davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1918-05-12

within two or three weeks. and 1t is
one of the most comfortable of the many
new Office structures in Washington. Like
Sanda Court, 1t has long since failed to
supply the necessary room for clerks and
at present a large part of the great ten
acre building in Henry Park, erected for
the ordnance department. has been turned
over to the Navy. This also is filled with
clerks, and the demands of the future are
such that an entirely new building for
the Navy is to be constructed. The money
for this has already been appropria ted. and
the building will be going up by the time
this letter is published. 1t is to be stu
ated in Potomac Park within a rife shot
of where the State. War and Navy build
ing now stands. 1t is just below the
white marble palace of the Pan-Ameri-
can Union and under the shadows Of the
Washington Monument and the new Lin
coin Memorial. 1t will be by far the
largest office building in Washington. COW
ering more ground than the combined
areas of the National Capitol and the
Library Of Congress. 1t will have about
forty acres of floor space. 1t is to he Of
concrete. and as far as possible it will be
fireproof throughout.
These new buildings Of the Navy are
nothing like the old time Office struc-
lures of Washington. where rooms were
SET apart lOT one, TWO Ut d nail QOZen
clerks. who plodded away as it were
undisturbed, in what might almost be
termed solitary confinement. They
were famous places for gossiping and
for the leisurely red tape methods of
transacting business.
The present rooms are all large.
Some of those of Corcoran Court will
cover at least half an acre and the
hundreds of clerks work away side
by side at long lines Of desks that run
parallel throughout the room. The
whole room is in view of the chief and
there is no chance to put your feet on
the table and read the morning news
paper without attracting attention. In
deed. there is no temptation to do so,
for the business is SO speeded that the
man who lags bids fair to be run
over. and the spirit of getting things
done and doing it now" is contagious.
There are no letter baskets for files
and papers on the desks of the clerks.
The principle is that everything must
be done as it goes over the table. and
the mail must be answered as it comes
Evening star., 1918-05-12

shortage whatever. Between the LIST
Of April and the 18th of last December
about 100000 blankets were issued ana
oOoO more blankets were ready.
Among the other items on hand were
$4,000 pairs of cotton socks. 5So.0oo
cotton uudershirts and hundreds OF
thousands of wooden socks and heavy
clothing of one kind or another. The
Navy has been delivering its clothes
right along. 1t had 10000 enlisted men
to outfit last year and the articles need
ed ran into the hundreds of thousands
and there are thousands more under
contract The idea now is to keep on
hand at the navy yards siN-month
supply of clothes for all of the ships.
and in addition 100000 complete out
fits.
And then the food. II has been often
said that our Navy is better fed than
any other that sails the seas. Severthe.
less the cost of the feeding in these
times of war has increased Nuch less
Evening star., 1918-05-12

ers sent abroad last year. Upon the ar
rival of the ships in England the Eng
lish admiral asked this officer when his
ships would be ready to start lighting
the submarines. He replied. I'VE are
ready now
This spirit was in evidence as I went
through room after room Of the naval
section in the big building Of the State.
War and Navy departments. Business was
going on everywhere. and that without
the red tape so often complained Of as
to other departments since our war with
the Germans began In fact the manage
ment Of the Navy business is more like
that Of a modern manufacturing insti-
tuition than the old style government
plant The rooms Of the naval branch Of
the State. War and Navy building have
been thrown together and in order to
give more rapid access from ono to
another. the doors have been taken OF
Evening star., 1918-05-12

which were kept in pen and ink, every
calculation being subject to the matn-
ematical skill Of the clerk and having
to be checked again and again to know
that they were correct.
:: X
And then the addressing and the
machines for making the stencils for
the thousands of addresses and ac-
counts to be kept. There are 100000
men in the service Of the Navy, and by
the present system of allotments and
war risk insurance the hundreds OF
thousands of the families of the men on
the seas have to be corresponded with.
and, in some cases, checks sent every
month. Each of these with whom the
Navy does business is represented by a
stencil made of aluminium, in which IS
stamped. by machine like linotype.
his name and address. This is put with
many others in its proper order In the
machine, which prints the names upon
checks or cards or upon the envelope in
which they go out through the mails.
There are also machines for signing
the checks, 10000 of which go out every
month. One of these machines consists
of a table with a framework above 1t
holding ten fountain pens. The frame
work is so adjusted that each pen rests
on a different check, SO that the cashier
can sign ten CHECKS dL one liIHc ny NOV.
ing the penholder connected with the
framework. The work is done SO fast
that 1000 checks are signed in ten min
utes, and each bears the actual auto
graph of the man who does the signing.
Even the cutting apart of the checks is
done by machinery. The machinery will
cut eight or ten at a time, running of
thousands day.
AS went through the various rooms
learned something Of how the pur-
chases for the Navy are made. The
articles bought include almost every
thing under the sun-there are $4,000
different items and they come from all
parts of the world. The Navy has men
who keep track of the changes and con-
ditions Of the business. 1t deals direct
with the manufacturers. and in many
cases it goes to foreign markets for cer-
tain supplies. Much of this work is
done under contract, and there is a
chain of cost-inspection officers which
covers all the purchases of the seven-
teen shipyards which are building new
vessels. and with the sixty yards doing
repair work, as well as the manufac-
Evening star., 1918-05-12

