Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 May 1919 — Page 3

More Highway Construction This Year Than Ever Before in Our History

made important amendments to the federal aid road act. These amendments will have the effect of greatly lessening the difficulties of selecting and constructing needed roads. The amount of federal funds available for road building on March 1 was over $72,900,000, which under the law must be matched by at least an equal amount from the states,, making a total of $145,800,000, including approximately $9,800,000 from federal and state sources for roads in the national forests. On July 1 $95,000,000 more of federal funds will become available for general road purposes and $4,000,000 for nations forest roads, which, with equal contributions from the states, will provi e an additional $198,000,000 for federal aid road work, making an aggregate sum of $343,800,000 for the calendar year. In other words the 1919 program for federal aid road building is greater than any previous annual road-building accomplishments m this country. It is so great, in fact, that the states will undoubtedly defer taking up part of the federal funds.until 1920, because experienced contracting and engineering organizations must be developed from the stagnant conditions of the war period. The states and their civil subdivisions also will carry on a large amount of road work without federal aid. The present indications are that approximately $280,000,000 will be spent in this way. The indications are that a larger volume of highway construction wi be accomplished this season than in any previous year m the history of the nation.

Back to the Land! The Nation’s Duty and the Citizen’s Opportunity.

When the American 0f.38 years of age was born the United States had a population of 50,155,783. Thirty out of every hundred people lived in the cities; the othet seventy lived in the country. Year by year the cities have gained in population at the expense of the country. n the population had increased ta 93,402,151. and 46.3 per cent of it was in the cities. The census of 1920 is expected to show that we have a population of about 110,000,000 and that more than half live in the cities. In the decade between 1900 ad 1910 our whole population increased 20.9 per cent, the- urban 34.8 and the rural 11.2. The city popu ation therefore increased nearly twice as fast as that of the ■whole country an more than three times as fast as that of the rural districts. In six states there was an actual decrease in the rural population. These figures show that the cities have taken more than their share of the immigrants and have also lured farmers from the farm. This rapidly increasing disproportion between the food-producing population of the rural districts and the food-consuming population o the cities has long been recognized as a danger signal to the nation. Moreover, to allow it to continue is to reject the greatest opportunity in the history of the nation. The nation should bestir itself to keep every farmer on the farm; to get onto the farm every returning soldier who wants to plant every city man who belongs on the soil. This is a large undertaking but one easily within the power of the nation. Certain conditions make the time ripe for it. Earning as a business now offers inducements second to none and better than most. The federal government, with its farm loan board, its experiment station in every state and its farmers'* bulletins; the states with their agricultural colleges; thd counties, with their expert agents and demonstrators—all stand ready to give the farmer service adequate to his needs. . ~ There is good money- to be made in farming. Until very recent y less brains has been mixed with farming than with any other business. Now, with brains and modern scientific methods, farming is one of the best-paying businesses on earth. There are. still millions of acres of unoccupied farm awaiting the plow- the public domain contains 230,657,755 acres of unreserved and unappropriated land, of which a large proportion is suitable for agriculture There are 15,000,000 acres of arid land for irrigation. There are 60,000,000 acres of swamp and overflowed lands which can be reclaimed. There are 200,000,000 acres of cut-over land fit for cultivation. The nation’s administrators and lawmakers should wake up to the situation that is at once a danger imd an opportunity. France and Great Britain and all her colonies are busy getting their people on the soil. America lags behind when it is to her that a large part of the world must look for food for many a year. Congress should pass Secretary Lane’s great reclamation measure .for work and homes for soldiers. The railroad administration should resume railroad advertising of farm lands and the work of colonization agents. Good roads, extension of agricultural education, betterment of country living conditions, development of farm labor supply, assurance of fair profits, financial assistance—all these should be the immediate policy. to the lan<N Every man on the farm is an asset and not a liability. Agriculture is the foundation of the prosperity of this country and always be. is the fundamental natural resource from which this nation draws its life. And the farmer is the bulwark of the nation. Moreover, farming is a business in which a man of parts niay take delight. It is an honest'business. The farmer does not climb up by pulling others down. He has his place in the sun. If he chance to have an eye for beauty there are the recurrent miracle of the spring and the pageantry of the seasons. And Mother Nature is likely to throw in health, efrpngth and happiness for good measure. - t \

By D.F. HOUSTON

During the war it was necessary to curtail roadconstruction operations because of the difficulties of securing transportation, materials and the requisite services. Now that the situation has changed the work will be actively resumed. It is not believed that the people of the nation can wait for prices to recede before beginning industrial operations. Such hesitatioh will add to the difficulties instead of lightening them. The congress at its last session not only made available from the federal treasury* large additional sums for construction in co-operation with the states but also

By JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN

Secretary of Agriculture

’ THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

SENTENCE SERMONS.

