davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

AS the auctions are well advertised.
and catalogue sent to all desiring to
know what wiz be offered at auction.
they are well attended: and as a rule
purchasers are pleased with their bar
gains.
The man in charge Of this unique
sale Of heterogeneous supplies is Mar
vim M. Mclean. Superintendent of the
Dead Letter Division of the Post Office
Department. Mr.. Mclean gives the
official title of Uncle Sans Christ
mas auction as sale of unclaimed
articles accumulated in the Dead Let
ter Office" He explains that there Is
no especial reason for the sales talk
ing place shortly before Christmas
except that the accumulation has to
be cleared away before another Christ
mas supply of unclaimed package mail
takes its place.
Despite the untiring care Of the
corps OF blind readers" who spend
their entire time in trying to find the
rightfu1 owners Of the. hundreds Of
thousands OF letters and packages
which, through insufficient addresses,
find their way to this division Of the
Post Office Department at Washington,
there are annually many thousands OF
waits and strays which defy every eff
fort to locate their rfghtful owners
and which finally have to be consigned
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

shelf upon shelf in two large rooms.
cit all entails Lot Of work." said
he. Every one Of these packages is
opened twice, once for indexing, and
again for asserting. When every
means fails through the efforts of the
blind reader to find an owner for a
package, 1t is then opened. list and
description Is made of It's contents,
and it is then given number and a
place on those shelves. This data,
with other notations identifying the
package, is then listed upon d card
and becomes part Of a card catalogue
OF the returned package mail.
IF anyone writes to the Depart
ment about lost package this cata-
logue is consulted and, If the listing
tallies with the description sent. the
package is restored to its owner. I'm
til this year packages were kept intact
and on the catalogue for one year, but
by new order which went into effect
last August. they will hereafter be
retained for, only six months. After
that period Of time no claim for recla-
nation will be considered.
She Prepares Packages For The Sale
1.-THE second opening Of the pack
ages is termed stripping and takes
place at the end OF the allotted time
of holding them. They are then taken
from their original 1wrappings and
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

More thar thirty thousand families
have been established in homes Of their
own In prosperous agricultural COM
| munittes, farming the land which was
formerly the desert home OF the Jack
Rabbit.
Deeds OF Daring.
Deeds Of daring and resourcefulness
almost without parallel in history have
been performed In the perfecting OF
this great scheme OF desert redemp-
ton and engineering feats have been
accomplished which have astonished
the world. Take for instance the great
Uncompahgre project in the State Of
Colorado. The land in this section
was found to be particularly fertile
If water could be brought to it. So
the engineers Of the Reclamation
Service set about the project and ac-
lcomplished it only after strenuous
work.
The Uncompahgre and the Gunni-
son rivers were ten miles apart and
separated by a mountain two thousand
feet high. It was decided to take the
superhuous water from the Gunnison
River and divert it into the Uncom-
pahgre and so make fertile the hun
dreds Of thousands of acres in the
valley. This could only be done by
tunnelling the mountain, which was
no easy task. Surveying the route was
hazardous as to accomplish this the
men had to swing ropes over precipices
and often cling to crevices in the
rocks. while others f1oated down unex-
p1ored streams on RATS encountering
many dangers. They. however, sue
ceeded, and completed a tunnel six
miles in length which is accepted by
all engineers as the greatest UNDER
ground waterway in the world.
Four Great Dams.
The Service has also constructed
four great masonry dams, this work
being second only to the building Of
the Panama Canal. The great Roose-
welt dam down in Arizona has a stor-
age capacity Of water sufficient to-
cover more than million and a quar-
ter acres one foot deep. 1t is known
as the Salt River project and is one
Of the largest of the irrigation prot
ects. Its purpose is to regulate the
! flow of the Salt River, and the dis
tribution through the dam includes
! nearly eight hundred miles of canals.
In Wyoming the engineering work
on the Shoshone dam was unusually
interesting on account of it's great
height. It's construction is of the
strongest type. being over one hundred
feet thick on the bottom. The soil
there is light and sandy and is an
excellent place for dairy farms.
The Boise Project.
The Boise, Idaho. project will re-
claim a quarter Of million acres in
a beautiful country. To do this 1t was
necessary to build the Arrowrock dam,
the highest of it's kind in the world
When all the bitches and canals are
completed it will open up homesteads
for hundreds Of people. Parts of the
land are still being irrigated from a
reservoir near Caldwell
The Elephant Butte Dam.
The greatest work. however, Is the
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