and the largest vessel OF the Mexican
war was of only about 5000 tons. The
beginning of the armored ship dates
the Merrin,ac during the civil war. and
the biggest battleship we had during
the war with Spain was the Oregon. of
little more than 900 tons. a pigmy
tons. or some of the big battle cruisers
now being built in our navy yards. The
Navy OF today is a big Navy in every
sens" that the word implies. When tho
the ord.r Of warship tonnage among
the worlds navies. although 1t dropped
far behind that before we entered the
war. Since then 1t has been growing
mt telegraphic speed. and with the pres
ent program and the mighty expendi-
lures now making 1t probably will bo
surpassed only by the navy of Great
Britain when the war closes.
In order to tell you how this big
naval eSta abliShmeut is managed. and
Evening star., 1918-05-12

thing like 100000 was saved upon coal.
The Navy has been making money by
buying its hemp for it's rope in the
Philippines and using the naval colliers
to carry it home 1t buys it's shellac
from Calcutta and makes thousands of
dollars a year over what the same
would cost In this country.
The Navy saves a good deal on doing
it's own business in feeding and cloth
ing the soldiers. 1t has it's own cloth
ing factories. and it is through them
that it has been able to keep its men
supplied. notwithstanding the enormous
demands of the war. The prewar
plans called for clothing for 10000 men.
but, as soon as war was declared, out
fits for 100000 were needed. The cloth
ing factory at Charleston was then put
on double shift basis. 1t was in
creased in size and the great factory
recently established at New York was
strained to its utmost. Additional
clothing was gotten from outside
sources. and the whole was SO speeded
up that there has been practically no
Evening star., 1918-05-12

their hinges. 30 that one can scan long
series Of rooms at one glance.
The business of the bureau Of supplies
requires six times as many employees
as 1t did ten months ago, and new
buildings have had to be erected to ac-
commodate the overflow. The first Of these
was put up within a few weeks after the
war began. All Of the departments were
crying for more room when admiral
MCGOWAN observed the vacant space taken
up by the court or hollow square around
which the State, War and Navy building
runs. He commandeered a part Of the
court and within twelve days built a
frame structure called Sanda Court. 1t
is about sixty feet square and four
stories high. 1t was filled as soon as it
was completed. and the demand for more
room was not met.
He then went to the other side Of
18th street and buik what is now
known as Corcoran Court, so called be-
cause it is on the ground and adjoins
the Corcoran Art Gallery. This is an
artistic structure of two stories with
several acres Of floor space. 1t was built
Evening star., 1918-05-12

turing plants making tho ordnance.
The contracts are so worded that no
decrease is made for war profits and in
come taxes. and ons certain fixed con-
tracts reductions amounting to millions
of dollars have been made after going
over the manufacturers cost items.
For instance, take some of the saw
ings. / have a list of certain items
bought In 1916 which show a saving of
more than $2.O0O,OO0 OF this $4,000
came from buying tin at Singapore.
near where the tin mines are located.
Sixty thousand dollars was saved by
going to Chile for nitrates. and 100000
was saved in the New York navy yard
on the scrap of brass and some other
metals. The scrap heap had just .000,-
900 pounds Of this stuff and it was
worth ju=t 10 cents per pound.
During the same year almost mil
lion pounds of material was saved in
making castings from scrap. and some
Evening star., 1918-05-12

than the cost Of food prices in the mar
kets on shore. In 1916 the average ra-
tion was thirty-seven and six-tenths
cents and last year it rose to a-fttie
more than cents higher. 1t is now
under so cents. If the increase in the
cost of the ration had been proportion
ate with the increase in the cost of
food. we would have had to pay s1.500.-
900 more to feed the Navy than We ae-
tually did. That means a saving of
more than $4,000 day. and this was
accomplished by prohibiting the pur-
chase of patent and proprietary feeds.
by making such things as pies. cakes
and ice cream on board ship and~by
watching the leaks in every possible
way Matters of this kind are figured
out to the one-tenth of a cent, and even
before the war saving of half cent
on a meal meant more than 81 900 day
year in and year out. That saving was
made in 1916. Nevertheless. the sur
geon general says the Navy is the best
fed body of men in the world.
FRANK G. CARPENTER
Evening star., 1918-05-12
The Last Straw.

