift that can't be used and enjoyed Is a disappoint ment. Tho average man or worn- in would rather receive n post card with n cheerful "fllcrrlo Christmas" on t than a gift rhnt is just perfunctory. The wnr has made tts ull alert this rear for the cheer nnd welfare of our Almost everyono recalls tho slump In cotton which followed the opening of tho wnr and how, with cotton selling as low ns five and seven cents a pound, the South arose as one mnn In an organ ized "lluy-a-bale-of-cotton" campaign which on nhled the cotton producers to tide their Industry over the flnnnclnl doldrums which resulted from tho chaos of war. The manner In which cotton rebounded from this low mnrk mnkes It ono of tho huskiest wnr brides In America, with the possible exception of tho munitions nnd allied Industries. When cotton hnd reached 18 cents Inst year there were certain optimists who were predicting 25-cont cotton, and they did not havo to wait long for thnt miracle to come to pass. When King Cotton passed the 27-cent mark recently It marked tho highest level of prices slnco the dnys Imme diately following tho closo of the Civil wnr, when Southern planters were able to obtain almost any price they asked for their cotton. It Is believed thnt this prosperity will continue long nftor peace Is restored. Until tho world's greatly depleted supply of cotton Is replenished at least there should bo no material change In tho situation. Tho lntcst available estimates as to this year's crop show un Increase of approximately v a Hotels Copy Army Meals A few -weeks ago the quartermaster general's department, faithful to Its complicated task of rnipplylng everything, from shoes to sugar to a rapidly forming nrmy of moro than ono million rnon, telegraphed, an appeal to 58 lending hotel proprietors throughout, the country asking tho loan of 8;840 chefs and expert cooks to teach tho iiclence of gastronomies to tho kitchens of our 10 new cantonments. Now, tho "browned In tho oven" old moss ser fccnntH of our regular nrmy cooking schools of Which four have flourished for many years aro Milling and anxious to sit nt tho feet of tho enpn We wizards who" hnvo fed Fifth avenuo nnd Tro mont street; but so great Is tho ..faith of the mess sergeant In tho "Mnnual for Army Cooks," Issuo of 1010, that they pauso reflectively In their uclcntlllcally arranged pantries ami allow quite unofllclally that tnaybo n few of thoso fancy chofs will go hack to their hotels with ono or two choice recipes well worth trying on tho fa vored follow who nlways gets by tho plush ropo nnd calls tho head waiter by his first name. As n ipnttcr of fact, M. Pnnchard, famous chof pf tho Hotel McAlpln. New York, was "lent" a Wlillo back In order to gnln sufllclcnt knowledge of nrmy cookery to Instruct Nntlonnl Guard kitch ens In various . New York armories. 1'anchnrd wpent two days at Washington bnrmcks, where ho Htudiod tho culslno for enlisted men; ho went tinck to New York with his observations, togother wllh n copy of the month's menu. Tho day of Civil war hardtack and Spanish wnr Miibolmod beef Is "long gone." Kmorgency ra tions, of course, tho soldier must carry to tide him nver bad situations where tho enemy flro Is hotter Minn, iho bnke ovens behind tho line. But for feeding bin armies In barrack and trench, Undo finm has become- n domestic scientist who thinks In terms of nutrltlvo values and a psychologist Who realizes that the stomnch's dlgestlvo Juices will not respond unless tho pnlnto telegraphs Us npprovnl to the brain. In tho months to come, when our Amerlcnn "rolling kitchens" are perched reasonably out of range on n scarred Held sontewhero In Franco and our. boys from homo are emptying their plates of n generous helping of "Kl Kaneho" stew, they tnny lift their bullet-proof helmots to the printed consoler, comforter nnd friend which has followed tliem to the trenches tho "Manual for Army Cooks," Issuo of 1010. As n matter of history, tho prcsont volumo of official recipes Is about a dozen years old. It has boon collected from mnny sources by mnny wlso men adorned with uniforms and backed by gen eral orders; but Its choicest and best originated In the Instlr.ctlvo Inimitable methods of Aunt Dlnna. who concocted her champion wollles by 'Jos tastinV In fact, n largo majority of tho good and flno points in Undo Sam's dully menu for his Sammies b due to an old commissary sergeant of Fort Idloy. His namo wuh Dunno, and be was one of IKoho "born to tho griddle." who has the same P- niiUsgo over the ordinary aspirant to kitchen ors that Kubcllk had from birth over the nit Uo girl next door. Ho was not n man of education In the or dinary ncceptunco of tho word, but ho was n first- class army cook. On scraps of wrapping paper or old bills lie kept n copy of every recipe ho had over tried. Thesb were edited by Colonel nol brook, then In commnnd nt Fort Illlcy, and pub lished In n little hook called "Methods of Handling Army Rations," which was developed Into tho "Mnnual for Army Cooks" tho textbook In tho army schools for cooks nnd linkers started In 1000, by General Sharpo, now quartermaster gen eral. There Is n legend to tho effect that there aro several nmuslng musical diatribes against tho nrmy food, but questioning of officers and men nt tho Washington Barracks school does not roveal them. One sergonnt one of the threo "noncoms" In Unefor their commissions said that when the food was bad tho men "got the growl" nnd wouldn't sing nt