PALACE FOR ARCHIVES
Archives and Justice buildings, right to left.
Built to Last Forever, Home for Nation's
Records Is on Land Once a Swamp
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, D. C.-WNU Service.
A PERSON shut up in
the National Archives
building in Washington
would never know at first
hand whether it was summer
or winter, day or night, for
the only light will be arti
ficial and the temperature
will be kept constantly about
72 degrees.
The air will be cleansed and ex
ces* moisture wrung out, lest it
shorten the life of the paper.
“What is the life expectancy of
such a building?” you ask the archl
IwvlS*
“It was built to last forever,”
comes the answer.
Forever! Yet this was a structure
built not upon rock but on land that
once had been a swamp. By what
engineering miracle was It possible
to achieve firmness of foundation?
This building stands upon an enor
mous “scow” of reinforced concrete
five feet thick, sunk deep into the
ground and supported on more than
5,000 concrete piles rangin'? from 15
to 35 feet long. But Washington is
low, and this basal structure goes
far down below the level of the
Potomac. Under ordinary conditions
the several strata of clay and gravel
would keep the water out. But sup
pose the Potomac should rise in
flood. Would not the incalculable
power of the rising water lift the
gigantic scow, building and all, and
float it off down Pennsylvania ave
nue? Or, If that is too overdrawn
a picture, could it not at least move
and crack this important structure?
Provision for Potomac Floods.
All this the architects foresaw. In
the center of the concrete scow they
left a large sump hole. Down In
side It are two electric pumps and
a steam turbine. If the water
rises above a certain level, it auto
matically kicks one of the pumps
into action. If it climbs still higher,
the second electric pump comes to
the rescue. And if the flood in
creases. the mighty steam turbine
goes into battle with almost enough
power to pump out the whole Po
tomac. Through a main nearly nine
feet in circumference the water
would go belching back to the
river whence it came.
Every piece of stone in the struc
ture was chosen and laid with the
idea of permanency. The base is
granite from West Chelmsford,
Mass. For the superstructure an
entire new bed of limestone was
opened at Bedford, Ind. The largest
and finest stones ever quarried in
this country were sought.
Two giant blocks weighing 120
tons apiece were hewn from In
diana’s limestone hills. But they
could not be shipped—not without
enlarging railroad tunnels and
strengthening bridges all the way
from Bedford to Washington. Forth
with the sculptors went out to In
diana. and roughed the chunks down
from 120 to a mere 90 tons. When
the blocks rearhed Washington, it
was found there was no rig big
enough to pick them off the cars,
and again the sculptors got busy.
Working right in the railroad yards,
they knocked off enough this time to
bring each block down to 60 tons.
Now you may s6e them, flanking
the main entrance of Constitution
avenue. The rock on the right has
been carved in the form of a
Roman gladiator, guarding the ap
proach with sword and shield. On
the other side is a female figure,
holding a child, with a sheaf of
wheat in the background, portray
ing fertility.
On entering this archives building,
all documents will be fumigated,
not so much to guard against dis
ease germs as to end the activities
of bookworms and their ilk which
might eat through priceless pages.
Precious Documents Kept There.
Exactly what are the archives
which will be stored here?
The two prime United States doc
uments, the Declaration of Inde
pendence and the Constitution, have
reposed in carefully guarded cases
in the Library of Congress. In vari
ous buildings are numerous other
records.
For instance, there is a letter that
came from the Court of Burma in
1856 seeking a treaty of amity and
commerce. That effusion, encased
in the carved and hollowed tusk oi
an elephant, says:
"We, who are the Minister and
Generals of the King of Burma, the
Overlord of all the kings of the Ori
ent, the most Powerful Sun-risin*
King, the Lord of Saddan, Elephant
King, the Lord of Many White Ele
phants, and the Great Righteous
Ruler; and we who are doing horn
age to the King by bowing our heads
to his Golden Feet which are
like the Paduma lotus flowers, writ*
this letter to the President and Min
isters who are the rulers of both
Washington and the countries ol
the West."
One can imagine President Lin
coln’s enjoyment of a letter in which
the King of Siam offered to stock
the United States with elephants to
roam in its "jungles" and serve as
a source of beasts of burden. All
the United States had to do was
to send a steamship and the king
would provide the cargo of young
males and females, he explained,
giving grave directions for the care
and feeding of the elephants.
With careful courtesy and appar
ently a straight face, Mr. Lincoln
replied that his country’s political
jurisdiction "does not reach a lati
tude so low as to favor the multi
plication of the elephant, and steam
on land as well as on water has
been our best and most efficient
agent of transportation in internal
commerce.”
