The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1922-11-09

and the price paid. This is a straight official let
ter.
Congressman coming more and more to send
their quotas of seeds out not to the voting lists
In their districts but to the school children, to
civic organizations chambers of commerce, banks,
and factories for workmen, and great deal to
miners
With the department opposed to the congression
al seed distribution, and with congress habltually
for 1t, Oliver H. Jones' originally from Cincinnati
who Is In active charge of this work, has had an
unenyable job as buffer between the department
and congress for about twenty years. He prob
ably knows all the members OF congress more In
timately than any other man in Washington, be-
cause he is calling upon them In their offices every
day In the year. At present he Is getting more
than 200 telephone calls day from them, dictates
about 100 letters day to them, and has 20 or 30
Of them calling ON him In his office each day.
The seed distribution is conducted under the
bureau of plant industry, of which Dr. William A.
Taylor is chief. II. A. Oakley and j. Il. w. Tracy
purchase under contract all the seed that enters
into the congressional distribution and supervise
the mechanical and physical work OF filling the
packages and mailing them Mr.. Tracy Is In
charge of the seed warehouse, located at $3.50 Penn
sylyania avenue, which Is not at all modern, well
ventilated or lighted This building was erected
in 1884 and was the scene OF receptions, banquets
and inaugural balls for Andrew Jackson Martin
Van Buren and Abraham Lincoln. This Is not
government-owned building but has been rented
by the department and used as a seed warehouse
for about ten years.
The filling of the orders of congressman is an
Interesting part of the free-seed distribution The
members supply their franks In sheets of ten.
They are cut up into single slips and counted into
bundles by expert counters from the bureau of
engraving and printing. As a member sends In
an order blue slip Is made out calling upon the
seed warehouse to deliver that quantity, and this
is accompanied by the corresponding number OF
abb, off flnn snf Ia
office of the member of congress- II the franks are
not addressed, mailed out directly from
the seed warehouse II they are addressed.
These franks are coming in at the rate OF
100000 or 100000 day. Each member is entitled
10 10000 packages Of vegetable seeds and 2.0OO
packages of flower seeds AS each Of these pack
ages contains five small papers of seeds, 1t 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 larger package and
sealed, with the members frank pasted on each
nockage for direct mailing, is an interesting par
~ the congressional distribution system. This
Is done by contract, and this year new contract
or is on the job Frank Clarke OF Waco, Tex, who
has speeded up the work by devlsing a new gluinl
machine.
The seed envelopes are filled by machinery
which automatically weighs the contents OF eacl
envelope Two girls work at one Of these ma
chimes one filling and the other sealing the litt
envelopes on a revolving belt Filling and sealing
"a 600 of these little envelopes is considered goo
DAYS work The girls get piecework over 20GO
dry.
Other girls sit at big tables pasting the congress
sIonaI franks onto the contalner which ar
prnted the names of the five varieties Of yega
tables or flowers that are to be placed within.
belt carrier runs beside huge bins into which tn
small packages Of seed have been dumped. A
he alrg q Nla htU IN
welcomes they are carried one at a time, along thl
travelling belt roadway and In front of a hin a
regular intervals are girls, each Of whom slips 4
small envelope, and the conta!ner proceeds
an inspector and then past another girl, wro seal
up the package by machinery.