davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1915-08-11

eS s Psstsrns We ee99- eess. two
tanber.
One Of the most popular and be-
coming ideas OF the season Is the
peplum or coatee blouse worn with
n harmonizing seif-color or con-
trasting skirt Gabardine and tat
feta. serge and satin. GeorEette
crepe and crepe de Chine. are sew
eral good suggestions. A sheer
collar or organdy or Swiss adds to
the effect OF the costume. This
design may be user for street
wear. for church. or calling. The
peplum may he omitted. II not
fancied. and a chemisette may be
worn instead OF the open throat.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

smaller but of greater number. a null
titude of small orders takes more
agency work than a few big orders.
Add to this, as you must, the fact
that the agency is now going into the
selling business. 1t is UP to Mai. Boggs
to dispose of the great amount OF ma
chinery and equipment that has done
its work True some of the equipment
has been sent to the government
Alaska railroad, but the great bulk or
II is untitled for that purpose. Hence
Mai Boggs has become an active sales
man of secondhand goods, and is do
ing very we'll at the rev occupation
Incidental to all this work he stun Is
the employment agent here for the ca
nal During the last fiscal year. even
with the canal nearly done, he had TO
hire and send to the canal nearly 200
persons for work of a grade above that
of a laborer. Also, he had to lock art
3.4sO persons. including new appointees.
those returning from leave. members
of employee families and employees OF
contractors and their families, from the
United States to the isthmus.
And the questions he had to answer
regarding tolls and operations, the cir
culars he had to send out in this re-
gard, the general correspondence his
office had to transact-it figures up a
stupendous total.
ASK Mai. Boggs about that" is what
YOU are told in any department of the
government at Washington when you
make an inquiry concerning in any way
the Panama canal.
And Mai. Boggs always knows the
answer, ASHMUN BROWN.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
THE STAR, WASHINGTON, G.,

very old. and that for several years it
had not been used by teams.
The woods on both sides of this road
had been pretty well thinned out of
trees Of sawlog size. but there was a
thick growth of smaller timber. and
the ground was covered with old brush
left by the tree choppers. This road led
down below the line where the crystal
line rocks began to show themselves
and stopped in what had been small
clearing. A pile of sawdust and a dis
orderly array of slabs showed that a
sawmill had been operated there. Not
more than twenty yards from this saw
mill debris the Rambler came upon the
ruin of large stone mill. Its wheel
was turned by the flow of Difficult run,
something under half a mile aboYe its
mouth.
The walls of this mill are badly
broken and the upper stories have
fallen. All trace of woodwork has dis
appeared. Big trees grow within the
walls of the mill. and trees are grow
ing out of the rock heaps due to fallen
walls. Even on the top of the remain
ing walls trees are growing. The rock
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

ruin and the forest growth are SO
mingled and confused that a man might
pass close to the spot without observ-
ing that mill stood there.
This was Balls mill. Much of that
part of the country belonged to the
Ball family, and some members of the
family are still living on part of the
estate a Balls hill. The name of the
Ball property was Woodbury. and this
estate, with the great tract Ealled
Chantilly, owned by the Turberville
family, were among the very large
tracts under single ownership in the
vicinity of Washington. The Balls and
the Turbervilles were related. The hrst
of the Balls to come to that part or
Fairfax county bordering on the 70
tomac was DIR. Mottren Ball of North
cumberland county. The wife OF Mottren
Ball was Martha Corbin Turberville or
Westmoreland county. Dr. Ban anu
his wife came up from Northum heriand
in 1872 and built a fine house on that
tract now called Balls hill, a name
given to that portion of the Ball lands
Nv Union topographers during the civil
war The Ball house was destroyed by
Are during the civil war, it being oc-
cupied at that time by DR.. Balls son.
Spencer Martin Ball, who for long
time was clerk of the court OF Fairfax
county.
DR.. Ball had on his large tract mill
which after him, was called Balls mill
Whether he was the builder of this
mill the Rambler has no means OF De
termining. The construction and the
condition of the ruin would lndlcate
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

