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
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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,
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RbeTler' car cv. a low e r rp ce,
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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.
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