- HE practice Of irrigation is very
ancient-in fact. It is one OF
the oldest arts of civilization.
- As early as 1000, B. c.. history
tells OF the extensive irrigation prof.
Gets and storage reservoirs Of Egypt.
Herodotus, writing four hundred and
fifty years before the Christian era,
described the Assyrian irrigation sys-
tenn built by Nimrod, King OF Babel.
or Nebuchadnezzer about 2204, B. c.,
and which utilized canals and laterals.
some OF which were navigable and
connected the Euphrates with the
Tigris. The historian Pliny wrote Of
the reservoirs Of the Nile Valley con-
structed by King Maerls about 20S4,
b. G. The ancient flooding system
OF Egypt, the reservoirs Of Persias@ the
Grecian aqueduct, the Roman conduits
and the Jewish canals near Hebron
are common knowledge. During the
recent excavations in Mesopotamia
some remarkable Irrigation products
have been discovered showing that
the people OF that period were well
up on that subject. So, 1t will be
seen that the greatest nations Of the
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
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mo" Mr.. Mclean replied. 1t has
had the opposite effect. The rule nec-
essitating senders to place their names
and addresses on every package sent
by Parcel Post has greatly ,lessened
their loss. While the number OF
packages transmitted by mail annual
ly runs into millions, the proportion
returned to the Dead Letter Office Is
relatively smaller than before Its
advent.
Under the Parcel Post system.
which permits sending package
through the mail up to fifty pounds
weight, we get returns of larger pack
ages than before, when the maximum
weight allowable by mail was eleven
pounds. The sales in Washington are
also greatly reduced by the opening
of Dead Letter Divisions Of the Post
ONCE Department in thirteen large
cities throughout the country, in
which are located the thirteen divi-
sion headquarters Of the Railway Mail
Service.
These offices now conduct their
own sales of returned packages. and
although Washington is to some ex-
tent the loser thereby, the people
throughout larger area have
chance to share in the bargains to be
had at the Dead Letter Office auctions
1.-THE cities beside Washington
which conduct the auction sales of
undelivered packages are New York.
Boston, st. Louis. Cincinnati, Chicago.
San Francisco, st. Paul, Fort Worth.
Atlanta, New Orleans. Seattle and
Omaha"
No one who has not attended these
quaint sales of Post Office left-overs can
have an adequate conception Of the
number and bewildering variety Of
articles which are annually lost in the
mails, with no clue to their owners.
and are thus disposed Of,
The catalogue which Is issued by
the hundreds annually mentions every
thing imaginable from wagon parts to
wedding rings; from clothes washers
to safety razors. There is always a
great quantity Of jewelry. the genuine
gold, silver and precious stones care
fully separated from the limitations:
and there are books galore. from the
Bible to linen toy books. AS for keys,
the Dead Letter Office possesses a
bushel OF those necessary details of
y-day life. + rN~~' -
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
ASketcho Of the Work Of Retaining the Great Vest
How Water Has Been Brought To Arid Lands
The Great Elephant Butte Dam.
Copyright 1916, by The International Syndicate

ancient world maintained dominion
for centuries in practically rainless
land and raised crops equal to their
needs by the system of irrigation.
= Even in our own land irrigation is
older than tradition. Evidences Of it
are found in many places in the
Southwest, especially In Arizona and
New Mexico. Some Of these ancient
canals are still plainly marked and SO
well constructed that in some sections
the irrigators Of the present time are
utilizing the work Of this prehistoric
race. According to the records, at
the time of the Spanish conquest Of
Mexico appropriations of streams for
irrigation prevailed among the Aztecs,
the Toltecs and the Yaquis, and the
pra ctice survives to this day among
the native tribes of the Pueblo In
dams. The Pueblos use the water as
they have done for generations and
hold sacred their irrigation rights
acquired by use and recognized by law.
Down in Peru irrigation is Of ancient
origin too, and several centuries ago
appropriation was directed by the
State. which constructed and main
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

