Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04
BY MARY CHURCH TERRELL.

THIS is the story of a man who
has been called the Columbus
of the Soil" 1t is a misnomer
i it seems to me. He should be
called the Columbus Of the
Peanut He found the lowly peanut
common plebeian and has made it
patrician. He has taken it from its
age-old associations with circus tents,
the monkeys and elephants thereunto
pertaining, and from the vendors on
the street corners who sell the little
COOLERS to the public and has lifted It
into the inner circles Of those gentle
men of high finance who always vel
come with open arms any product ca
pable of putting more money into their
already well filled Golfers.
The name of the man who has done
this is DR.. George w. Carver. For
nearly 40 years he has been teacher
at Tuskegee Institute, which, as every
body knows, was founded by Booker T.
Washington so years ago. In every
thing pertaining to plant life DR.. Carver
is really "wondrouS wise" Many years
ago he jumped into the bramble bush
of agricultural chemistry, so to speak,
so as to open other peoples eyes and
not to scratch out his own, as the
famous gentleman described in Mother
Goose's Rhymes is reputed to have done.
Story Filled With Interest.
Hearing DR.. Carver tell about his
experiences and his work on general
principles is like listening to fairy
tale. There is no better proof OF this
than an experience he once had in the
House of Representatives in Washing
ton. When the House Committee on
WAYS and Means was discussing the
ACCESSIBILITY of imposing a tariff upon
the peanut, DR.. Carver was invited to
subject. It was the consensus that he
knew more about that little nut than
any other human being in the United
States-and, therefore, in the world.
The scientist was told he would be al
lotted exactly 10 minutes by the clock
to give the committee the information
for which he had been asked. He
that time. But the Representatives
would not let DR.. Carver stop, and they
kept crying for more until he had
spoken for nearly two hours. It would
be interesting to ascertain how many
times in the history Of this country
congressional committee has insisted
upon having anybody speak that length
of time.
Prof. Carver has made almost every
thing from the peanut but dynamite.
And those who have seen him at his
performed would not be surprised II
he did that In a pinch. BY the way,
he helped to win the World War, not
by manufacturing explosives to destroy
the lives of human beings, but by
converting sweet potatoes into flour
when our 100000 soldiers needed
nearly all the wheat the United States
could grow.
200 Products From Peanut.
When DR.. Carver appeared before
the Congressional Committee he told
the members he had made 165 products
from the peanut and that he expected
to create more. He has faithfully kept
his word. According to the latest re-
ports available, he credits the modest
little goober with enough native are
alive power to produce more than 200
articles which human beings need.
In addition to the familiar peanut
butter under the magic of DR.. Carver's
hands, there lie wrapped up in the
rough and brittle shell of the peanut
10 varieties of milk, S kinds Of break
fast food, grades of flour, ice cream
in all flavors, candy, salad oils, diff
ferent kinds of punches, bisque, "Wor-
cestershire" sauce, chill sauce, oleo-
and kinds Of cattle food, according
to list made by the Popular Science
Monthly.
From peanuts he has also made a
variety of useful commercial by
products, including varieties Of wood
stains, 10 shades Of leather dyes. metal
polishes, axle grease, toilet and laun-
DRY soaps, ink, tannic acid, glycerin,
not to mention several medicines. For
instance, he has made quinine from
the red outside skins of the nut. And
the end Is not yet.
If you 60 to his laboratory IN Tus-
kegee Prot Carver VIII, show Nu1 hulE