davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1916-08-27

and field fortification. He must also
select and move all supplies and tools
needed in the work which falls to the
engineer detachments.
The training of the civilian engineer
has much in common with that of his
military brother, yet some of the
rough engineering expedients which
must be used in the army in the ter
rife pressure of war will be shocking
to engineering ideas of the civilian,
however brilliant in his profession, un-
less he has had opportunity to learn
something of military operations
The civilian engineers training de-
velops thoroughness and permanency
at the expense of time of completion.
Evening star., 1916-08-27

When crabs are caught at a moderate
depth in Chesapeake bay. often crab
pot-a network trap baited with fish
or a shallow hoopnet is used. One boat
will carry about a dozen of these
coarse-meshed nets. which have their
bait tied in the center before they are
lowered to the bottom of the water. so
that they will lie fiat. AS soon as the
fisherman in the boat thinks that some
crabs have been lured into the nets, he
pulls them to the surface so swiftly
that they cannot escape. They are
catch Is completed.
Travis or trotlines are sometimes
used In crab fishing. These are from
200 to 1000 feet long. with shorter
at short intervals. The fisherman keeps
close watch on these lines and dips out
the crabs as soon as they bite
Crab fishing appears to be slow
process, but when it is remembered
that the crabs swim in from the ocean
for the purpose of feeding, 1t will be
seen that they are easy victims OF the
tempting bait and that they bite one
The latest figures show that in 1915.
Chesapeake bay yielded over 15.000.000
crabs-a truly remarkable figure.
After the business of catching is ac-
complished, the fisherman either pro-
ceeds to cook and pick his crabs-if he
has contracts to supply crab fakes only
or to ship them alive to retail and
wholesale city dealers. Crabs are packed
carefully and shipped to market in
boxes inclosed in wet grasses or sea
weed. The soft-shelled crabs are
packed with extreme care.
Owing to the abundance Of crabs in
Chesapeake bay. Maryland leads in the
Continued on Fourth Page.)
Evening star., 1916-08-27

In addition to this fundamental diff
ference of method and point of view"
the problems themselves are different.
Civilian engineers have erected mar
velous bridges. The suspension bridges
between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the
cantilevers at Niagara and across the
Mississippi at st. Louis are evidences
of what they can do. Those same en-
gineers. however, were never, in all
probability, obliged to send men into
the woods to cut down trees, frame
them into crude piers on either side
of a stream; stretch ropes made, it may
be- of hemp instead OF wire. across the
tops from shore to shore; fasten to
these improvised cables rough hangers
and! attach to them the cross-pieces
supporting the stringers for the road
Evening star., 1916-08-27

In most phases of military work the
great demand is for speed ana COM
pletion at the cost of anything
money, material and men-everything
but time.
Thus. If civilian engineer had to
construct a bridge across stream. he
would first estimate the required
strength of the foundations, the guam
tity of structural steel he would nave
to order. remembering that when he
traffic at that point could be held up
or diverted until the bridge was ready
for use.
A military engineer cannot think the
least bit that way. His one problem
is how to get the forces to the other
side with the least delay, no matter
what the makeshift or it's cost. If
there is a ford which can with little
labor be made available he will not
bother with the bridge at all If there
were a bridge which the enemy has
destroyed he may, if the work of
demolition has not been done thor
oughly, use all or some part of it for
the new temporary work.
If he cannot make anything out of
the wreckage he may build on the
foundations. If there is anything
there which he can use to advantage
in crossing the stream, and he fails to
make use of it to shorten the time
best that a military engineer can do.
He may use his pontoons or he may
figure that they will be more needed
elsewhere.
But he must use the means at hand,
for tomorrow, when better or less ex-
brought up, may be too late. He will
get material if he has to cut down
all the ancestral trees about the home
of his own ancestors.
Evening star., 1916-08-27

