davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-08-16

Ed T. Austin, who has been with
Mrs. Austin for a short visit at Min
neapols, returned home Tuesday night.
Mrs. Austin stopped at West Union,
where their son Robert was left, to
visit with relatives a short time before
returning here
The sun., 1916-12-10
United states.

Average gain for all crops, % per cent.
Germany.
The sun., 1916-12-10

tie story: A Republican man and q
Democratic woman were in adjoining
booths and while he was laboriously
studying the names at the bottom OF
his long ticket the top OF 1t slipped
under the partition between the two
shelves and she stamped 1t at the head
Of the Democratic column. Perhaps
this wasn't Just right from an ethical
standpoint. but the temptation was
great and 1t should not be used as ar
argument against woman suffrage.
We visited "A polling place in tho
back part of a drug store. 1t woul1
have been a convenient location IL an.
Of the women had collapsed from the
excessive mental strain of voting, but
one of them did while we were there.
The literature" issued by the East
ern ANTS" says this often happens in
Chicago. but perhaps the climate In
California is more favorable TO voting
Two were behind the coun-
ter serving soda water to a row OF
ONE sitting in front OF II. The Gus
toners were laughing and talking ar
remained much longer than any of
those who quietly came in and voted,
so it seemed as II the publicity In their
case Was considerably greater. Not
during the whole day did n womar
juage or inspector have Mysteries O.:
lose her mind. which happened to sc,-
eral OF the masculine sex In New York
during the election.
We went TO the polls in a dentists
Office and heard several OF his wome"
patrons Joking about the pleasure Of
their present visit compared to the
visits they usually made to this same
place. SO 1t appeared that they wer.
rot v~onturing into an unknown region
or mourning n serious risk. and the.'
did not come into nearly so close cor
tact with any man as they would with
the dentist.
After inspecting the polls In the
large vestibule OF an apartment house,
where there seemed less opportun Is
for anything OF a questionable nature
than In any other part OF the burd-
ing. we went to see the women vote IN
n barber shop.
Here is where I bring my children
10 have their hair cut" said one oi
them to me. "and It Is always full o!
men and | have TO wait my turn. 10
why should l hesitate 10 come here on
the quietest day Of the whole year?'
To be sure. and there WA much
less jostling. for any man would rather
stand back and wait for a woman to
vote than to wait Tor u shave until
she had her boys hair cut.
\ At every place I was introduced Il
The sun., 1916-12-10
k)uken, Norway, where atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by the arc process.
er, Who Went Out to See for Herself, Observed Many Interest
When -Four Hundred Thousand Women Voted for President

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.Ne n.nS-luNn. n.nu no' !" auo,'e
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.''ase, oiun' ~. W "onn, aueh
"a "ou1u serNe WI" "'en o' etu'e!'
uo,hhii'.ees OF peaee OF CIVIC Or al, VI
H'a' " any o'Ne' wv "N
"'o.e i.eoilei VI Aeep''o"a''
So"ie''ihes tne men sn'oheu ~ 'nei'
races just as ,ne men Vi lneir lan'i1'es
ua az n1'ne, Out US rug tne'e "as
The sun., 1916-12-10
Swedish hydro-electric plant
where 10000 horsepower Is
developed for fixing" atmos-
pheric nitrogen.

10 plant foods. In Germany 50 per
cent. of the increased yield Is attrib-
uted to artificial fertilizers. while in
France 20 per cent. IL assigned to the
helpfulncss OF manure and fertilizers.
II the mean is taken. then so per cent.
Of the bettcrment car reasonably be
asCrihcd to the fertilizers employed.
Now. II the United states used fer
~tiliZers upon all cultivated acres to the
same measur that Germany did two
years ago our iii, for plant food would
he increased from sl77, 900 900 to ap-
proxima;cly s14O.O 900. 900 yearly. There
is no reason TO believe that our acres
would not then yield as much as farm
lands abroad and. II so. then the value
OF our farm crops would total $I.l30.-
600. 900, and give - An increase OF ST.
6+3. 900, 900.
Deduc'.ag the cost OF fertilizers, this
would leave a net gain OF 81 .0sl ,ooo,-
900. Here is one Of the reasons for the
high cost. OF living. II IL also apparent
why Germany. hemmed in as n Is. is
still able to keep the wolf from the
door.
There Is an economic side TO this
question of indifferent management o!
the farm, and interviewer with II is the
problem of a rcadjustment Of land
values. Five years ago in his message
to Congress President Taft said:
THE reimbursement OF land values
then. - a great national problem. de-
pendent upon a better use OF our land,
involving tho general introduction o.
Intensive methods Of agriculture. in
The sun., 1916-12-10

