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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1902)
'Cbe Conservative * towards tlio encampment of the main body , whore wo arrived a little after dark , having completed our * excursion within the time prescribed. ' ' * * * * This was really all that was accom plished by the expedition. They missed the stream they were look ing for altogether on their way home , lost their papers , and reached the states without any glory what ever , save the credit oC ' having climbed the great peak to which they gave Dr. James' name , but which soon acquired that of Lieutenant Pike , which it has borne ever since. A. T. R. AGAINST THE TRUST. Nature and art are both in league against the beef trust. The ocean is doing its level best to furnish in quality and quantity its quota of provision. The mackerel catch this season is reported to bo the best ever landed in the same length of time. So many mackerel vessels are arriving in New York they cannot be accommo dated at the Fulton market docks and must land elsewhere. At Newport , at Martha's Vineyard , at Gloucester , the reports are that the catch is im mense and the quality exceptionally good. What is true of mackerel is true of halibut. Heavy shipments have been made from the Pacific coast and the receipts on the Atlantic shores have been so large that enormous amounts have been sold to smokers. , With this good news from the east and far west report comes from Minnesota that a new food product has been discovered. Dr. Anderson of the University of Minnesota claims to have found a way which promises to revolutionize many branches of industry having to do with starched foods. He began with the theory that all starch-bearing food can be made to "pop , " as corn pops , when subjected to heat. Ho found ho could pop rice , potatoes and a number of other food and that'several of the products , re- y sultant foods embodied many advan- tages lacking in the natural product. i After potatoes are popped they can bo compressed into small cakes auc transported. When desired water or milk is added and they are converted into mashed potatoes ready for eating. Some sixty distinct now foods have been added by Professor Anderson to the list of foods hitherto used. One of the most important is flour am water "popped" into biscuit. These are said to bo light and feathery , jus the thing for healthy or weal stomachs. With these promises in view the beef trust is not an unmitigated evil Necessity is the mother of invention , and who knows what now and exool- eut article of food may "pop " up at any moment ? There are also good fish in the sea , with over-increasing 'aoilitios for propagating and catch- ug them. If President Roosevelt can do lothing to relieve the situation the wits of the people will como to the rescue and down the price of beef. Chicago Chronicle. SALT LAKE DRYING UP. According to several scientific men Salt Lake will soon bo a thing of the past. Prof. W. G. Me Gee calculates ; he life of the lake will probably be ended in twenty-five years. According to these gentlemen the reason for the rapid acceleration of the drying up of the great Salt Lake is the diversion of streams formerly feeding it for irrigation. This cause , ihey say , will be further added to by the construction of the numerous mountain reservoirs now planned to liold storm water. The scientists prophesy that the result of the drying up of the lake will be a salt and alkali desert. These gentlemen do not apparently figure on one of the results of irri gation that we know about in Cali fornia. This is the percolation of ir rigation water after it has been ap plied to the laud. The experience of Riverside and Fresno , and especially of Fresno , demonstrates the import ance of percolating water from irri gation. In Fresno this seepage water has become a serious problem that can only be solved by an effective drainage system. It is , therefore , within' the probabilities that the Great Salt Lake will not rapidly dry up , as prophesied by the scientists by reason of irrigation diversion of its feeders. The utilized water there also is likely to find its way back underground to the lake. It takes often a number of years for seepage water to show itself , on account oi the slowness of underground perco lation. Those who love salt air and those who hate alkali deserts may therefore take courage in doubting the prophesied catastrophe of Sail Lake rapidly drying up , even though it may start on this process and for a time continue it. Los Angeles Satur day Post. TRANSFERRING THE STARCH IN DUSTRY TO CHICAGO. The reported movement to transfer the starch factories of the country to Chicago and to erect in this city a factory largo enough to care for al the starch business of the United States- will direct public attention once more to the modern tendency o all manufacturing industry to get m closer to the raw material. For 'a half century or moro the cotton of the South was woven into sheeting and other fabrics in the N cotton mills of Now England. During the last decade there has been a general movement of the cotton mill industry from Now England to ; he cotton fields of the South. It is in the line of industrial evolution lution that the starch industry should move from the East to the center of ; he great corn-raising territory. When Oswego became the center of ; he starch industry of this country New York was a great corn-growing state. For many years past , how ever , the corn for these factories has been shipped from the western "corn belt , " on which the consumer paid the combined cost of lake and rail haul in addition to elevator charges at Buffalo. The few small factories in Indiana and other western states were ab sorbed by the starch trust a few years ago , and the plants have been idle ever since. With the starch business in the hands of one combine it will bo an easy matter to concentrate the entire industry in Chicago , the cen ter of the corn growing district and the natural point for the manufac ture and distribution of starch. Chicago Record-Herald. KINDLY MR. EVANS. Several months ago Commissioner of Pensions Evans was at Chattanooga for a few days' rest. One day while he was in the corridor of a leading hotel , talking with a group of friondp , a maimed old man , dressed in tatters , hobbled up and begged per mission to speak to Mr. Evans. His request was promptly granted. He poured out his story to the commis sioner , and ended his pathetic recital by declaring that ho thought himself entitled to a pension. A tear sprang to the eye of the gentle hearted com missioner as he replied , with evident emotion : "Yes , I believe you are entitled to a pension but there is a link of proof lacking in your case ; and while it is hard for mo to do it , I must refuse to grant your claim , because it would establish a precedent that would let down the bars for thousands of unworthy claims. " Drawing the veteran aside , the com missioner slipped a crisp bill into his hand , and slapping him familiarly on the shoulder , said : "I am sorry for you , but I have resolved that it is bettor that a few deserving ones should suffer rather than that the public treasury should bolooted. . " New York Tribune. ' V ,