wilderness one often comes upon the
site and refuse of sawmills. These
heaps of sawdust and helter-skelter
piles of rotting slabs show that some
of these mills were in operation not so
many years ago, while some Of the
sites give evidence that a mill was
operated there long before anybody
now living in or around Washington
was born.
Along these water courses are numer-
Gus sites of grist mills. Some of the
mills. ruinous and abandoned. are still
standing, and at various times the
Rambler has written of them. Some
of these relics are but heaps of tum-
bled down stone walls, and where they
are close to roads they are familiar
landmarks. There were also mills
which passed away SO long ago that
they are only tradition with the old
est settlers. These settlers will tell
YOU that mill stood on this run or
that run, but all trace of it disappeared
so long ago that no person can point
out it's site. The water mill for the
grinding of grain was a great institu-
ton in the country around Washington
before the giant mills of the west be-
gan to turn their wheels and before
the railroads could bring the product
of those mills to the country around
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

~ TRANCE experiences and odd
~ finds often reward one who
strays from the beaten paths
and mild excitement of these
discoveries is frequently the incentive
that woos one from the ways of usual
and more comfortable travel. The
Rambler hopes that many of his tire
less friends have followed him on his
previous walks through that rugged
and rocky territory near Washington
where a good deal of the sky is shut
out by standing timber and where
the steep hillsides are numbered with
fallen timber and the waste and debris
of logging operations.
Much of this territory is drained by
SCOTS run, Prospect run, Colvin run
and Difficult run, which have their
sources far back in Fairfax county,
and pour into the Potomac between
the Chain bridge and Great Falls.
These runs in their haste and determi-
nation to reach the Potomac. which, as
everybody knows, has cut deep
chasm through the country for its
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
AN ABANDONED HOUSE BY THE WAYsIDE.

course, have worn for themselves
ravines or gorges so deep that they
expose the crystalline rocks, which
until the streams uncovered them lay
far below the surface of the country.
Into these watercourses run number
less and nameless branches which
themselves have cut and secured deep
gorges through the land. The streams
have worn their way SO deep that
even the hillsides far above them are
rugged with boulders, lodges and
masses of very old rocks, and this ter
ritory has for centuries been in forest.
So unsuited 1t is for agriculture that
the forest has never been cleared
away. but numbering has been carried
on. and year after year nerchanta Bile
timber and tie timber has been cut
down and tree tops and great branches
of the trees have been left behind.
These have in time rotted and with the
'.weathering' or disintegration of part
of the rock have made a rich soil in
which other trees have kept on grow
ing until they became big enough to
be felled for sawlogs-
This has gone on generation after
generation, and among the standing
timber and the rocks has grown up a
Jungle where most of the plant forms
of the region of Washington grow in
matted. tangled company. In this jun
gle and sometimes rising out of and
above it are rocks and rocks. In this
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

this waste wood was too small to be
marketed for firewood. so they dragged
it out of the woods. chopped IL into
the proper lengths for charcoal, and
then proceeded to char 1t in their rough
and primitive kiln.
After the kiln is loaded. heaped over
and fred, II required constant atten-
ton. said the men. to keep the wood
from being consumed by fame. A lit
tie hole in the dirt covering through
which the air might enter and the
flames would start. Dirt would have
to be shoxefe d. over the break very
quickly, orsan the previou labor would
be lost The men stood their turns at
watching the kiln and attending to 1t
with the shovel. They never left il
alone from the time IL was heaped up
and fred till the wood was charred.
They produced kiln of charcoal every
three days. The men chopped and
dragged the wood from the forest to
the clearing. They chopped il into the
required lengths. built the kiln and
minded 1t for three nights and days,
and then one man hauled il TO WASH
ington and sold ii by the bushei. per-
haps hawking it from place to place.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
MAJ. FRANK c. BOGGs, u. 8. A.
photo by Harris & Ewing)

work At times live orders to the
number of 1000 will be on hand. each
covering a wide range of articles. 1t is
impossible to give undivided personal
attention to each order and item In
other words, the work must be handled
in as nearly a routine or mechanical
fashion as possible.
Reducing the thing to a form making
basis, there Is no chance for one for
getting to put down the essential data.
Because of this, the agency has got
along with small force. acquisitions
come in. follow an orderly, established
course. are filled almost automatically
by purchase, ana 60 on their way. It
is all machinelike, impersonal.
Perhaps the most important links in
the chain are those that have to do
with specifications and inspections. Be-
cause these have been standardized sci
entiflcally there 10 no break here.
Great though the variety Of material
purchased may be. there are specihca-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
ThoroughneSs.

