davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-05-22
IglesidS Family
Backs u. S. in
Puerto Rico

Resident Commissioner Santi-
ago IgleSiaS, who manages the az
fairs of Puerto Rico in the House
Of Representatives, stated yester-
day that leading citizens of his
island desire a permanent union
with the United States.
Seven of Mr.. IglesiaS' eight
daughters who were born about
the time Puerto Rico was in the
process Of becoming an American
possession, bear the patriotic
names of America, Equality, JUS
tice, Liberty, Light, Peace and
Fraternity IglesiaS. They have
three brothers.
The commissioner expects to
take a few of the girls along with
him when he goes to the Demo
cratic convention at Philadelphia,
where Puerto Rico will be repre-
sented by three men and three
women, all of whom he says:
Twill vote as they have been
instructed-fOr Roosevelt and
to insist on a platform plank de-
manding permanent union of
Puerto Rico with the United
States"
These delegates will resist the
demands of the island revolu-
tionistS for freedom from the
United States.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-05-22
z0N|NG DOCKET
VERY HEAVY

Twenty-eight petitions for
changes in coming have been
scheduled by the District zoning
Commission for hearings June 3.
one of the heaviest dockets listed
in recent years.
One petition involves erection of
flats on a tract Of land south of
Massachusetts, Avenue Northwest
and west of the Spring Valley sec
ton, or whether a strict residen-
tial area will be maintained.
Another seeks reZoning of prop
erty on the northeast corner of
Nineteenth and F. Streets North
west to permit a parking lot.
Secretary of Interior Harold L.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-05-22
ELECTRIC LINES
TO 100000
FARMS, GOAL

More than 100000 Of the
100000 farms in the United
States now without electricity will
be electrified within the next 10
years under the Plural Electrified
ton Administration program, for
which Congress has appropriated
$410, 100000 Morris L. Cooke, Ru-
raj Identification Administrator
said today.
Only about 100000 farms in
this country now have any cleo
tricity, and most of these have
current only for lights, according
to the REA chief.
To Train Personnel
Under the new program
launched with the signing Of the
act by President Roosevelt, a vast
expansion in activities Of the REA
will begin, Cooke said. Because
rural identification is practically
a new field" one of the first steps
to be taken by REA will be train
ing of men for work in the field
in developing rural identification.
He said:
eve expect to get in young
SterS, preferably just out of col.
lege, and train them in all as
poets of the rural electrified
ton field. We find, as the pro-
gram develops, that we are going
to have to provide trained aid,
such as directors and managers,
for cOOperatives and local cleo
trificatiOn organizations.
1.-THE situation is similar to
that when the city-manager plan
first began to become popular
20 years ago. Trained city man
ayers could not be found"
Prevailing Wages
Authorization Of q 10-year pro
gram, Cooke pointed out, gives
us an opportunity to plan for a
long pull"
The prevailing wage scale. he
said, will be recommended by
REA under the new program.
Evening star., 1936-11-29
Lion and Lamb Both Have Place in System Which Serves
the Most Robust Purposes and the Most Delicate
of Finer Duties Reached by Current.

In every phase of such emergencies
which occur with more or less fire.
quency over period of time-a nicely
of management is called for that can
only come from long familiarity with
the WITNESSES of the weather man, the
likely loads" made necessary under
certain extraordinary conditions. and
eternal vigilance upon the part Of ex-
ecutives to fulfill their obligations to
the public
No matter what it may mean to an
organization personally, at all times
Of the day or night sufficient volt
age must be maintained to take care
of the daily demand and also of
emergency demand such as that en-
tailed by storms or accidents.
For example. at O'Clock one after
noon there was trolley-car accident
on Wisconsin avenue The accident
occurred. let us say, upon the slope OF
hill. Car after car was tied up and
could not 60 forward until there was a
long line OF trolleys extending down
the hill, waiting until it was possible to
continue forward on their route. The
trouble was cleared up and simul-
Evening star., 1936-11-29
Lights and Other Services Reach Into Every Branch Of Life,
Under Rules Which Are Never Relaxed in Any Emergency
Ever Left Unguarded.

