THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
. Airplane Patrol
for Forest Fires
Federal Forest Service Is Making
Experiments With Army
. Machines.
FORESTER TELLS ABOUT TRIP
Gives Interesting Account of Experi
ences Together with Observation
as to Feasibility of This
Method of Fire Detection.
Washington, D. 0. Airplane fire pa
trol o tho national forests by army
machines wan begun us an experiment
for the forest service recently. The
flrRt report from a forester linn Just
come to headquarters hero after an
exciting observation flight from Mather
Field made over the southern patrol
route In California, covering portions
of the Eldorado and Stanislaus forest
preserves
The trip was taken by Assistant Dis
trict Forester Now for the collection of
data as to the feasibility of this novel
method of fire detection; wbat should
bp done to fight the flames. If pos
sible from the plane ; how alnrms may
promptly be given; what style of plane
or balloon Is best adapted, and what
additional apparatus may be necessary
to make successful this attempt at
more effectually safeguarding remote
end Inaccessible stretches of prnctl
cully unexplored country from the
scourge which annually destroys thou
sands upon thousands of acres of tim
ber rapidly becoming well nigh price-'
Uss.
Tells Stirring Tale.
F6restcr How not only covers all
these Interesting points, but tells a
stirring tale of adventure In doing so.
After describing his preparations for
the trip, he continues:
"My pilot was Sergeant McKee, who
Is one of the army flying Instructors.
Tho plane wo used was a Curtlss .TM-1
with an OX-5 motor. There are no con
trols In front, so nil I hnd to do was
to sit strapped to my seat. Wo stnrr
ed about nine o'clock. I had heard so
much, of persons becoming nauseated
that I was expecting to feel funny, but
I never hnd that kind of a symptom,
My Impression was that we were stand
ing still, when tu fact we wore going
70 miles nn hour. We flew up tho
American valley to Plnecrvlllc; thence
to Chlneso, ten miles southeast of So
nora. "On tho trip wo saw fve tires, all of
which were outside of the forest boun
daries. The largest was near Placer
vllle and had been burning a week.
"The country Is so rugged that n
landing could not have been made to
fight a lire without a crash. The pilot
agreed to this and steered to the west
of tho peak Instead of to the east, and
DE FOREST, THE
Dr, Lee Do Forest (at left), the "wireless wlzurd," whose Invention of the
audlon made possible the transmission of speech by wire and wireless over long
distances as used today. The photograph was inudo nt Dr. Do Forest's labor
atory nt High Bridge, New York city,
Marine Rookies Shocked
by Customs of Cubans.
Guantanamo, Cuba. Somo
newly arrived mnrlnes at this
plnce nre getting their first In
sight Into Cuban customs.
It Is not uncommon to see
naked children In tho towns
about here playing In the
streets.
Another novel sight In tho
municipal grnveyurd. Cubans
have to pay taxes on the graves
of their relatives, and, when the
taxpayer becomes delinquent tho
body or bones nre exhumed and
thrown In a common heap In one
qorner of the burying ground.
The mnrlficH nre rapidly ac
quiring the: notion that Cubans
are fresh nlr fiends.
Switzerland Is "considering the
adoption of the 24-hour clock, abolish
lug the a. m. and p. ni.
by doing this, we missed seeing some
of the country the patrol Is expected
to cover. A forest patrol by aircraft
Is more hazardous thnn the Hying (hut
! usually done.
"My pilot made me understand that
our trip scared him more than any
other trip he had ever made, simply
because he could not makejils plane
attain the elevation necessary for rela
tive safety. He said he would take no
r.ore passengers In the future. To
mc so would mean that he could cover
(inly portions of the forest which could
be seen from the lookout points.
Getaway Extremely Difficult.
"In landing at Chlneso for luncheon
we broke our tall skid, but were able
to replace It. Our getaway was ex
tremely dllllctilt, and I did a heap of
thinking. Returning, we mnde a di
rect flight to Mather Field at an ele
vation of 0,000 feet. When about half
way the pilot said he was going to
make a straight dip. He had made
a series In the morning of 50 to 70 feet
on an angle. This time he shot down
ror fiOO feet.
