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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1920)
i' THE OMAffA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST 1, 1920. FORD TRACTORS SHOW UP WELL AT STATE FARM Performance Convinces Skep tical Farmers of the Ail Around Adaptability for Agricultural Work. 3 The Ford Motor company, under the direction of the Herring Motor company of Des Moines and Oma ha, staged a big power farm dem onstration at Lincoln, Neb., during the last three days of the week, which attracted thousands of farm ers and automobile men from vari ous parts of the middle west According to the Ford Motor compaany, there has been a feeling among farmers that the tractor was an implement of seasonable value and that its chief purpose was to supply power for plowing and work of this nature. The Ford company maintains that this con ception of the tractor is entirely wrong and that it is an implement which can be used on the farm 365 days each. year. Given Many Tasks. To demonstrate the possibilities of the tractor 35 Fordson tractors were put in operation under the supervision of the State Agricul tural college, Lincoln, Neb. There, on the State farm, these 35 trac tors were put to as many different tasks and continued to perform their duty during the entire three days.. According to reports from those who have witnessed the dem onstration, these tractors were able to supply power for almost every farm need. Owing to the labor shortage in various parts of the. United States, this demonstration was the center of much interest and attention. Farmers, who have heretofore been rajther skeptical as to accepting the tractor as a substitute for animal and manpower, have .keen forced to acknowledge and accept the gaso line motor as -the ultimate and proper solution to their manpower and animal power" problems. Overland Four Makes Coast-to-Coast Trip Easily in Seven Days In auto circles a great deal of credit is being given to the little QverlaiM four, which tackled a trans continental jotirnev for the purpose of making public the economy of au tomobile operation on a long, hard trip of this sort. r This car left NeW York City at midnight, July 18, and was driven night and day for liiore than seven days, reaching San Francisco at 7:05 a. m., Monday, July 26. On this trip, almost every kind of a road was en countered and in some places the mud and sand was so deep that it was necessary to drive for long dis ' tances in second gear. 1 Each dealer along the route was rtquired, to drive the' car through his particular territory which, of course, made it impossible for any one dealer, to become thorflughly fa miliar with the operation of the car. Angry, Missouri River, Eating Away Rich Farm . Lands South of Omaha, Tamed by Science and Human Ingenuity Railroad Right of Way Saved by Concrete , Bulwarks. After a life and death battle of IS years' duration between the swift moving Missouri river and the Bur lington railroad, at Folsom, la., a hamlet 20 miles south of Omaha, human ingenuity has triumphed. The battle cost the Burlington fully $1,500,000, but the railroad was fighting in self-defense. The treach erous Missouri was cutting its road bed away. The victory of the Burlington has been given nationwide publicity in scientific magazines, for authorities say its effect will be far-reaching. Thousands of acres of the richest farm lands in the world may be saved or reclaimed by the method which tamed the Missouri, engineers say. Big Muddy Eats. And more important still, from Omaha's standpoint, this same method is the eventual solution of Missouri and other river navigation problems, in the confident opinion of good authorities. The old main line of the Burling ton originally lay one mile west of Folsom, the river being still further to the west. Then, with its sullen, threatening manner, the Big Muddy began to gradually, but irresistibly, cut its way east. In 1885 it became necessary for the railroad to construct a new line further east, and abandon the old one, which was menaced by the swift river current, i Victory Seemed Uncertain. Surely, it was thought, the river would move no farther eastward, at least not far enough to endanger the new right-of-way. But the cutting current became narrower and more swift until its approach again began to alarm railroad engineers. Then began a battle between frail humanity and the great river a bat tle that for years was of uncertain outcome, a battle for the life of the line at that point. And for a time it seemed that the river would tri umph. - Log rafts were anchored above the place where the current was grind ing its way in, and one edge sunk by unloading rock on them. This was to slacken the current. The bank itself was reinforced and sup ported by brush mattresses s and stone dykes. Trainloads Swallowed Up. But these efforts were only a par tial success. It was found that ihe rafts had sunk completely and were doing little to deflect the current. And despite the best river bank pro tection that could be constructed, undermining and inundation con tinued, i Two years later the dreaded thing happened. The river cut the track. Engineering skill had failed. With feverish haste the great rail road rushed trainload after trainload of rock to the scene of the catastro phe. Cars and rock were both pushed into the ever widening gulf through which, the swirling, mutter ing current of the river now flowed. Superhuman effort was needed; superhuman effort was expended. The cars were never recovered, but the river was stopped tempor arily. - . v The battle was nqt over, and as dv.