power that warns the pad We apply
to an aching tooth. This miracle is
achieved by the reduction or control
of that power. To deliver just the
amount needed for the purpose in
hand is the job of the power company
charged with community service. But
first of course this same company
must generate the electrical force.
The story begins at the Benning
power plant and at Buzzards Point.
Enormous quantities of coal are
brought in. At one plant this is pull
Verized before use This coal is fed to
immense fire boxes, and the heat
thus created, under water. generates
steam This steam, in turn, goes
through giant turbines. causing them
to revolve BY their revolution they
generate electrical energy and i'm
prison it in the great cables with
which they are wound. Miles of wires
form the highway along which the
electric force travels. With the regu-
larity of machine guns rat-tat-tat
the invisible electrons go forth along
that highway in orderly precision and
are carried over cables to the various
Evening star., 1936-11-29

substations that supply the Potomac
district.
It is at the substations that the
roaring lion is brought under control.
Here it is broken down to the right
strength for the purpose it is to serve.
If it is to go to illuminate an in
.dustrial plant or to turn over man.
moth industrial machines more OF
the lion goes forward than the lamb;
but If it be for domestic purposes. the
force is properly tanned, broken down
still further to the suitable and nee
essary strength. This adaptability OF
electricity constitutes part Of the serv-
ice of the power company. 1t is as If a
man had available five sets of scis-
sore, one to be used for one purpose,
another for another and all five for
diverse purposes. Scissors designed to
cut silk will not be used to hew way
through metal, and vice versa. That
is what happens at the substations-
the power is cut down to strength
suited to the purpose it will serve.
RUT even when the electric force is
generated sent over the cables
Evening star., 1936-11-29

the ship. such as the blowing Of the
fog signal and the increased operation
Of the radio beacon, the shore keeper
operates them by remote-control
radio.
The powerful masthead light is en-
tirely automatic, being turned on at
night and off In the morning by an
astronomical clock located inside the
ship, and is supplied with current by
storage batteries, which, in turn. are
kept charged by autolnatic-action,
gasoline driven generators. Light
house engineers have devised an in
genious method of substituting an
acetylene auxiliary light in case the
masthead light should fail. A small
pilot flame burns continuously. and
the reserve light goes into operation
the instant the electric light fails.
One orphan" piece of equipment,
the fog bell, operates independently
and has no connection whatever with
any other machine in the ship or at
the shore station. It rings constantly
one stroke every 20 seconds, and uses
carbon dioxide gas for its power. A
bank of tanks on the ship holds
enough gas to keep the bell ringing
for several months at stretch before
being refilled.
NOW, when weather is clear and
visibility Is normal, there is, Of
course, no need for the ghost" ap-
paratus. Even so the ship continues
| to run itself. The shore operator has
nothing to do but twiddle his thumbs
and read a magazine. The radio
beacon sends out signals of is minutes
duration, day and night. Control
| clocks automatically start and stop the
generators which supply the current
for the radio beacon at the proper
time. As was mentioned before, the
masthead Light goes on automatically
and the fog bell rings continuously.
Evening star., 1936-11-29

demand. A fuel supply sufficient to
create the necessary additional energy
is fed to the fire boxes at Benning's S
Power Plant and at Buzzards Point.
The system is not fool -proof-as in
deed no system. not excluding the
photoelectric cells-can we'll be. This
is. of course. due to the fact that the
weather itself is 'capricious. We have
all run at one time or another to
shelter, warned by clouds as black as
pitch and lashing wind that a storm
is approaching, only to find that with
in a short space Of time the clouds
blow over" the air clears, the sun
comes out and the wind dies down
permitting us to emerge from cover
as dry as when we scurried to it..
A storm may have all the appear
ances of enveloping the City of Wash
ington for example. 1t may be
densely black in the west and there
may be an ominous calm. At the
two power plants that supply the
city's light and power many extra
tons of coal are fed into the fire boxes
when Washington demands more arti-
fetal light.
Evening star., 1936-11-29

both the tenantless lighthouse and the
land station, the operator can def
nitely determine if the orders ne is
transmitting to his mechanical crew
are being received and executed
properly.
lust what are the various functions
of these two mechanical wizards
and how do they operate? Let us hear
from the engineers Of the United
States Bureau of Lighthouses, whose
brain children" they are.
Roughly, the equipment Of the light
ship st. Clair consists Of . powerful
masthead Hight. . gas-orVated fog
Evening star., 1936-11-29
Bureau of Lighthouses Has Produced and
Put Into Operation Beacon Craft.