nil, and when It was good they "felt fine nnd sang tho prettiest songs they know." It Is rather heartening to think that the men can have tho samo food In tho field ns they ao In barracks. This Is accomplished by tho bakeries, which aro portable, easily taken down and set up, and by the very remarkable "rolling kitchens," which cook a meal ns tho nrmy marches, having lunch or Hupper ready when tho order comes to pitch camp. All of these kitchens havo stoves for burning oil nnd also arrangements for the use of coal or wood. Ono model, of which tho govern ment has ordered a great many, has two double boilers, whero oatmenl, for Instance, may bo cooked as tho big stovo on wheels trails on supply wagon or truck. Also there ore direct heat boil ers where coffoo may bo mode, or ono of tho many delicious stews, the familiar Irish, tho savory "El Itancho" (containing everything eatablo on a ranch), or the very delectable American stow, In vented on tho Mexican border and tho first fa vorite at Sammies' table. There Is also nn oven where n roast may bo brought to a turn, nnd, ns a surprlso to you, a big, smooth pinto where flapjacks come to life, One kitchen will feed 200 men, a wnr-strength com pany, and It will need threo men to operate It. Trailing each kitchen Is n tireless cookor with four large comportments. Theso are very conven ient In that the tin receptacles tit cither tho Btovo or the tireless department and can bo transferred without the bother of emptying of food from one vessel to another. There are now four regular schools for army cooks at Fort Snm Houston, Tex.; Fort Ulley, Kan.; Monterey, Cnl., and Washington barracks. The cantonments Increased these schools many fold. It takes about four months of rigorous In struction to make a flrst-cluss army cook, but un der tho Intensive method the cantonment cooks will be educated In half this time. There aro many very delicious and exceedingly elllclent recipes In the "Manual for Army Cooks," nnd Undo Sam gives his boys all three of their excellent mealB for nn average of 40 cents u day. If the economy of 40 cent! n kltchon could bo brought Into nil American homes we would hear little of food conservation, for the utilization of every edible molecule tH nothing short of marvel ous, as Is the system of accounting for every In gredient thnt comes out of the storeroom. Wnl lace Irwin In Louisville Courier-Journal. 200.000 bales over the crop of last year, but this Is 4.C0O.0O0 balds less than the record- hrcnklm: crop of three yours ago. Two new conditions In American agricul tural life are responsi ble In the main for the fulluro of this year's cotton crop to meet or even puss the record of 1914. Perhaps the ono felt more commonly throughout the South bus been the acute shortage of labor, due to tho fact that many thousands of negroes have been enticed North Into the muni tions plants and factor ies by the lure of high er wnires. It Is obvious that any general at- tnmnt to Increase tho t. .,,. . hnvn reunited In nn even vwiiwij iiAf;uf,i tiwuiit - more serious predicament for the cotton planters diirlnL' the summer season. Another reason for the decline In production has been the stronir nrossuro broucht to bear upon the South to practice diversified farming. This has resulted In some stntcs In a considerable de crease In the cotton acreage In order that more corn, wheat, oats, hay and other food crops might lie crown, thniicli those conditions are more or less local. The covernmcnt Is engaged in n cam- palgn to Interest tho South In feeding Itself, nnd many thousands of farmers who planted cotton almost exclusively hnvo embarked In diversified farming In the Inst two years. Tim Idea back of the diversified farming move ment In tho South Is to make cotton the money- making crop, nnd to utilize corn nnd other staple farm crops to pay tho expenses of operating the farm and to ennble the South to produce enough foodstuffs to feed Itself. Thus, n tenunt farmer who has 40 acres In cotton would, provided ho practiced diversified farming successfully, make from $2,500 to $5,000 n year, all from the sale of his cotton. This would be net profit, but would not, of course, Include the lncrensed value given the land through the enrichment of the soil by the crop-rotnMon plan. The average tenant farm er who practices crop rotation well can double his cotton production within two or three years, It has been demonstrated. This gives food for speculation as to tho possi bility which would follow the general adoption of crop diversification throughout the South. Tho average tenant farmer can grow barely more thun ono bnlo of cotton to the acre, though with proper farming and fertilization he can Increase this yield to three bales an acre, according to farming experts. However, not all of the South ern cotton fields aro soli Impoverished and It would be doing the better-class cotton plnnter an Injustice to sny that by proper fnrmlng he could double or triple his cotton crop. Of tho 85,000,000 ncrcs pblnted In cotton this year, n largo percentngo of the acreage could be so In creased In fertility as to double the yield by 1010, provided crop rotntlon was followed out nlomr tho most modern lines. With better farming tho South will thus be able to make Its Hf5.000.000 acres or more do the work of from 45,000.000 to 50,000,000 acres under tho old plnn. Any Important reduction In acreage, therefore, Is not to be looked upon with nlarm for there Is