Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-28

conservation which has been carried on
fer Sust about q year
kernantlls by the commercial
economy board Of tho
&Co1pM1eS. Council Of National De-
Tense, the greatest savings have 40
crvsd to department stores and other
merchants Of ths country in connection
with deliveries and also in connection
with the Psturn Of goods purchased. :
omcials Of tho board are Of the
opinion that the demand for men. ma
terials. equipment and capital for car"
rying on the war means that ordinary
eommsrcisl business, the business
which supplies civilians, must get on
with lsss Of each; must give up certain
quotas Of cash 70 the government. One
way proposed tor the government to
obtain thass necessary resources was
to eurtail ssvsraly tbs iines Of business
considered less essential This would
and could be Justified only because the
6ovsFnmsnts nssd had become acute.
fhs commercial econemy, board was
established and has worked on the
theory that, BY forehanded action IN
eliminating needless uses OF men, ma
tsrisls sqvipmsnt ana capital from all
husinsssaS, such acute nesd could IN
most cases 30 avoided; that by coon
elniss introduced through the velun-
tAFy eo-opsFatioH Of business men,
mAsx the govsrnmsnt's requirements
without resort to mere drastic meth
In connection with the work Of the
beard sema Of ths practical resuttss OBJ
e. :.s's T.: .r. ssx York s
store restricted the return goods priv
ileEea purinG the hrst month the
seeds returned 3. ey It's customers .ss
ceF,e.penaes month The ys Se,um.
business The actual saving 10 the cost
OF handling that much delivery busi.
naS1 twles--getttag tbs geeds out OF
the stse,1, through tbs aoeoVnttaE and
ints & e. mt stesH by IL.
same Rauta-paus tave.tMeAt eRa a.
pFselat4an charges On ths seeas them
f.Tisr up tn. question q deliveries g.
s, ss,e :.:: q ~
largo city on the Atlantic ssaeoard,
sotins With other department stores In
tbs same town, recently cut its Fesuia!
s sssas 'e only seurs.sn. Tie store had
lust Lost Z number Of elevator men,
vaFsheWsa men and packers through
the Draft. and ey thus slmplifytng IT,
asiixs.y sssy Is,. i W; spares tns ne.
Slant t e, efshss farms ana e,ssr
vital industries for Substitutes. The
places were filled, instead. with the re-
leassa aslivery men and boys. fhs
ons truck to the relief Of freight CON
Eestlen In the railway yards, and to let
the remaining delivery men, who had
had rather long day before, go home
an average Of an hour and half ear
Her, And the fsadtustment not only
steFs's customers, but enabled 1t to
meet their increasing demand for closer
prices.
The change. In shert. helped the store.
country. And the ease was typical. The
other stores made similar rawlings.
Before formulating the delivery pro-
a1am the board made q thorough in
yeatigation. reaching to all parts of the
rasss s re asf and
merchants. IT sent Its own agents to
study individual and cooperative de-
livery systems in scores of cities and
towns. 1t sent schedules Of questions
ditien, II had the assistance Of the
MASSACHUSETTS and Vermont committees
Of public s1fsty in taking local cen
suses of delivery. men and equipment:
The cemmeTctal economy boards
asss rsss n eliminating nssdless uses
Of men. saatsrial. and capital. In this
spirit 1t 10 carrying on campaigns for
the conservation Of wool. leather. paint
and other materials, and Of the labor
them. Fhe work In retail deliveries
w3s undertakeH primarily to conserve
labor; to make 1t unnecessary tor mer-
chants who lost delivery men through
the draft and other war causes to re-
psa available for shipbgilding, farm
Ing, railway transportation and other
war work.
~
Among the many upsolved mysteries
concerning the interior Of Mother
Earth few are more
Salt Water in fascinating than those
brought to light by
usep WelIs. certain surprising ex-
periences of dFtllsFs Of deep wells, say
expsrts Of the geological survey. AL
though many people are not aware of
the tact, q large proportion OF the wells
suHk to depths below 1000 feet en-
counter large bodies OF salt water. the
asw Of which may ba 40 great that the
drillsv remarks that no has struck the
Gulf Of Mexico OF some other immense
body OF salt water. The salt water, it
IL said. may even flow up to the mouth.
hut more commonly 1t rises In the we'll
to a height Of several hundred feet
above the bottom, and Its supply Is SO
great that only q pump OF enormous
capacity can keep the we'll empty.
Who're does this salt water come from:
immense cavity or system Of ereviees.
but. in fact. Il ~ generally contained:
the survey experts say, ~ some bed OF
unusually porous Teck. like sandstone,
In which the pores. though minute. have
en- ,aggregate yaigma or capacity OF
But one question Is no sooner an
swsred than another one, more difficult,
arises, and the question now is: How
did thjH salt water get into the porous
yeekf Has yalRwateF soaked Tar down
hs earth sns sHnS sG nsa bed sssr Of
by become salty; or had the salt water
some source tar within the earth, from
which 1t has arisen toward the sur
face; or - II the Wster OF some ancient
ocean that 4iliad tbs pores Of the sand
and mud Of its bed, which In ages
...ss s' Ss,t s,ssa.i'y accumulated ." the
The shells Of sea animals found In
lirnestones and other hard rocks at the
heart Of the continent show clearly,
the experts state, that the ocean, in
seMs o9s .. ,sysre remote e.. age. COY;
Il appears extrsmey probable that the
salt wataF found In the dssp wells is
really Sosail sea water entomhed In the
sands and muds Of former cons and