others, wa. seated at the head OF the
table in a big rocking chair. was
very tired as we Jared forth again. and
somehow ! liked TO carry with me the
picture Of that motherly woman In that
rocking chair performing her civic
duties with just ms much comfort, dig
nifty and propriety as she would nave
presided over the tea table in her W
home.
The polls in the back room OF a tailor
shop was our next destination. Any
doubts l might have had az to the pro-
priety OF woman's coming to vote IN a
place Of this kind were dispelled when
I found it was a ladies' tailor shop, as
was evident from the well developed
dummies for fitting, They stood at one
side, the wooden knobs that took the
place OF heads dlscreetly facing the
wall, and they reminded me so strongly
of the anti-suffragists!
IL would like to visit a polling place
In the sums ! said TO Mrs. Lindsay,
and I want TO see the women Of the
red light district carrying the cleo
ton, as the ants claim"
we have no such district" she an
swered, mo section OF the city that
could possibly come under that head,
no women OF that kind who could be
considered in a class by themselves,
and Los Angeles has no Sums"
l suggested a part OF town ! had
heard referred to as particularly dis
reputable, and We motored through It
and around II, but could not find u
voting place or anybody who knew OF
one, SO my search for polls where
men were drinking and swearing and
making II unpleasant and unsafe for
ONE was a failure, and was
laughed at for expecting to find such a
place.
may say here that the law in Los
Angeles forbidding the selling OF liquor
on election day Is strictly enforced. ON
our entire round we did not see even a
side door OF n saloon open or n nan
under the influence OF liquor. 1t Is a
day Of entire sobr!ety and the safest of
the whole year for ome to be on the
streets.
almost dropped In my tracks when
We entered the next polling place, FOR
It was In the temple of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, 1t wat
in the business part Of town. where
many places could be had. but this
room In the temple was convenient
and suitable and to the election on
cials there seemed nothing incon-
gruous In selecting Il. To me Il was
most significant ana impressive.
thought OF the long. long years 81
The sun., 1916-12-10

the judges and clerks and said at nee
81 hav come to see the women in
suited at the polls" This was re-
ce!ved in different ways. according TO
the class OF men who happened to be
serving. In II spacious marble hall
Of the Polytechnic High School. where
they all looked Is II they might be
college professors, they gazed at me in
such cold d!sapproval that a chill a
down my spine.
In other places they exclaimed: In
suited, hey? What kind Of men do
you have in the East? Just tell your
women to move II here where a man
would get the stufiin' knocked out OF
him II he insulted n woma at the
polls"
"Oh, we suffragists don't believe our
men would do anything OF the kind"
l always fastened 10 say, but II Is
the men themselves who shake the
scarecrow, and the a~nti-suffrage ladies
who live IN Fifth venue 80 to speak"
But the people in that part OF New
York don't vote, do they?"
perhaps not. but these 'antis' would
want so much to vote that they would
go to Brooklyn Bridge rather than
miss the chance"
well, maybe your men In the East
that are too mea TO give women the
suffrage might insult them after they
got II, but We haven't any OF that kind
out here. No woman ever has had n
rude word said to her at the polls In
the whole State Of California
Then the women Judges, clerks and
voters would invariably say "Insulted?
! should think not! Why, we are
treated with ten times as much re-
spect by men as we were before we
had the vote. The Eastern people had
better come out here and learn a few
things" True; they should attend an
election and substitute some solid facts
for their gas inflated theories,
We continued our quest for some
thing sensational and went down into
the centre Of town to q polling place
roped of in one corner OF a big garage.
There happened to be no women
judges or clerks here and no women
voters, but as women were continually
driving out and bringing in their cars
they certainly would have been quite
as safe II they had wished to vote, and
they couldn't have been any more con
%spicuous.
Then We went 10 a place where auto
mobile supplies were sold, and here the
majority OF election officials were
women. All OF th~m were dressed in
! white. and one. . little older than the
The sun., 1916-12-10
Drawn From Air, 1t Will Enrich Our
Fields and Strengthen Our Own
National Defences

