University of South Carolina Libraries
ACCORDING T' A Conscientious Objector, Cow; wmA-BW At! T3DTTJ ATI rnii oiuAi v/x rAiTAAj Soldier Who Was Willing to Was Absolutely Withou1 to the Service of His Fell Philadelphia Public Ledger. Death is preferable to a prison term to Richard Stierheim, the conscientious objector who refused to carry arms, but yet is declared to be the bravest man in the Seventy-ninth division by his companions. "We all have to die once," said Stierheim as he sat on his bunk in a barracks at Camp Dix yesterday. "It might as well be now as any other time." Stierheim is a member of Company D. 315th infantry. His home is in Ingomar. a small town just north of Pitts burgh. He is six feet one inch in his stocking feet and is of massive build. To his companions he is a wonder. He is a champion dugout builder, a good Samaritan, a Gunga Din and many other things all in one, according to the boys with whom he went through the war. Stierheim himself is extremely reticent. It was only by bits and dabs that this story was got from him. He seemed extremely embarrassed when some passing companion put in a word of praise for him. In making his objections to war, Stierheim claims no connection with and religious creed"I do not profess any religion in particular," he said. "I was born and raised a Roman Catholic, but I do not claim to be a memDer 01 me cuuau now. I attended services when I was at home because my mother and father wanted me to. I have not gone to church since entering the army. "I do believe in God and I believe in the Bible. That book contains ten commandments, one of which forbids the killing of your fellow-men. And then a lot of rulers get together and say 'To hell with the ten commandments,' and they go ahead and do as they please. He Objects to All Wars. "I object to all wars. I object to the United States fighting Germany just as much ss I object to Germany fighting the United States. There is no distinction. "They thought perhaps I was yellow when I would not fight, but I think that I proved to them that I was not. And yet I didn't do anything worth bragging about" The soldier showed no concern whatsoever about the future of his case. "The newspapers this morning say that the sentence for my deserting when I thought that was the only thing for a conscientious objector to " ? V?/-y naoo I'm ao was uea.ui. n umi mc vuot, ? ... not worrying. Death has no fears for me. But I do not want to go to jail and I would rather face the firing squad. If what I have done is such a tremendous crime." He Deserted in France. Stierheim deserted his company a short time after he had landed in Prance. When taken before a courtmartial he freely admitted that he had deserted. "I was headed for Spain when they aught me," Stierheim explained yesterday. "And I told the officers that when I was court-martialed. I pleaded guilty. Then I told them why I had done it. That was all there was to it. * 1 vAHino 1 nave nui even uvmcicu auuui a copy of the charges or of the records of the trial. It is up to the authorities now and I do not know what my standing is." The soldier roamed at will about Camp Dix yesterday, although all dui% tag the fighting in France he was under guard. On one occasion, just before one o? the drives, Steirheim, escaped from his guard, and was shot at twice, but returned of his free will. "I was afraid I might get the guard into trouble." he explained. "I made up my mind that I wanted to get away. The guard had orders to shoot to kill. I told him I was going and that if ho was a good shot I probably wouldn't get away. He fired at me twice and came pretty near getting me. I was two miles from my outfit when I decided to turn back. I could have gone much further and probably could have got away altogether. But then you know the army regulations are that the guard takes the place of the prisoner that escapes from him." Stierheim has no desire to receive the Distinguished Service Cross or any other decoration for his many deeds of valor on the battlefields. "Oh, I guess I would take It If they tave it to me," he replied when questioned. "but I'm not hankering after any decorations. It's the ones that did something that should get it. Praises Work of Chaplain. "I'll tell you a fellow that deserves it. That's Chaplain Lancaster. There's a man that did some real work and I saw him do it. I worked with him a good bit while we were at the front." Stierheim wvs drafted while working in the shipyards at Sparrows Point, near Baltimore. He was a carpenter and had worked at that trade for the major part of twenty-seven years of his life. He