Indianapolis Times, Volume 47, Number 18, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 April 1935 — Page 16

PAGE 16

GRASS BURNING IS BLAMED FOR STATE EROSION

Millions of Tons of Top Soil Washed Away From Southern Farms. F4tt.-r' Nl*—nil i. tb* Mt l •** srllrlt. n util *rr f It* i inv* And and. p*ftkaUrl, Mil rmtan tn Indiana Th* arliflu lr* ha.ad *n infnrmatmn mppliad ha Iba Malt Cnn.araatinn Danarlmanl and Fadaral ai'ium A certain state forester set out one day last year for a small town in the sub-marginal land area of southern Indiana to see whether the natives knew the reason for so many forest fires. ••Wen* exclaimed a native, "I reckon the boys are burning the woods to kill the rattlesnakes.'* And the state forester felt that that probably was what was happening. But there are very few rattlesnakes in Indiana and any rattlesnake with sense enough to bite would duck down a hole to safely escape any fire his enemies could set for him. This forester found, too, that many of the farmers down there f nnually in the spring burned their pasture land crass. That's to green "it up.” they exp'am. Action Is ’Farm-Suicide’ Well, the forestei explained, burnmc dead grass takes away from the soil the fertilizer that decaying grass would have provided and rioe-nt hurry anv faster than two weeks th growth of the green grass In other words, the forester said, the live-rock, because of this habitual destruction of decaying vegetable life, are annually put on a slimmer and slimmer pasture diet. The forester said many of these farmers actually set afire stretches of woods, to ' green them up ” They don't realize and haven't yet accepted a scientific version that such a procedure is virtually farmsuicide. "Some of them, land owners even, will sit on their front porches and watch Civilian Conservation Corps troops fight a fire that is doing incalculable damage to their iand.”ihe forester said. “They don't get excited until the fire gets near their home." Sill Hampers Navigation Cause—They don't know about soil erosion. Effect —Hundreds of tons of rich Indiana topsoil annually gets in the way of river boats at the mouth of the Mississippi, and rireggers spend millions pushing it aside and building levees. Every 365 days there is enough

I —the farmer who grows the U j I \ ; tobacco... m always f ;- : 7. —the warehouseman who sells . \ auction to the highest * r f-- • v * bidder... • ; i l i — every man who knows about i-' 1 |\ j j leaf tobacco—will tell you that j iI C LCI I I I Cl. S make a good cigarette; and this /Jj!SjfljP Chesterfield Cigarettes is aged I P> tax* I A Mvitt To*a> I-- > .

BROAD RIPPLE H. S. ANNUAL CHIEFS NAMED

% ■ s -w. ----- -

Gladys Scott

The appointment of Miss Gladys Scott as editor and Gordon Foxworthy as business manager of the Bread Ripple High School Annual has been announced. Other members of the staff are Richard Cravens. Josephine Whitten. Edgar Nelson. Robert Dawson. Jack Blaekstone, John Bnttenbach. Frank Huston. John Egger. Elmer Schloot, Douglas Laurna Smith, Thelma Washington, Mary Lawrence Brainard and Billie Miller.

silt, formerly productive topsoil, carried to the mouth of the Mississippi to cover one square mile of territory to the depth of 332 feet. That’s 48 feet higher than the tip of the Soldiers and Sailors’ Monument is from the street. The United States government is rr-ponsible for those figures, and also for these: 5 6.5 Tons a Second Feb .5, 1932. the Ohio River was at flood stage. Two samples of water were taken from the river aetween Louisvi#e and Jeffersonville. They show- that the Ohio was taking soil, mostly from Indiana, at the rate of 5.65 tons a second, equal to the load of 113 trucks, each with a three-ton load, each minute. That's because forest fires burn the trees that provide the leaves that absorb the moisture and husband it for the grass—the grass whose roots keep the soil at home and don t let it go gadding futilely down the Ohio and into the Mississippi to get in the way of another industry—navigation. That's because the ax fells the trees, and leaves the unguarded slopes to act as a shoot-the-chute for the rains that fall, to send them as torrents into the fields and the valleys. There, they pick up the soil from cultivated fields and this soil ends up as another great nationa problem—silt in the Mississippi. Uillious of Trees Planted To combat this, the State Department of Conservation, working with Federal agencies, is planting millions of black spruce trees a year. They are planted on slopes that first are dammed with earthen dams to collect silt. These trees, fast growing and

Gordon Foxworthv

with knitting roots, will stop erosion in a few years, save the land, and allow the native hardwoods to seed and grow. It s not exactly an Aladdin’s lamp job. It takes 40 to 50 years to grow a crop of native trees. But, eventually. besides saving the land and prevei ting floods, the land will produce timber for industry and commerce, to be sold with a profit for the state. Private capital has not yet been able to finance such a long-term investment. Governmental agencies are alone able to swing it. That's the program which has been started in southern Indiana.