At the state department also,
where few now see them, are such
documents as the Emancipation
Proclamation, bound with a red and
blue silk ribbon, and the Kellogg
Briand Anti-War pact of 1928, re
splendent with red-silk ribbon and
red seals.
Lavish Use of Aluminum.
Across from the Archives build
ing toward the White House is the
justice department’s splendid new
structure of stone and sleek gray
metal.
When the Washington Monument
was being completed in 1884, a
proud citizenry capped it with 100
prized ounces of a precious metal,
aluminum. It cost a dollar and
ten cents an ounce, almost exactly
the same as silver then.
Earlier, French plutocrats vied
for possession of aluminum forks
and spoons more highly valued than
solid gold.
With this in mind, a sight of the
department of justice building is as
tounding. In it there is enough
aluminum 10 mane not only forks
and spoons but pots and pans for a
whole city. If the metal today cost
what it did when the Washington
Monument was crowned, the
amount used in this single building
would be worth some $8,500,000. In
stead. it cost between $400,000 and
$450,000, and that includes not only
the metal but the entire work of
fabricating it. American inventive
genius played an important part in
developing the electrical reduction
process by which modern scientific
alchemy now transforms one of the
commonest elements in the earth’s
crust into shining metal on such a
scale that we see it on every hand.
A caller at the justice department
swings open aluminum doors some
20 feet high, boards an aluminum
elevator, looks appreciatively at
bas-reliefs cast in aluminum, runs
his hand along aluminum stair rail
ings, looks out aluminum-framed
windows, and reads by the light of
aluminum fixtures. In the Great
Court, half the size of most city
blocks, is a large aluminum foun
tain.
Where the G-Men Hang Out.
Most spectacular and interesting
of all the activities housed in the
justice department is the work of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
whose long arms have been reach
ing out and smiting "public ene
mies" all over the country.
"I want to see one of the ‘G’
men.”
"Let's see if we can get a permit
to see the files where they keep the
fingerprints, or look at Dillinger’i
bulletproof vest.”
With such comment, sight-seers
already are finding their way in
numbers to the first permanent
home that the justice department
has had since its organization. Their
desires can be fulfilled, though few
recognize the crack government
agents—known through the country
as “G” men—who are accomplish
ing the most against crime.
1
NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Reviewed by
CARTER FIELD
• T.V.A. investigation flat
tens out as congressional
committee fails to get ex
cited over either side's
charges . . . Sentiment
grows for one-man control
of board.
I
KNOXVILLE, TENN.-Conviction
that there is no great merit in the
charges of David E. Lilienthal and
Harcourt A. Morgan that Arthur E.
Morgan, deposed chairman of the
Tennessee Valley authority, attempt
ed to "sabotage” the government’s
case in a lawsuit against the utilities,
or was "tampering” with witnesses
or seeking to bring about a decision
adverse to the government, is al
most general in the special congres
sional committee investigating the
TVA.
Conviction that Arthur E. Mor
gan’s charges against Lilienthal and
Harcourt Morgan are not very hot
is also apparent from conversations
with committee members.
Specifically, the committee does
think the authority took very little
pains to protect the federal treasury
when it was paying $680,000 for 550
acres of phosphate lands which
had been bought a short time before
for $125,000. This was one of Mor
gan's points of attack.
ARTHUR E. MORGAN
His charges were not very hot.
When it comes to Morgan's
charge that Lilienthal and Harcourt
Morgan virtually ignored him,
sought to hamstring him in various
ways, and held meetings with pre
arranged programs of which he was
ignorant, the committee members
admit privately that Arthur E. Mor
gan himself is the best witness for
the other two directors on that.
After listening to A. E. Morgan at
length many of the committee mem
bers felt that they would have done
almost anything in reason to avoid
the long drawn-out discussions that
would inevitably have resulted had
no way been discovered to short cir
cuit the chairman.
In fact, after listening to all three
directors at tedious length, most
committee members find it in their
hearts to sympathize with all of
them for having to put up with the
others, and to understand why the
simple solution of allocating the
functions so that there need be few
er discussions in the board itself
was adopted.
it was this separation of the func
tions of the TVA into three almost
water - tight compartments, of
course, which led to much of the
trouble. Arthur E. Morgan had
picked the other two directors. He
was the first named, he was the
chairman, and he had recommend
ed the other two to the President.
So he felt a keen sense of respon
sibility.
Further, he is a very meticulous
person. He does not "yes" any
body who wants to agree with him.
He does not like to make decisions
until he has studied a question for
days, talked about it for weeks, and
called in three or four outside
groups of experts. He is that sort
of person. Magnificent for inquiry
on some question of great impor
tance but dubious soundness, A. E.
