The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-06-05

Kansas Portland cement men are try
ing to get a foothold, is the strong eff
fort recently made by officers Of the
Western States Portland Cement COM
pany, at lola and Independence, to fur
nish American cement for the 18th
milan canal Cement from Germany
and Belgium had been used. and the
! kansans led in the movement to install
made by the American cement men on
! the senate committee on interoceanic
canals was most excellent one.
Further experimenting the effort
made by the Kansas cement men was
the bill Of Representative Scott recent
I " for buying canal material at home
rather than abroad when it could be
done without material degree of diff
] abroad.
A party of eastern and northwestern
capitalists recently went through the
Portland cement works in the Kansas
gas belt and was so impressed that it
decided to organize what will be
known as the Northwestern States
Portland Cement company, headquar-
ters at Mason City, Iowa, similar in
plan to the Western States Portland
! Cement company in Kansas. Arrange
ments for incorporation, etc, are now
under way.
Elwood Meade. engineer of the de-
partment of agriculture in charge of
sultation this week with Senator Long
and Representative Scott in regard to
plans for draining the Neosho river
valley between the Missouri-Kansas
state line and Emporia. This win be
done shortly after July 1. when the
new appropriation, which Mr.. Scott Sc
cured in the house of representatives
and which Senator Long watched
closely IN the senate, shall become
available This, it is hoped, will mean
a great deal to the people of this an
nually submerged valley
The recent report made by Senator
Long, as chairman of the senate COM
mittee on the census, on the bill the
passage of which he secured some
! days since amending the census laws,
contained an interesting paragraph in
regard to taking statistics of savings
banks, building and loan Institutions
and the like. The paragraph reads as
follows:
THE inquiry in relation to savings
banks and other similar institutions is
for the purpose of obtaining statistics
that show the development of thrift
This is a wide field of inquiry elabo-
rately covered by state reports in
many states and almost wholly neg
lected IN federal statistics. The only
report covering these hduciary insti-
tutions is the annual report of the
comptroller of the treasury, which
condenses into less than a dozen oc-
tavo pages all the data in this field
which is inadequate, considering the
careful and extensive treatment given
it in nearly all the countries of
Europe The cost of the inquiry will
be inconsiderable, as it will consist in
bringing the official reports of the sew
eral states into one compact and we'll
arranged compilation so as to enable
comparison of the conditions sur
rounding and governing these institu-
lions in all the states, and record the
relative progress made in EACH
It Is fact not generally known that
the Topeka" is the biggest gunboat
in the American navy. It is ESQ feet
long, 36 feet wide, and 1900 tons dis
placement The biggest warship is
the Connecticut" which is $50 feet
long. 76 feet wide, and I s, 600 tons dis
placement. During the war with
Spain, when the gunboat Topeka
performed meritorious and conspic-
uous service. its commander was W. S.
Cowles. brother-in-law OF President
Roosevelt.
This question was recently sub
mitted to the inquiry column of a
great eastern newspaper;
Are there any negroes holding high