The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1920-06-18

When the war ended there were
more than 100000 rabbit carcasses in
storage. These were finally sold as
fertilizer 10 the farmers In the VI
cinity of Hutchinson. The promoters
OF the rabbit meat war baby appeal
ed to the war claims board and the
technical committee passed on their
claim. settlement resulted which
the claimant accepted as satisfactory.
despite the fact that il represented
only small fraction of the amount
claimed
An Interesting claim advised on by
the technical committee was that aris-
ing from the unprecedented demand
for castor oil which the Liberty motors
developed. Castor oil was then the
only oil these motors could use. and
when 1t was decided TO produce Lib
erty motors by the tens of thousands
the government set out procuring an
adequate supply of this lubricant. All
the castor oil beans In the world would
not have made a sufficient quantity Of
oil, even If the allied airplanes had
not needed their supply. The govern.
ment sent out scouts all over the
South to induce the farmers to plant
castor oil beans, and more than 5000
agriculturists put in crops.
Probably the greatest castor oil
acreage In the world was planted in
the southern states during that peri
cd, the seed being supplied by the de-
partment of agriculture. Farmers
plowed up other crops to put in castor
oil beans, and the government scouts
did everything possible to insure ire
mendous supply Of castor Oil. In some
cases men were even exempted from
military service to grow the beans, be-
cause the need was so vital.
However, there followed sad awak-
eniIg. The bean vines grew luxuri-
antly but there was less than on bean
pod per plant, and there was practi-
cally no crop. Investigation showed
that while. the seed had been success
fully imported, the small insect which
fertilizes the plant had been forgotten.
AS the result of this futile castor oil
culture there was lodged with the war
claims board claims aggregating sew
eral millions of dollars, and additional
claims are still coming in. So far
no basis of settlement has been ar
rived at, but the farmers seem salts
fed that they will get square deal"
The Men Who Did It.
Other claims of all kinds were adj
justed through the advice of the tech
nical committee. and 1t is stated that
not more than per cent of the $780,.
100000 worth of claims went through
without change. although a satisfac.
tory settlement was reached in all but
score of cases. Among the experts
prominently concerned IN this work
were Campbell Scott of New York
chairman Of the committee; w. D.
Ennis, who handled the power and me.
chanical contracts; Ernest p Good
rich Of New York, who placed valua'
tons on plants and structures built fol
i war contracts; Colonel Frank B. Malt
by of Philadelphia, who acted as ex
pert on construction and contracts in
vOlving civil engineering; Arthur w
Ilxon of New York. who advised or
chemical and metallurgical contracts
Fred +. Rogers of New York, whose
J work concerned mechanical and ma
chine equipment. and George B. Frank
forter Of Minneapolis who investigated
chemical and. explosive contracts.
All told there were nearly score
: of the leading engineers and industrial
experts of the country, who spent
practically year Of their time in as
sisting the war claims board In clos
ing up its contracts.