Morgan could easily become very
tiresome as an associate.
So the committee is inclined to
laugh off most of the charges, pro
and con.
• • •
A strong disposition is developing
among members of the congression
al investigating committee to rec
ommend that control of the project,
in the future, be placed in the hands
of one man instead of a three-man
board.
There is also a disposition to rec
ommend that in any future organi
zations of similar type which may
be set up the same idea of one-man
control be followed.
In recent questions Representa
tive Charles A. Wolverton of New
Jersey called the attention of Lilien
thal to the success which attended
this idea when Gen. George W.
Goethals was building the Panama
, canal Until he was given supreme
command, made virtually a czar,
by Theodore Roosevelt, then Presi
dent, the Panama job was a mess.
It was almost as bad in its personal
squabbles as TVA has been under
the bickerings of Lilienthal and A.
E. and H. A. Morgan.
Lilienthal did not agree with this
suggestion—on the stand. But com
mittee members took his answers
with a grain of salt Obviously it
would be in poor taste for Lilienthal
to espouse publicly the idea of a
one-man rule. It would be too much
like his telling a congressional com
mittee what the congress, and the
President ought to do. It just might
not happen to please the President.
On the matter of the General Ac
counting office, Lilienthal was quite
ouispoKen a o o u t
what congress ought
to do. He objected
to Former Comp
troller John R. Me
Carl’s “playing poli
tics” with TV A two
years ago. What he
really objects to is
the present power of
the comptroller’s of
flee to audit expend
itures before they
are made, instead Lilienthal
of afterward.
But on the one-man control of
TVA it was obvious that Lilienthal
had not taken this up with the Pres
ident. Moreover, for him to say
that might have resulted in his trad
ing a reality for a shadow.
At the present time, and in fact
since the fall of 1933, Lilienthal has
had the substance. Harcourt Mor
gan has voted for every move Lilien
thal made. In return Lilienthal has
voted with H. A. Morgan, with A. E.
Morgan always in the minority. H.
A. Morgan was perfectly happy to
let Lilienthal have his way in re
turn for a free hand with fertilizer
and the land-grant colleges.
To have stated on the witness
stand that he liked the idea of a
one-man board would have en
dangered this now ripened and set
alliance. It might plague Lilien
thal considerably when that third
member of the TVA is appointed to
take the place of the ousted chair
man, A. E. Morgan.
Nevertheless, committee mem
bers are interested in the idea of
one-man control. They are not sure
the bickering they have listened to
almost to the limit of their endur
ance will not be resumed if and
when “another strong-minded man”
is appointed to the TVA board.
Explanation of So Much
Third Term Talk
Explanation of so much third-term
talk is the growing realization of the
New Dealers that not one of their
number seems likely to “make the
grade” at the Democratic National
convention in 1940. President Roose
velt himself would have been satis
fied if he could have gotten Robert
H. Jackson started. But Jim Far
ley, Ed Flynn of the Bronx, and
others with real followings in New
York would not give Jackson the
chance to make a ^pcord as gover
nor of New York. So the crowd
around Roosevelt that wants his pol
icies carried on, and each of whom
wants to retain his own place in the
sun, has come to the conclusion
that Roosevelt must make the "sac
rifice.”
A very important factor in the
third-term situation is that the con
servative Democrats are getting
stronger—seem more likely to con
trol a lot of big delegations in 1940.
Roosevelt can have New York’s del
egation for himself, but could not
deliver it against the wishes of the
men who balked him on Jackson, es
pecially if Governor Herbert H. Leh
man agreed with them. The mere
fact that Lehman, opposed to court
packing and alarmed about federal
spending, is assured of the Demo
cratic nomination for senator is the
signpost of this situation.
C. I. O. Faces Unfriendly
Congress in January
C. I. O. will face a much more
unfriendly congress in January—a
congress that will be all set to revise
the Wagner Labor Relations act in
some essential particulars. No drive
to accomplish what many employ
ers would like to see will get any
where. but the act is apt to be re
vised as the American Federation
of Labor would like, despite any
efforts Roosevelt may make to stop
it. Sentiment is building up too j
strong against the C. I. O. and
against the National Labor Rela
tions board for alleged partiality to
C. I. O.
C. I. O. will face the new congress
with an almost unbroken record of
defeats whenever it appealed to the
voters in behalf of candidates, or
against candidates except where
the American Federation of Labor
happened to be on the same side, as
is the case in the campaign for Sen
ator Alben W. Barkley. William
Green happened to be on the win
ning side in every fight so far where
his organization has opposed the C.
