The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, February 25, 1912, SECTION SIX, Image 71

The Sunday Oregonian., February 25, 1912, SECTION SIX, Page 7, Image 71

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1912)

Prev Page of 88 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (4.4 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 88 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextTHE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAND. FEBRUARY 25, 1912. r Au Mtioms. UNCLE SAM HAS BIG JOB AHEAD WHEN PANAMA CANAL OPENS. President Taft's Plan to Enlarge the Present Supply Estab lishments in the Canal Zone so as to Enabh Them to Meet All Demands for Food and Other Necessaries. TV3- i Lit. . ' $ x-,rSjV"--- I f i ; ? " . ! .- --QJL? F- Vhrl OiT. of the biffcst problems to b ttmrked when th Panama Canal la opnvJ to tha traffic of the worn wilt b that of furnishing ahlp rf all nations with food and other nec tnurlo. K-rjr Truxrl that through tha d tch will want sipp!lr of manr kinds, whirh must b kfpt convvnlrntly In stocfc. rresh mals. groceries, rece tables, canned irooris, and particularly l-tK will ba In demand. LiksKlse. clean linen. A TM-y Important branch of th great Ooremment manufacturing plant on the Isthmus will he (as It Is today) m hue laundrjr. In which the collar, shirts, shirtwaists and petticoats of all nations will be washed. The average time required by a ship to pas across th Isthmus will bo about 41 hours. At once on arrival at ranama going east), or at Colon (go ing wst. there will be a scramble to got ashore. Passengers, and everybody else who can escape duty, will want to stretch their legs on dry land and to taka a look around. Incidentally, they will wish to buy lot of things, and to send their linen to the laundry at Cris tobal to be delivered on board before their departure. Many people will think It worth whll to "stay over- a f days. They will need hotel accommodations, which (ac cording to present plans) will be fur nished by I'ncle Sam. For soma years past th Cnl:s4 States Government has maintain! on th Isthmus, at Ancon. C'D of the finest and most luxurious tiote;s In th world. Ther will b oth erscaravansaries of th up-to-date Summer hotel type chiefly for tran sient guests, with French cooking, ten nis courts, swimming pools and all the latert improvements. They will be practically tccleed In wire screens, to kee; out mruuitoes though such pes tiferous Insect are by no means so plentiful In the Canal Zone as they wer formerly. It Is only 4i miles across the Isth mus by the Panama Railroad. Thus steamer regers. disembarking for amusement and sightseeing, will easily be able to rejoin their ships after spending a couple of days In frolic, and to continue their trips without Inter ruption. Meanwhile the ship. Inciden tally to Its passage through the ditch, ""111 be ahie to take on coal, food sup plies. Ice. etc. For this purpose ma chinery of the latest and most Improved pattern will be Installed by the Oov ernment an I nportant feature of It being th "mechanical stevedore," which, by the help of an endless belt and an electric engine rarrlee mer chandise aboard In packages with an alacrity that Is nothing short of aston ishing. Ports, resembling doorways, be ing thrown open on th side of th ressel at heights corresponding to her several decks, th goods are transferred from the dock directly Into her storage compartments. President Taft's Idea Is that all of this supply business ran be managed and controlled much better by the Gov ernment than by outside partlea. To accomplish th end In view. It will be necessary merely to expand to some ax- tent the plant already established at Cristobal. Tbla plant comprises Im mense storehouses and a manufactur ing outfit of remarkable completeness th latter Including th laundry al ready mentioned, a hug bakery, an loe factory, a cold storage equipment, and arrangements for roasting coffee, mak ing Ice cream, corning beef and con verting tub butter into attractive prints. If (says Mr. Taft) private concerns were allowed to enter this field, it might happen that one or more big rorporatlona would boost prices, - thus Increasing the cost of using th canal. Or certain traffic lines might be fa vored at the expense of others. But, as a matter of fact, th available space at the terminals of the canal Is too limited to afford room for all who might want to occupy It for such commercial purposes, and the granting of conces sions would be equivalent to the en tahllshment of exclusive frivlleges, tan