put together with lashings, and every
part must be put in it's exact place or
a break is apt to follow. For such
work specially trained body of men
is indispensable.
Another OF the duties Of the Engineer
Corps is to open and maintain roads
hind the lines and for the advance of
the troops and their supplies. In such
work the civilian road builder ap-
proaches more nearly the military con-
lies behind the line, where permanence
is a greater consideration. and where
the nature OF the work does not call
for highly skilled labor.
1t seems hardly necessary to say
that the civilian map maker is better
qualified than the unframed citizen TO
make military map. and without any
military training the most important
military standpoint. might easily be
omitted Therefore, the civilian map
maker needs especial training IN tnis
work, but it will come to him much
more easily than to novice.
The duty falls upon the engineer OF
laying out the camps. When TINS Is
permanent, or base station, problems OF
water, drainage. sewerage, location Tor
convenient delivery Of supplies and
similar questions present themselves
the location must be determined by
strategic needs.
The number OF troops Of every branch
of the service being known, the eng1-
neer must determine the space required
for each, the location of 1atrines and
tncinerators, and the whole command
must be disposed according to certain
rules, so that an officer who is up to
his business can know at glance
where each unit is located.
In active campaigning the camp-lay-
out is not so complex; but it comes to
the engineers to select the locations
and to establish the lines according to
the topography. If the position is one
which is to be held and the camp Is to
be fortified, of course the engineers
make the plans and use their own and
all other men they can get hold or to
do the work
In battle, the attacks are launched
or received from positions often selected
by the engineers, and by locations and
construction of those positions success or
defeat is aften determined. In such
fighting as that of western Europe the
men going into charge carry their in
trenching tools with them. These tools
are little larger than an ordinary
trowel and are used by the men at
pause in the fighting to scoop out shall
Evening star., 1916-08-27

of crab, as many people believe, but
simply an ordinary crab which has
outgrown it's shell and cast it off.
The difference between it and its
hard -shelled brother is then merely one
of hours. The body within the she'll
grows large and splits open the casing;
it then pulls itself out of the shell;
this constitutes the transforrua ation. Be-
fore the body has time to hadren it is
Evening star., 1916-08-27

watched carefully and put aside to-
gether SO that as soon as their molt-
ing takes place they may be hustled
off to market without delay.
Crab fishing cannot be confined to the
soft-shelled specimens; nor is it de-
sirable, for the hard -shelled crabs con-
sttute the greater part of the trade.
Ordinary crab fishing has assumed all
of the proportions of a dignified industry;
Evening star., 1916-08-27

Special Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, D. G.. August %. 1916.
F1HE engineers of the regular
army in Texas and Arizona
III have had to select the sites.
lay out and construct camps
for the unexpected occupancy of over
a hundred thousand troops of the or
ganized militia
As these camps are to be more or less
permanent, the locations must be
healthful, near plentiful supplies of
uneontaminated water. of good drain
age, convenient to railroads and of
strategic and military Importance.
The Engineer Corps. /. 5. A. is COM
paratIvely small. and the engineer units
of the National Guard are far below
the numerical standard. In consequence
the burden has been heavy one. but
nothing to what it would be in case of
actual hostiIities
II is unfortunate that in the organ
ized militia this auxiliary body should
be relatively so small According to
TIE last report of the chief of the
militia division. there Were scattered
Throughout the forty-eight states only
siXty-nine commissioned officers of
engineers and 1.1GS enlisted men
gained into three battalions and seven
separate companies: whereas. on the
regular basis for the 10000 men of
the organized militia. there should be
not fewer than 6.uo0 in the engineers;
and il the militia as now organized is
brought TO full war strength. 12.J00
engineers will be necessary. A regi-
ment of engineers contains a minimum
of 200 officers and men. which may be
increased to 1,o36 at the Will of the
President
The Corps of Engineers of the regu-
lar army is composed of the picked
men Of the Military Academy a West
Point and specially selected graduates
OF. the best civilian engineering schools
in this country, men who are as well
known for their mo1umental works in
civil life as for their records in war.
Officers OF that corps designed and
executed the works necessary to pro-
tect and give access to the great har-
boz of our seacoast ard lakes at Sault
Ste. Marie, the Panama canal, the locks
in the Ohio river and hundreds of river
and harbor improvements. They have
designed and built permanent shore de-
lenses along the coasts. and their rec
ord in war forms one OF the brilliant
Evening star., 1916-08-27
SHE'LL. TURNING FROM HARD

photo by U. s. Bureau of Fisher

grabbed up for. market and sold at
much higher price than it's unchanged
companions.
The crab fishers, accustomed to deal
ing with these creatures, have learned
to tell by their appearance just when
a crab is ready to shed its shell. The
"peelers," as they are called, are
Evening star., 1916-08-27