n SENATOR was praising the Wilson
FL national defense program.
This program" he said to the re-
porter, lis German in its out-and-out
thoroughness. The German successes,
you know, are due to a thoroughness
that percolates through to the tiniest
detail.
German militarism reminds me in its
thoroughness of the housewife who
said sternly to her husband, as he
crouched over the radiator, on his
Saturday half-holiday:
George, here's a can of paint and .
brush. I'd like you to touch up the
washboards. Its delicate work, and
couldn't trust it to anybody else.
But said George. looking up from
his Bulletin with a frown, 'b-but I've
g-got a ch-chill.'
"well, then, in that event said his
wife suppose you go down and stft
the weeks ashes"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

that the mill was built before 1912 and
that 1t was abandoned during the civil
war. Mills changed their names with
a change of owners or millers and this
may have been somebody else's mill be-
fore it became Balls MILL
The Ball family is very old one in
southeastern tidewater Virginia. and
Mary Ball, mother of George Washing
ton, came from a branch of the family
long settled in the Rappahannock
country. Whether DIR. Mottren Ball was
the first of the family to come into
northern Virginia. the Rambler does
not know. The Balls of Loudoun county.
after which family Balls bluff of tragic
memories takes its name. are repre-
sentative of one branch of this large
family. If you are interested in very
much jUmbled ruins with the aspect of
great age you should follow the foot
steps of the Rambler across the pike
from Prospect hill, and along the stumpy
road to the old sawmill site. and a
short way off by the side of the roaring
creek you will make out the heaps of
stone and the broken walls of what
was Balls mill.
There was so much of interest and
mystery about this lonely ruin that
the Rambler fingered there so long
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

direct, easily understood and 1T does
the particular business quickly and
surely.
Maj Boggs will tell you that there Is
q good deal of red tape In his Office.
But 1t is not red tape in the common
acceptance of the term. Thus there are
many forms to be made out in the
scheme of things in the purchasing
agency. No deviation is permitted
from these forms.
A clerk or an inspector checking on
a certain requisition to ascertain its
status is required to report on par
ticular form and in certain manner
his findings, and reports are exacted
at many stages of the movement of d
reouisition from the time of it's receipt
to the delivery of the goods at the
canal.
But, according to the Boggs theory
and this theory has worked out, which
10 more than some theories do-this ac-
tuaiiy facilitates the handling of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
A Hopeless Verdict.

eirs HE late Peter A. B. Widener, the
u Philadelphia capitalist and col
lector, was remarkable for his ele-
gance of dress and his incisiveness or
speech.
At dinner at his suburban residence
at the beginning of the war. MIR. Wild
ener said:
Some blame Germany and some
blame the allies for this war, but it's
my belief that every bodys to blame.
Yes. all are to blame-all the people
are to blame for consenting to be gov
erned by men stupid enough ever to
consider for an instant such thing as
war in days like these. D."
Before Germany and the allies. then.
I'm with the Chinaman.s7@ a1 -
Two ugly men. you know. were ar
guing about which, WIS the uglier.
when they met inaanan. They
agreed to let him be the-tudge between
them. So they laid their Gas before
him in simple English. and then. they
posed and waited. ett-e.
The Chinaman took a long time to
come to a decision. He considered the
two men from every angle. Finally he
gave his verdict in calm tones:
Both are worse he said" --
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

