Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 239, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1917 — Page 3

Forest Products Labora- > tory hopes to bring about a saving of two billion dollars a year—it's a rather neat saving!

AID the Chicago pork packer: “We make our money by saving everything but the squeal.” Says Frank J. Hallauer: “The wood Industries are going to go the pork Packers one better; they are going to save everything, including the bark.” And it is to teach the wood Industry how to do this that Mr. Hallauer has been working for six years. Engineer of a little-known branch of government, the forest products laboratory, situated at Madison, Wls.. Mr. Hallauer and his associates hope to teach this country how to save two billions of dollars annually. —— He is confident that it can be done; that is, that the annual cut of wood, now valued at two billions, can be made into articles of use which at present prices would bring double that amount. It is a man-size job, but the confident engineer points proudly to unbelievably vast economies already effected in the wood trades through the work of the forest products laboratory's chemists. They are in such terms that it would be hard to tabulate the * exact savings, but there is little doubt that they run over $100,000,000 a year. Few persons outside the wood trades know of the laboratory, the first of its kind ever to be established, but which has been imitated in a number of countries since it began operation. Its annual appropriation is small for the work it does; something less than $200,000. The laboratory is now looked upon to save the paper situation of the country, and it cheerfully tackles the job. Only recently announcement was made in Washington that the laboratory had discovered that good grades of paper can be made from a number of far Western woods and that Wisconsin paper mills were already ordering trainloads of wood chips from the West for paper pulp. The cost of freight to Wisconsin is more than offset by the cheapness of the chips, and the paper thus made is expected to prove a considerable factor in relieving the paper famine. A visitor who leaves Mr. Hallauer can scarcely believe that there is anything which cannot be made from wood. “How about the cabled story that the Germans have discovered a food they can make from wood which they are feeding to Russian prisoners?" was the first question asked. “Almost surely not true,” he said. “The human stomach cannot stand it. It is possible to convert sawdust into cattle food, and that was probably the foundation for the story.” But Germany from her forests is obtaining such great results that if, as an English writer recently suggested impractically, England were to destroy Germany’s forests, the war would surely end very soon. Artificial cotton is one of the, things which are being supplied from wood. Paper shirts are also being used, but then Japan is supplying these to the Russian soldiers. Germany has been driven to extreme use of her forests by necessity, but no country with the exception of Germany has made such a systematic effort at developing forest products as the United States. Charcoal for the manufacture of black gunpowders is being obtained from dogwood, willow and alder. Great quantities of alcohol imd ether are made from imported molasses, but if we were cut off from this raw material we could depend upon the forests. Alcohol could also be made from grain, but in war times grain, would be required for food. It is estimated that during the present year 40,000000 gallons of denatured alcohol will be used at home, while huge quantities are being exported. The use of wood for is generally fa--miliar. Our supply of seasoned black walnut, the most suitable wood for the purpose, has been entirely exhausted by the heavy demands of Europe. Heretofore the practice has been to let gunstock material air season for months before it would be forked up. Time became so Important that artificial seasoning was resorted to. but Improper methods destroyed too much of the material. The forest products laboratory has now perI fected dry kilns which overcome the trouble, and as a further aid is perfecting methods of using other woods, notably birch, for gun stock. Then there is the near relative of the gun stock, the iwooden leg, making heavy demands for willow. Millions of feet of lumber and heavy timbers are required in war times for structural purposes, such as the erection of docks, bridges, trenches and temporary shelters. Disinfectants are nowT necessity. They can *■ be made from wood. Pure wood alcohol Is the only substance that can be converted into formaldehyde, universally used for disinfection against such contagious diseases as smallpox, scarlet fever, dlptheria and tubereuldSis. It is also used to prevent crop diseases by disinfecting the seeds. But the Importance of forest products for war supplies in no way compares with their importance for Industries. The largest of these are the lumber, pulp, and paper, naval stores and distillation industries. „ They employ more than

Utilizing Forests to Double Their Value

l,Uvv ... . arners. Their products are valued at $2,000,000,000 annually. The most promising and novel developments in the line of by-products from wood are in the nature of chemical utilization. It might be said that the chemists of the forest products laboratory have put the prod to forest products. The lumber industry draws upon the forests for many times as much material as do all the other industries, and only about one-third of the tree cut for lumber is actually put on the market in that shape. Right here is more than enough waste, although not often in the right form or readily available, to supply raw material for all the other industries. The problem now becomes one of adopting means of utilization to suit the conditions. Years ago wood ashes were leached for home soap-making, to furnish potash. The practice disappeared. It is now being revived as a source of potash to offset the shortage of fertilizer due to the war. In the Red River vallqj’ of Texas the Indians used to pse Osage orange for dyeing, but that wood never gained commercial recognition as a dyewood. Within rhe last year, however, we have succeeded in getting it into the market as a -substitute for fustic, which we import from Jamaica and Tehuantepec, and' more than $1,000,000 worth of these dyes is how being made by .American manufacturers. . The forest products laboratory has just completed an analysis of the oils which can be obtained from the needles or leaves of all the coniferous trees of the country. From a number of species the oils obtained have very attractive odors; other oils can be used in greases and shoe blackings. In Europe the finer needle oils are used as perfumes in soaps; others are used for inhalations for lung diseases. It has been working on the production of alcohol from wood for five years. It has succeeded in