tamount to monopolies of local trade. With the Government In charge, there can be no monopoly, and no discrimi nation of any kind, while prices will be kept at a very reasonable figure. The Isthmian laundry today is by far the largest and most completely equipped In the world. It Is run alto gether by electricity, even the Irons being heated by th current. Of the scale on which It Is conducted on may Judge from the fact that 'during th last year It handled 6.681,931 pieces. The work Is collected all over th Canal Zone and Is shipped to Cristobal dally. A clothes pressing and clean ing department Is operated In connec tion with the laundry. The bakery turns out mora than 1,000.000 loaves a year, at 4 cents a loaf. This. It will be noticed, la a cent cheaper than the price of th sam article In th States. But. In truth, nearly all food supplies are cheaper In th Zona than with us partly be caose they are purchased In enormous ;:, - V- V f , quantities, and also partly for th rea son that It Is not sought to make much profit by their sale. During th last twelvemonth th Isthmian bakery mad 91,681 pounds of cake, and for Thanksgiving and Christmas It pro duced a special kind of five-pound fruit cakes for II. The cold-storage plant at Cristobal Is one of the largest In the world, and supplies the entire Zona with meats, gam, fresh vegetables, and all sorts of other ' perishable food materials. With some enlargement, perhaps. It III furnish whatever Is required in this line by ships that pass through the canaL Every day a train of SI cars leaves Cristobal to distribute mer chandise to stores at various points across the strip, 11 of these being re frigerator cars, for meats. Ice, etc. A very complete delivery system Is maln- tamed, clerks calling dally at every house for orders. In addition, .a mail order department is operated in con nection with the plant at Cristobal. Connected with this plant is the ice factory, which has a capacity of 100 tons a day, the Ice belne: sold at 40 cents per 100 pounds. During the last year the establishment at Cristobal manufactured 110,208 gallons of ice cream, which was furnished to families by the pint or quart and to hotels and stores by the tub. Only fresh cream and milk (fetched in cold storage from the States), were used to make It, with fresh crushed fruits for flavoring, yet the price charged for It was only 25 cents a quart. It is easily seen how outfits so ex cellently organized would require only to be expanded In order to provide for the utmost possible demands of th traffic of a trans-isthmian canal In full operation. 8o admirably has the supply business been developed that special provision Is made for sat isfying th peculiar gastronomic wants of foreigners of many nations. Thus, for example, th commissary depart ment of the Zona Is at all times pre pared to furnish- the Spaniard with "frljoles" and "garbanzo," the Ital ian with "pomedaro" and "mesxenl," or the West Indian with yams and salted fish. The demand, being greater for hind quarters of cattle than for fore quar ters, the lattar, as they accumulate. are converted Into corned beef in a couple of hug pickling tanks which together have a capacity of 59S cubic feet. Butter fetched from th States in th shape of prints costs S cents a pound, more at wholesale than the sam but ter In bulk. Accordingly, a special business Is mads at Cristobal of con verting th best grade of tub butter Into small and appetising parcels, done up In tissue paper and tinfoil, 1400 pounds of It being handled in this way .every 24 hours. Work of Supply Department. Th supply department at Cristobal also maintain a laboratory, in which many household necessaries are manu factured, including bay rum, vanilla and lemon extracts, and denatured al cohol. There is in addition an auto matic weighing and packing outfit, which makes it possible to sell nearly everything In original packages, thus saving much time and trouble. The cost of such weighing and handling is only $1.90 per ton. When one comes to investigate tho matter one finds that the whole busi ness of buying, transporting, and dis tributing supplies for the Zone Is prac tically in the hands of the Panama Railroad. And this might seem rather puzzling were It not explained that the railroad is owned outright by the X'nited States Government. The buying is done by an Army officer in New York, who purchases whatever he wants all over the United States (wher ever ft happens to be cheapest), and has the merchandise shipped by the most direct possible routes to the Isth