Washington as cheap. and in some
cases cheaper, than the little water
mills could make meal and -four. Nearly
every stream where the flow of water
was fairly constant had its mill. and
on some of the streams, as, for ex-
ample, on Rock creek, there were many
mills.
There was great competition among
the mills and rivalry among the millers.
Usually farmers would patronize the
mill nearest to them, for a short haul
to and from the mill was a marked
advantage. Some millers had a reputa-
ton for greater skill than others: some
had better reputation than others for
fair measuring and fair weighing and
of the -four and meal than others
Some mills had better machinery than
others and could grind faster, thus cut
ting down the time that men had to
wait at the mill to have their wheat
and corn ground, and some mills had
the reputation for turning out a SUI
perior grade of meal or -four. On many
of the large estates the planter-pro-
prietor had his own mill with a miller
in his employ. This mill ground the
grain of its own particular farm and
ground for smaller farmers on the share
principle.
One day last fall. before the leaves
were stripped from the trees and all
the jungles were turned by frost into
brown and gray, the Rambler struck
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

tions for each. To make them, prac,
tically every scientific and technica
bureau of the government has peer
called upon. And very small-practl-
cally no-departure from specifications
is permitted by the inspectors.
Every blessed thing that is purchased
through Maj. Boggs' organization Is IN.
spected thoroughly. II must come W
The Inspecting force necessarily is the
largest part of the organization. OF
course, it is a technical force, and To
make 1t up, as well as to aid In prepa-
ration of specifications, the aid of the
bureau of standards. the bureau OF
chemistry and the bureau of mines has
been requisitioned. Frequent expert as
sistance also is given by the bureau OF
forestry and the bureau of plant indus
try.
Further to aid in the work of in
spection, the Panama canal has estab-
lfshed at Pittsburgh chemical labora-
tory, where most of the tests OF iron
and steel are made. Then. froS time
to time, the ordnance department of
the Army, the Medical Corps and the
Ouartermaster Corps are called in to
pass on the character of material pur-
chased. -
In steel work, for example. borings
will be taken from the material and
subjected to rigid analysis All cement
has to be submitted to sampling and
ANALYSIS to see that 1T comes up to the
by the bureau of standards.
OF course, every now and again a
complaint comes in that the cost of in
spection, as compared with the cost of
the article, is excessive. Still, the law
of averages shows that there is no real
loss.
In the old days, when the inspection
of small purchases was deferred until
incident to necessary rejections proved
very costly Hence. while inspection
in rare instances may cost 70 per cent
of the value of the article, the average
cost of inspection allots an infnitesimaI
percentage to all purchases. And there
is no delay.
The operation of the Boggs system
has demonstrated that it is pure fiction,
although n reyered tradition among
purveyors to the government that the
government always demands the very
best The Boggs idea is 1.-The best for
the purpose" which does not mean the
very best.
AS an example: The shovels bought
and many shovels are bought-are not
by any means of the best quality. Lots
of better shovels are made. But ex-
perience on the canal demonstrated
that the average life OF a shovel. be it
an expensive or a cheap shovel, COW
cred only a certain period. Climate and
the human equation entered into the
problem. Men lost shovels or broke
shovels. Hence it was accurately deter
mined that cheaper shovel was just as
good for the purpose. SO the cheaper
shovel IL used
Talk with this master purchaser ana
you will learn something quite as re-
markable. Maj. Boggs holds that In
awarding a contract for supplies the
government should see to it that the
interests Of the contractor are safe
guarded as we'll as the governments
own interests Let the buyer beware"
IL an old axiom of law. but good busi-
ness demands, as Maj. Boggs sees it,
that when the government is the buyer
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

off from the Georgetown and Leesburg
pike where it crosses Prospect hill. The
wide, fiat table of that eminence is
about a mile west of the river and
about 800 feet above it. 1t was given
the name Prospect hill by some per-
son who was appreciative of the wide
view that may be enjoyed there. The
hilltop is level and has long been
farmed. Before and during the civil
war it was the Colvin farm. and the
old Colvin house, a big and comfort
able frame shaded by mighty oak, Is
still standing a few hundred yards
west of the pike, a road which along
this part of it's course is very little
used for through travel, being avoided
by autoists and others because OF Its
rough bed and the steepness of Its
hills.
Standing on this high fat and look
ing to the southeast one can pick out
some of the familiar landmarks in the
western part of Washington. and
among these are the white marble
buildings of the American University,
eight miles away in an air line, and
the water tower at Tenleytown, nine
miles away. To the northwest looms
up Sugarloaf mountain and to the west,
dim and misty even on the fairest day,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

