Evening star., 1922-03-19
Uncle Sans Free Seeds Expected to Produce Cro

are cut up into single slips and counted
into bundles by expert counters from
the bureau of engraving and printing.
AS member senLs in an order blue
slip is made out calling upon the seed
warehouse to deliver that quantity. and
this is accompanied by the correspond
ing number of franks. The seed pack
ages are either sent to the Office of the
member of Congress. If the franks are
not addressed, or are mailed out direct
ly from the seed house If they are ad-
dressed
These franks are now coming in at
the rate of 100000 or 100000 a day.
March 81 is the last date on which or
ders may be submitted by members of
Congress, which means that about
100000 franks have yet to be received
within the next two weeks. All of
these seed packages will be sent out
before April 10. Each member is en-
titled to 10000 packages of vegetable
seeds and 1000 packages of flower
seeds. AS each of these packages con-
tains five small papers of seeds, it
really means that 10000 papers of
seeds are sent out by each member of
the Senate and House.
The way in which these seeds are
first put into the small papers and
sealed and then put one each of five
different kinds into a larger package
and sealed. with the members frank
pasted on each package for direct
mailing, Is an interesting part of the
congressional distribution system.
This is done by contract and this
year new contractor is on the Job,
Frank Clarke of Waco, Tex. who has
speeded up the work by devising Il
new gluing machine.
X + X x
FOR only three years in the last
twenty-five years has company
OF Fitchburg, Mass. missed out on
this contract. Mr.. Clarke was max
ing seed distribution for some
banks in Texas during the war that
were giving away seeds instead of
calendars. He heard of the congress
sional distribution, sent in a bid and
F.! got the job. Under the terms Of the
| contract he is severely penalized for
| any mistakes or damages-if a
| franked wrapper is torn, if the right
assortment is not in each package,
and even if the wrapper is soiled.
The seed envelopes are filled by ma
chinery, which automatically weighs
the content of each envelope. Two
girls work at one of these machines.
one filling and the other sealing the
/ little envelopes on a revolving belt.
Filling and sealing $4,000 of these
| little envelopes is considered a good
! days work. The girls get piece
work over 10000 a day. The writer
saw two girls at work who have run
up as high as 4s,2O0. which means
that they had to fill and seal 100
packages a minute all day long.
Other girls sit at big tables past
ing the congressional franks onto the
container on which are printed the
names of the five varieties of yeRe-
tables or flowers that are to be
placed within. A belt carrier runs
beside huge bins into which the small
packages of seed have been dumped.
AS the girls finish pasting the franks
on the big envelopes they are car
ried, one at time, along this travel
ing belt roadway and in front of a
bin at regular intervals are girls.
each of whom slips in a small en-
velope and the container proceeds to
an inspector and then past another
girl, who seals up the package by
machinery.
There are sixty-four of the seed
bins, which. when less than half
full, contain about 25.000,0OO pack
ages of seed. BY the use of the au-
tomato weigher on the larger pack
ages of from l to pounds. such as
beans, alfalfa and dry land seed, it
has become possible to run 100
pounds minute. and increases the
output from ten to twenty pounds
This is one of the very busy cor
ners in Uncle Sans worlds largest
industrial plant, which those who are
prone TO criticise the government Of
fees as taking long time to do
little or nothing do not see. The
congressional distribution of free
seeds is quite a more complicated
business than people generally know.
Members Of Congress say their mail
shows them that through the free
! seeds plan Uncle Sam gets very close
| to the people.