The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1918-10-04
There would seem to be ,ittle, If


artillery ammunition and that of fur
nishing Tuscumbia, Ala, say, with
better milk Actually, however, the
relation of one to the other is so
real and intimate that the chief of
ordnance Of the United States war de-
partment has approved plans whereby
not only Tuscumbia, but also dozens
of other cities and towns where ord
nance material is manufactured, viii
get better milk and better living con-
ditions generally. 1t has been found
that where living conditions are bad
and housing provisions inadequate.
ordnance workers become discontinued
and production lags.
Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Florence,
Ala, contain the employees of the
three great government nitrate plants
located in the vicinity of Mussel
Shoals. Like most small towns sud
denly required by the present war to
accommodate huge ordnance enter
prises planted in their midst, these
three communities were wholly unable
to afford proper housing, and condi
tons rapidly got beyond control. The
better and more desirable of the work
ers, with their families, grew restless
A transformation is now in progress
under direction of the community or
ganiZation branch. Vice centers have
been eradicated, the sale of liquor
has been placed under rigid control
A public market has been established
for the three towns. Here farmers
from the surrounding districts take
their products and dispose of them to
representatives of the ordnance
plants. Wagons of the ordnance de-
partment then cart the produce to the
plants and sell 1t at cost to the work
ers.
Central bureaus for these three
towns have undertaken the housing
problem. Parks and Fairgrounds are
being planned for the workers and
their families. The communities them
selves have been awakened to the
significant part which such improve
ments play in the business of making
munitions and of winning the war.
Statistics gathered under direction
of Brig. Gen. r. E. Wood, acting quar-
| termaster general of the army, show
that the cost of equippipg and main
| tanning a soldier overseas is $423.47 a
year. To equip and maintain soldier
| in the United States costs $327.78 a
| year.
Subsistence, figured at SO cents a
| day, amounts to $251.S5 per man over
seas; figured at SO cents a day in the
United States, it amounts to $189.80
per man. The cost of the initial equip
ment for the soldier the first year in
the United States is $115.30. The cost
Of the initial equipment of the soldier
overseas for the first year is $42.41.
This cost of $42.41 is for articles
which are issued for overseas use only
and which are in addition to the regu-
lar equipment. Thus 1t appears that
| If the soldier going overseas did not
take with him a great deal of his
equipment already supplied him in the
United States, the contrast between
the cost of equipping and maintaining
soldier in this country and abroad
would be much more marked.
The largest private telephone branch
in the world is the one that serves the
increasing needs of the war depart
ment in Washington. 1t fills special.
ly constructed three-story building con
tanning A positions" office bigger
than the central in many consider.
able city. Thirty additional "posi
lions" are in course of installation.
On July 1 this branch served SITS
extensions; on August 1, 1926. 1t re
quires 126 trunk lines for incoming
calls; 76 trunk lines for outgoing
calls, local and suburban toll; II pri
vate toll lines to New York, Philadel
phia, Baltimore, Detroit (via Cleve
land), Hoboken and Newport News
and los tie lines to other government
stations in Washington.
An average of four records taker
during July shows 32,93S outward ant
1864 inward calls in "a hours. In the
peak" hours the calls often run as
high as 1924 an hour. The operating
force consists Of 90 persons.
The United States war industrie:
board has announced that agricultural
periodicals must reduce their con
sumption of print paper 10 per cen
under regulations for the conservation
of print paper adopted by that board
The regulations were to become effec
tive October 1, 1918.
A committee Of publishers recon
mended the use of lighter body paper
discontinuance of subscriptions in ar
rears; free exchanges to be cut OF
and free copies to advertisers and ad
vertising agencies to be restricted
abandonment of sales at nominal o
exceedingly low price, of prize con
tests for subscriptions and special O
holiday numbers except such as hav
| been regularly issued in the past.
Establishment of new papers durin,
the war is to be prohibited unless tn
necessity for them can be shown, AM
combinations of two or more agricul
| tural periodicals must be reported t
the pulp and paper section of the wa
industries board for a ruling as to pa
per tonnage that will be allowed.
The bureau of animal industry o
the United States department of agri
culture has just issued list of al
the dairy herds in the United State
that on July 1, 1918, had been off
| o;o1ly occraditad &C free from tubercu