"This was quite thrilling, but noth
CONTROL 16,000
MILES OF PHONES
United States Army Perfects Fine
Telephone System in Oc
cupied Territory.
HANDLE 15,000 CALLS DAILY
Enables Commanding General to Keep
Hand on Pulse of Army Opera
tors Speak English, French
and German.
Coblenvt. At the time the Ameri
cans began withdrawing from Ger
many the United States army hnd per
fected ono of flio finest telephone sys
tems in Europe. From the headquar
ters of tho third army In Coblenz Hfty
long-distance lines had been set up
anil It Is possible for tho command
ing general to si I In his ofticc and
talk with American officers In London,
Merlin, Vienna, Rotterdam, Hrusscls,
Antwerp, Paris and various other
European points.
The army of occupation has a tele-
phono Kystem closely resembling the
best commercial system In the United
Slates. On the top floor of the head
quarters building In Coblenz a nlue
position switchboard was Installed
soon after the Americans reached the
WIRELESS WIZARD
HEROIC WAR PIGEONS
Flock That Did Wonderful Deeds
Returns Home.
"General Mulr" Comes With Breast
Shattered as Result of Many
Exploits.
New York. With brenst shattered,
but still alive, Oenernl Mulr, one of
tho greatest war heroes, returned re
cently. As the steamer pulled Into
Now York harbor, General Mulr sat
on tho dock wrapped lu a blanket
that bore several wound and service
stripes. There was no perceptible
sign that he realized where ho was.
He made no comment,
Reporters tried In vain to Interview
htm. Sergt. Fred J. Hermann, his
commander, did all the talking. You
I see General Mulr Is a carrier pigeon.
1 . He was one of the seven birds of
! the Intelligence service of the A. E.
ing to tho tall spin he put the inn
chine through In descending to Mather
Meld. I had no warning and felt as
If we wore going down n series of
corkscrew curves at a (errltlc rate. The
earth looked like an ocean during a
benvy son. We dropped 1,000 feet In
this manner and then gracefully vol
planed to the field within a hundred
feet of the hangar. Our total flight
time was about four hours and the dis
tance covered 250 miles.
"Fires have already been detected
from airplanes that have not bcjn
picked up by the lookout man. There
Is no question In my mind that It Is
tho most feasible method of prompt
fire detection. 1 believe, however, that
the expense of establishing such n pa
trol would be prohibitive for the for
eit service.
"I am convinced more than ever that
the dirigible with helium gas will be
the type of ship wo shall use In the fu
ture. T predict that within five years
our present system of lookout pntrol
will practically be a thing of the past
and also that the suppression of forest
fires will commence Immediately after
discovery. In other words, the fire
lighting forces will accompany tho ob
server in a dirigible. When n tire is
discovered one or two men will climb
down and put It out. There will then
be different methods of fire suppres
sion thnn we now use. It will be pos
sible to carry largo tanks of water and
motors to pump It. on a Are. Chemi
cals, perhaps, may also be used."
HIil no. Scattered throughout Coblcrtz
are twenty private branch -exchanges
of the various units of headquarters.
Connected to this system are more
than four hundred "subscribers" In
addition to- the Hfty long-distance
lines.
16,000 Miles of Wire.
Within the German occupied area
there has been established by the. sig
nal corps under (he direction of Col.
Pnrker HItt, chief signal officer, a net
work of wires connecting the various
units of the third army. Direct lines
connect with all the corps and divi
sions, approximately 10,000 miles of
wire being In service.
This extensive plant has hot, how
ever, been built by tho third nrmy, but
consists nlmost altogether of the Gor
man lines taken over by the signal
corps and so arranged ns to meet tho
needs of the army. Sufficient circuits
were left, howover, for the civilian
population to carry on their business.
More thnn 15,000 calls are register
ed dally on the Coblenz switchboard,
With the ' establishment of an ex-
ennnge m uooienz it was necessary
in nmtilnv nnflrntrtra vm cnnlfl Ktui'ilA'
English, French and German. The fif
teen operators on duty In Coblenz are
all memlers of the women's telephone
corps nnd hnvo been In the service
more thnn a year. The chief opera
tor, Miss Helen Cook, was a former
employee of the American Telephone
nnd Telegraph company of New York.