that the time came for him to turn
back toward the city. Taking another
faint trail, which led through the trees
and over the rocks eastward and up
ward from the site of the sawmill, he
soon came to a wide clearing. There
was no sign that a habitation was
near.
In this clearing was mound of
earth heaped up as though it might
be a giants grave. From 1t, thin
smoke was rising. By the side of it
was the rudest kind of human shelter
Two men We're sitting under this shell
ter, and third, with long-handled
shovel, was gently piling on more
earth on the gravelike mound from
which the smoke was coming. Here
and there he would pat the sides OF
the mound with his shovel. Here he
would smooth down the earth. ana
there he would add a shovelful to the
mound.
These men were charcoal burners, and
they were making charcoal to maui
around the streets of Washington and
sell by the bushel From some high
land lust above the charcoal kiln you
could see some of the Landmarks OF
Washington.
The charcoal burners talked of their
business. Timber cutters in the woods
of that region had left, as the Rambler
noted, the ground Uttered with the
tops of trees and branches, large and
small The charcoal burners said that
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12

ords of the War Department Born at
Swedesboro, n. j., in 1874, Frank c.
Boggs was graduated from the high
school at Norristown. Pa, in 1880, and
four years later won a cadetship at
West Point
In 1898. because Of the then existing
war with Spain, his class was grad
uated In April, two months ahead of
the usual time. Ranking at the head
of his class. he was assigned to the
Engineer Corps, which always absorbs
the first few Notwithstanding grad
yates
AS a second lieutenant of engineers
he was sent to the engineers school,
then at Willets Point. N. Y, and almost
at once began to accumulate business
experience Because of a shortage Of
higher ranking officers he was made
post quartermaster, otherwise the
posts supply officer.
After year of this he was sent to
ing fortifcations there. Another year
found hin. serving with the battalion
of engineers, first at Willets Point and
then at Washington, D. c. AS adtutant
of the battalion he accompanied 1t to
the Philippines in 1902. There he re-
manned for four years. being for part
of the time in charge Of constructing
various fortifications.
In 1906 he returned to the United
States to take charge Of constructing
the big dam on the Monongahela river.
In 1907 he was placed in charge of the
Wheeling district. embracing all water
ways work under government control
on the Monongahela. Kanawha and
adjacent rivers. He was so serving in
1908 when he was brought to Wash
ington to take his present position
His rank Of major Of engineers he
reached February 81, 1911, in the ordi-
nary course of promotion, and not be-
cause of the particular services he was
rendering. Here observe the cash re-
ward that Uncle Sam gives to West
Point students who win high standing
In their classes during their course Of
study at West Point. Because Nal
Boggs was No. ! In the class OF 1898
he was promoted major nearly five
Years ago, that promotion carrying
with it an increase Of 20 per cent in
pay. The great majority of his class
mates are still captains.
Others who were graduated from
West Point three or four years be-
fore he was. but low in their classes.
remain captains. The base pay of
captain Is $1,000 a year; that of a
major $4,000. 1t pays to win high
standing in ones class at West Point.
The asset or high standing continues
all through ones military career.
How Is 1t that he has made the bust
ness and purchasing office of the Pan
anna canal organization such q smooth
running machine? System is the an
swer. But not hide-bound system. Not
in everything does the system CORE
spond to modern business ideas of Of
fee system. Maj. Boggs is first to adj
NIT this. He makes system the tool
of the organizations; not the organiza-
ton the tool of the system.
~
The fling system in handling requisi-
tions. for example, does not correspond
to that which is taught in so-called
efficiency" studies. but 1t is simple,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-12-12
Our Illustrators.

BICHARD HARDING DAVIS was
Nv talking at Hampstead about tho
exceedingly bad illustrations to one Of
his stories.
These illustrators" he grumbled,
make me think there's some truth in
the anecdote about the Christmas book
illustrator who was asked:
whats the best Christmas book
you ever illustrated, Penn
Dunno Pen answered. Never read
any of en-"