of the hard work on shipboard. or at
army post, and in their desire to light
en- the toll of these boys with more
than the kindest of wishes, these
mothers send many welcome little
presents. good book. some magazines.
new picture of son or daughter. or
mutual friend, and now and then
package of real. me-cooked food.
One thankful boy wrote Mrs. Ellis Of
a scene with a friend of his. He had
received a splendid letter from her, and
permitted his friend to read it. The
good fellowship and beautiful under
standing revealed in that letter
Evening star., 1916-08-27
BRIG. GEN. WILLIAM NJ. BLACK.
Chief of u. $. A. Engineers.
photo by Harris & Ewing.)

advantage must be taken of natural de-
fenses, but not if their position is reached
easily by the enemy, by reason Of good
approaches.
The engineers give the proper revet-
ments to hold up the vertical banks in
the trenches and traverses in the line Of
trenches to prevent enfilade. They throw
out the parapet of dirt excavated from
the trenches to give the most protection
to those behind them.
Evening star., 1916-08-27

in 1915 it reached the million-dollar
mark in Chesapeake bay alone.
1t is carried on principally in the
summer in nearly all of the river
mouths of the Atlantic and gulf coasts.
The crabs come in from the ocean to
the brakish waters in great quantities
at this time, and are easily caught. In
Evening star., 1916-08-27

r-Dpr-NI.y out of world of cold,
~ uncomprornising facts and hard
" headed reason steps a true 'airs
~ godnlother offering her services to
the lonesome motherless boys of Uncle
Sans army and navy. Small wonder
thu; these boys stand in s.teptical won
der~t.t her suggestions. and are for
Etfe time completely at loss as to just
boa; they should receive such kindness.
Many boys who are adrift in the world
turn 10 the United States army and navy,
ard some OF them have had few opportu-
mixes or advantages; consequently they
are less resourceful than their more for
tunate brothers and frequently fail TO use
their spare moments either profltably or
hanpily.
q is for just This class OF motherless.
lonely boys that Mrs. Emma Ferguson
Ellis organized her correspondence club
and provided mothers. Mrs. Ellis lives
in Indiana polls. Ind. She is ffty-two
years of age and has son and daughter
OF her uwil. aud I; heart big enough for
other sons and daughters less fortunate.
She fs well known in the city schools
o. Indianapolis. where she does substitute
money 10 C;rry on her enterprise; in fact.
her circumstances are but moderate. But
en-. has made up in earnestness and en-
thusiasru whatever she may have lacked
In funds She has frequently worked
far E-to The night answering letters of
inqgfre-S: sending a bright word of hope
TO 4 iorlor1i boy. and doing miscellaneous
club woTH
Her organization. officially known as
the Mothers Correspondence Club. was
formally :aunched . year ago last March.
Though il is very new il has, III little
ovcr a yCas's time. done remarkable work
Mrs Ellis derived her inspiration from a
convention which she attended a couple
OF years ago.
IL had frequently occurred to her that
tie average Americans attitude toward
ths men Of the army and navy was an
entirely mistaken one. In private. every
day life soldiers and sailors We're made
TO feel an undeserVed social ostracism;
but when trouble appeared Uncle
San. horizon line these same men were
supposed TO drive the enemy away: and
in return some few achieved glory. but
tn. MA jority received no more than an
iBpe-sonal perfunctory thanks.
@&
AIRS Ellis has always contended that
the world needs friends. After looking
int naval affairs the stern facts con-
fr9nted her that an -appalling number
Of army AMI navy boys were treated
prctty much as units-cogs in a great
machine. This state OF affairs seemed
Ia sediity. 10 be nobody's fault. The
o.iieiIls "f army and navy life couldn't
be blamed for not taking keenly per-
sonal inter est in each man who enlisted
Airs. Ellis learned that in single
nbatiI there were many desertions. She
tried 10 get to the heart of this matter
and again and again she heard of in
stances OF the most courteous treatment
accorded civilian visitors by the sailor
but rarely did she learn that the civil
ian bore himself with the same unfail-
ing consideration and politeness to-
ward sailor or soldier. Prejudice and
some harsh feeling between the two
classes were Inevitable, and Mrs Ellis
saw clearly that with each additional
year the barrier was mounting higher
Evening star., 1916-08-27

