Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-07-01

In executing its task Of building hun
dreds of ships, to transport food, NUM-
| lions and troops
| Getting Men fo from the U n t
Dill GU. States to Europe,
shipping board must employ the serv-
ices of more than 100000 workers. scat
tered through shipyards in every part
of the country. To secure these work
ers. the shipping board has made an
agreement with the United States en-
ployment service, a part of the Depart
ment of Labor. which has assumed re-
sponsibility for furnishing the work.
ers needed.
The shipping boards plans first con-
templated construction of wooden ships
| only. Recent developments have ex-
banded this program. 1t Is now prob
| able that many vessels will be con-
| structed of steel. without abandoning
the wooden vessel program. but in adj
dition to it. Yards for construction of
| wooden vessel hulls are being estab-
ltshed at many ports on the Atlantic,
Gulf and Pacific coasts. For steel YES
| sells a very much larger plant is re-
quired. Consequently, steel vessels will
be built in fewer yards. and few. If any.
| new plants will be established to con-
struct such vessels.
| When consideration is given to the
| fact that the wooden shipbuilding in
dustry has been practically dead for
twenty years or more, and that, as q
result, workers have drifted into other
fields of industry, until now probabl
less than 1000 trained ship carpen-
| ters live in the United States, the task
| of the employment service may be bet
ter appreciated.
| 1t is estimated that not less than TO-
| 900 workers are needed to man the
| wooden-ship yards; and not more than
10 per cent Of these workers are to be
service must find in the labor market
already depleted by the demands Of
every kind of industry nine adaptable
| men willing and capable of being
trained in the building of ships. The
employment service has a vastly greaN
| er task than that of merely finding and
directing candidates for employment to
! hundred shipyards That alone would
be tremendous task. But the prob
| lem is vastly moro complex, more seri-
Gus. more important than that There
! Is national shortage of agricultural
| labor The wheat harvests start next
month. in Texas and Oklahoma, and
| last. progressing northward week by
week. to the end of August. There Is q
demand for workers in the government
service-for thousands of laborers.
skilled tradesmen. clerks. stenographers
and technical men. There is pres
sure from every contractor filing gov
| eminent orders, for labor necessary to
| deliver the goods on time: how heavy
| this is may be estimated by the fact
| that one department alone has over
5000 contractors dealing with 1t.
There is a general industrial demand
! for labor besides these special demands
These demands are finally focused upon
| the United States employment service.
he r<1 osx
are admittedly doing fine work in plac-
| ing labor locally, but 1t is pointed out
| by Uncle Sans experts in this line that
the only agency capable of transporting
| labor successfully across state lines is
| the federal government. The shipping
boards call certainly comes at a
| crowded moment. Another element en-
| tering the situation is the fact that liv-
Ing costs have risen so rapidly since
| the war began, and wages have risen
| also. unsett1ing all industry This
| forms still another element of difficulty
! and uncertainty in the task Of employ
ment. In such huge, hurried enter
prise it will be difficult it is the opinion
| of the employment experts, to estab-
| lish and maintain agreements as to
| wages, hours and conditions of labor
Disputes must be foreseen and guarded
against as far as possible. because work
must re rushed at top speed. DELAYS on
account of strikes must be avoided To
the Department Of Labor will doubtless
faii in large degree the delicate task of
adjusting wages, hours and conditions
OF labor to changing conditions.
+
The general use of potatoes In the
average family and the better customs
prevailing in many homes
Facts Abouf in preparing the tubers
for food are based on
o'"'oeS' sound economic and die
tetic reasons, according to specialists OF
the office of home economics Of the De-
partment of Agriculture. Studies of
| the preparation and use of potatoes as
food have just recently been made.
Potatoes are easy to cook in va
riety Of ways, From the point of view
Of dietetics. they furnish starch in one
readily dfgestib1e form. contain mineral
substances Of Importance to the body
and-a fact less generally known
| tend to make the tissues and fluids of
the body alkaline. so counteracting the
tendency OF meats. eggs. fish and like
| foods to create acid conditions. Since
! the body does its work best when it's
condition is either neutral or slightly
| alkaline, potatoes. like most vegetables,
say the departments experts. perform
| an important function in the diet be-
sides furnishing energy-producfng ma
| terial. This scientific fact justifies the
custom that is prevalent in many fam
| lilies of serving n goodly supply Of po-
| tatoes or other vegetables with each
helping of meat.
| Potatoes, however, while a valuable
! addition to mixed diet. it is pointed
| out. are not alone suited to meet the
needs of the body because of their pow
| erty in proteins and fat. OF these lat
| ter important elements protein is fur
nished in meats. eggs. fish, milk. beans,
table oils and the fats and oils used
! in cookery.
| AS result Of the study made the
| SPECIALISTS are telling the women of
| the land that greater care than COM
! monty is exercised should be taken in
, peeling potatoes. Very often, they say,
| 90 per cent of the potato is pared away.
| This results not only in waste Of con-
siderable part of the potato, but also
| in the loss of one of the most valuable
| portions of the tuber, since the soluble
mineral salts are present in the ma
| terial near the skin. which would
be removed and thrown away. These
salts can be preserved by n more care
! full removal If the skin. as by shallow
| pairing rubbing. and also by boiling
| or baking the potatoes in their jackets.
| carried on in connection with this
| study the experts say that pairing be-
| fore boiling may he the most desira-
| bile method of cooking potatoes which
| through an undue exposure to light
may have acquired n bitter taste,
| those which have been kept until late
| in the spring. since in this way more
! Of the disaereeable favor Is eliminated.
| Such potatoes may also be soaked be-
| fore cooking.
| Practically the only loss. the experts