Previous to Joining the American ex
peditionary force. Miss Cook spent Mx
years as instructor for the Bell sys
tem In offices In Chicago, Minneapolis,
Oinnhn, Cleveland, Detroit and Mem
phis. . , ,
"Doodlebug" Code Name.
The word "Doodlebug" Is the code
name of the third army switchboard
In Cohlcnz, the corps nnd divisions al
so retaining the code names that were
assigned" them during the wnr. On the
back of a twenty-page telephone di
rectory Issued by the third army tho
arttst's conception of a "doodlebug"
has been reproduced In the shape of a
hug made up of a combination of
sabres, rifles nnd an aerial bomb. ;
All the npparatus, Including switch
boards, telephone Instruments, and. In
fact, everything excepting the wires,
Is of American manufacture and is
to be taken out when tho American?!
in force say good-by to the Rhine and
start for France nnd home.
Gas Woodchucks.
Wlnsted, Conn. Gassing wood
chucks Is the Intest method of exter
minating them In Massachusetts. The
Idea Was tried out on the farm of El
bert L. Fargo, near Marlboro, and
proved a success.
A hoso ,was attached lo the exhaust
of an automobile engine nnd extended
down tho hole. By use of a liberal
mixture of gas the rodents were killed,
F. that the transport brought home,
General Mulr's exploits are many.
one occnsion, navlug been -is-slgned
to deliver a message of great
Importance to a post 18 miles away,
ho flew through shrapnel and gas. imi
pasf a squndronNof Germans that hnd
oeen sent out to intercept carrier
pigeons and delivered the message in
Just JW minutes.
With his breast torn open, with his
wings singed by fire, and eyes blind
ed with blood, he kept on till he hud
reached his objective.
King Cole, another pigeon, Is the
nearest rival of General Mulr for,
fame. IK- was a messenger In the
Inst Argonne drive nnd flying through
a cloud of gas fell Into an abandoned
trench. There he lay In tho mud for
iwo uuys, ami garnering strength,
arose, and enmo home with the mes
sage. A patent hns been grunted for nn
electrically Illuminated keyhole.
mi
MILK AND CREAM DEFINITION
Standards to Be Used for Enforcement
of Food and Drugs Act Published
in Circular.
(Prepared by tho United States Depart
ment of Aurlculture.)
Definitions nnd standards for milk
and cream ndopted by the Joint com
mittee on definitions nnd standards
uiid approved by both the Association
of Aincrlcun Dairy, Food and Drug
Ofllclnls and tho Association of 0111
clal Agricultural Chemists, to be used
as a guide for the enforcement of the
food nnd drugs act, have been published
by the United States department of ag
riculture In a circular, "Food Inspec
tion Decision 178."
Milk is defined as the whole, fresh,
clean, lacteal, secretion obtained by
the complete milking of one or more
healthy cows, properly fed and kept,
excluding that obtnlned within 15 duys
before and live after calving, or such
longer period ns may bo necessury to
render tho milk practlcully colustrum
free.
Pusturlzed milk is milk that has
been subjected to n temperature not
lower than 145 degrees Fahrenheit for
not less than 30 minutes. Unless It
la bottled hot. It Is nromDtlv cooled
to 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. '
Skimmed milk is milk from which
substantially all of tho milk fat has
been removed.
Buttermilk is the product that re
mains when fat is removed from milk
or cream, sweet or sour, in the proc
ess of churning.
Cream, sweet cream, Is that portion
of milk, rich in milk fat, which rises
to tho surface of milk on standing, or
Is scpurutcd from it by centrifugal
force. It is fresh nnd clean It con
tains not less than 18 per cent of milk
fnt nnd not more than 2-10 per cent
of acid-reacting substances calculated
In terms of lactic ncld.
WJilppingcrenm is renin which con
tains not less tho't 30 per cent of
nllk fat.