-- tf"v: V-!' --Jrftr Scenes showinz the construction of retards which tamed the Missouri river near Folsom, Neb. The upper photographs show the two river steamboats belonging to the Woods Brothers in action. They are the largest boats on the Missouri north of Kansas City, and are invaluable in the construction of the floats which have slackened the current and saved x the main line of the Burlington near Folsom. At the left, below, is shown the retards in process of construction. At the right the effect of the retard is seen in the lack of current years past, years of never-ceasing combat against the fickle current, combat that cost the railroad fabu lous sums, it was decided that an other move must be made. The new line would be built at the foot of high bluffs half a mile east of the former roadbed, it was de cided. It would, be the last move. The railroad must then fight with its back to the wall. There was no further retreat. The bluffs formed a barrier to the east, the river menaced on the west. Lincoln Inventor Acts. Their came a discovery,' rather an invention, by Edward Bignell of Lincoln, which put a stop to the moving , plans. The invention 'was a reinforced concrete pile, so con structed that it could be sunk to any desired depth. It was fitted with two pipes, the smaller enclosed with in the larger, ihe larger pipe had vents opening at intervals along the sides of the pile. It was so'designed that it could be sunk 20 feet below the river bed without difficulty. Mr. Bignell, the inventor, who had for many years been superintendent of the Burlington at Lincoln, be lieved he had found the solution to the river problem in this pile. ' Engineers were agreed that a float w6uld slacken the current, causing it to drop silt and sand, thus form ing a bar and protecting the endan gered bank, if a permanent anchor age could be secured. , First Pile Sunk. In October of 1918 the first pile was sunk and a float attached with, strong cables. Results were apparent almost at once, for the cutting current lacked much of its former force. -The success of the pile brought it' to the attention ot woods JtJrothers of Lincoln, large real estate oper ators. Their engineer, Wayne V'... DodgeBrdti-iers QU5INE55 CAR ; Any business that requires de livery can use Dodge' Brothers Business Car with profit. Because its operating-economy and maintenance-economy have been universally ' established. Screen Business, Car, $1,280: Touring Car or Readate ' $1,300, SUn, $2,160; Coup, $2,005 . Panal Business Car, $1,360. Dalivarad in YouBgitown. -.7' dBwEN-DAV15CdSJAuTDCo. M AHA, NEB. IBI4-ISB FAR NAM ST. TYI.ER 23 COUNCIL BLUFFS IA. 103 SO. MAIN ST. COUNCILBLUFFS 31 7-a iMmi 1 B.sy;:. ::v.'?m&mrw:;R - : : , V.--,JI Pringle, assured them the problem had been solved. In September of 1919 Woods Brothers contracted with the Burlington to construct three more of the floating retards, one ISO feet in length, one 250 and the third 450 feet in length, at Fol som. (Although timber was considered preferable, these retards were con structed pf 12-foot bridge ties. Placid, Harrnless Pond. The river 'was literally tipped to ward its west bank by the obstruc tions. Today the huge cut in, once the bed of a .raging current, lays, a placid, harmless pond, within a few feet of the Burlington roadbed which it menaced for - so many years. ; ' Its depth, once averaging from 15 to 25 feet, now is scarcely more than three feet at any place. . And within the next few months it will be dry, and eventually capable of again producing the crops it pro duced in, years before the ' current began cutting in, according to En gineer Pringle. Save Rich Land. The Woods Brothers have pur chased two steamboats, the "Cas talia" from , Pittsburgh, k and tbe "Daniel Lindsey" from Louisville, Ky., which they are using to con struct more floats. - - They plan to save thousands of acres of rich land endangered by the cutting current. By putting an end to the fear of the river in the mind of every river farmer they ex pect to double the property of -the land, some of which they, them selves, own. ". Missouri Is Tamed. Five such projects are now in process of construction by the Woods Brothers, under supervision of Engineer Pringle, and more are being planned. Thus, in the opinion of engineers, ends the tyranny ,of the Missouri. Thus ends, they say, the constant fear in the minds of river farmers from erecting permanent homes, that their land will, be washed away a fear which has prevented them from improving this property and Thus, too, is the safety of small towns on the Missouri bank as sured. No longer will the vengeful current wash away valuable busi ness blocks and terrorize home own ers, say the engineers, j For science human ingenuity has tamed the Missouri. , j Testing Wheels During the active running season it is a good plan to test the wheels for side play once a monjh. LSide play causes excessive bearing wear and tire. wear as well.. Jack up each wheel, grasp it firmly and push and pull it to seeif any side motion is apparent In many cases the wheel bearings are adjustable. 4 to 1 eL OmAh.Wei. For the convenience of the Automobile Trade United States Automobile Supply Company have opened an up town store at . , ' 2012 Farnam St where automobile accessories of quality will be displayed A Service Department for the Installation of j GABRIEL SNUBBERS L DISTEEL WHEELS MADISON OIL KIPPS PERFECTION WATER PUMPS i ' -i- - ,-, ' , Ha Been Installed -AH small accessories for retail trade will be installed free of charge. ". . '""4X. ' '.'.' The jnost complete line 'of up-to-date accessories will be carried. . - Our large wholesale stock assures you You Can Get What You Want When You Want It. , y United States Automobile Supply, Cbbipariy City Department 2012 Farnam St. Main Office and Warehouse 606-12 So. J 4th Street 2LAJU wcc 'ff-4JL, hvanju . 6u Cv oaj, Ttr . RbeTler' car cv. a low e r rp ce, jlllllllllllllllllSB It Speaks for Itself On Monday, July 26th, near Union, Neb., two trucks hauled 738 bushels, of grain to an elevator 4 miles distant. One was a Reo Speed Wagon the other a truck'of iy2-ton capacity. ' The lVo-ton truck took the first load, the ReoSpeed Wagon the last, but when the hauling was completed the Reo had hauled 19 bushels more than the larger truck. : ' ' . '. There is but one answer:' The Reo, though Considerably smaller in ca pacity, passed the big tuck time after time and at the finish had hauled more wheat. . ' " . This is but a practical illustration of our contention that a small, fast truck is best for the farm, t - " ' A. H. Jones Co. ; HASTINGS, NEB. , j Distributor for Southern and Western ' ; Nebraska . , Jones-Opper Co. OMAHA, NEB. Distributor for Eastern and Northern Nebraska and Western Iowa Richards-Christiansen Motor Co. 50-52 N. Main St., Council Bluffs, la. E m it 1 ii it n u zy 1 1 n s lg, n ir -TT j ; i,.i':iiiii,jc:.iiBii;:iH.iiii:iiiil;L,;,ii.,:, MMSuiusalo - t -.v . . ' - , , n .' ' ' . ' " ' ' - i ' . v.,.-,,,; . ' - , ' 1 : - - . ' -.- ' - , J ' . - n