SPY ON FRENCH CHILDREN.

One of the most interesting examples of how specialized spy work is is shown by the way Germany has her secret service organized in the conquered portions of Belgium and northern France. German officers have found by experience that the men and women who are left do little talking outside of selected groups where they know everyone can be trusted. But, often, the invaders learned, these citizens forgot themselves when they are talking before their children. So Germany sent experienced schoolteachers, men and women who understood child psychology and who could speak French, to the occupied cities and towns to open French schools. When it is possible the teachers win the good will of the children, and through the Innocent boys and girls learn what the parents are thinking and talking about. —Carl W. Ackerman in the Saturday Evening Post

Summer Discussion.

“Whut’s dem summer clothes you all is wearin’?” inquired Mr. Erastus Pinkley. “Dat’s Palum Beach suit.” “Pallum beach 1 Mebbe ’tls. But it looks mo’ like Coney Island to me.”

Making the Useless Useful.

Cholly—Er, I say, Miss Ethel, I —er —hem— Ethel —Oh, do you. Then I’ll set you to work, hemming sheets fdr the soldiers.—Boston Evening Transcript.

Sarcastic.

"George knows human nature all right” “Why?” "Yesterday he -said to me: ‘Has your wife planned your vacation yet’"''

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. IND.

by Robert H.Moulton

lowering the cost of production aud raised the yield to such a point that the introduction of this alcohol as a motor fuel seeius likely, particularly with gasoline going up as it has been. As Mark Twain said, “What chance has prohibition when a man can take a ripsaw and get drunk on a fence rail or drink the legs off the kitchen table?” Western larch has an unusually high percentage of galactan', vyhich it is believed can be converted into a fermentable sugar for use in making grain alcohol. This same galactan In oxidation yields large quantities of muric acid, and muric acid can take the place of tartaric acid in the manufacture of baking powder. A number of lumbermen recently visited the laboratory and one of the chemists made baking powder from wood, and his wife made biscuit with it. Another advance is the preparation of a fine, sweet sirup from galactose, a sugar derived from galactan. So if the people of Montana, the home of the Western larch, get hard pressed they can make their flapjacks with larch bakjng powder, bake them over a stove heated with alcohol and sweeten them with larch sirup. Converting cellulose obtained from wood into a gelatinous material known as a viscose opens up another field for research and adds a new line of products running all the way from sausage casings to tapestry. Five million dollars worth of silk socks sold last year got their silk from wood, as did many silk neckties and fancy braids. Probably it won’t be long before the whims of the silkworm will have little control over silk market conditions. Kraft paper is made from sulphate pulp, and the method of making it came to this country from Sweden ten years ago. Kraft is much stronger than other papers. It is brown, like what we usually think of as wrapping paper. Large (Quantities of it are used for that purpose and it is particularly suitable for large envelopes. Kraft is used for book covers, for imitation leather and for cardboard suitcases. An attempt is being made to produce a paper twine that will replace the binder twines now made from imported fibers. This question has become more active because of the recent shortage of these other fibers on account of tire conditions south of us. A successful paper substitute would provide for the utilization of a large amount of wood waste and at the same tima build up a home industry independent of foreign raw materials. The problems put up to the laboratory to solve are many and complex. One man in the frog business was suffering heavy losses from the death of his tadpoles. He asked the laboratory to find out if there was anything in the wood which when washed out poisoned the tadpoles. The government chemists undertook to study the matter. They could not locate the trouble, so it was put up to the section of timber tests. After a few experiments it was found that the resonant croaking of the large frogs produced vibrations in the boards of the tanks. The vibrations were transmitted through the water to the ganglia of the tadpoles (they have no brains), causing a disease somewhat akin to infantile paralysis. The remedy was simple. The man was advised to separate his tadpoles from his large frogs, thus confining the vibrations to the older generations. This was done and the mortality among the tadpoles decreased wonderfully.

AIRPLANE COMPASSES.