I. O., starting off with Pennsylvania
and Iowa.
One of the reasons most of the
political dopesters figure Ellison D.
(Cotton Ed) Smith is almost sure
of renomination, although he was
high up on the purge list for having
opposed the President on the court
and other issues, is that A. F. of L.
is fighting for him. Incidentally, the
“purge” has narrowed down to Sen
ators Walter F. George in Georgia
and Millard E. Tydings in Mary
land, so far as any positive results
are within the realm of reason. Cer
tainty of renomination of Senator
Alva B. Adams in Colorado, added
to the list of insurgent victories
achieved and certain to come,
makes that pretty sure. Under the
Colorado law Adams’ opponent did
not get enough votes in his party
convention to get his name on the
primary ballot.
C Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service.
Pretty Frocks Easy to Sew
IF YOU’RE one of those women
* who so often say “Dear me,
I wish I could sew!”, then by all
means try your hand on these
smart designs, and like many,
many others, just as inexperi
enced as you are, you’ll find that
you can sew, and enjoy it! Our
patterns include detailed sew
charts that show you just what
I .. I
■ — i ■■.. .„,i. ■ - ■ : i . j
to do, step by step, and you’ll get
a real thrill out of seeing how easy
it is.
The Woman’s Dress.
Here we have a diagram de
sign, which means you can finish
it successfully in a few hours. And
you’ll find it one of the most be
coming and comfortable you ever
wore round the house. It’s made
on easy, unhampering lines, with
darts that make it slim, but not
tight, at the waistline. The short
sleeves are slashed, which makes
them easier to work in, and
prettier to look at. Sleeves, neck
line and pointed closing are
trimmed with ricrac. Make this
dress of gingham, seersucker, per
cale or calico.
The Little Girl’s Dress.
This dress will make your small
daughter look even more ador
able, with its high, snug waist,
square neck, puff sleeves and full
skirt. You’ll probably want to
make her half a dozen dresses
just like this! And she’ll certainly
beg for at least one little sweet
heart apron, to wear when she is
helping you—or thinking she is!
For the dress, choose dimity, dot
ted Swiss, gingham or percale.
For the apron, organdy, dimity or
lawn.
The Patterns.
No. 1559 is designed for sizes 34,
36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48. Size
36 requires 4% yards of 35-inch
material; 2Vz yards of ricrac to
trim as pictured.
No. 1468 is designed for sizes 2,
4, 6 and 8 years. Size 4 requires
1% yards of 35-inch material for
the dress; % yard for the apron.
Six yards of ribbon or braid to
trim dress; 1 yard for belt. Two
and one-half yards of ruffling to
trim apron,
to do, step by step.
Success in Sewing.
Success in sewing, like in any
other field, depends upon how you
approach the task in hand. To
help you turn out clothes profes
sional looking in every detail, we
have a book which plainly sets
forth the simple rules of home
dressrr\aking. The beginner will
find every step in making a dress
clearly outlined and illustrated
within its covers. For the ex
perienced sewer there are many
helpful hints and suggestions for
sewing short cuts. Send 15 cents
(in coins) today for your copy of
SUCCESS IN SEWING, a book
every home dressmaker will find
of value.
Send your order to The Sewing
Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1020,
211 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, 111.
Price of patterns, 15 cents (in
coins) each.
© Bell Syndicate.—WNU Service.
E ARE indebted to one of the
** readers of this column for
this idea. She was so enthusiastic
about the book SEWING, for the
Home Decorator, offered with
these articles that she wrote a
nice letter of appreciation and also
described this clever idea of her
'Lost World' Waterfall
A waterfall more than half-a
mile high has been discovered in
British Guiana by a Harvard pro
fessor, Dr. Paul Zahl. It is by
far the highest known waterfall
in the world.
Dr. Zahl was flying over the Ka
ranang river, eight miles from
Mount Roraima (Conan Doyle’s
“Lost World”) when the clouds
parted and below he saw what he
described as “a ribbon-like streak,
dropping as it were from the
clouds.” For over half an hour
he and his pilot circled above the
falls, which rush over a precipice
to a ledge 1,400 feet below before
breaking into two forks and tum
bling into a valley. “The entire
fall is no less than 3,000 feet,”
states Dr. Zahl.
own for making her kitchen gay.
The curtains themselves are as
easy to wash and iron as a dish
towel—no frills, just hems. But
don’t make them too skimpy. A
full width of 35-inch-wide material
is not too wide. Cut away the sel
vage at the front edge and hem
it with a 1-inch hem. Use a 2
inch hem at the bottom. This gives
the curtains body so they will
have smart crisp lines. The cas
ing at the top should be just wide
enough for the curtain rod. And
don’t forget to allow for shrink
age if the material is not pre
shrunken.