1t is evident that Mrs Ellis work has
attracted not only attention, but gent
inc interest and warm sympathy Prof
Elmer F. Connie, at Montclair, y. j.,
communicates with Mrs. Ellis as differ
ent ships come to port there. Mrs. Ellis
then writes him the names of the boys
on those particular ships who have
asked for the clubs assistance in pro-
viding mothers, and Prof. Connie in
vites each boy to take meal with him
at his home.
To an orphaned wanderer this new
contact with the warmth of a real
home means a new grip on life. Prof
Connie makes it a point also to visit
these boys. If they are blue he cheers
them; if they are in trouble he COM
forts them; If they have a problem to
face he advises them: if they wish IL
Lark" he helps them get the right sort
in the right way
Mrs. Ellis wants just another such
worker in Boston. The influence of a
kind, broadly sympathetic, maturely
wise friend in the lives of these boys
is far reaching, its Importance is in
estimable. Mrs. Ellis is asking for 4
volunteer. and states, incidentally, that
all the work is volunteer.
Her aim has renamed the same from
the beginning, and she covers the
ground of the entire work in her
enumeration of the four primary needs
of the soldiers and sailors. First and
foremost she feels that their lives come
to seem to many of them purposelcss
and dreary, and she expresses a deter
mination to see that those lives are
cheered. After interest is felt III
the wholesome things of life it is not
so difficult to penetrate that outer crust
which incases a soul.
Breaking down the prejudice which
exists SO strongly between civilians
and these. workers of Uncle Sam is a
difficult task. Mrs. Ellis here has not
only her motherless boys to deal with.
but also a powerful prejudice and false
Impressions of years standing on the
part of portion of the public to combat
Mrs. Ellis says that she can conceive
of no better practical plan for break
ing down prejudice than to secure a
mother for each orphaned boy. If
these women become honestly inter
ested. which they are bound to do,
they will fight for their boys and will
not allow them to be slighted. and in
this way unwarranted prejudice will
very rapidly be dispel1ed.
The last object recorded is uplifting
the moral standard of army and navy.
Each boy helped and lifted to a plane
Of better. finer, cleaner living in
eyitably raises the standard mite, and
a number of boys trained to broader,
Evening star., 1916-08-27
Washingtom's Crab Supply Is DiinnnnislEani

the shallow places fishermen use dip
nets. Chesapeake bay, during the sum
mer months is crowded with fishermen.
nets and crabs: it provides an unex-
celled field for the study of the indus
try. Owing to the differences in the
depths of the bay at different places.
one can also observe the different
methods followed by crab fishers.
Familiar, indeed, to Washingtonians
is the sportsman who spends a day at
the beach, and. with his string or hand
line baited with meat. entices the crabs
into his waiting dip net. But his re-
turns are nearly always negligible, two
dozen crabs being considered a good
days catch. Not so is the luck Of the
professional fisherman, who fishes for
crabs and not for pleasure. His method
is calculated to bring a greater return
for a less expenditure of energy.
Evening star., 1916-08-27

Mrs Ellis. up to this time, had been
thinking this question over. II seemed
to her a monnentous one: now she in
tended to act-she wanted results. She
wrote 10 training stations and deten-
ton barracks and secured twenty-five
names. These she gave to women
who had volunteered gladly to act as
mothers to these boys.
These orphan boys and their newly
acquired mothers exchanged photo
graphs and began brisk correspond
ence to the delight of all concerned
This was but the nucleus OF club
which has since proved to be national
in its character and the scope of its
work.
Not until Mrs. Ellis had obtained fifty
mothers for fifty boys did she attempt
a formal organization OF the club AS
the Mothers Correspondence Club it
came into being March rs, 1915. at the
Ellis home in Indianapolis Mrs. Ellis
was elected its president. there were
tfty-two mothers" and all were citi-
zens of indianapolis, with the eNcep
ton of two. Since that time 212 boys
have enrolled and there are 200 mothers
on the waiting list
This club, with its worthy mission,
adopted the sunfiower as it's emblem.
The center of this flower represents the
United states and it's two rows of
bright petals represent the army and
navy. There are certain qualifications
necessary for all mothers
Each volunteer mother is asked to
state her age, nationality and religion.
Evening star., 1916-08-27

