Evening star., 1925-10-11
Capital Sidelights

all communities In this Nation until
the farmer is no longer isolated and
annually hundreds of thousands of
Americans motor from the East TO
the West and from the North to the
South, II seems incredible that only
u few brief years ago young men
worked out taxes helping to build
dirt roads uenr their own homes.
Representative William r.. Hull of
Illinois. delegate to the Pan Amer
ican Congress in Bunnos Aires. boasts
Of the first-h0nd knowledge he has OF
road building. because as Il boy of
Ia, in 1880. he was Obliged to work
on the highways near his farm home
to pay the poll and road tax assessed
against his father.
In those days all roads were built
and maintained under the direction
of n road commissioner elected every
two years. consequently IL change in
administration usually made q
change in the system Of road con-
struction detrimental to the roads.
Road building in those days, says
Representative Hull, was very prim-
tive. 1t consisted of plowing fur
rows on each side Of the road. The
loose dirt WAS then scraped into the
center by an old fashioned dump
scraper drawn by horses or oxen. The
die of the road was fiattened out by a
stone drag or left to be beaten down
by travel. For two decades this was
the principal and universal system of
road building in North America.
The multiplying number of auto
mobiles has been responsible for the
farmers and urbanites alike demand =
ing hard surfaced roads for travel
The late President Harding summed
,yttt L,-i. a
THE motor car has become an in
dispense bic instrument in our polit-
ical. social and industrial life" Road
building within the life OF men now
In Congress has become a high
science and we have more than
100000 miles of the best highways
III the world available for all the
people everywhere throughout the
land.
Senator William Cabell Bruce of
Maryland has had II busy Summer
with his routine duties as Senator,
/ the local claims of his constituency,
his professional interests, his priva te
affairs and "a literary task TO which
he has set himself-besides rather in
tensive study of many questions that
will engross Congress. when it reas-
Sembles.
a day or two ago he was asked for
his views on some 13 public ques-
tions. His reply was: THE number
Is an unlucky one to begin with and
when ] recollect that as great a man
as Henry Clay lost the presidency
when he attempted to answer one
question. l trembIe at the thought OF
what might happen to as small a man
as myself were / TO endeavor to
answer 13.
Disraeli once said that knowledge
is the soul of eloquence, and the
saying is just as true when applied
10 such Il statement as YOU ask for
That's the pleasant sort of way
Senator Bruce has of turning down
statement seeker.
4 x
Secretary Weeks. after 4 call on
President Coolidge the other day, told
this little story. 1t happened on one
of the week end rural jaunts of that
rnatchless trio of big men-Thomas
Edison. Harvey Firestonc and Henry
Ford. Ffrestone had tire trouble, and
they stopped at d rural accessory sta
tion. Yes, they had some tires. Yes.
they had a Firestone tire Of the proper
size. Yes, they would put it on prompt
ly. Then Mr.. Firestone found that he
If they would take his check. Yes,
they would. and he went inside to
write 1t while the man in overalls
started to put on the new tire
While he was thus employed Henry
Ford chatted with him. DO YOU know
who the man is who bought this tire?'
he asked No" was the laconic re-
sponse. We'll, he's the man who
makes these tires, and do You know
ia
out of the carp" he continued No y
again came the reply. That's Thomas
Edison. the great inventor, and do YOU
know who ] ann" Ford continued his
catechism- No" yet third time was
the succinct answer. I'm Henry
Ford, who makes more automobiles
than any one else in the world
Then the tire filter Strengthened up
and gathered up his wrenches. You
don't say" he CALCULATED. Il suppose
that fellow driving the car is Cautious.
Economical 'Cal'-well, I'm going
right in and make that fellow pay
cash for this tire" which he did.
DR.. Charles F Marvin, chief of the
United States Weather Bureau. tolls
Of a bet that his Office was asked to
settle few days ago. Two men were
in dispute as TO the weight of an inch
OF rainfall. II read somewhere that
it is 161 tons of water to the acre y
said one. No said the other "I am
positive that the correct weight is
113 tons.
The Weather Bureau declared that
both men We're right. The rainfall in
the first instance was reckoned by the
long ton of 2,240 pounds. the common
ton in Great Britain. The long ton is
used for many purposes in this coun.
try, but the short ton of 1000 pounds.
| which gave the second result, is more
usual here.
X X X
Uncle Sam is some movie pro-
ducer. The Department of Agriculture
alone has 225 motion pictures, q large
number of which have been prepared
especially to interest and instruct the
women and children, while there are
a great many designed especially to
encourage and enthuse the boy on the
farm.
K x q
Now again, we have the chain let
ter season with us when some friend
90 mails you a copy with instruc-
tions to make 10 or maybe 25 copies
and send them to your friends to
keep the merry go-round moving, and
with the threat that bad luck will
fall upon You If you break the chain.
Congressman and public officials
are particularly plagued by this nuis-
ance and generally they have the
good sense to laugh at the threat and
throw the mlSSiVe into their W.. ct q