was taken to Camp Meade, where he trained. He drilled with his company and went to the rifle range once with them. Then the regiment went to France. "I drilled with a rifle over there for two days," said Stierheim, "and then I decided to have the courage of my convictions and not handle a rifle any longer. And from that day to this I have been under guard. I think I am still technically under guard, but I am not certain." During the fighting Stierheim did all sorts of daring deeds. The boys tell of his walking out through No Man's Land with a huge can of water on his shoulder, giving aid to the wounded and helping where he could. He carried rations and munitions and did everything else possible to help his fellows, hut he would not shoulder a rifle. "There is no man that is a man" aid Stierheim, "who could desert his fellows when they are in trouble. Of course I helped them. "And I saw a good many of my friends dropping around me, dead and wounded. And that made me feel pretty bad. Of course, it was all war. "No, it didn't make me mad at the fellows we were fighting. It was Just a matter of war. Those fellows In the other trenches couldn't help being 0 HIS LIGHTS But Not a Slacker Nor a ard. S RICHARD STIERH2IM Die Rather Than Kill; But t Fear, and Devoted Himself low Soldiers. 11 u'o nnnld ThftV mere <inv muic iuau r?? ...^v were trying to kill our men just as we were trying to kill them. No. I didn't feel any more against therirat'ter my fellows were shot down then I did before." Went Into No Man's Land. On one occasion, according to Stierheim's companions, a sergeant of the company was shot down in No Man's Land. Stierheim walked out alone where he had fallen. He stooped over the fallen man for a moment and then he returned. "There's no use," was his report, "he's dead. If you want me to I'll go out again and bring him in; but he's dead and you can't do anything for him now." On another occasion Stierheim was found tugging at a half-buried log in a trench. He called to some of his fellows to help him get it out. The * u " "? nmro fhnn hrMst hitrh imit'll WOO 1I\H Iitviv V..V.. -w for an ordinary man, and Stlerheim towered above any of his companions. "Get away from there," they called; "You'll get shot!" "But thls'll make a peach of a support for a dugout!" he returned. Then some of the men helped him to get It out, and it took them more than two hours to carry the log fifty yards, because of the enemy machinegun Are. "And it was a fine dugout he built, too," boys in the barracks said. Stierheim, because of his mechanical genius, was the official dugout builder of the outfit. His work was exceptionally fine, the boys said. Was Always Ready to Aid. There was nothing that the objector would not do for his fellows. They tell of his washing shirts for tht m, binding up wounds and he was always ready for the burying of the dead or the helping of men who had fallen. Stierheim, according to hit. fellows, went into places no other man would venture to get water for the company or to bring up food. He walked unconcernedly through shell-raked valleys and over machine-gun swept hillocks on his missions, and all as if he were walking along one of the roads back home in the little village of Ingomar. "Did I feel frightened?" quiried Stierheim yesterday. "How do you feel when you're frightened? To tell the truth, I was so busy I didn't have time to stop to find out how I felt But there was no place that was safe within two miles of the trenches and there was no use of thinking of danger any more up front than there was back in the billets. Your chances of getting hit were good any place." Mad* it Ea*y for Guard. The boys of Company D tell that there were many times when Stierheim could have gotten away, but he did not want to get the guard in charge of him in trnnhie. There were many times when he had to look up the guard before going back to the guardhouse. They tell of him gding through crowds calling out the name of the man whose prisoner he was in order that they could go back together. As Stierhelm sat on the edge of his bunk, he wore a uniform much the worse for the wear. It was worn and dirty and his overseas cap was in bad shape. It was learned that Stierhelm because of being In custody did not receive the same issues of clothing as did the other men. "I sure was lousy at times," he said. "Sometimes I went a good long while before I could change clothes or get flnn r\f tho hntro era vo rriA tVlin overseas cap when we were up in front. They didn't issue me any. All that I got was a campaign hat." And because of this hat Stierheim was the butt of many