a BRITISH officer was talking at tea
q about Lord Rhondda. the food con,
troller. =
Our poor food controller comes in for
a good deal Of chatting" he said '.I heard
him addressed one day as the. Ray I,ord
Queue; and another time a lady called
him the lord of the mamma
Hes never really minded, though.
though its true he got rather angry once
when f1apper told him her butchers
queue was very popular Rhonddayoua.
Evening star., 1918-05-12

Indeed I doubt If more compliment
tary report concerning a government
department has ever been made by any
congressional investigating committee.
and on the heels of it the committee on
naval affairs asks for an appropriation
for the Navy of s1,325. .oOO. 900 to be spent
during the next fiscal year. OF this
about ss0,o00.000 is for ammunition and
$1Ss.000.000 for aviation alone
Thirteen hundred and twenty-five mil
lion dollars to be spent in twelve
months. That gives you some idea of
the enormous growth of our naval es-
tablfshment. The gourd which sprane
up In night. by the walls of old Nine
vah. so that Jonah was able to sit in
IT'S shadow. or the beanstalk upon which
Jack climbed into the heavens to kill
the great giant was as nothing to the
expansion of our great fighting machine
OF the seas. 1t is now year since war
was declared, and the civil establish
ment of the Navy has increased more
than 500 per cent, while the money snent
y considerably more than 1000 per cent.
!hirteen hundred and twenty-five million
ooiIars. that means more than S10O, 900 600
2 month. 1t means more than $500. 900 a
day or more than S15000O an hour. tav
and. night all the year through.
have before me figures showing tba
Sost OF the Navy since George Wash
1nstcn was President down to the time
records
are for 1894. The total amount snent
on the Navy during that year was less
than one-half as much as we now spend
In one hour. In the war of 1872 we he
came famous as having the most daring
sea fighters on earth. Under Capt John
Paul Jones we defeated the British and
our vessels of war became the terror of
Europe. During that war our yearly ex-
penses were never as much as they will
be in any three days of 1918. During the
civil war the expenditures of the Navy
began at little more than s11 ,00O, 900
per annum. and at it's close the yearly
cost was not much more than we are
now spending each month. Our total
appropriations for the Navy during the
whole war with Spain was less than
$169.00G.000 and that sum covered three
years We shall spend more money with
in the next five or six years.
And then the size OF the Navy and the
change in the shipping. The vessels OF
the war of the revolution were not
much bigger than our harbor tugs now
and their cannon were popguns in COM
parison with the fourteen-inch monsters
Of the present-day dreadnaught. The
largest ships we had in our war with
TripoIi and those in the war of 1872
were not half as big as the Ferris type
of wooden ship we ere now building.
Evening star., 1918-05-12

hundred feet long. In fact. We decided
to lay out our entire garden in these
1ull-length rows. spaced about three
feet apart. We are doing this so that
if anything should happen to prevent
our working the garden by hand We
could have a man come with a horse
and cultivator and work it for US. 1t
is agreed. however. that We will not
call for help except under absolute
necessity. We want to do all the work
ourselves, and 1 am not nearly SO
afraid of it as I was before we started.
The ease with which we got those po-
tatoes in was very reassuring:
We have practically abandoned the
of making small paintings OF different
vegetables at intervals of two weeks or
so is that 1t continues the bearing sea-
son over longer period, and We also
had notion that it would help the
women in their canning operations to
have the vegetables come few at a
time But Mary and Mrs. Turner took
just the opposite view. They said they
would rather clean things up all at one
stead Of dabbling with few cans
every day. We are going to save five
or six rows for a late planting OF
sweet corn, and everything else we are
going to get into the ground as soon
as possible.
In fact, we have practically every
thing else in now. We were a little
afraid to put in our full crop OF lima
beans, but we planted one row and Will
put In three rows more. PROBABLY next
week. All our limas are to be OF the
be good deal of difficulty getting
poles in town. and wo are advised. be-
sides, that practically Us large crop
of bush limas can be grown on the
Evening star., 1918-05-12
For the Nobel $4,000.