gineering research by the Federal Bu-
reau of Lighthouses and established
last Summer In Lake st. Clair.
IT IS like no other lightship in the
entire world. For it runs itself!
Whenever fog comes up (and it gets
mighty foggy in this particular region)
the mechanical brain of the ship turns
on the fog signal and simultaneously
increases the frequency of operation
of its radio range beacon. And when
night approaches. this never falling
brain illuminates powerful light on
the ships mast. Then, when daylight
arrives, it turns of the light, and
similarly, when the fog dissipates, 1t
ceases the blowing Of the fog horn!
Furthermore, and what is perhaps
the most amazing fact Of all, the
lightship listens to itself" and reports
by radio-telephone the progress Of its
various signals to the keeper on shore
clkut ulkIS1o AWAY xAAAa WA4SAA 1AAy ~~~~~>0
goes wrong, it Immediately tells the
operator in no uncertain terms which
device has failed; and by the merest
touch of o button the remote and un-
seen keeper throws duplicate mech
anlsm on the ship into action to re-
place that which has ceased to func-
ton.
Somewhat similar, and almost
equally spectacular. Is the new radio
controlled lighthouse developed and
brought into service last Summer on
Peshtigo Reef, Green Bay, Lake Mich
igan. The operation Of this aid to
mariners, such as the blowing Of the
fog signal and the change-over from
the regular. clear-weather method of
operating the radio-beacon, to the
foggy, or emergency type of signals
(Which will be explained later). is
controlled by radio from . land sta
| ton eight or nine miles away. BY the
use Of dio.telephones, installed on
Evening star., 1936-11-29

taneously this long procession OF cars
must have enough power to start and
then pull up long hill, moving slow
ly in line. This makes an extraor-
dinary demand upon the available
power in the neighborhood of the ac-
cident, upon the substation that di-
rectly supplies this power.
The power company must be pre-
pared.
COMPLICATING the emergency
~ problems, as well as the daily
problems of supplying a regular flow
of current to Washington homes, are
those problems that present them.
selves even within the scope of the
individual customer demand. This
fluctuates from one day to an
other, due to the fact that each
day sees the installation of new
meters in new homes or public build
ings and also because in certain 10
calities there may be families moving
in or out, necessitating shutting on
meters or turning them on.
Aside from the matter of an ade-
quate supply of energy, the evenness
of force continued in that service Is
highly important. There must be .
continuous and uninterrupted stream
of energy supplied if excellent service
and dependable service is to be main-
tanned.
In this connection it is imperative
that all power coming into Washing
ton and sent out to its various SUBJ
stations must be "consonant and in
unison" Harmony is the watchword
in efficient electric service, as in every
thing else sufficient in this universe.
Particularly in Washington is great
care in electric current control neces-
sary, for a high degree of accuracy is
! imperative in a community that fur
nishes power to many scientific de-
partments of the Government and pri-
vate establishments in the Nations
/ Capital.
THE territory supplied with electric
energy by the Potomac Electric
| Power Co. includes a small portion of
| Rosslyn, Va, goes out into the metro
politan area of Maryland and in
cludes all of the District of Columbia.
One of the most interesting of the
duties the local power company must
perform for Washington citizens is 10
turn on and of the lamps along the
city's streets. There is an order is
sued by the city Commissioners which
picturesquely reads: "The lamps are
to be lighted IS minutes after sunset
and begin to extinguish As minutes
before sunrise" The actual hour for
lighting or extinguishing is set by the
electrical department of the city gov
ernment.
Clock switches. electrically operated
and astonomically set, actually per-
form this service.
The arc lamps lighting certain
downtown districts are an exception.
These are operated from manholes.
from substations. All other street
Illumination is ircandescent.
Traffic signals are also operated BY
the local power company. These are
very delicate, very intricate switch
mechanisms and, needless to say, 1t is
vital that they perform their function
perfectly at all times.
Practically all of the current sup
piled to the City of Washington and
environs, with the exception Of emer-
gency loads, is brought over cables
from Benning's power plant or the
Continued on Sixth Page)
Evening star., 1936-11-29
By James Nevin Miller.