certain to bo a consequent Incrense In production, barring unforeseen weather calami ties. To this IricrVased production must bo ndded the millions of dollars added to the wealth of the South by tho other farm products grown In In creased quantities. The slognn. "The South Must Feed Itself," la the outgrowth of this campaign for crop rotn tlon ns practiced In the North and West. The realization of this dream would add bun dreds of millions of dollars to tho wealth of the South alone, for nlmost nil of tho states will be come producers Instead of consumers. Despite the envlnble climate and tho good soil possessed by Alnbnmn there nre mnny coutKIes which spend one million dollars or more each year In Import Ing outside foodstuffs. With the practice of dl versified farming It will be posslblo for every county In tho stntc to export as much corn and other form crops as It now Imports. Some observers have taken the view, especially since tho entry of the United States Into the war has resulted In Increased activity In tho dl versified farming campaign, thnt n serious blow Is Intended at King Cotton, but such Is not the ense. The whole Iden of tho campaign Is not to uproot tho chief Southern crops for the Northern crops, but to rotnte such crops ns hnve sol! enriching values, so as to enable tho Southern soil to produce even greater cotton crops. He- cnuse of Its revolutionary character, the diversi fied farming cnmpalgn hns not mndo much proc ress except In Alabama, Georgia and neighboring states, which hnvo been adding tens of millions of dollars to tMe valuo of their farm products each year In recent yenrs. When the war sent corn nnd whent to sky- high prices along with cotton, it proved much ensler to 'enlist the sympathies of the Southern farmer.Tiind mnny thousnnds of fanners nre mnk ing more money growing nign-priccu corn anil wheat than they did In growing cotton. This Is due chiefly to the relief given tho soli hy crop rotation, and men conditions will be even more common next senson. when the soil rebuilding process adopted by nature la given time to get well underway. Impetus hns alone been given crop dtversltlentlou by the shortage of labor. The most of these crops require loss labor than cot ton and ran ho tended more efficiently than cotton. CHRISTMAS comes on npnee, and the usual question confronts ev ery woman, "What shall I glvo my friends this year?" If the outlay cannot bo very much then It Is n good Idea to make some useful article to serve. Purchase enough white georgetto crepe to mnke a collar and cuff set. Perhaps the collar can follow the out line of a coat difficult to fit with a ready-made collar of white, or a dainty shape may bo designed for use with a )oys on the sea and in the army. 3o why not knit the young patriots pray wool sweaters and thoso excellent ong-wrlsted mittens, with finger tips nlssing not to Impede their work at :ho riggings nnd behind the guns? Jndo Sam does not furnish the boys vlth these two winter luxuries. fancy waist. The point is to keep tho edges straight rather than rounding, for we will have the border mnchlno hemstitched, or the edge enn be stitch ed or hemstitched with flno white silk and finished with tiny embroidered dots of white silk or French knots of a faintly contrasting color. Or make sister a fetching brenkfast Jacket of georgette crepe, voile or dim ity. Close it on the left side, hand em broider the front and gird it with her favorite shade of sntln ribbon. Cnndlc shade patterns may be stamp ed in n grape design, which could be Illustrated is a desk' set for father, lubby or sweetheart. If you are clever lou can saw it out of thin pine and nnmel it beautifully, filling it with food paper, pens and stamps. Or you :an mnko the frnmo of stiff cardboard ind cover It with nny attractive paper hat matches his den or library. Handmade lingerie is always a test )f affection. So make sister an under- rest mndo of crcpo de chine. Ono yard ind n quarter of a good quality of effectively carried out in cut work, and another design Is of nn iris pattern. The shade pictured Is more conven tional, being Intended for nn electric candle. Fluted paper Is neatly pasted together the desired size and decorated with gold or silver gimp. Toddlers and babies always need new dresses. Try the pattern 'Illustrat ed In either chambray or linen and crepe, the same quantity of bending and n little moro narrow ribbon are re quired. Cut the vest straight, hem on the bottom, put tho heading across tho top und run the ribbon through It. Six sachets filled with tho fnvorlto scent of tho recipient nnd made, say, In heart shape edged with narrow lnce, would be attractive, and they are al ways useful. Little lavender silk bags filled, with dried lavender flowers would be appreciated by anyone with a linen closet smock the front In any harmonizing color or n contrast. A dozen or so of homemade crullers wrapped separately In oiled paper and packed Ip a dainty bnsket Rich as can be purchased for from 10 to 25 cents should be on acceptable gift for some man friend who lives In n hotel. For n bachelor friend n gift of sbillnr nnturo is n homemade cake dono up In whlto paper nnd placed In n holly trimmed box. Most men havo n secret eweet tooth, and Christmas seems to bo tho time to have It filled. Men ns n rule do not llko to recclvo wearing apparel as gifts, especially socks, but embroider a mans mono gram on the said socks and you will find him delighted.