Of the thousands of inventions relating to the war which have been filed in the patent offices of the United States and the countries of the entente allies in the last three years many have been for compasses for airplanes. The points aimed at particularly have been the elimination of errors that result from banking. The problems are complex and have neen studied for years, as the troubles worried users of compasses long before airplanes came into the world. The military value of a perfect compass for an airjflane would be great. With such an invention flights on cloudy’ night would be comparatively safe and aviators could reach predetermined objectives without much regaruto land bearings. At present, when he cannot see land or anything else, the airman practically has to feel his way to a large extent i,

His Wife’s Little Shot

’ • ' a ' "I’m glad you’re over the draft age.” “Why.” ’ “Think how humiliated I should be to have to admit that I was dependent on your stingy salary every week for my living.”—Detroit Free Press.

“What is a good way to get rid of angle worms in a garden?" ‘"The best way I know is to plan a fishing trip. There won’t be a worm there when you go to look for them.” i

New Reading.

“The old proverb says uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." “Yes. because It can’t find a good way to cover the Jes up.”

Sure Way.

Battles Which Made the World

. WATERLOO —5 The Terrlfle Fray In Which British Resolntlon Withstood French Fury and Which Transformed Napoleon Bonaparte From an Emprrur to an Exile.

Waterloo sealed the dooifi of the greatest world figure of modern times. With Its ending was decreed that never again should Napoleon Bonaparte, immense somnambulist of a shattered dream, menace the future of kings and continents, with nations and peoples as mere pawns upon the chess board of his gigantic ambition. It requires a rare flight of mind to imagine what might have been the state of Europe and the rest of the world today had Napoleon, at the climax of his Belgian campaign, overthrown his enemrtes and established himself and his dynasty firmly In power. History as* it was written up to the evening of his doom had failed to indicate any limits for his possible sway. Waterloo was a battle of "IfA.” Such an authority as Lieutenant Colonel Shuttleworth, U. S. A., asserts that If Napoleon had enjoyed the advantage of a small runabout motorcar he would have triumphed most certainly. If Grouchy had come up instead of Blucher the day must have belonged to France. If Ney had displayed more military acumen In the preliminary fight at Quatre Bras the backbone of the English resistance might have been broken. Napoleon himself contended that If somebody had not, without authority, ordered the unsupported charge of his splendid cavalry, he would have won. The “if** terloo. Before the main battle Napoleon had beaten the Prussians at Llgny and had dispatched Grouchy with 30,000 troops to prevent the defeated army from marching to Wellington’s aid. In this mission Grouchy failed and the emperor ever after censured him bitterly for the failure. Ney, meanwhile, attacked the English at Quatre Bras, but while he kept them from aiding Blucher and his Prussians he yet failed to break or demoralize them. Wellington, retreating, took up positions on the plateau of Mt St. Jean, or Waterloo. Blucher, at Wavre, left Thielman to be overwhelmed by Grouchy while with his main army he marched to Wellington’s assistance. Thus, in the language of Creasy, “he risked a detachment and won a campaign accordingly.” There Is some variation In the estimate *of the strength of the opposing forces. Creasy gives Napoleon 71,947, Wellington 67,655, and Blucher something gver 10.000, only part of whom, of course, were employed on the main field. Captain Becke and Colonel Hlme give Napoleon 74,000, agreeing in substrfhce with Creasy as to the number commanded by Wellington and Blucher. Of British troops, however, Wellington had’ but 24,000. The balance of his forces comprised Dutch, Belgians, Hanoverians, Brunswickers, Nassauers and the like, whose loyalty and effectiveness was in more or less doubt On the morning of June 18, 102 years ago, the two armies were drawn up opposite each other, with a valley between. The Prussians were at Wavre. 12 miles away.

Here again, enters the “If.” The night of the 17th had been stormy. The ground was soft. Finding the movement of artillery difficult Napoleon delayed the start of the action until nearly noon. If he had been able to begin at daybreak he might have demolished Wellington before Blucher could have reached him with aid. Napoleon’s first assault was against the farm of Hougoumont, on the right of the British position. Column after column was hurled upon this post, which a detachment of the British guards, fighting with the most desperate valor, held throughout the day. At one time, Indeed, Foy’s attacking regiments forced the stockade, but at the gate Colonel Macdonnell ran through French infantrymen with his sword, and Colonel Macklnnon dashed up under heavy fire with the Grenadiers to the relief. At one o’clock, with every cannon on both sides thundering, Napoleon launched his first grand attack against the British left center. For this he selected 18,000 Infantry, supported by Kellerman’s horse and led by Ney, “the bravest of the brave.” The Dutch-Belgians in the first line fled In terror before the furious onslaught of these veterans, but the British infantry behind held firm. Plncton, commanding the thin red English line, only 3,000 strong, took advantage of the French moment of deployment to loose a devastating volley, after which the British cavalry charged, sending the French reeling back. At three o’clock Wellington’s forces having suffered severely from the bombardment, andfresh troops appearing on the horizon (these were the Prussians coming up, although Napoleon insisted they were Grouchy’s men), the emperor tried a charge of bis magnificent heavy cavalry against the British right and center; So terrific was the rush, of these helmeted and corseleted horsemen, reins in teeth, saber and pistol in hands, that they rode fairly over the British advance guns, bringing up against the daunt•ess squares of British infantry. If this

