Evening star., 1916-08-06

of Uncle Sam.
Organizing Indian In order 10 en- en-
County Fairs. ter this occupa-
| ton among the original Americans
Uncle Sam has, through his Indian
office. recently organized Indian
! county fairs. Although little pub
| licity has been given these events. par
ticularly in the east, they have been
| eminently successful in accomplishing g
their purpose.
Those reading of the wild and daring
exploits of Indian warriors in earlier
days can hardly be persuaded that
the descendants of those same war
riors are today becoming good farmers.
and yet it is the truth, as proven by
statistical government records
The Indian fairs are the beginning g
of what will come later-the compet-
ing Of the Indian with the white
some instances this has already been
done and in several important cases
the Indian has won the prize against
his white brother. One example is
Muskogee. Okla. in 1913. when Jack
Postoak. a full-blooded Mississippi
Choctaw Indian, won the first prize
for cotton. and at the International
Dry Farming Congress held at Tulsa
in the same state Postoak won spe-
cial prize awarded to the farmer hav-
ing the best individual exhibit. This
is only one of many similar cases on
| file at the Indian office.
The fairs were inaugurated and are
now promoted and fostered by the
Indian office so that the redskins might
be encouraged to produce live stock
and take up farming by creating COM
petition and rivalry between them.
vy1I Ifrn nct1 hA fnt hn hi a
man to appreciation of the progress
of the Indians. showing their present
civilized condition as opposed to the
old-time frontier Indian in war paint
and feathers
These fairs have been modelled after
the regular county fair go well known
TO all Americans. except that the un-
desirable features of the latter have
been eliminated. For instance.
gambling. dancing, liquor and even
horse racing have been eliminated.
When horse races are allowed they
are limited to two a day. Now that
the fairs are being held on many reser-
vations they are taking the place of
which those attending invariably be-
came intoxicated. generally ending in
bad blood all around.
Exhibits of live stock. Indian handi-
work. farm products. the work of the
Indian schools and uplift exhibits are
the general rule at these affairs. In
order to encourage the Indians to eY-
hibit. useful prizes are always given
These, in many cases, are accompanied
by certificates from the Indian Office
showing that such and such an Indian
has won first or second prize The In
dians take much pride in receiving
these certificates.
An Indian fair association" has been
organized at nearly all Of the reserva-
| tions. which is in charge of the work
of getting up the fair. The association,
Of course. is presided over by the super
intendent Of the reservation for the
government but the Indians have prac-
tical charge. and this encourages them
to go ahead and make it a success. In
few instances does the Indian Office sup
ply any money for these fairs. no ap-
preparation for the purpose being avail
able from Congress. They are paid for
in the majority of cases ny advertise
ments in the programs and by gate re-
ceipts. as well as voluntary subscrip-
tions from those Interested in seeing
the Indians advancement Following
Is letter written to Commissioner or
Indian Affairs Cato Sells recently from
one of the reservation superintendents
telling of what was thought of the fair
given under his direction:
Those who attended the fair pro-
nounced it splendid success. This
was the verdict heard on every hand
from spectators. Indian and white. The
word zhone. in the Apache tongue.
siShlneS that "hlch Is good. and the
frequency with which the word was
heard among the Indians leaves no
doubt as to their estimate, and the ex-
pressions heard among the white visit
ors fully indicate their appreciation"
One of the most interesting features
of the work of the forest service from
an economic stand
Utilizinp point is the wood
waste exchange, es-
wood Waste. tablished year or
so ago. 1t is the purpose of this ex-
change to help do away with the ter
rible waste that has always character
lied our lumber industry
The exchange consists of two lists
Of manufacturers. which are sent out
quarterly to persons desiring them.
One Of these is of Opportunities to
Sell Waste" and contains the names
Of firms using sawdust and small pieces
of wood. This list is sent to saw
mills and other plants having waste
for sale. The other list is of 'Oppor-
tunities to Buy Waste" and gives the
names of concerns which have waste
to dispose Of. This list is sent to firms
which wish to buy material
Heretofore sawmills have had to pay
to have their waste burned. That in
\
stead of that expense. they realize a
profit on the waste. In addition, wood
work manufacturers who used to buy
the whole log and then cut it up do
away with the purchasing of the log
and buv the waste at much cheaper
rate Therefore this system is bene-
fiting both the sawmill and the wood
" ork manufacturer
For example A manufac acturer of nov
elites located in Camden, n. J., makes
for the Philadelphia department store
trade a number of different articles
for kitchen use. One of these is
known as sink rack and is laid in
the bottom Of porcelain-lined sinks to
prevent the porcelain from chipping
of in the process of dish washing. In
the making of these racks half-inch
dowels eighteen inches long and one
inch squares twelve inches long are
required. The manufacturer formerly
cut this stock from a perfectly good
plank, bought at rather high rate,
but is now purchasing the two classes
Of material needed from firms included
in the List of Opportunities to Buy
Waste" The same manufacturer also
makes clothes props. and for his raw
material purchases edgings from n
sa wrnill given In the list mention ed
above Other articles are made at
various seasons of the year, and the
manufacturer expects to obtain all OF
his raw material from firms listed with
the exchange
The bureau of standards is proving
an efficient help to business men
and manufacturers