mus. Thus people residing in the Zone get fruit from California by water and pay San Francisco prices" for it. The Panama Railroad owns six big steamships, which are continually voy aging between Atlantic ports and Co lon, and between Pacific ports and Panama four of these being provided with refrigerator outfits. It has also a seventh, which leaves New Orleans for Colon weekly. During the last year the supply de partment of the Zone furnished over 4,000,000 pounds of beef representing 824 8 head of cattle. In addition. It dis tributed the meat of 7647 sheep; also 118,548 chickens, 6252 turkeys, nearly half a million hams, 696,000 dozen eggs. 4,260,394 pounds of sugar, 2,779,869 pounds of condensed milk, 8,140,128 pounds of flour, 5,250,609 pounds of potatoes, and many millions of pounds of food products of various kinds in tins. But It should not be supposed that the establishment at Cristobal la mere ly a grocery and butcher's shop on a large scale. It is a magnified depart ment store, dealing in whatsoever--(-man need or fancy can require, includ ing dry goods, boots and shoes, house hold .furniture and equipments, hard ware, "notions" everything, in short, down to such trifles as candy and toothpowder. The trade it does in can dy is very considerable though no such . huge Item as smoking tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Supplying; Ships With Coal. Ships must have coal, or course, ana steps are now being tafcen to provide for this all-Important Item. Congress is expected to appropriate money for building at least a dozen colliers, which (while always available for use by the Navy in case of emergency) will be employed under ordinary circumstances in carrying fuel to the Isthmus. At least 1.000,000 tons of coal yearly will be needed to supply naval and mer chant vessels arriving at Colon and Panama. Many steamships are now beginning to use oil as fuel. We shall have to supply it. And there are many other requisites. Mr. Taft recently called the attention of Congress to the fact that we must build at least one dry dock, for use by vessels passing through the canal, and that other facilities for repairing ships will have to be pro vided. Though hard to realize, it is a fact that the Panama Canal will be open for traffic within less than three years from now. We have got to get ready for the business that will arrive. The ditch will be a sort of interoceanto street a trans-isthmian great white way, brightly lighted from end to end with electricity. A large part of the seagoing trade of the world will pass along it, and It Is high time that we got ready to meet the demands of this wonderful traffic with adequate sup plies of whatever It may demand. If the goods we offer are first class and prices low, we shall gain proportionate ly through an Increased use of the canal. For this Is purely and simply a commercial proposition, and we have a dangerous rival the Tehuantepec Railroad which, spanning the narrow est neck of Southern Mexico, is already transshipping merchandise in vast quantities .at a surprisingly low rate from ocean to ocean. RENE BACHB. jit Tip i flbMcs Wit c n 60MEOrmOUIP5ANDJE5T5fROMPEN50fTll-NEW5PAPERIll)MORI5T5. ilU Terse Tales From Humorous Pens ho i spinous. Alderman Curley. of Cambridge, has th reputation of having a large vo cabulary and nevr being at a loss for th right word to convey his meaning. Ik th. connection he tells a Joke at his own expense. He says that a fe days ago be met an old constituent w had been laid up lor a in i."n. uu was well again. Th Alderman wai v. ,.w . v. ..M.nr. rtt tmnrov uuift "ii. - - . - ment In the former sick one and said as they grasped bands: "Well. Tom, fra glad to see you. you r a rejuvenaxea men mw. - "What's that you're saying?" asked the constituent. "What do you mean?" -Why." said th Alderman, "I'm glad to e you looking so well again." -But what kind of a man la that you Called me. tsvn fc mil. .,. -Oh." said the Alderman, grasplni -L- -. . . i n- vnu e rluv in IlLHAHUU. nated man. I mean that you ar as good - a liafnr van a man nuw j - - ------ wer taken sick. I meant no offense." .... -.