Nov. Philip of Wisconsin was
VI talking to Milwaukee editor
about the bolsheviki and the shame.
full Brest-Litovsk treaty which they
signed.
''Trotsky and Lenine," said Gov
Philip: thouGhtfully. Ought to be pros
posed for the ignoble peace prize"
Evening star., 1918-05-12
Copyright. 1918. by Frank C. carpenter.)

Copyright. 1918. by Frank G. Carpenter)
HIS letter is a story of industrial
efficiency Moreover it is the
story of a government depart
& ment 1t seems the accomplish
ment of the impossible. The department
with which it is connected evidently real
ICES this. At least it seems so. for its
business manager has a card which reads
as follows:
Evening star., 1918-05-12
X Adventures of War Gardener i'm Washington y
T1RED TURNER and I have been
u doing real gardening during the

TIRED TURNER and I have been
IN doing real gardening during the
last week. We had our quarter
"a acre farm" plowed and har-
rowed Monday. Tuesday and Wednes-
day we took leave from Office and went
at the planting job in earnest.
We planted two bushels of potatoes
in twelve rows, hundred feet long
and three feet apart, which took up
practically a third of our garden space.
l had imagined that cutting the pota-
toes would be considerable of job.
but when the two of us got at 1t, 1t
took only a little while.
We had lot of conflicting advice as
sto the best way to cut potatoes. but
finally decided on cutting two eyes to
the piece. Mary and Mrs. Turner Offer
ed to cut the potatoes for us, but We
turned the offer down. Turner was op-
posed to letting them help because. he
said, they would claim all the credit
for growing the crop. I was inclined
at first to let them do 1T. 1t would
have enabled US, l thought, to put the
blame on the cutting of the seed If
anything went wrong with the potato
crop.
Turner soon squelched my line of rea-
soninE. You must be a newlywed,"
he said. Ito think you could get away
Win dnylHlHS ike tHdI. 1Hey u UHu
forty reasons to our one for making it ap
pear our fault-which it probably would
be-"
1 think Turner is just little hen
pecked. He never seems to try to put
anything over on his wife.
had expected planting the potatoes
would take all of one day, and pos
sibly two. Imagine my surprise when
1 found we had the job done before
noon of the first day. The man who
did our plowing laid out the burrows.
When the potatoes were cut I went
along and dropped the pieces in the
followed along behind and pulled the
dirt over them with the hoe 1t wasn't
any trick at all. We would have made
even better time if 1 hadn't taken so
the eyes up. I suppose this would be
Impractical in a large planting, but in
small patch it seemed to me worth
while to do everything possible to help
the crops along, and it certainly will
help potatoes if they can grow straight
up instead Of first having to grow down
and then up.
And we want to get mess of those
new potatoes just as soon as possible.
l remember when 1 was a boy we al
ways had new potatoes and green peas
cooked together. Sometimes the potatoes
wouldn't be any bigger than marbles,
but they certainly were good. Be-
cause of the big crop of potatoes car
ried over from last year the food ad-
mlnistration advises against eating new
potatoes this year, but I reckon Mr..
Hoover won't mind if we have just
enc mess from our own garden.
AS soon as the potatoes were in we
tackled the sweet corn. We put in FIVE
lows of Golden Bantam and five rows
OF StowelIs Evergreen. each row a
Evening star., 1918-05-12
1t Can't Be Done!
BUT HERE 1T IS!

The department I refer to is that OF
the United States Navy. When the war
began most of the branches OF Uncie
Sans big machine were SO tied up with
red tape that the wheels could move
only so fast and no faster The wheeis
Of the Navy began to buzz as soon as
the power was turned on. and they
whizzed on like dynamo as more
power was demanded. According to the
report of the subcommittee on com
merce of the House of Representatives..
which has been investigating the sub
ject the American Navy stands with
out parallel in efficiency, and its sys-
tenn. organized in the time of peace, is
working equally well in these times
of war. This report states that the 3o0,-
900 men and LOO ships now in the
service are as promptly and as well
provided for as were the $4,000 men and
the 800 ships which we had before the
war began. 1t says that the Navy is
adequately clothed, fed and equipped,
and that the vast appropriations made
are being economically and wisely
spent. 1t tells Congress that all is well
with the fleet and that the 1918 de-
stroyers will be built in from one-third
to one-half the time prescribed by pre-
war conditions.
The Washington times., 1918-07-03
CONTINUED from First Pass.)