traction and fixation Of atmospheric
nitrogen. But II peace prevails the
United States will still need millions Of
pounds Of heterogeneous products for the
enrichment Of the soil and for the use
Of some manufacturing industries.
Our wheat fields with their exhaust
Ing crops must be made to yield more
a~bundantly and uniformly. The cost
Of the daily loaf depends primarily
upon the question Of sufficient fer
tilixing. Few persons are aware that
We have been spending immense sums
for years past in the purchase Of nitro
genous products Of foreign origin.
There wa a time when the soils
natural productiveness suficed, but
this can no longer be depended upon
unaided. The earth must be revival
ICED from season to season. In the
course Of the past fourteen years we
have paid nearly $500. o0o. 900 for
Chilean saltpetre, and certainly half Of
this has been utilized to enrich farm
lands. Even so, we have not had
enough Of this plant food and our
acres as a whole have fallen away be-
hind in productiveness when compared
with those Of western Europe.
What Is now proposed Is to do In
hours and days by Of electro
chemistry what nature has achieved
only after centuries Of cumulative
work. In the ages gone seismic con-
v~ulsions pushed the Andes up from the
depths Of the Pacific and carried the
seabed thousands Of feet skyward.
Thus were built the present Chilean
p~lateaus OF Atacama and Tarapaca.
As they rose vast quantities Of sea-
weed were caught and held In the basin
SO formed. This mass of marine vege-
tation decayed under temperature On
ditions that favored the action OF nitri-
flying bacteria and as the region was
rainless and there was no chance for
drainage the product remained intact.
The crystals OF sodium slowly drank in
he nitrogen from the air and held II
The sun., 1916-12-10

in the form Of what Is known as
sodium nitrate or Chilean saltpetre.
Before describing the electro-chemical
processes It should be made clear what
fertilization means to farm productive.
ness.
1t is a matter Of record that foreign
acres have won their superiority yer
ours mainly during the last twenty
years. The European farmer. has
found it necessary to stimulate his
fields in order to increase their yield
and as a financial venture he has been
almost uniformly richly rewarded.
Drawing a comparison between Ger
many and the United States. the fol-
lowing figures are extremely SUCCESS
tive:
AVERAGE YIELD / N BUSHELS.
United States.
The sun., 1916-12-10
NITROGEN TO ADD MANY MILLIONS
TO THE NATIONS WEALTH

scribed as improved acreage. Again,
only 80 per cent. Of the total, or 20
per cent. Of the improved acreage.
that is. $4,000 900 acres. val culti-
waited In crops.
or this titled area 245. 900. 900 acres
lie east Of the Mississippi. According
to statisticians but $4,000, 900 are fertil-
ized; the remaining 81 per cent. of
the lands upon which crops are grown
have to depend upon the soils unaided
strength to make them fruitful.
On the acres actually fertilized the
plant food represented in 1910 an aver
age outlay OF &4.03 per acre. II this
expenditure is apportioued among the
The sun., 1916-12-10

DO you attribute the change o..
t.rely to the fact that women take %
in elections" l asked.
Sure was the reply; "they r"'.'
lutionized the whole business az. 60
other men indoned this stat"U'''
There was no necessity for Il; they o.
not know | was seeking favorau.e
testimony: they said II simply beCausH
II was true.
Our itinerary ended at tho polls Of.
the City Hall. I had visited city has
before-when l paid my taxes, for ~
stance. Women everywhere go otte'
city halls in these days when they OF"
irving to do civic work and !r'e'','
ing themselves in matters that i'N'
them before the Council and IN" ''
courts. They wouldn't brush ~ ''.
more down from the peach or H'o'''
from the grape II they Went t.e''
20 put their opinions IN a ballot q
not as much in fact as II tA'Y h,'
To stand up and express them ora"
before a room full Of men,
Mrs. Lindsay was a. homo no.
where she has her Office ard CONG
every day to attend Council meet.rI
for the Council sits daily III
Angeles. Every hat went Of t. 'r'
every mar wanted To render her S.H.-
service. Where was the loss 81 r'Sl'
and influence which in the Fast We H''
so.emnly assured viii result W.
women vote and hold office?
been watching for 1t all day AID
thought many times that never ~.
seen q woman treated more r'sir
fully.
II am Mrs. Lindsay" sNc ~,
say when we entered the pyl'!hs iH
and instantly every man WiS f..
feet Yes. ] voted TO- YOU
Of them would say, or Oh. W. kno"
our Council woman" sometime '.H'
would consult her about some 'HA'''
before the Council. AlwayS ard ".cr''
where, In mems treatment ~ h'g a.
OF the women voters at the polls, they
demonstrated what ought to u" ''' - '
dent for discussion, that power CON
mands respect.
A day at the polls In Los .Ange.e'
or in any city where womea vote, W
demol.sh the foundations ot all arg
ments against woman suffrage. l. "
DO more, II will make the objrc',o''
appear SO shallow and unreasJn'' -
that one will. wonder how one eve
could have had them, 1t all comes
about so easily. so naturally. the f'"-
life flows along unchanged: society ar
business pursue the even tenor Of ire
way; II seems as " It had been or
daincd from the beginning that
should come to pass. The only rei. )
surDrisinp thing about II Is TIA; a.
The sun., 1916-12-10
RY THAT WOMEN WOULD BE |
By IDA Hustled HARPER.
| FAlRER test Of woman suffrage