He who quells an angry thought ii greater than a king.—Eliza Cook. Reform those things in yourself which you blame in others. —Old Proverb. Doctrine is nothing but the skin of truth set up and stuffed. —Henry Ward Beecher. It Is better only sometimes to' be right than at all times to be wrong.— Lincoln. , Do that which is assigned yon and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. —Emerson. How men undervalue the power of simplicity, but it is the real key to the heart. —Wordsworth. 'Never think it wasted time to submit yourself to any Influence which may bring upon you any noble feeling.—Ruskin. Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.—Plutarch.

NATIONAL SAYINGS

A bad broom leaves a dirty room. A bonny bride is soon buskit. — Scotch proverb. Much broth is sometimes made of little meat. —Danish proverb. Would you let a bug escape you because it did hot bite you? —Tamil. The bucket goes so often to the well that it leaves its handle there. —Italian proverb. . Even Buddha was once a cart horse and carried the loads of others. —Hindoo proverb. Men of their broken debtors take a third, a sixth, a tenth, letting them thrive again.— Shakespeare.

THOUGHTS ON THE SIDE

Money can always find an appreciative audience when it talks. It’S always amusing to heat a rich man tell how much happier he was when he was poor. Nobody ever successfully dodged trouble, but that doesn’t prevent everybody from trying to. The notion that some men have that they can get away with it is what keeps the prison cells occupied. Children tell the truth, but unfortunately it doesn’t take their parents long to break them of the habit. Now and then you run across a man w r ho doesn’t know enough to take rare of a reputation after he has made it. There’s one thing about a dry town —a man can sit through a show without having his feet trodden on between the acts. A married man always lives in constant dread that somebody is going to invite him to do something that he wants to do, but his wife won’t let him. i Some women, of course, will vote the way their husbands do, but from what w*e know of married life our guess is that more men will vote the way their wives tell ’em to, —Detroit Free Press.

AROUND THE WORLD

The population of Sweden includes many more women than men. India’s jute acreage In 1918 was about 9 per cent less than in 1917. e .. . In an egg-laying competition In Australia a black Orpington hen laid 325 eggs in 12 months. The business the London stock exchange, under peace conditions, requires the services of 25,000 persons every day. ■ Because weight rather than size makes eggs valuable for hatching a California poultry man has invented a simple egg-weighing scale.

PITHY REMARKS

As example of serene contemplation, th eye is the goldfish. Why snails are any more repellent than caviare Isn’t so apparent. We should think a valet would be one more person to argue with about your clothes. 1 f - It is more comfortable to regard your superstitions than to fly in the fac&jQf them. » - ’ Only free speech many people enjoy is that in the bosom of their family. It won’t be tattled. -__,x. i. —-4 ---;.■ ’<v

ELIMINATE “FIND THE THIMBLE” GAME WHEN ABOUT TO SEW BY USING SCREEN

Frame of Screen Before Covering - Finished Product Fitted With Sewing Necessaries.

(Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) When the average woman starts to sew she usually finds she has left her thimble in the kitchen, that the children took the shears to cut out paper dolls, or that if she wants white thread, black is the only color she can locate. By 'the time the necessary supplies are collected her zest for the task Perhaps she does own a sewing basket, but here everything is in a jumble. Spools of thread in a basket have a maddening habit of unwinding and tangling together, while to thrust the hand incautiously into a sewing basket is to Invite a stab from a stray needle. On a sewing screen everything has a place and it is easy to keep everything in Its place. Any person apt with tools can make such a screen by following these directions from the United States department of agriculture. The sewing screen illustrated consists of two panels 28 inches high and 13% inches wide, made of 1-inch by 2-lnch plank. These may be folded together and each panel is covered with burlap. The pockets are fastened to the bottom of each panel on the inside, and hooks are placed on the bottom of the*crosspiece to hold the necessary equipment. Pegs or nails are driven into the top of one of the crosspieces. The drop shelf makes a good worktable, and the groove in the top of the crosspiece will hold buttons. This folding sewing screen is light in weight, requires little space, and can be easily carried to the porch or lawn for sewing work. Materials for Building Screens. The following material is required for a screen: 10 feet of lumber 1% by 1% inches. 6 1%-inch (butt) hinges with screws to be used in joining the panels and fastening the drop shelf to* the crosspieces. 1 handle with screws for the top of screen. 1 hook and eye to fasten the panels when they are folded and closed. 2 yards of burlap, denim, or canvas, 18 inches wide. 1 dozen brass cup hooks. 1 yard cretonne for pockets. 1 yard %-inch elastic for top of pockets. 4 dozen upholstering tacks for tacking on burlap. Sandpaper and stain. Care should be taken to choose good colors in materials for pockets and outside covering. The colors in the cloth should harmonize with the color of the stain used for the wood. Good dyes and wood stains often can be made from nut shells, roots, berries

NECESSARY THAT WE WASTE NO MEAT FAT

Beef and Mutton Have Strong Characteristic Flavors. ' ______ These May Be Removed by Carefully Clarifying All Suet, and It Will Be Suitable for Almost Any Cooking Purpose. (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) The world supply of fats is low, especially the supply of animal fats, and it is necessary that none be wasted in this country or someone in the world is going to lack this important food substance. Much fat is wasted because of lack of knowledge on how to prepare certain kinds for cooking purposes. Beef and mutton suet have strong characteristic flavors, but these may be removed by carefully clarifying all the fat and it will suitable for almost any cooking purpose. . Suet Rendering. Put the suet through the food grinder. If it has an odor, soak it and add a pinch of soda to it during the rendering. Heat on the back of the stove over hot water or in a pah set in the pyen until the fat can be squeezed from the cracklings. Avoid overheating the fat, for this injures its keeping qualities and flavor. Store in clean tin pails or crocks which are covered tightly and set in a cool place. To Clarify Fat Mik boiling water with the cold fat 801 l vigorously; allow the mixture to cool 1 and scrape off the impurities which collect on the lower surface of the cake of fat. To remove a slight burnt taste or other objectionable flavors, melt the fat, add- thick slices of raw potatoes and heat gradually until It ceases to bubble Und the potatoes have become brown. A small pinch of baking soda whitens the fat and helps to make it sweet. p __ | To remove the strong odor from mutton or chicken fat. heat fat very

and bark of trees. The cloth, not being the same texture, will take the dye in a little different shade of the same color than the woodwork if the identical barks or shells are used for making the stain for the frame. How to Make Wood Stain. To make a good brown stain for the frame, cover three pints of bruised green walnut hulls with three pints of water and allow to stand for twelve hours. Strain through a double cheesecloth and add one ounce of permanganate of potash. This stain t)iay be made th larger quantities and used for floor stain. It gives,a rich brown floor finish. If a semi waxy appearance is desired, one quart of paraffin oil can be added. This is on the market at a reasonable price. The darker shades of color will vary according to the amount of dyestuff used and the length of time the material is soaked or heated in it. Colors that harmonize are: Gray, with purple, red, blue, brown or yellow; yellow, with black, purple, blue or green; red, with black, blue, gray or green; lavender, with green or white; old rose, with all blues; brown, with blue, mauve or grav; heliotrope, with cream; green, with brown. Supply Suggestions. The following supplies are convenient to have at hand in the screen before beginning to sew: Needles of good make and assorted sizes. Sizes 7,8, 9 and 10 are most used. Thread, also of good make and assorted sizes. A spool each of Nos. 50, 70 and 100, and basting thread should be on hand. A plain, substantial thimble. Celluloid or aluminum makes a good, inexpensive thimble; a brass one is not desirable, because it may stain your thimble finger if it gets moist with perspiration, and may poison you if there is a sore place on your finger. A pair of sharp shears, with blades about five inches long, for cutting cloth. A pair of small, sharp scissors with good points, for cutting threads, removing bastings, etc. An abundance of medium-sized, sharp-pointed pins. Fine pins are easier to use than coarse ones. A small pincushion, a tape measure, a few pieces of cardboard to use as gauges, a pencil and an emery bag for polishing needles and smoothing them when they become sticky.