jokesters as he marched with his company, Company D, always with four guards about him, from one place to another. The objector' was not issued a gas mask, the boys said, and one was provided by his companions. "I never wore a gas mask," Stierheim said. "The one that I had wasn't any good anyway." Stierheim is known as 'Sweets" among the fellows because of his fondness for candy. He is also known for a voracious appetite. "I guess you'd have one. too," said the soldier, "if you had gone on bread and water as much as I did over there." War Garden Medal.?A medal designed to commemorate the war service of women gardeners in America has been presented to the heads of gov ernmems in tnc united ?tates, ureai Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy, and to world leaders in food control, by the national war garden commission. On the observe side of the medal is the figure of a young woman dressed in loose skirt and trousers and kneeling on the ground in an open field, working over some young garden plants. In low relief, and drawn small in scale, so as to seem distant, are soldiers marching directly across the medal, and forming a decorative band just below the center. Above the soldiers in very low relief, are the words, "United States of America." The decorative motive for the reverse is a basket hamper filled with the varied products of a war garden. Above the basket and around the edge are the words, "National War Garden Commission." Under the basket appears the name of the recipient, and jnderneath that the words "The seeds of victory insure the fruits of peace," a hoe and rifle crossed, and the dates 1914-1919. Billions of Pennies. Every mint in the United States has been put to work by director Ray Baker, turning out one cent pieces in an effort to keep pace with the enormous demand for the nation's least valuable coin. The output has been pushed to ninety million cents a month. "There have been approximately 3,500,000,000 one cent pieces coined in this country." Mr. Baker said today. "The sub-treasuries are inundated with orders from banks, which keep issuing the copper coin for use in payment of odd cent taxes and street car fares." The May output of the mints wae 64,934,000 coins, of which 60,973,000 were one cent pieces. ANOTHER ENTI rti The Vlmy-Kolls machine entered by foundland. At the left la Lieut. Arthui "CHER AMI'S" WAR RECORD. _L^... ?~l-j:?- ?'""n Rax/eH the Lost i nUW OWlVaivi . .0? Battalion. 1 The story of Cher Ami, the soldier < pigeon which saved "the lost battalion" and is the only bird in the Amer- 1 lean army which wears the distinguished service cross, having lost its ' left leg and the plumage from its breast in action, is told by Don C. Seiz in the June St. tyicholas. > "The airmen, with their wonderful ' exploits in the sky, who added new chapters to the tales of war. in the 1 great world conflict, will have a brother in the hall of fame who belongs to the really and truly feathered tribe? a blue-grey and white carrier pigeon, named, Jovingly Cher Ami?'dear friend'?by his comrades of the earth. This little lmssenger came safe to New York, April 16, 1919, on the transport Ohioan, under the tender care of Capt. John L. Carney of Pigeon Company j No. 1. Out of the 1,000 pigeons who were members of his command, Cher! Ami is the most famous, and he, alone of all, is to wear the distinguished service cross. Gen. E. E. Russell, chief signal officer of the American expeditionary force, has so recommended, and Gen. John J. Pershing, the commander-in-chief, has indorsed the recommendatjon. "By Gen. Pershing's orders, Cher Ami vbyaged from France with all the honors due him for his great servicer; and these were great indeed, for it was this undersized pigeon that saved the famous 'Lost Battalion,' surrounded and starving for days in the Argonne Forest, its whereabouts completely unknown. The signal sergeant in the battalion commanded by Major ?now Lieut. Col.?Charles W. Whittlesey. carried with him on the advance Cher Ami, who had been carefully trained by Capt. Carney, an old soldiers with a liking for homing pigeons, which he cultivated at Pittsburg between wars, having served in Cuba and the Phillipines and China. He took over this important messenger service in France, where, after a little time spent in studying geography Cher Ami weni on auuve uuij. "In the Argonne this was lively enough. The rough, wooded territory afforded many hiding places for German sharp shooters, always on the lookout for carrier pigeons. So when the beleaguered battalion found itself cut off and without food, a message was tied to the bird's