n CAAAtEft test OF woman Suffrage
~ could not be asked than has
just been given In California.
The fact that 400. 900 women voted and
no disturbance Of any kind was re-
ported ought to show first that women
want to vote and second that It Is en-
tirely safe for them to do 90. I was
very glad Of an opportunity to observe
for myself exactly what occurred when
women voted in a city Of about 900, 900
people.
! was up and dressed early on this
particular morning in Los Angeles be-
cause l was to have a new experience
u was going to see II women were
insulted at the polls. In all the a
that had been asking .or the ballot
how many has nothing to do with this
story had always had fired at me
point blank the question. DO you
want to have women insulted at tho
polls?"
OF course I didn't, either there or
anywhere else, and yet I felt that they
ought to be entitled to vote, and 1t
was contrary to my ideas of men that
they would insult women for marking
s"S" va VA q BANNV VI PdPcI anu
putting It In a box, when they wouldn't
dream Of saying a disrespectful word
to them for anything else the women
might do. Now here were these Call
fornia women, who had been so reck-
less or courageous that they had taken
the chances--it was plainly my duty to
see for myself what happened to them
and II necessary TO warn my fellow sis
tiers in the East before 1t was ever
lastingly too late.
was TO make the rounds OF the
polling places with Mrs. Lindsay,
member Of the City Council and there
fore that bette noire OF the anti-suf-
fragists, a woman ofiiceholder. She
should have been named Zenobia OF
Xantippe instead OF Estelle, but theL
her parents didn't know how she was
going to turn out She should have
been a tall. angular srinster Of UNI
certain age instead OF a slender little
fve footer in the early thirties and APP
parcntly a happy wife, She should
have worn a divided skirt and a mans
hat. as many Of the society women DE-
who shudder at the thought Of a vote
hut she was dressed In a natty blul
serge with a saucy black and whit,
turban.
remarked that as a suffragist ant
an o~fhceholder she must naturally b,
a man hater and she answered tina
h didn't see how she logically coulS
be when nearly $4,000 OF them votet
to put her In ONCE. ! didn't either
but It was rather unwomanly for he,
TO BE- logical, the more especially whel
his "a not required Of members OF
City Council -.
The sun., 1916-12-10

oolISly VI CAS$SAA~ AoAAAoS~c
to provide intense heat neces-
sary in taking nitric acid from
the air.
er into contact with those Of manufac-
ture. distribution. sources Of supply.
&C.. which obviously call for govern
mental assistance"
Government assistance has come in
the form Of the $780, 00, 900 plant for
the fxation Of atmospheric nitrogen.
and the question Is how best to imi-
tate natures processes. There are sew
eral a Of doing this.
According to the physicist 70 per
cent. Of the Globes enveloping atmos-
phere consists OF nitrogen In a free
state. As a result Of electric action in
the air and rainfall 100. 100000 tons Of
combined nitrogen IL washed out Of the
atmosphere and borne down to the soil
yearly by these forces of nature.
Stimulating this old procedure.
the electro chemist Invented the arc
process for the fixation Of atmospheric
nitrogen in the form Of nitric acid.
The arc process represents the sky's
lightning. and in the presence OF that
intense flame a molecule OF nitrogen
and a molecule Of oxygen are trans
formed into nitric oxide.
This gas. when lowered in tempera.
ture and exposed TO falling spray in
special granite towers. is absorbed by
the water and a weak nitric acid re-
suits. This is subsequently, concen-
trated by evaporation. The cheap
hydroelectric mercy obtainable in
Norway. Sweden and upon the slopes
OF the Alps has made 1t practicable to
employ the arc process there in the
fixation Of atmospheric nitrogen. The
pitric acid Is either sold as such or
used to make various nitrates.
Germany is not a land Of abundant
water power. and neither Is current
from ~hydroelectrlc generators cheap
here. Therefore Germany's example
Is Of especial interest to us. and the
process about to he outlined is the one
upon which the Germans are mainly
depending to-day to enable them 10
battle with their enemies and to make
their fields intensively fruitful.
Germany Is now manufacturing
something like 500 900 tons Of nitrate.
and ere long her annual capacity will
reach SOC. 900 tons. This Is because she
has an extremely economical way OF
erecting the fiXation OF nitrogen. one
that makes It practicable to utilize
water power OF low head and her
abundant Il OF brown coal or
liz nite. Instead OF seeking TO secure
nitric acid as the first product. as by
the arc process. her immediate aim is
10 make calcium cyanamid.
Briefly. calcium cyanamid is calcium
carb!de-the same material that Is
used in generating acetlyene gas
which has absorbed a large percentage
OF nitrogen. This absorption is ef.
fected In electric ovens. where grounC
carbide Is exposed to pure nitrogen,
Calcium carbide Is the product OF
lime and coke fused In the electric fur
mace. where only a modest percentage
The sun., 1916-12-10