slowly in a double boiler with whole milk, preferably sour. Use- one-half cup milk to each pound of fat. Strain the rendered fat through a cloth and when it is set, lift fat from the milk which remains. When using fat like beef drippings, chicken fat, oil or clarified butter, in place of butter in cooking, use only four-fifths as much as the recipe calls for butter. These substitutes are pratically pure fat, whereas one-fifth of butter is water, Curd and salt. i ’ . ■

WHEN BUREAU DRAWERS BIND

Thorough Application of Soap to Affected Parts Will Cause Them to Draw Smoothly. When bureau drawers bind or stick remove them and rub the places that bind thoroughly with hard soap and they will draw smoothly. Soap has the same effect on wood that oil has on hard running machinery.

ALL AROUND the HOUSE

Naphtha soap will help to take, out obstinate stains under the finger nails. If your suede shoes become shabby looking rub the soiled aiMl shinyspots with fine sandpaper. . . Wash raisins in hot water before putting into cakes, etc., and they will not settle to the bottom. » • • To keep, a wash boiler from rusting after using it —On washing, wipe, dry, then take a piece of cloth and saturate with kerosene, wipe the boiler inside and out. fc * • ’ Do not throw away the old .tennis racqpet. -ft will, come in handy for beating rugs andtan>ets. <t is so constructed that»it will not destroy the goods. Remove all the cord from the racquet and use only the frame.

SCRAPS of HUMOR

Just Think of It. Mrs. Nuwife (in tears)—Oh, Mrs. Gabbalot, I am heartbroken about Clarence. He is so selfish. Mrs. Gabbalot —Surely that can’t be true, dear; I thought he was one of the most generous husbands In the world. Mrs. Nuwife Generous, nothing; the mean thing went and had his own life insured and didn’t have mine. Credit to Both. 5 “They had the same cook for 20 years.” “She deserves distinguished serv* tee medal.” “Quite so. And it wouldn’t be amiss to bestow a decoration of some sort on the family.” , , ' ■ ■ Fortunate Incredulity. Mrs. Casey (with newspaper)— They gave Pat Murphy’a name tn the death notices instead of his brother Mike’s. Casey—Ye don’t say 1 It’s a nice fix Pat would be in if he was wan o’ thlm that belave all they read in the papers.—Boston Transcript. Aroused Willie’s Curiosity. Little Willie —Father, have you had another wife? Father—Good gracious! Whatever makes you ask that? Little Willie—Well, on the first page of this Bible It says you married Anno Domini, 1880. The Way It Sounds. “Gracious, what was that?” asked ma, excitedly, as there came a sound of crashing glass from the pantry where the medicine chest lived. “Oh, that’s only pa,” responded WIL lie, “I heard him say he was going to break up a cold.” ,

VERY APPROPRIATE. Ist Bug: Why the two dollar biHT 2nd Bug: My guests want to lance on the green! Join a Diet Squad. In case you can’t buy tenderloin With your small wad. You’ll find it is good form to join A diet squad. ■ - Wise Hubby. "So your wife has stopped bother*, ing you for an automobile?” „ “Yes; I tipped off a seer she patronizes to warn her against ever riding In one.” _ _ . . : - His Practice. “A photographer ought to make an ideal lover.” ■; “Why so?” "Because he can develop a worn, an’s negative into a positive success.” Hard to Tell. He —Do you think one can learn by correspondence ? She —Depends on-the kind of fellow one corresponds with. Good Job. First Tramp —Wot would youse rather be dan anything? Second Tramp—A tank in a brewery. A Sure Winner. Josh—How did Swift manage to secure the nomination? He has no political influence, has he? Ros h—No; but he’s simply rolling in affluence. Practically Noiseless. MartbiF—Does that noisy Reggy Feather still come to see you? Myrtle—Yes, he still comes, but ha hasn’t made a noise like a proposal y et - Part of the Tree. Howe —The new political party is dividing Its tree. Wise—Yes, I understand they are kicking as to who will take the stump. Smart Boy. "That boy learned a lot of things tn college. He knows things very few others know about.” “Tell me some of them.” “Weil, somebody asked him what caused such unusual heat and hesaid it was due to surplus caloric in the atmosphere.” - To Come. \ “Hasn’t this aviation business many difficulties yet?%, “Oh, yes, bift it won't be long before It will be all air plain sailing." *' . . . ■'*