CONTINUED from First Pags)
Ain Baltimore
o.-where did you live theref
A-on Patapsco and Webster
streets.
o.-when did you come to wash
IngtonT
Al have been in Washington
about three years. .-..
wife worked In RestauranG
Q.-Has your wife been working!
A-Yes, at Child's restaurant
o.-What was her maiden namef
A-Pearl Hortense Godfrey. e..
Q-Was she home all night Satur-
day nightI
A-She came in about quarter to
one Sunday morning.
Odd you have any words then
A-Yes, We had a little argument
Q.-About what?
A-About this fellow Nolan she
has been going around with met
him at Union Station Saturday even
ing at 7 O'Clock.
Odd you have any tank with him
about his relations with your wife,
Saturday.
A.-Not Saturday evening, but I did
previous to that
Odd he tell you he had illicit re-
lations with herr
Ayes, be told me that Sunday q
week ago.
Odd you tell your wife about
A-Yes, the same night he told
me.
o.-And you have had frequent
quarrels about 1t since?
A-Yes, sir.
Q.-Coming down to yesterday
morning. June 80. 1918, you say your
wife got in about 12:45 o'clock?
A.-Yes.
Odd you have any quarrelS with
her during the night?
Ave had q little wrangle when
she came in.
Going Out to PaFtieA-
Q-About the same thing?
A-Yes sir, because knew she was
going out on parties, as Nolan told
me.
Q.-ToId you when7
A--Saturday evening. when ! saw
him at the station. where he bought
a quart OF whiskey.
Odd he say where they were
going?
A-Yes, he told me they were 60
ing to his cousins house Saturday
night
Q.-Then did you ask your wife,
when she came, about II, Sunday
morning, that she had been out with
Nolan?
Al asked her and she said yes"
The Washington times., 1918-07-03
IF YOU KNOW ANY OF THESE
SOLDER BOYS PHONE THE
TIMES, MAIN $3.50, BRANCH7

Wa
HlsA.eI Ka.s.e-hz. View XsrE.
N. Y.
Denais Keusher, New RseAsn..
n. Y.
Thomas Keanedy. Newark. n. =
Frank KOtaVa, ChFlstoDherS IN.
JosepA KsWaIeski. lIeFleen. conn.
AftOh Laser, SULPHUR La
Engese A LAEennesSes LOweh
E.nsesA RIsshIs sEeors. Lss A.
geles, Gel
Thsmas MorEna. LasnlAg. OF.
Harry Burns OaCOnner. NeW1E
one.
Frask v. Rea4..n. Rsv.Etsa. II
WlIlfUn A RObertss MeEryvnleS
La
jack IfsehA.. Par.tshL Rlu.la
WIlIlans Romanox, Newark. -. =
PhInID Rsaea. View HOrk, y. y.
Kyle o. lahola. h0wvines -. v.
Claude Te9Flek. lEeA1sseer. Ok.
EaWnrd Thkme, Bgrnznse. -. y.
Frank TiaeISe WEferglisG. ~ =.
Tony Tietorya Funnas EfAt-.
ice ZhrowulEi, East Chleagas hl-
PreVi0ualy PeDA Arte1 DinHAag. noW
reported sliAhfly W0u1ded-
BaEIeF HerbArt \ Newton
PrevtoualJ peportet k1llea n -
tion, now reported % have dlea
Of aerOplane aeetden1-Lleut-
Richard Mortimer EEze4o PnFk.
New York.
The Washington times., 1918-07-03
1917.
Aggregating ...... 1.oie,11


"The total number OF troops returned
from abroad, lost at sea- and casual
ties Is s.165, and of these, by reason
Of the superbly efficient pro.cction
which the navy has given our trans
port system, only 2e1 have been lost
at sea
'sThe supplies and equipment in
France for all troops sent is, by our
latest report, adequate, and the out
put of our. war industries In this
country showing marked improve
ment in practically all line of neces-
sary equipment and supply. Re
spectfully yours,
NEWTON D. BAKER"
The President replied:
my Dear Mr.. Secretary:
'Your letter of July 1 contains a
very significant piece of news and
an equally significant report ot the
forwarding Of troops during the past
year to the other side OF the water.
1t is a record which. think, must
cause UNIVERSAL satisfaction, becauoe
the heart of the country is Lnques-
tionably in this war. and the people
of the United States rejoice 20 see
their force put faster and faster into
the great struggle which is des:in I'd
to redeem the world. Cordially and
sincerely yours.
WOODROW WILSON"