A PASSENGER steamer is chug-
~ ging its way patiently through
~ Lake st. Clair, which con-
\ meets Lakes Huron and Erie.
For two hours she has been receiving
the regular intermittent radio-beacon
signals from the Federal Lightship
st. Clair, anchored in that treacherous
body of water for the protection Of
navigation.
Suddenly a fog develops. Stimuli
taneously the signals from the st.
Clair change. The radio-beacon,
warning the vessel of the position of
the lightship, increases from internit-
tent to constant signaling. The moan
ing wall of a deep-lunged fog horn
now booms out regularly. AS the
steamer plows on, night begins to fall
and q powerful light springs to life
from the masthead of the lightship
and glows eerily in the twilight
and fog.
These sudden changes Of signals on
the lightship st. Clair involve the
starting of dynamos. turning on Of
gasoline motors, tuning of radios
pushing and pulling Of switches and
| other intricate electrical maneuvers
Yet, during all this complicated pro-
cedure, there Is not single living per.
son aboard the lightship
Fog horns wall, brilliant lights flash
fog bells ciang, the steady. high.
| pitched whine of the radio-beacor
comes over the steamers radio receiv.
ing set from the st. Clair, while i
rides at anchor like a ghost ship, TN
tenanted, deserted. with not man
woman or child aboard her.
What is this ghost ship that signal
with no apparent human agency u
control its many functions?
It is the very latest development II
navigational aids, evolved sitter Nv
! years Of intensive technical and IN
Evening star., 1936-11-29

and broken down in the sub
stations, the problems Of the power
company are not all solved by any
means. There are almost countless
ramiications in connection with this
industry that are so adeptly manipu-
lated that the public is scarcely con-
scious of their existence. For one
thing, that element about which Mark
Twain said we could do nothing about
the weather!
Mark Twain. Notwithstanding. it is
up to the power company to do
something about it." and that With
Evening star., 1936-11-29

bell. compressed air fog horn and q
radio beacon. The ship itself is q
small one and has no propelling en-
gine- Il w-s originally built way back
in 1887. However, recently, by remov-
ing all living quarters, it was convert
ed into the marvel of modern science
that 1t Is, and today it has no con-
nection with the shore except by
radio.
Practically every piece Of apparatus
has been installed in duplicate and
provisions made for instant substitu-
ton Of one signal for another Ia case
of failure. When fog comes up and
emergency signals must be sent from
Evening star., 1936-11-29

out delay, once it threatens to be-
come a problem.
When storm clouds cover Manhat-
tan Island, for example. photoelectric
cells automatically throw into opera
ton additional generators. to take
care of the sudden demand for in
creased power. In Washington an
other system notifies the power COM
pany of such emergencies.
On reports of the United States
Weather Bureau and other sources,
when it is learned that storm is ap-
preaching, additional boilers and tur-
bines are started for anticipated extra
Evening star., 1936-11-29

Apparatus Is Able to Report Progress to
Keeper on Shore Eight Miles Away.

When fog actually comes up, or dirty
weather is imminent, the shore opera
tor takes over and things begin to
happen. He pushes a button which
automatically takes the control away
from the clocks on board the boat and
starts the generator going for the
radio beacon. Then the motor on an
air compressor starts functioning in
order to build up pressure for the
deep-lunged fog horn. When there's
sufficient air pressure, both the fog
horn and the radio beacon begin their
signaling, their code warning being
controlled by motor-driven cams.
When the fog lifts, and constant sig
mails are no longer necessary, the shore
operator shoves another button, and
radio control ceases and things return
to normal on the ship. with the clocks
taking over and sending out intermit-
tent signals as before.
WHAT happens when the keeper
pushes the button and assumes
radio control of the ship? To explain:
At the, land station the keeper has
under his charge two radio-telephone
transmitters, two so-called "tone gen.
orators" and one all-wave radio re-
ceiver. Each tone generator and radio
telephone has different radio control
over two radio beacons and air fog
horns on the ship which are inde-
pendent of each other. In reality 1t Is
duplicate hook-up. each control sci
on shore directing one of the two sig
nal sets on the boat.
At the press of button one of the
two-tone generators emits a musical
tone of definite pitch which the keeper
puts on the air via one Of the radio
transmitters, which, In turn, starts the
operation of one complete signal sys-
tenn on the boat. A second button
starts in operation the second genera.
Continued on Second Page.)
Evening star., 1936-11-29
By Lucy Salamanca.