it that none Of the land gets into the
hands of spectators. Thousands OF
settlers will be attracted to this Sec
the aid of the Elephant Butte dam
will feed the Islands more. It must
not be understood that the Reclama-
ton Service is neglecting other Sec
tons in the erection Of the South
western project for the work is going
on throughout the West and each year
new homesteads are opened up and
the land sold at reasonable prices.
The West Changed.
All over the West one finds EVIL
dences of the excellent work of the
Service, and more than 100000
Americans are now living on crops
grown on lands made fertile by irriga-
ton. Almost everything is grown
upon these once barren hills and
plains Beautiful homes, now stand
where once only the rattlesnake and
the cactus plant could thrive; great
wheat fields spread out over land
where the sage brush and grease weed
once held sway; alfalfa has taken the
place Of the mesquite brush. and roses
bloom where once the stickey cactus
thrived alone. Green spots where cat
tie find plenty to eat are now found in
the arid lands Of the great South
west. Even in the cold Northwest we
find great apple orchards land wheat
and barley fields, with fine homes to
house the farmer and big barns to
hold the crops until they can be sent
to market. Already more than $780,
600, 100000 has been spent in irrigation
projects and the prospect Is that al
much more will be spent during the
next ten years.
A few years ago Congress appro-
priated additional funds for irrigation
and as a certain project is completed
it is made available for settlement and
each settler may take about forty
acres of ground for a homestead.
These homesteaders then go together
and form water association. paying
the cost Of operating the plant, also
setting apart sum Of money to reim-
burse the Government for the con-
struction of the plant. AS this money
comes in to Washington other opera
tions are started--a clear case OF
Uncle Sam helping those who help
themselves. Those of US who know
the great West and the remarkable
changes which 1t has undergone
through irrigation feel that the Recla-
nation Service Is a national asset
and is laying the foundation for
great increase in the national wealth
and production as well as providing
an outlet for the increasing popula-
ton Of our country.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
huge Elephant-Butte dam in the

huge Elephant-Butte dam in the
Southwest which has recently been
completed at the cost OF over SIS, 00O,-
100000. The completion of the dam
brings to an end the bitter interstate
and international controversy which
has ragged in the Rio Grande Valley
between New Mexico and Texas and
with Old Mexico. It was strife each
year between the farmers over water
rights. and ct times there was danger
of rupture in. the relations between
the United States and Mexico whose
rich valley was threatened with de-
struction by reason Of the shortage of
water. Mexico has now cancelled her
claims and In lieu thereof will accept
supply Of water drawn from the
reservoir. By special treaty the Unit
ed States has agreed to deliver to Mex
leo certain amount of water an
nually free Of charge. In return Mex
leo valves all rights to the waters
of the Rio Grande for distance Of
seventy-f1ve miles between the New
Mexico-C Chihuahua line to Fort Quit
man. Texas.
1t required five years to construct
the great dam which will hold eight
hundred and fifty-six billion gallons
of water-a regular man made ocean
in the heart of the desert. The en-
cheering problems met and solved in
the construction Of the dam were
mum rous and difficult. Preliminary
work before a rock was placed in the
foundation consumed as much time as
the actual building of the structure
itself. A railroad thirteen miles long
and through a difficult country had to
be constructed and camp accommo-
dating four thousand people was
established with complete lighting,
water and sewerage systems. All work
was done by Government forces and
extraordinary care was given to the
health of the people employed.
The huge gray dam itself is, dwarfed
by the gray hills around it. and one
must stand on it's crest to appreciate
it's size. Shaped like a wedge with
the narrow edge uppermost and the
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
packages in the usual manner. They