-.. ..1.1 th. Mnltlln1t -but I don't Ilk them big words." Boston Traveler. A MISOVRI IIOR9B CASK. Speaker Champ Clark enjoys telling ef an Incident that occurred In a Cir cuit Court of Missouri during a "hors rase." In which a horseman well known throughout th state for his expert knowledge was canea as m whuim, .w. st T mil. mnbe-Democrat. -Ton saw this horse?" asked counsel for th defendant. -Tea, sir. I " -What did you do?" -y til mouth In order to certain how old be was. and I said to him. I said. "Old teliow. I guess your a good hors yet.' " At this Junctur opposing counsel leaped to his feet. "Your honor." be cried. "I object to th statement of any conversation between th witness and th hors when th plaintiff was not present!" SILENCED THE PRIEST. Father Xavler O'Hanlon. of Dubu que is famous for his wit. but a la borer on th railroad rather got th better of him th other day. says th Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. Th laborer, one of Father Xavler parishioners, was laying sleepers under the superintendence of an Italian, and the good priest smiled and said: "Well. Pat. how do you like having an ItAlian boss?" Tat smiled back as he answered: -Faith, father, how do ye lolk bavin' one yerself?" Ill Ml LI ATI. G. Horace H. Smith, one a Cincinnati newspaper man and now the bio grapher of Captain Boynton and Dy namite Johnny O'Brien. Is a man of such distinguished stature that most of his friends know him as "Big" Smith. Which led to this yarn being recounted in a company of which h wasN a member, says th New Tork correspondent of the Cincinnati Times Star. It appears that on Jones was a Harvard student with too much money. Also Jones was notably talL On on occasion Jones and his boon I companions pirated a hack and drove through Cambridge's streets. Four sat Inside. On drove. On sat on th roof and cracked th whip. Jones Just sat on th roof. "Th night was cold." according to th tale-teller, "and th men Inside pulled to th door that was swinging loose. Jones' hand bad been hanging over th edge and bis fingers wer caught In th door. He extricated them with a Jerk, and after a moment burst Into tears. -What's th matter?" asked th man with th whip. "'Flngars.' said poor Jones, holding oat th bruised members and sobbing plteously. 'Smashed!' " 'Aw, cheer up.' said th heartless ruffian with th whip. "What's a few lingerer - 'Don't mind fingers,' said Jones, struggling to hold back th tears. "Got lots of fingers. Plenty of em. Jus crying because I'm so unfortunate Here I am ttln on roof of hack Ilk a shentleman and muh flngersh get run over by she wheels. HAD BEEX THERE BEFORE. In th gray light of th early morn Ing the traveler faced th night clerk resolutely, says the Chicago Post. "Ton gave m th worst bed In th hotel!" he began. Indignation In his vole and eyes. "If you don't change me before tonight I shall look up other lodgings. "There's no difference In th beds. sir. the clerk replied, respectfully. Th traveler smiled Ironically. "If that Is so," he said, "perhaps yon wouldn't mind giving me th room on th left of mine. "It Is occupied, sir." "It know It Is. By a man who snored all night and was still at it ten minutes ago. His bed must be better than mine or he couldn't sleep at a maximum capacity of sound eight hours on a stretch." "The beds ar all alike, air. That man has bean her before and ha al ways sleeps on the floor, sir." WAITIXQ. Jones made an engagement with a lady to take her for a drive, says the Boston Record. The appointed day came, but at th livery stable all the horses wer out except on old shaky, exceedingly gaunt beast. Mr. Jones hired it. and drove to his friend's resi dence. Th lady kept him waiting nearly an hour, and then, on reviewing the shabby outfit, flatly refused to accompany him. "Why. she exclaimed, "that horse may die of old age any moment." "Madame. Jones replied, "when I arrived that horse was a prancing young coit. -IX HIS FATHER'S SI IT." Colonel Winter Wlmberly, of Macon. Gl, enjoys a wide reputation as a story-teller in Georgia, that land of story-tellers, according to the New Tork Evening Sun. Colonel Wlmberly was one engaged In a case In which th plaintiffs son. lad of I years, was to appear as a Itness. When th youngster entered the box h wore shoes several sizes too large, a bat that almost hid his face, long trousers rolled up so that the baggy knees were at his ankles, and, to com plete the picture, a swallow-tail coat that had to be held to keep it from sweeping the floor. This ludicrous picture was too much for the court, but the Judge, between his iniimi of lauarhter. manaared to ask the boy his reason for appearing in such garb. With wondering look ' the lad fished in an inner pocket and hauled the summons from It, polntg out a sen tence with solemn mien as he did so "To appear In his father's suit," it read. Quips and Flings WOOLT BASEBALL, Harken to this wild and wooly base ball yarn, y fans, hot off th bat, says th Cleveland Leader. Clarke