Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-09-02
JOTTINGS FROM
MY NOTEBOOK
By RALPH NJ. MoRPHETT

BIG factories where hundreds
and thousands of persons are en-
ployed. and are consequently news
Centers, have for many years in the
/ past been the most inaccessible
/ places to reporters everywhere. But
( in recent years a great change has
! come over the captains of industry,
and though they have been slow to
! realize it. they have gradually come
| to appreciate the fact that news
| about them. their business and their
| employes-no matter how slight
! is of value to them As q result a
vast number of factories over the
country have organized publicity de-
! partments to carry on this impor-
| tant work and many such institu-
( tons now publish magazines or pa
pers-some -semi-monthly
and monthly. The latest concern in
| this vicinity to take the step for
/ ward is Root & Van DerVoOrt Of
East Moline. The publicity end Of
this firm has been placed in the
( hands of our highly capable friend,
/ Roy Sears, for many years connect
/ ed with tri-City newspapers in va
/ TiOus capacities, and recognized as
one Of the ablest in the profession.
/ The first issue of the publication
| under the management of Mr.. Sears
| is just off the press. The paper,
which will be issued semi-mOnthly,
| is called PLANT Leaves and deals
largely with shop activities.
| When the Civil war was raging,
some commissioners from the
! southern cOnfederacy sought an in
| terview with President Lincoln to
sue for peace. They met in the
! cabin of one of the river steamers,
| and stated their case. They re
| minded the president. who was
/ known to be one of the most hu-
name of men, Of the fearful suffer
/ ings which the war was then en-
! failing, and would, if persevered il,
still entail upon thousands of desc
/ late hearts and homes throughout
/ the land. UnrOlIing the map they
/ pointed first to this and then to
/ that concession OF territory or
/ frontier boundaries which they
were prepared to make, if the
/ north would allow the retention Of
/ the remainder. The president
waited in silence till their appeal
was finished, and then. bringing
| his outstretched hand down upon
/ the map, he replied, sadly but IN
/ hesitatingly: Gentlemen, this
! government must have all"
OF the million and one war argu-
/ ments We have been forced to en-
dUre none was more effective than
+ the most recent. Two fellows were
( discussing the war equipment, etc,
/ Of the various beIlIgerents when the
/ talk conferred about cannon. One
( Of the men declared he had seen
! some Of the guns that are now in
use and that he could crawl into
/ the end of the barrels Of them, they
/ we're so large. The other fellow
who in his younger days had serv-
ed in the army of his native land,
I replied that they used some big
ones in his day too. To this the
other made the reply that brought
/ the argument to a climax He said:
! Big guns! You used big guns?
/ Why man, the size guns they used
when you were in the army they
/ could shoot all day on a quarters
worth Of POWDER
Has it ever occurred to anybody
that if the new draft is passed ex-
tending the draft to men from is
/ to p and from 81 to is that when
| they register there will be approx
mateIy $4,000, 600 men registered for
military service in the United
States? In the first registration,
June 3, 1917, ten million men be
tween q and 81 registered. Last
June 100000 youths had reached p
since the year before registered. It
| is estimated that nearly four mil
lion between Is and q viii register
/ in the new draft and that there
will be more than ten million men
between the ages Of 81 and 50 af-
/ fected by the new law.