motherless army or navy boy in serv-
ice: to pray for each other and the
sailor and soldier each day; to promise
to be consistent, practical Christian"
Before mother is officially recognized
as a club member she must take this
VOW.
The clubs watchword is mutual
help" The dues are slight. but so
cents year, and are entirely optional
The clubs expenses are small and the
money is used mainly for stationery
and stamps.
The enrolment of mothers and boys
would denote gratifying desire on the
parts of both to get acquainted and
claim the advantages Offered club
members. Mrs. Ellis states that of
the PIP men now recognized by the
club fifty have absolutely no family
ties; not even the remotest of ties can
be discovered for them. The ages Of
these PIP range from seventeen to
thirty-two years. which shows that
even the oldest Of this class of boys
Evening star., 1916-08-27

has not become so Injured to the hard
life, which is commonly supposed to be
the sailors. that he can not be touched
by the outreaching hand of genuine
kindness.
OF the 200 waiting mothers Mrs. Ellis
says: They are of all denominations,
and every state in the United States is
represented" New York and Wiscon
sin have more volunteer mothers than
the other states, and of these two New
York takes the lead with thirty
mothers Mrs. Ellis object Is to make
a chain of mothers around the coast
Of the entire country, for it seems to be
in those parts that the prejudice is
most keen and where spiritual uplift
and the right home influence are most
needed. If the work continues to grow
crease as it has in the last few months,
and if enthusiasm continues to grow
at the rate it promises. this chain Of
mothers will be complete before any
great number of moons have waxed
and wancd
Evening star., 1916-08-27

YASHINGTON is famed as
WV great place for crabs" Well
may this be true, for the city
lies vithia short distance Of the prin-
eipal crab fisheries Of the Atlantic
coast-those in Chesapeake bay.
But the city's reputation in this one
line is in jeopardy. Season by season
for the past ten years the crab supply
has been slowly diminishing. and this
year the dealers are noticing that the
number of crabs sent to market is
showing Il marked decline. 1t is diff
cult to secure as many hard-shelled
crabs as the trade demands. to say
nothing of the soft-shelled ones. which
are unusually scarce.
is it possible that the snowy crab
flake is destined to become only a
luxurious delicacy? The bureau OF
fisheries has been moved to act to pre-
vent such a tragedy. One of its crab ex-
perts is now down in the Chesapeake
bag region making thorough study of
the causes of the decline of the crab
output. He is going from crab fishery
to crab fishery studying crab life at
first hand from every angle.
X X
Generally speaking, it is thought that
the chief cause of the decreased supply
is due to the very extensive fishing
which has been carried on within the
past few years around these shores. No
attempt has ever been made to prepare
for the futures output by such means
of artificial propagation as scientific
fishermen now use in regard to that
other valuable crustacean. the lobster.
Winter well as summer has seen
an uninterrupted pursuit of the hard.
shelled crab; such persistent Grabbing
could not be without the effect which
it is now beginning to show.
Particularly scarce this year are the
ft-shelled crabs This scarcity can
not, however, be ascribed to the general
decrease in the crab supply; on the
other hand, neither can it be account
ed for at all. Summer is the true
molting time and the crabs usually
cast off their hard shells at this time
in great abundance. For what reason
they are holding tenaciously to their
shells this year cannot be said.
The soft-shelled crab is, of course.
the more valuable form of the small
blue crab, which is the we'll known
edible variety of this section Of the
country. 1t is not different species
Evening star., 1916-08-27

All officers are assigned at times to
civi! and at other times to military du-
ties for this is the best way to develop
the all-around engineer for both mill
tary engineering and civil engineering
work. and that is what the army must
have. Most of this civil work is done
in connection with the rivers and har-
bors, which are under the jurisdiction
of the Secretary of War.
The military engineer staff officer
should take the responsibility of open
ing the way for the army's advance by
making roads. bridging streams where
necessary. laying out and constructing
lines of defense. He must be in the con-
fidence of the commanding officer. 50
shat he can anticipate the general
moves of the troops, direct reconnois-
sances for the selection of lines of ac-
ton and sites for camps. and thus re-
Iieve his chief of care and anxiety
about these very important details.
This involves, among other things,
the use of men expert in map making,
in photogra phs, in road and bridge
building, in military entertainments