(6H ROP dead in your tracks,
but don't stop pumplng!
That's what an organist
- once said to C. Melvin
Sharpe. executive assistant of the
Potomac Electric Power Co., on boy
hood occasion he has never forgotten.
That was in the days when church
organs were not pumped by electricity,
out by hand, and if the hand failed
the music ceased. The organist, about
to begin an important recital, left
with the group of small boys in the
vestry this last warning.
Today, in the larger business of
providing light for Nations Capital
City, the admonition might we'll serve
as the precept motivating this vital
enterprise. IF the hand fails, the
music ceases" said the old organist.
''If the current stops we become a
city of dreadful darkness: we become
mute" Street lights go out. There
are no traffic signals. Hospitals are
in darkness. Public transportation
motivated by electric energy ceases.
Radios are mute. Life itself is jeopar-
died.
This is the responsibility that rests
every split second of every day and
night with the organization that sup
plies light, heat and power to the Dis
trict of Columbia. And literally
enough, they may drop in their tracks
but they do not dare to stop pump
ing"
Imagery" declares Mr.. Sharpe, els
important to the full value OF real
ity." That sounds strange, indeed,
coming from a business executive, but
it's good solid sense, we learn, wher
applied to this business of lighting
and supplying power to a community
There must be constantly befor'
us the image of what may ilappc >
Mr.. Sharpe explains, "the eventually
or the possibility that the use of cleo
tricity entails. We never dare to lost
sight of the fact that the scope o
electricity grows every year, almos
every month, that its service to hu
manity expands constantly. We know
the reality of today-the uses servet
by this great element here and now
But we fall short of our obligation
to the citizens we serve If we do no
give intelligent consideration to tn
uses of electricity in collateral way.
ONCE the only concern of an or
ganization such as this was light.
Today nearly all the large corpo
rations charged with the responsi
hility of distributing electricity hav
changed their titles to include tn
word power" And with the addi
ton Of that word obligations expanded
At the Benning power plant and a
Buzzards Point, giant turbines turl
ceaselessly, generating electrical en-
ergy, a force that is sent alon
its way to heat, to light, I
transport, to feed and clothe an
husband the city of Washington. From
Safe Harbor, miles below Columbi'
Pa, on the Susquehanna River,
vast hydroelectric supply Is house
and garnered for this same purposI
WHAT is the system that make
W this possible? 1t is the story G
mans ingenuity in tanning ho
to the docility of q lamb. We ma
stand on the Arlington Bridge an
see great gates weighing thousand
Of tons being moved by the sam
Evening star., 1936-11-29

(D The power plant at Buzzards Point. ~ Newly in
stalled lights are turning night into day in the Mall ()
The Bennngs power plant. ~ The Lincoln Memorial
and the Arlington Bridge night 5 The vital function
of railroad signals depends upon certain supply of electric
current (6) The brilliantly illuminated Capital Plaza.
Evening star., 1936-11-29

Continued on Second Page.)
Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-06-04
SOUTH OF BRUNO

Mr.. and Mrs. Jake Hammer and
children spent Sunday at the Evan
Hammer home.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Saastad and Mr..
and Mrs. Clarey Jensen spent Dec
Grafton day at Sandstone.
Clark Snelson of AmbOy, visited at
the Charlie Snelson home Friday.
Margaret Peck spent Saturday eve
ming with June Hammer.
Bert DeMaris seeded oats for Mr..
Lund Monday.
Walter Boyer visited Sunday at the
home of his sister, Mrs. Espointour.
Mr.. and Mrs. Chester Frisendahl
and daughter, June Colleen, of Du-
luth, spent the weekend at the Evan
Hammer home. Their other daugh-
ter, Helen, who has spent the past
two months with her grandparents,
Mr.. and Mrs. E. Hammer, returned
to Duluth with her parents for
week, after which she will return to
spend the summer. Little June Col
leen will remain for the week.
Mr.. and Mrs. Dan Frisendahl of
Little Falls, were guests at the Evan
Hammer home Saturday.
Mr.. Mccoy of Bruno, and Mr.. Lund
attended the baseball game at Askov
Sunday.