Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1912-06-22
Growing Mushrooms in a Kansas
City Tunnel.


City Tunnel.
One of the largest mushroom
farms" in the world is, strange as
it may seem, located In the very
heart of Kansas City's most popular
district in a tunnel $50 feet long and
% feet wide which the Metropolitan
street railway company had abandone
For more than ten years the tunnl,
which was blasted through the rocky
bluff that separates the old union
station from the business part of the
city, lay idle and forgotten, then DR..
A. T. Osborn, a minister at Kansas
City, conceived the idea of planting
mushrooms in it.
The conditions of soil and tempera.
ture in the tunnel seemed ideal for
mushroom culture, and the entire floor
space was planted with spawn. The
crop resulting was SO far beyond the
fondest expectations, that he pro-
ceeded to put in shelves to increase
the area of growing space. At the
present time most of the floor and
shelf space is occupied by growing
mushrooms and a crop of from 30to
30 pounds a day is harvested, which
sells at 70 cents a pound.
By using shelves the tunnel will
provide 100, 900 square feet of mush-
room beds, and it is the intention OF
DR.. Osborne to uilizet all of 1t in
the near future. The shelves so far
built are In tiers of three along each
wall.
Sixteen Mile Tunnel to Join Two
Seas.
The Russian Government has been
convinced by a body of Swiss engin.
neers that it is perfectly feasible to
bore a tunnel through the Caucasian
mountains, near Tiflis, in order to
join the Black and Caspian sea
This will be an exceedingly large un-
dertaking las the tunnel will be In
the neighborhood Of Is miles in
length. The Russian government has
about decided that the undertaking
was not possible, but the Swiss ex-
perts have reported that the tunnel
can be built in approximately seven
years, but its expense would be ire
mendous. 1t is reported that some
bankers in Paris are supporting the
enterprise, which will be started son d
time In 1913.
A striking article in "The World To-
day" by Walter E. Weyl, Phi. D., is
America is not and never has been a
democracy; even her constitution wa
dedicated to the principle that the
minority of the opulent" must be
says DR.. Walter E. Wey-
Ter in his book "The New Democra-
which We print in condensed
through the courtesy of the &C.
company, publishers. Her
first business, he further says, was
he conquest OF the wilderness and
he squandering Of her bounty, and
hat Is gone. Today she stands In
he most Of her waste and debris of
progress to take account of herself.
\ new democracy Is coming and ever
nan unwilling is working for 1t. In
The New Democracy I have at
empted to explain how a new spirit
through this spirit We are all ofus
consciously and unconsciously partici-
in a very wonderful transfer.
nation Of u optical, industrial and
ocial system. This new spirit is
till inchoate. 1t speaks with many
oices.
1t inspirs the striker who fights for
principles" even when the bread
nd butter balance Is agains him. 1t
lso inspires an opposing employer,
with more %rudimentary a social
ense, dreams Of good houses, clean
ath towels and other welfare work {
Or his employees. 1t inspires the city I
eformer fighting for a "city for the {
eople;" the political i%nsurgent re. {
cling against earning political con. I
the muckraker painfully ]
for graft" the inventor
ngineer; bacteriologist planning to I
emove physical barriers which i'm. I
EIDE driven humanity. 3
The new spirit is the languase Of I
ocial reformers who from being q
lmsgivers are tact distributors, are
econIing mercilessly slow-speaking a
of social abuses. 1t inspires c
lie philantropic, multimillionaire who
FUNDS hospitals, libraries, universi- L
es, and research laboratories, as II
the revolutionary who wishes
them both philanthropy and million. 9