Griffith, th Washington manager, tells the story and vouches for its truthfulness. The scene was at Butte, back in th '90s. and th story resulted from baseball game between Missoula and Butte at the latter town. There were a lot of gamblers in Butte who wanted to back the team, so about 15000 was bet on the game. In which Griffith was to pitch for Missoula. In the ninth inning Missoula was leading by one run, but after two wer out Butt got a man on third and then the catcher let th ball get away from him. It rolled a short distance, but when the catcher went to retrieve it one bug leaned over the stand with a six-shooter in hand. "Touch that ball and you are dead," be shouted. And the catcher stood stock still In his tracks. Griff said that all the play ers wer scared stiff, while th tying run was scored, but Missoula finally won In the 10th inning by a 6 to 4 scor. 'Have you looked him up In Brad- street's?" "No. but I guess his credit Is good his butcher trusted him for a pound of meat recently.". ' "The after-lunch nap Is my favorite hour of the whole day." "I thought you didn't sleep after lunch." "I don't, but my wife does." London Opinion. Indignant Customer (at telephone) When are you going to send that load of coal you promised me a week ago Absent - Minded Coal Dealer It- slated for delivery tomorrow afternoon, I believe, sir. St. Louis Times. , Hicks Mathers is one of those slm pllfled spelling cranks. Isn't he? Wicks I should say sol He spells wife "yf." Boston Transcript, "You haven't mentioned th tariff in any of your speeches. "And I'm not going to mention It un less forced to do so," replied Senator Sorghum. "I find it is impossible to ad vocate any kind of a tariff that won't cause alarm to some of my most lnflu entlal constituents." Washington Star, - "That was an annoying coincidence said Mr. Bligglns. "It took great tact to manage It. "What the trouble?" "The pension examiner and the life insurance doctor both called on me at the same time." Exchange. Father Tou only come to see me when you need money. Son Shall I come oftener? Satire. "I want a nice book for an Invalid.1 "Something religious, madam?" "Er no he's convalescent." Boston Transcript. Church Trustee Did you occupy your last pulpit with credit? New Rector Entirely. There was never any cash connected with It. Judge. Tommy Pop, what Is retribution? Tommy's Pop Retribution, my son. Is something we are always sure will overtake others. Philadelphia Record. The Hostess I should have a per fect horror of dying unmarried. The Caller It's having to live that way that worries me! London Opin ion. She Can. you give me a tip for to morrow's races? He Yes: but In consideration of our long friendship, I won't! London Opin ion. "Have you ever thought of any way to keep your boys on the larrar Yes," replied Mr. Corntossel, "quit raisin' crops an' turn the place over to rabbits an' partridges." Washington Star. su m w m "Do you think your sister favors my lit?" "Well, It s all right if you come through, but If you donlt she favors a suit for breach of promise." Boston Record. "How did that story pan out about the man up in the Bronx who found the big hailstone on his back stoop this morning?" asked the city editor. "Nothing In it," replied the reporter. "He discovered it wasn't a hailstone. after all. The Ice man left it there."' Woman's Home Companion. . Copy Reader Here's a story from the Southwest about a man who says he took a canoe ride down a river that ran at the rate of 60 miles an hour. How'll I head it? Editor Current Fiction. Chicago Tribune, Miss Baker Do describe the Riviera to me. Traveled Invalid Well, my rheuma tism was better there, but my teeth troubled me some and my nerves were bad. That's Just the sort of place it la Harper's Bazar. First City Man How are you coming along with your poultry venture? Second Ditto I've been swindled. bought three Incubators of different makes and not one of them has laid an egg yet. Llpplncott's. "How do you like running your res taurant on the no-tipping plan?" "First rate!", replied the proprietor. "It enables me to raise the prices 10 per cent on the bill of fare." Judge. Chairman (addressing a meeting) I am sure we will be very sorry our secretary is not 'ere tonight. I can not say we miss 'Is vacant chair, but I do say we miss is vacant face. Tit Bits. She What has happened to Miss Murdock? He That affable young fellow told her she had a musical laugh, and she went into hysterics over one of his stories. Women's Home Companion "Come, now, Hemma," says the Whltechapel