Homogenized milk or homogenized
cream is milk or cream that has been
mechanically treated In such a manner
is to ulter its physical properties with
particular reference to tho condition
ind appearance of tho fat globules.
The composition of the milk pro
duced by different breeds of dairy cows
varies so greatly, say the food ofllclnls,
that It Is not prnctlcuhle to fix a stand
ard which is applicable In all locali
ties in the United States and Its ter
ritories. It is therefore, left to the
state, and municipal authorities to
adopt such standards" n's tliefr jocal
production conditions mny warrant.
COW TESTING IS PROFITABLE
Tennessee Dairyman Expresses Appre
elation of Benefits of Cow-Test-Ing
Association.
(Prepared by tho United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
"I would not take four times whnt
my testing work has cost me for what
It has been worth to me," Is the way a
Tennessee dalryimm expresses his ap
preciation of the benefits he gained ns
n member of a cow-testing association
which was organized by tho United
States department of agriculture lu
bin community. "Tho cow which has
proved to be the host one In my herd
was tho ono that I considered poorest
A Good Start for a Cow.Testlng
Association.
before the tcstH were mnde. I priced
one of my cows nt $125 before she was
tested, hut now I price her at .$350."
The tost shWed that tho nineteen-year-old
cow which this dairyman had
used for the foundation cow of his
herd made 08 pounds of butterfut in
November. The average production
for tho herd during this month was
over -10 pounds of butterfut.
CONVENIENT ROOM FOR MILK
Separate Apartment Should Be Pro
vlded to Relieve Oftentimes
Overcrowded Kitchen.
(PrepareJ by tho United Status Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Where even a few cows are kept, a
'separate room for handling milk
should be provided tp relievo the often
times overcrowded kitchen. Well
houses frequently havo a room vrhlch,
with tho addition of a concrete floor,
shelves, nnd windows, makes a very
convenient milk room.
1
World Celebrities Coming to Visit Uncle Sam
WASHINGTON. More world celebrities will visit the United States during-,
tho coming twelve months thnn In nil its previous history. Dr. Epltnclo
Pessou, president of Hrazll, who arrived In Washington recently, Is the first
of the long line of statesmen and roynl
bers of royalty will come later. Gen
eral Petaln has already expressed his Intention of visiting the United States,
nnd an Invitation to do so will be extended to Marshal Foch.
The first session of the League of Nations is to bo held In Washington In
October nnd will bring to the capltnl Premiers Lloyd George, Cleraenceau nnd.
practically all of the distinguished stutesmen who have taken part In the peuco
negotiations In Paris.
Visits of roynl personages and distinguished European statesmen to the
United States in the past were few and far between. In the future they
promise to be frequent. The great of the world have conceived n new Idea,
of the Importance of the United Stntes since the world war.
Moreover, since It Is diplomatic courtesy to repay the visit of n chief of
state, the rulers of the couutrles visited by President Wilson will feel obligated,
to visit the United States, oven if they should not be prompted to do so by
personal interest.
Navy Dress Uniform Knocked Into a Cocked Hat
SECRETARY DANIELS has issued an order cutting down the wardrobes oC
navul officers to a minimum. Gone are the special full-dress outfits which
ate up a large portion of the ofllcers' pay. Cocked hats, epaulets nnd full-dres
belts also are forbidden. The order
reads :
"As a result of the lessons lenrned
during tho war, during which ofllcers
of the navy were only required to
wear the ordinary service uniform, as
the result of which this uniform was
found to meet the requirements for
both formal and informal occasions,
to effect economy and space on ship
board and facilitate ease in traveling
from one statior to another, a general
order has been issued abolishing as
pnrt of the naval officer's equipment the following articles of clothing: Spe
cial full-dress coat; mess Jacket; full-dress trousers; mess trousers; a cocked:
hat; eaulete and full-dress belts.
"The following prescribed uniforms are abolished by the ordej:
"Special full dress; -white special full dress;, full dress; white foil dress p
dress ; evening full dress ; dinner dress and mess dress.