By CAPT. ROLAND F. ANDREWS

(Copyright, BIT, by MoCloro New (paper eradicate)

success had been heavily supported by foot troops different might have been the issue, for the cuirassiers stayed long on the crest frantically storming at the squares which mowed them down by squadrons. As It fell out, they were almost totally destroyed by the fire of the stubborn squares, and by a counter attack of massed English horse. The order for this charge of the French horse—at least In the form It was delivered—was afterward repudiated by Napoleon, who declared that Ney “agted like a madman,” and that he “threw the cavalry away.” Somewhere In the .course of this action the reserve cavalry, the .Horse Grenadiers and the lighter lancers, and Hussars had been brought in. Whether they charged by direction of Ney or oh the inspiration of Guyot, their immediate commander, is not certain. Napoleon asserted that they had been ordered to leave him under no circumstances. This destruction of the whole mounted reserve Napoleon told Bourrienne cost him the day. In the waning day the Intrepid Ney, gathering the wreck of D’Erl on’s corps, did carry La Haye Sainte, on the English left, but It was too late. The Prussians were already pushing hard. Napoleon was forced to play his last card. Cavalry gone, first line corps shattered, he ordered up the dauntless Imperial Guard. The emperor and the guard had turned the day on many a field. The fierce giants, in their towering bearskins, seemed almost Irresistible. Passing before him, they hailed him with great shouts of “Vive I’Empereur,” while he, pointing toward the English line, cried out: “There is the road to Brussels.” But the guard went to death, and in the last charge it was ever to make. With Ney, hatless, covered with mud and blood, at its head, on foot—for his fifth horse of the day had been killed under him—lt climbed the hill in the face of a furious artillery fire, only to encounter Maitland’s brigade of English household troops, to whom the duke himself is said to have shouted the order, “Up, guards, and at them I” The fire which followed was too terrific for even the veterans of Napoleon’s eagles. In the darkness, for it was now nearly eight o’clock, they wavered, reeled and fled, with the British cavalry sabering them as they ran. Someone raised the cry of "Sauve qui pent,” and all was lost Only Chambronne’s regiment of the guard remained compact and defiant, moving slowly in the welter of blood, sneering at commands to surrender, prefering death to Ignominy—and finding it Napoleon was swept off the field, to become in a few weeks an exiled captive. The loss of the French was never known. AH records disappeared with the destruction of the army. In dead and wounded Wellington lost* 15,000, the Prussians 7,000 more. At such cost was purchased the delivery of Europe.

Tatooing Horses' Ears.

As a means of identifying horses and other animals, many breeders tattoo a number on the inside of the ear of each animal in their studs, flocks or herds, this number serving as an index to the record of Its pedigree. Figures which are to identify the animal are put in the slotted jaw of a punch made for the purpose, and after the jaws of the punch have been closed down on the ear India ink is rubbed into the punctures. When the skin heals over this ink the animal is marked for life. With some kinds of horses, such as Percherons and Suffolks, which often are all of one color, without distinguishing white marks, some such system of marking is essential to keep accurate records for registration. Applied to race horses and trotters, it prevents the substitution of one horse for another, or "ringing,” as it is called, and makes ft possible to identify animals with certainty wherever they are found. —New York Herald.

Why Thunder Rumbles.

Thunder is the sound made by the lightning, which in turn, is a momentary electric current through the air. The air in the path of this current is heated very quickly, expands and hits the surrounding air. This causes a sound wave to travel outward from al) parts of this path. Sound goes at the rate of 1,090 feet per second in air being more than this in heated air. The rumble is made by only one flash But as this has a'path all of whose points are not the same distance froir the observer, the sound made at the more distant pointe gets in a little later than that made at those nearby. All thunder has some rumble, for the path could not be the same distance at all pointe unless it were circular, with the observer in the center of the air.

Must Be.

"I hear Flicker, who runs the new picture theatre, Is the most conscientious man in town.” “Ag to how 7” ...... *'■ “Understand he lets one-eyed folk ifi his show for half-price."