packages in the usual manner. They
also brought the lottery law to bear
upon their arguments and won out.
"Since then all goods sold at our
package auction sales have been dis
played. and there is no gamble what
ever about it. They are now, too, ar
ranged in large lots Of one kind. In
this way our clientele has within the
past four years changed materially.
Whereas before that time the buyers
were composed of from five hundred
to thousand private individuals led
to'attend the auction by a love of the
unknown, or the chance of rare
bargain, or by desire for job lot
Of Christmas presents. now the buyers
are shrewd dealers or private specu-
lators in Washington and neighboring
cities, who buy the large lots now put
up and resell them at great profit.
'Easy Money In Neckties.
II recall that last year one dealer
bid in lot of more than nine hun
dred mems neckties Of all grades and
descriptions for seventy-fi five dollars.
You can easily figure out the profit
he was likely to make on that job lot
of perfectly good neckwear. The same
thing happened with pocket-knives
These under the new arrangement
were all thrown together in one lot
and sold to one dealer who doubtless
made good money from his purchase.
A popularity Of these knives was that
they were nearly all pearl handled.
some Of them very good, which shows
the universal taste in choosing a PEN
knife as a Christmas gift.
Women who come to buy at a bar
gain some bits of fine lace-many
yards of which go astray in transmits
sion from foreign countries-are now
disappointed because the laces for
mer1y sold in small, selected lots are
now disposed, Of in, two large lots. the
real and the imitation 1aces being sold
In this way. So also with handker-
chiefs, mems and women's, which are
now auctioned off in lots of several
hundreds; and the same applies to
shoes, stockings and all manner of
available articles of everyday use,
which pass through the mails.
Parcel Post Help; Not Hindrance.
"Has the Parcel Post Service in
creased the number of articles dis
posed OF at the Christmas auction
sales p" ,se-es
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
to this picturesque clearance sale.
$4,000 Packages To Be Sold.

Needless to say" said Mr.. Mclean.
every possible effort is made to find
the senders or the addresses. See
these shelves OF directories?" and he
pointed to several well-flled cases of
bulky volumes. "These are directories
Of every good sized town in the Unit
ed States and our most experienced
blind readers pretty we'll know them
by heart. so long and so hard have
they studied their contents in their
efforts to divert incorrectly addressed
mail into it's proper channel.
"Despite all our efforts, however,
within the past year nearly four hum
dred thousand packages sent through
the mail went astray: and for them
no owner can be found. OF this num-
Der some forty-six thousand have
been returned to this Office and will
be sold before Christmas at our an
nual auction sale of unclaimed ar
tic1es which have accumulated since
last season."
Mr. Mclean led the way to the
east end Of the third floor Of the
beautiful new Washington Post Office
building, which houses the Dead Let
ter Division OF the Post Office Depart
ment Packages Of every shape and
description by thousands. were piled
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
IN l3xzSAzxo1
ZZLDI2

tanned canals for the use Of the tillers
of the soil. For many years parts of
Spain, Portugal, France and Italy have
produced crops by the aid of irriga-
ton. The Moors carried it into Sicily
and Algeria. The Spanish conquerors
brought the art to America. From
Mexico the knowledge was carried
1orthward into the CALIFORNIA; by the
Jesuit and Franciscan padres who had
irrigation bitches constructed about
the Missions where few still exist
There was nothing In the way of
extensive irrigation carried out in the
United States, however, until 1847,
when the Mormon colonists of Utah
first diverted the waters of City Creek
near Salt Lake City for the purpose
of using 1t in cultivating the soil.
Under Interior Department.
At present the irrigation work comes
under what Is known as the Reclama-
ton Service, a part Of the Depart
ment of the Interior. It is also the
home-making bureau of the Govern
ment and was organized in 1902. In
the sixteen arid States there are about
45o,000.0o0 acres of land belonging
to the Government, and it is esti-
mated that at least 100000 acres
can be cultivated with proper irriga-
ton. By the Act Of Congress, known
as the Reclamation Act, of June II,
1902. all proceeds from the sale of
public lands in the arid States shall
be expended in the construction of
irrigation works. Since that time re-
markable progress has been made by
the Service, and at the present time
more than million and half acres
Of desert land have been made to bios
som as the rose by means of bitches
and laterals connected with the big
reservoirs set up In the mountains.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11