PUBLIC Auction! ENTIRE STOCK AND FIXTURES OF Ferger’s Pharmacy TRACTION TERMINAL BUILDING MARKET AND ILLINOIS STS. INDIANAPOLIS 10a.m., Wed., April 3 Fixtures include wall cases, show cases, cash registers, lighting fixtures, etc. Stock includes: Drugs, medicines, cosmetics, fountain pens, theatrical makeup, etc. Open for inspection, 2 p. m. to 6 p. m., Apiil 2nd. Cash. Shank Auction & Furniture Cos. Burkhardt & Sons, Auctioneers

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

$600,000,000 IS U. S, SHARE OF LIQOOR TAX Total Collected Since Repeal Is Short of Estimate Made by Wets. By r fitrl Prr,. WASHINGTON. April I.—Liquor and beer have furnished the Federal government with more than $600.000,000 in tax revenues during the j last 23 months, Treasury figures disclosed today. Although this sum is far below the optimistic pre-repeal predictions of “wets,” it furnished the government with about $1 in every $lO of its income since repeal. Treasury statistics showed $561,401.099 was collected in’ taxes on j domestic spirits, beer and wines since April 1933, when beer was first legalized. Full repeal came in December. 1933. In addition to these taxes, the Federal government collected about $50,000,000 in customs duties on imported liquor during the same period. More millions were collected > by states and cities. Optimistic advocates of repeal estimated liquor would provide $500,000,000 annually in Federal taxes. Small collections have caused increased demands for congressional action to lower both domestic and import duties. This, they said, would increase ' popular consumption of liquor through lower prices. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary j nf the Treasury, has opposed, this course, asserting that through rigid enforcement of present liquor laws

Indianapolis Tomorrow

Architectural Club, luncheon. Architects and Builders Building. Gyro Club, luncheon, Spink-Arms, Jewelers Guild, dinner, Washington. Mercator Club, luncheon, Columbia Club. Phi Gamma Delta, dinner, Athenaeum. Rotary Club, luncheon. Claypool. Universal Club, luncheon, Columbia Club. the collections could be increased. He has tightened up the enforcement agencies in efforts to trace supplies of sugar, molasses and other products of illegal stills, and ‘‘crack down” on the North Atlantic ‘‘rum row” through international agreements with Newfoundland. Cuba and Canada. Efforts are being made to reach an understanding with the French government on that republic's island possessions in the North Atlantic, which are being used as alleged bases for liquor running. With revenues steadily climbing through the rigid enforcement program, officials believe total collections since legalization of beer may reach $1,000,000,000 by Jan. 1, 1936. They are pouring in at the rate of more than $1,000,000 daily. Figures at the Treasury showed Americans are drinking substantially more beer than hard liquors. Total domestic tax collections since April, 1933, on beer were $342,165,189 against $219,235,910 for liquor and wines. A mm £: ifi: 4CI This Undertaker M HARRY W.T7 oorJl/ 2050 E. MICHIGAN PHONE CH. 6020 Linoleum Special 9x12 Felt Base Linoleum Rug, $3.75 and up. \V Carry Complete Line of Armstrong’s Inlaid Linoleum Cut Rate Linoleum House Open Till 9 P. SI. Kll X. Ala. St. Rl-8987

ROOSEVELT ON VACATION TRIP SHOWNIN FILM President Shown Boarding Destroyer for Transfer to Nourmahal. President Roosevelt's arrival at Jacksonville. Fla., for a short vaca-tion-fishing trip is to be seen in the current issue of The Indianapolis Times-Universal Newsreel, which has Graham McNamee as its talking reporter. The chief executive is shown leaving the presidential spec tl on which he made an overnight ran from the

WATCH REPAIRING Good, Guaranteed Work ROY F. CHILES 530 Lemcke Bldg.

__ Mow lift E. Wash. Chicago Jewelry Cos. J A/f Enthusiastic Pre-Easter Sale nf Spring COATS and SUITS i Suaccer • Rrlted Barks! ji, •Tailored Models! •Regency Collars! %J| All the ravishing new spring styles are in-/b \0 eluded in this startling group of s&UkS&Bk values.. Tweeds, monotones, novelty _ I -V" A/Vi mmplrtr rnur Fas- M roci inp Sop thii mar- j/g/i .s.'i.os oi.i., I MEN! Here's Value in Coats With BeretSPRING SUITS sizes 2to it a A D fldHL fJBk • Single jm yrs. Twped 98 Breasted (f c ° :£--cu7. J=mMk •noubie JK M wm *** style*. mm * fi,e ™\ e(l c r m • L $ Banki'" Boys' Shirts ® p ™ g u ‘ p a VhUe M 59.V5 0$ ]c s 49c srv ■ $15.00 WP models! WBkk. ps Boys’Overalls TO IT “ jl T| 1 /7q 5c II 39c mmm Now At 146 EAST WASH NGTON [I

capital and boarding the destroyer Farragut on his way to Vincent Astor's yacht, Nourmahal. Other important events to be seen in the eurrrent reel include the departure from San Francisco of men

TEETH Talk \o. 10 “Well—Maybe it's my teeth.” How often you have heard someone say that after he has already tried many

remedies for body ailments. Know About Your Teeth Why not play safe and have your teeth in good condition at all times. Have them X-rayed once a year. We have been keeping mouths in perfect condition for 35 years. Dr. Eiteijorg 81/2 E. Washington St. Just East of Meridian Street

APRIL 1, 1933

and materials to build air bases on Wake and Midway Islands for the use of trans-Pacific planes on regular flights; a one-man rotary snow plow invented by a resident of Hood River. Ore.

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