struggle TO obtain the suffrage for
women and the long, long series OF
defeats, due very largely to the oppo-
si,ion OF the liquor interests. And here
in this city Of yer half a million peo-
pie l saw the wome voting in IA tenn
plc consecrated 10 the cause OF tenn
perance! l watched them with deep
emotion-wives with their husbands,
mothers leading little children. old
women alone with the light Of service
to humanity shining In their eycs-all
dropping their ballots in the boz under
the banner stretched across thu plat
The sun., 1916-12-10
HE United States needs q larger
supply Of nitrogen. How shall
II Be secured?

"HE Un1te0 STATES n0cu1 iSAoos
supply Of nitrogen. How shall
II b secured?
Il 70 doubtful II II q be found In
the ground. The United States Geo.
losicai Survey has been on a still hunt
for a year and more hoping to hit on
Just such a fnd. Success Of . sort has
rewarded Its efforts; nitrate salts have
been discovered in some parts Of the
United States, notably in southern
California, but tho deposits are De.
ciared to be insignificant in amount
and Of q character that makes II ex-
ceedingly doubtful whether It would be
practicable to work them commercially.
The Chilean nitrate deposits cannot
b depended upon with certainty. 1t
has been calculated that the Chilean
deposits will be dangerously reduced
BIZ 1866, and inside of . score Of years
later the supply will Be exhausted.
Then there is another thing to con-
s3A0.
Before August 1, 1914. Germany wa
the largest importer Of Chilean nitrate.
When last year ended we had taken
her place, and our imports Of sodium
nitrate totalled nearly 200. 100000
pounds. Much Of this material wal
brought here for the purpose Of maxi
ing powder and other military explo-
stvss, the bulk Of which has gone
abroad. Nevertheless what our manu-
fActurers have thus done for the Euro
pean belligerents falls a good deal be-
low what We would be likely to need
for our " defence in time Of war.
And where would we be able to get nj
trates then? Could we dominate the
sea lanes leading to Chile and at the
same time guard our immediate shores
and outlying possessions?
In this situation the lesson taught
by Germany Is important. Her achieve
msnts since the war began point to a
OOOSSC Va supply VA hitio6ch WuANA 40
aloo available to the United States.
Suddenly confronted at the begin
ming Of the wal with a very grave
problem "a deficiency Of plant food
and a threatening lack Of a chemical
indispensable TO the munition maker
the Germans summoned their wealth
Of technical cunning in the field Of
; chemistry and set about drawing nj
trogen from the air and fixing II In
forms suitable to their needs. At the
outbreak Of hostilit!es 1t Is estimated
that Germany had available 1900. o0o.-
900 pounds Of nitrate Of sodium, and
It was apparent that that store would
not last long under present day meth
odo Of waging The Imperial
Government promptly took measures
to enlarge existing plants for the fixa-
ton OF atmospheric nitrogen and to
establish new plants. So successful
the experiment has been that 1t has
been reported Germany expects to get
along without Chilean saltpetre in the
future.
1t was In view OF the military need
OF . source Of supply Of nitrates tina,
Congress authorized in the last appro.
=. prtation for the army the establish.
ment OF a 500, 900. 900 plant for tha nv.
The sun., 1916-12-10

form: For God and Home and Native
Land" 1t seemed indeed prophetic.
In talking with the man In charge
here ] said that l had been visiting
the polling places all day in all parts
Of the city and had not seen one police
man at any Of them.
There would be nothing for him to
do" was the answer; there IL never
any trouble" Then. warming up, the
Judge said: You ought 10 have been
here before woinen voted; there was
plenty for the policemen 10 do then, a
nSht every hour"