"The action will result In a great saving to tho ofllcers of the service in the
future, as they nre required to purchase nil nrtlctesof uniforms nt their own:
expense. Tho only uniforms now authorized to bo worn' ure Undress, service
dress, white service dress, and evening dress, but only the service dress can.
be worn until the president's proclamation that the war has closed. Epaulets
will not be worn with evening dress hereafter."
The cocked hat of ancient and honorable memory Is now relegated to the
museum. It never will be missed.
Every midshipman graduated last month from Annapolis is in pocket:
about $000 ns the result of this order.
ideas of Living Expenses Seem- to Vary Widely
AUTHORITIES of , the United Stntes government have decided that a young:
woman', to live respectably In the District of Columbia, must have $15 a.
week. Different states, establishing a minimum wage, have decided as a rulo-
YOUR HOIlOK
-I eAhT
POSSIBLY
LIVE OH
$15,000 A
YEAR.
man. Her father wlljed her the In
come from $150,000 until she Is twenty-one and then the residue of his estate,,
umountlng to $1,250,000. Miss Carroll lives with her mother and attends tho
Ogontz school of Philadelphia.
In June, 1910, Surrogate Fowler permitted her mother to spend $12,500 a.
year on the daughter, Instead of $7,500. Since that time her allowance has.
been Increased to $15,000. A schedule of Miss Carroll's expenses shows:
Rent, $2,000; clothing, Including sport coats, evening dresses, auto coats,.
Jewelry, furs, toilet articles, munlcurlug, shampooing, $3,000; household ex
penses, $4,000; Insurance, $850; automobile operation, $5,000; educntion an
church, $2,000 ; summer cottage, railroad fares, hotel bills, dances and amuse
ment pnrties, $11,000; physicians, opticians, dentists, drugs nnd medicines,.
$1,000. Total, $20,850.
Dr. Royal Meeker, commissioner of labor statistics, Investigated 848
famllles In Chicago In the winter of 1918-10, Their incomes ranged from,
under $900 a yenr to more thnn $2,500 a year.
Sixty-four per cent of these families save something; 28.2 per cent showed,
a deficit, and G.O-per cent broke even.
Demand for Captured Hun Cannon Exceeds Supply
ISTRIBUTION of the German ennnon, machine guns and other war devices
captured by Americans In the world war !s provided for by the Wudsworth
resolution passed by the senate, which nentiy transfers to tho states the diffi
cult problem presented by tho fact
that tho requests for trophies so fur
received from several thousand cities,
towns, villages, counties, parks,
schools, organizations, etc., etc., are
consldernhly In excess of (lie supply.
Under Seuntor Wudsworth's plan
the secretary of war will apportion to
the states and territories and the Dis
trict of Columbln in the sumo propor
tion as that borne by tho number of
men serving from each state to tho
total armed force of tho United States
"all cannon, gun carriages, machine guns, mlnenwerfers, mortars, bomb throw
ers, llamo throwers, gas projectors and other war devices captured from tho
nrmed forces of Germany and allied nations," with the exception of those
required for experimental purposes or actual use by the United States and
for national museums, cemeteries and parks.
Tho apportionment and distribution to towns and cities that have pre
ferred requests will be niade by the governor of each state.
Transportation charges to tho point of delivery will bo borne by tho
federal government, $1,000,000 being made, available under the resolution for
the purpose but not the costs iucldent to erection of the trophies in the va
rious communMlea.
personages whom the United States ler
soon to entertain.
The prince of Wales Is to vlslt
thls country in August. He will be en
tertained nt Newport, and later wilt
come to Washington to be officially
entertained by the president.
King Albert and Queen Elizabeth
of Belgium nnd Queeft Mnrie of Rou
mnnia, possibly President Polncnlre or
France nnd probably many other mem
that $15 a week is about enough to-
keep an American girl sufficiently well
fed, dressed nnd housed.
Yet In New York Miss Lorena.
Carroll, nineteen, has petitioned the
surrogato'scourt to Increase her an
nual allowance from $15,000 to $20,000.
She says the Increased cost of living;
makes It impossible for her to keep
up her social position on the $15,000.
, Miss Carroll 1b the only daughter
of Joseph D. Carroll, millionaire horse
I