broad base buried beneath the waters
and the sands Of the river bed reach
ing deep into bed rock below, there
is easily room for two teams to pass
between the two six-foot parapets on
the roadway that forms the top. 1t
Is five minutes walk from end to end
with a magnificent view spread out
before the traveller The lake is by
no means filled as yet. but the water
it contains is unusually clear. Great
carp and catfish of an unusual size
swim about in a contented fashion.
A mile from the main dam there is a
lesser dam built Of earth and stone.
This structure blocks dry canyon
and there is no water in sight from
its crest at present, but when the big
lake is full this canyon will be flooded
and the water will rise in the Sec
ondary dam.
The main dam has numerous gall
leries and passages and one may ex-
plore it's insides at will. Steps lead
everywhere-in fat it would seem
that you were going through to Asia
as you go down and down these iron
stairways. Finally. the walls are damp
to the touch and you become conscious
Of a change In the air pressure. You
are nearing the bottom. The struc-
ture seems to shake by the vibration
due to the rush Of water to the power
plant and the sensation is by no means
pleasant. The whole work is a marvel
of engineering.
Special Law.
The Reclamation Act was designed
to reclaim the arid public lands, and
as there never was any Government
owned land in the State Of Texas (due
to the peculiar circumstances under
which Texas entered the Union) it be-
came necessary to pass special law
to meet the case. Uncle Sam. how
ever, will get his money back for the
farmer whose land is irrigated must
pay $4,000 annually for each acre of
land on which the water Is to be used.
1t Is also understood that while the
large land owners in that section will
sell off small farms they will see to
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-11
Christmas Gifts On Sale
AT Bargain RatesIn Thir-
teen Different Cities =
Bargains Of asst Years =
46, 900 Packages To Be
Sold This Year.
Copyright, 1916, by The international
Syndicate. 49,

81.
NCLE SAM SAM mas penoii.n. 80
selling on ms un"anteo sup
plies. and being an economical
~ old bachelor these sales OF
what might be termed Federal by
nroducts seem to give him rare de-
l,cbt since the revenue therefron goes
- ~. 49, ~. o,,,,, rro.s,,rv
- 49, 80. a., ~ -. aa,,,an - 4n..a
$500. 49, na.s atta,
800 = .ns - 80 w.,., b.ra
The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-04-07

A neat, we'll planned front yard
gives a cosy appearance to a home. 1t
is important that the trees be we'll
arranged within the yard. They
should be placed where they will not
obstruct the view from the house to
the road or shut out the necessary
sunlight
To secure the best effect, fast grow
ing or temporary trees may alternate
with the long-lived trees. The trees
should never be planted closer than
16 or 1S feet apart. Temporary trees
will grow up quickly and give the
much desired shade while the slower
trees are developing. When the per-
manent trees begin to fill in the va
cant spaces, the temporary ones can
be cut down. making room for the
full development of the permanent
foliage trees But quick-growers are
nearly always bad bargin; they are
soft-wooded. and therefore easily
broken by storms, after which they
fall an easy prey to insects and dis
eases. Quick-growers are the cheapest
at the start, but the dearest in the
end, because they cost more to main
tain. Just when you need them most
they fail you, and the cost OF cutting
down Dig trees IS very nedVy. i ne piH'
the red, and the scarlet oaks Will
overtake most of these Quick-growers
in twenty years. and they will last for
centuries after the quick-growers are
dead. Temporary trees get less val
liable every year after they reach
good size. while permanent trees grow
more valuable. If you want the
greatest increase of value for your
property. plant permanent trees
Quick growers often kill sales Of prop
erty because prospective purchasers
are getting to hate temporary trees
In Cleveland, it is against the law to
plant poplars. Try to solve your
shade problem without quick-groWers.
Planting trees too closely gives rise
to irregularly shaped trees. Often.
moreover, as result OF too much
shade, the grass on the lawn Is de-
stroyed.
Fruit or nut bearing trees should
never be planted in the front yard, for
the fruit or nuts from these trees litter
up the lawn. Professor Scott of Kan
sas thinks that Cor the best effect the
The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-04-07

any one crop at any time during the
season, or you will have an abundance
at certain times, and no green 1000
at other times
Among the pasture and forage crops
that are best adapted to hog pasture
are rye, clover, alfalfa. fleld-peas, cow
peas, sweet corn, oats, millet anu
rape. They may be sown at various
times during the growing season, SO
that some OF them will be available
at all times VIII en- the weather ls favof-
able for the animals to be outside.
The hog growers should look to the
legumes and investigate their h1sh
feeding value. They are highly nitro
reneous food and may be grown with
great benefit to the land at low cost.
When a green forage crop Is pas
tured with pigs, it is often necessary
to plow under a large portion OF the
green forage which, together with the
droppings of the pigs while they are
running on the field and being fed
supplementary grain foods. greatly
improves the land. increasing It's
humus content and adding large