NOTE: Every Homemaker
should have a copy of Mrs. Spears’
book, SEWING, for the Home Dec
orator. Forty-eight pages of di
rections for making slip-covers
and curtains; dressing tables;
lampshades and many other use
ful articles for the home. Price
25 cents postpaid (coin preferred).
Ask for Book 1, and address Mrs.
Spears, 210 S. Desplaines St., Chi
cago, 111.
____________
How Women
in Their 40’s
Can Attract Men
Here's good advice for a woman during her
change (usually from 38 to 52), who fears
she’ll lose her appeal to men, who worries
about hot flashes, loss of pep, dizzy spells,
upset nerves and moody spells.
Get more fresh air, 8 hrs. sleep and if you
need a good general system tonic take Lydia
E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, made
eapeeiallu for women. It helps Nature build
up physical resistance, thus helps give more
vivacity to enjoy life and assist calming
jittery nerves and disturbing symptoms that
often accompany change of life. WELL
WORTH TRYING!
I -
mf jppyw lwiyi
111 *f • 1 *L uii I w
■■ nnMHHBm
_SCHOOLS_
ANNAPOLIS-WEST POINT
COAST GUARD ACADEMY
High School graduates undergraduates 18 to O
Write Lieut. A. W. Bryan, USN (Bet.) AnnapolU.
Md. Oct. Civil Service exam for appointment*.
OPPORTUNITY
Build your own business. Local represent
ative for full or part time work wanted
by progressive, growing Old Line Legal
Reserve company of highest rating. Good
contract and liberal commissions. Writ*
today. BANKERS UNION LIFE INSUR
ANCE CO.. LtOO Grant St., Denver, Cota.
Live Stock Commission
BYERS BROS & CO.
A Real Live Stock Com. Firm
At the Omaha Market
MISCELLANEOUS
farms for sale
Write for your copy of Illustrated Ne
braska and Western Iowa farm catalog.
The Travelers Insurance Co., Omaha, Neo.
SCHOOLS
BOYLES COLLEGE
.Founded 1897
FALL TERM — Tuesday, September 6.
Day and livening. Co-ed. All Tear.
Accounting — Secretarial — Coroptometry —
Civil Service. Fully Accredited.
Aik for Fra BulUtm
BOYLES BLDG., OMAHA. WEB.
1
WRITE FOR CONTEST
PARTICULARS AND FOR
ILLUSTRATED PAMPHLET
Consider Before Telling
There are three things that
should be considered before some
things are told—the manner, the
place and the time. — Robert
Southey.
KILL ALL FLIES 'V
Placed anywhere. Daley Ply I
Killer attracts and kills flies, ■
Guaranteed, effective. Neat. ■
conveulent—Cannot spill— ■
Will not sail or Injure anything. ■
leasts all season. 20o stall I
dealers. Harold Somera, Inc.. ■
_15QDeKalbAve^B’Uyn.K.Y. |
Development
Wisdom is to the mind what
health is to the body.—Rochefou
cauld.
Don’t Neglect Them 1
Nature designed the kidneys to do a
marvelous job. Their task is to keep the
: flowing blood stream free of an excess of
toxic impurities. The act of living—Ufa
itself—is constantly producing waste
matter the kidneys must remove from
the blood if good health is to endure.
When the kidneys fail to function a*
Nature intended, there is retention of
waste that may cause body-wide dis
tress. One may suffer nagging backache,
persistent headache, attaoks of dizziness,
, getting up nights, swelling, pufflnes*
under the eyes—feel tired, nervous, all
worn out.
Frequent, scanty or burning passage*
may be further evidence of kidney or
bladder disturbance.
The recognized and proper treatment
Is a diuretic medicine to help the kidney*
get rid of excess poisonous body waste.
Use Doan's Pills. They have had mor*
than forty years of public approval. Ar*
endorsed the country over. Insist oa
Doan's. Sold at all drug stores.
WNU—U 33—38
I^TWICE T.HET^N JfASTER V
ywt yET mister, A
( ROUIN TOO. I='ouGH pRAlSE J
> THAT'S NOT ^J^AEBERT /
Ofine roll-your-own cigarette* in
every 2-oz. tin of Prince Albert
so/if/w- msry
Copyright. 1938 R. J. Rorooldo Tobmcco Co.. Win.too Sotem. H. C.
COOLER, MELLOWER, TASTIER IN A PIPE TOO
-AND IT CAKES UP RICHTI __