bridegroom, "you're go in' to s'y 'obey when you comes to It in th' service, aln t you? ' "Wot. me?" cries the bride. "Me s'y obey" to you! Why, bllme me, 'Ennery, you aln t art me alse! Cleveland Plain Dealer. Among the Poets of the Daily Press What Is proper In the way of calling cards? Aces up, three, a straight or flush or full hand are all considered good. HOW TO DO IT. Tnere was a man In our town Who stole a 'oaf of bread, And on the street He stopped to eat. And lo, they got him dead. They found him guilty in a trice. And put him In a cell Six feet by four. With an Iron door And a cold damp floor as well, And a window small That scarce at all Let in the light To cheer his sight; And as for meals. Despite his squeals, They fed him stuff Both old and tough, And made him work Like some old Turk And by the time they let him go. He'd hatched a pretty scheme, oho! A great trust company he formed And got depositors quick; And then he nipped The cash and skipped. Though he was captured slick. They jailed him, but he only smiled. For he obtained a cell Both big and bright. With lots of light And a Persian rug as well; And every day They brought a tray Chuckfull of food. Hot, fresh and good; And to mak him laugh A phonograph Played tune and song he whole day long. And every night Came actors bright To cheer his soul With antics droll; s Much kindly care They gave him there. The difference? It might make you smile If you must Steal, go steal a pile! ram west in uurtaio Times. DO YOU REMEMBER THEMf Where are the songs of yesterday? Where are the tunes we used to play? Where are the hits of other days? Where are the girls we used to praise? and "Dear Sweet Belle Mahone Louise" Were wont to crowd the Summer breeze; Old "Annie Rooney," she was true. So were "Two Little Girls in Blue." Down Went McGlnty" made us roar; Slide, Kelly, Slide" got an encore White Wings" we loved amongst the airs, And "Climbing Up the Golden Stairs." After the Ball" and "Sweet Marie" Once filled the world with harmony And old "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" Where are the songs of yesterday? A CHEERFUL SERMON, d rather make a baby smile, d rather play goo-goo awhile Than gain a lot of fame, d rather help a tot forget The little things that make It fret Than win a world s acclaim, d rather cause a youth to grin Than write whole tomes on worldly sin We have enough of gloom; I'd rather hear his shout of glee Than have him solve the mystery Of our impending doom. I'd rather cause a man to laugh Than warn him that his epitaph Must some day scar a stone. We're sinners all, but bear In mind The chief is he who is unkind Who makes another groan. I want a man to laugh and love The little while that he's above The hole they put you In. I'd rather hear him sing a song Than ask forgiveness all day long For Father Adam's sin. THE SURGEON. As high priest, teaching an acolyte. He watches over each holy rite. The flame and water to make them clean Body, and garment, and weapons keen With sacred care for a sacred strife: To rout a foe in the House of Life! For blade and body must both be pure, -And hand be steady and eye be sure. And weapons purged in the fiery glow Whenever he wars against a foe. With joy of battle his soul is rife. Behold! He enters the House of Life! His flashing blade, it is dripping red He follows fast where the trail has led, To the sacred shrine with ruby throne, Where Life has fought with the foe alone. As the high priest's hand may lift the veil, He boldly enters the holy pale; Hia hand is steady, his weapon bright; The foe is vanquished and put to flight! And Life awakens, with anguished breath. For Man has grappled and beaten- Death! Anne McQueen in Lippincott's. THE BOSS. Each man a scowl of anger wore; His sharpened pick each digger bore Aloft, like some rude weapon keen To slap an enemy unseen; Da Boss! cried. one, with lifted head; 'He cut da wage he take da bred! ' Indifferent to evil eye Or bitter speech, he passed them by; He cast his orders to the crowd. Nor deigned to note their curses loud. 'Da Boss!" they muttered; he ver gran' ! He fink he hoi' us in heem ban'!" The blast! All ready!" Swiftly flew To safety all the swarthy crew; As quick to rocks and holes they hie, A child's white apron they espy, A little, yellow, tousled head. A frightened face the color fled! With sudden shriek of terror wild A workman leaps to save his child. But from the earthquake of the blast To shield her, some one dashes past. Da Boss! He smiles to hear theii tone; Oh, I've 'bamblnos' of my own!" New York Sun.