Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-28
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING

trees. The general impression-prob-
ably due to the exceedingly vile taste
OF the substance, linked, perhaps. with
cara is of foreign origin. and that 1t
10 brought to the druggists shelves
from half way round the world. As
q matter of fact the tree from which
the cascara bark of commerce Is gath
cred grows only on the Pacific coast
destructive methods that have been
followed in harvesting it on privately
owned lands. the cascara bark indus
try Is now practically confined to the
national forests of that region.
From tho federal reserves the bark
10 taken under permit, and under di-
rect supervision of the forest officers,
the latter seeing to 1t that methods are
employed that will insure a future
supply. Care is taken that the bark
shall be preserved intact for at least
six inches above the ground. and new
trees then readily sprout from the
stumps.
More than $4,000 pounds of cascara
forest in Oregon during the closing
six months of last year. Portland is
the principal primary market. and
there the bark brings from S1a to 8
cascara bark. the United States sup
plies the pharmacists Of the world.
Before the outbreak of the European
war Germany and England were the
principal customers. and even now
large quantities of the commodity are
shipped to the latter country.>
The bark gathering industry is car
ried on largely by ranchers and farm
ers Of the northern Pacific coast coun-
try. as a side line. 1t Is peeled off
dried in the sun. Many a homesteader
has managed to make go of his land
taking venture in the cascara growing
regions by gathering and selling the
bark In the years during which he was
getting a start with his farming or
cattle raising project.
The getting under way for the season
Of trafic on the great lakes emphasizes
the fact that it is not
Great Lakes only in far-away Pana-
ma that Uncle Sam has
Aiaac. canal which permits a
tremendous tonnage of produce to pass.
Right at home he has the Sault Ste.
Marie canal. or the 800" as 1T is usual
ly known, through which pass the mill
lions of tons of iron ore on their way
from the Superior mines 20 eastern
smelters. and other millions of bushels
of grain and barrels of -four from the
fields and mills of the western lake
states.
How the 500 and the Panama canals
will compare after the conclusion of
the war, which Is booming the trade of
the one and reducing that of the other.
it is impossible to say. but 1T is self
evident on the basis of present trafhc
that the 500 waterway is incomparably
the most important. Even though the
latter canal must be closed for approx
mately four months each year because
of ice, while the Panama canal. so
far as weather conditions are concern
had passed during the year ending the
middle of September last-when the
Panama canal became blocked-over
six times as great tonnage as the
isthmian waterway.
The monthly average OF the Sault Ste.
Marie canal. in fact, was nearly as
great as the total for Panama for the
year, the respective tonnages being APP
proximately 100000 and 100000. The
comparisons are made more significant.
it is shown by reports of the United
States. engineers in charge OF both
waterways, by the fact that the United
States 500 canal must divide traffic
with a parallel Canadian waterway
only a stones throw away.
Irrespective Of what they have cost
the government and whether or not the
methods Of encouraging
Railway their construction were
wisely chosen, the impor-
surveys. lance of the role played
by railroads in the development of
America would be hard to overesti-
,,o,+a pau;opc and communities W h e h
were months beyond the frontier of
civilization half century ago have
been brought by the steel bands to
within a few days journey of any
other place in the country. while the
same metal strips have wiped the from
tier out of existence But aside from
their incalculable value as means of
transportation of goods and persons,
the railroads play part in the scien-
tific work of the government that is
known to but few laymen.
transcontinentaI railroads that Uncle
Sam is extending. through the coast
and geodetic survey, the primary lines
of his network of precise levels which
will show when completed the alti-
tudes above sea level of various points
scattered over the country. and to
which engineers, surveyors, mapmak-
ers. weather experts and scores of other
specialists do and will refer for impor-
tant data.
With Observing instruments and rods
the governments highly trained sur
"eyors have trudged in the past from
ore end OF some of the transcontinental
lines to the other, living. it might be
said. the lives of scientific ''tramps"
Like all leveling. this has involved
the frequent shifting of instruments.
and after each shift the tedious set
ting-up procedure. To make the work
move more rapidly government instru-
ment experts have recently designed a
unique motor-car station" that will
do away with delays due to frequent
setting up. The instrument will be
mounted on the light car which will
run on the rails. AS soon as an OBJ
servation has been made and turning
point SO established. the throttle will
be opened and the travelling station"
will speed several hundred feet along
the tracks, where. with trifing ad-
justment the instrument will be in
readiness for the next sight
Probably minute or more will be
saved on each observation and since
millions Of these observations remain
to be made Uncle Sam will eventually
be able to measure his conserved time
in months and years