Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-12-02

If dollars My favorite walk when q
student upon the banks of the Hudson
was over the noted Croton auucduct,
through which the water was brought
from over thirty miles away TO quench
the thirst OF the IO0n.OUO Inhabitants
II the metropolis. But. after all. the
excavations for the New York I'M
foreground railroad impressed me more
than all the engineering fcats ! ever
saw. As looked down into those big
suhways ALWAYS felt as though I
were In an operating room and seeing
the surgeons knife cutting its way.
Those excavations were 10 me vast
laparoiomic operation upon the great
city of New York.
There | could see hundreds of pipes
running In every direction. Water
pipes. sewer pipes. gas pipes were all
there exposed To view. Those different
pipes seemed to resemble the blood
vessels and the alimentary canal Of
the human frame They seemed more
they seemed like the great long stems
Of lilies lifting their heads above the
foul water Of n p1nd. These stems go
down. down. down. until they grapple
their anchorageS In the mud and draw
sustcnnncc from the earth below. And
so could see these pipes. the sewer
pipes and the fresh water pipes. run
ming through the soil and rock on
which the city Is built. They reached
,affs n - Easf raf 80 4
cmpticd their refuse into the depths Of
the sea. or they reached out until. like
the stems of the lilies. they gathered
up life giving strength from the far
away croton hills. ON this Thanksgiv-
ing day let us one and all thank God
for scientific drainage and sewerage
and for pipes which bring to us pure
water Thank God for water with
which we can cook. for pure water
which we can drink and for pure wa
ter In which we can battle our bodies
and cleanse our garments ana our
homes. Water. water. pure water
thank God for the drinking water Of
the 'i'imnkSs wing table.
But, white thanking God for the res
crvoirs ami the apucducts and the pipe
lines which bring to us pure water and
the waste 4 .l,'' which carry away the
disease brcc. ing refuse. shall we not
thank him also for the marvellous ma
chincry which puts upon our tables the
best vands that the harvest fields and
the orchards afford! And when l
speak of this machinery am not only
aluding 10 the reapers and the plows
anu the seed ScattcrcrS which we saw
exhibited III the St Louis and Portland
words fairs. hut also allude To the
wonderful freight ears and the huge
Atlantic ami Pacific steamers, with
their rcfrigcr;ttDrs AMI cold storage
plants. thai bring To Ms the rarcst and
the ci,iccSt of fruits and vegetables
and animal meats and fish and bird
meats and molilishs. no matter where
they may grow or breathe the breath
Of life
Some people marvel M the mcchan-
ism which makes il possible for the
farmer t. sow AMI reap fields of wheat
hun reds ami thousands of acres wide
where their ancestors hid only Il few
acres 10 Il farm. Ills true. we must
gaze In awe at the wonderful POSSIBLE
tiles of the modern farm through the
miracles Of modern machinery. Last
summer while riding through the coun-
try sIw great machine going over
the prairie where once the farmer
went swinging his scythc. This mar
velous machine WAS called ~ COM
binel harvester IL was drawn by
thiriy-two horses. driven chariot-like.
fo;r abreast. That machine cut the
wheat. thrashcd the wheat. gathered
the clean kernels into bugs. scwcd up
the bags. threw them 10 one side ana
tossed the straw into heaps. All this
happened while the farmer WIS out
taking his pleasure ride behind his
thirty-two horses. Marvellous. marvel
GUS. wonderful. wonderful combined
harvester. But the benefits which
come 10 our table from ~ combined
harvester" are rs nothing compared To
those that come from the freight car
and from the steamer.
Sources of Food.
Have you ever stopped Ia consider
from how many various sources our
food comes: ! am nearing the coast OF
Sydney. Australia. see alongside the
railroad track great numbers Of rab-
bits strung up. There are thousands
and tens of thousands of them. see
the hlllsidcs Of New South Wales COW
cred with sheep. 20 10 the wharfs.
aud there | find the great steamers be-
Ing loaded with them. What Is the
good Of taking these thousands of sheep
and rabbits 10 London ] say TO the
captain. II will take you nj least three
or four weeks 10 sail there. That meat
will then he malodorous and stenchful
and sickening" mo. no." answers the
captain THAT meat Is being stored
In rcfr!gcrutnrs. by running liquid
ammonia through the pipes ana letting
Ii evaporatc We can make our own Ice
on shipboard. That meat will he sold
In London markets ms fresh as II IL
today" by the wonderful cold storage
system of freight ear and ~ steamship
we can today eat the choicest fruits OF
the east and the west aud have the ten
dercSt of meats carried through the