left leg, close up under the feathers, Cher Ami could not escape the keen eyes of the sharp , shooters. He was often fired at. One bullet burned the plumage from his breast, where there is a wide scar over which the weathers still refuse to grow. , Another cut on his leg above the middle joint. But the valiant 'homer* came 1 in, the message dangling from the ' wounded joint, telling the peril of his comrades. This made it easy for the air- ( men to drop food and cartridges to Ma jor Whittlesey's men so that they , found their way out and made another ' record in the long list of deeds crredited to American valor. "By Gen. Pershing's orders, Cher Ami was billeted to come back a firstclass passenger on the Ohloan in Capt. Carney's stateroom! but he pined for his companions in the pigeon coop, and was returned to their society. "He had for fellow voyagers 100 captured German birds, who are to be given the benefit of free institutions. Cher Ami is to spend the rest of his ( days in comfort as a member of the signal service in Washington, where he 1 is to have the best of everything and * be an exam Die to the souabs as thev 1 grow up. What tales he will be able ^ to tell them?in pigeon-English, perhaps!" | I THE ANT AS A DAIRYMAN. , Industrious Insect Not Only Works j but Keeps 'Cows' to Work for Him. The home gardener who has only ( time to dig and plant and clutlvateand { spray for bugs and blights misses much of the pleasure of gardening, for there is as much to interest the naturalist, floral or formal, in the home garden as anywhere else on" earth. One need not^seek a foreign land or a forest for his nature study, for a backyard garden will give full opportunity. The growing habits of his common vegetables and the insects that attack them will, with a little observation, provide pleasing amaze Kit-iu. aiiu iiu insects are more interesting than the tiny plant-lice or aphids, which grow in a large number of forms and suck the juice from various kinds of plants. The most remarkable thing about anmA nf tlia nnhids is thftir nartner ship with other insects. Many forms of the aphids are fostered and protected from the beginning to the end of their little lives by the industrious ants. The partnership seems to have reached a most perfect form in the case of the corn root-aphis and the cornfield ant, and it is usually found that whore there are aphids there are ants. The partnership of ant and aphis the corn ant and the com root-aphis operates in nearly every section where Vw. DA/.l/tf Mnnn. UUHl IS 51UWII COSl U1 llic Itvvn; tains. The workings of the partner- : ship have been compared to a subtcr- ! ranean dairy, with the aphis as the ant's "cow," the ant directing the enterprise. the aphis doing the work, and the ant getting the profits. The ant is not directly harmful to the corn, but the aphis is. \Vithout the ant, however, the firm would have to go out of business, and that is why the de RY IN THE TRANSATLAN Messrs. Vlckers in the transatlantic til W. Brown, navigator, and at the right jnrtment of agriculture tells farmers ,vho want to gel rid of tii com l-ootiphis to get rid of the ant. The same tdvice applies in the rase of certain )ther forms of root-aphida. T-h<n lu hnw thp subterranean t'airy works: ' In the fall the ants carry the eggs of < the aphis to their nests and care for 1 them as they do for their own young1. 1 In the spring, when the eggs hatch, the i ants tunnel along weed roots and place 1 the helpless aphids on the roots. Soon the aphids begin to give off "honeydew," made from the juice of the ' plants on which the aphids are resting, i The ants dearly love "honeydew," and j they tenderly watch over and care for ; their "cows." The aphids are wholly dependent throughout their life on the ants. i The first two or three generations of the aphids live entirely on the roots of weeds, but as soon as the newly planted corn sprouts the anls transfer the aphids to the more succulent corn roots. After two or three si:cce:.jive , generations, many of the aphids may , be winged, and some escape from the ground through the ant tunnels and fly away to a new field. If they chance to alight near an anthill they are seized immediately by the watchful ants, carried into their burrows, placed on roots, and honeyaew .proaucuon maris again. When cold weather is approaching and the ant carries the aphids* eggs and the young ai\ts deeper into the soil, the ant goes at least eight inches under the soil, and eight inches is deeper than the ordinary plow furrow. The particular aphis that attacks corn is called the corn root aphis because of its preference for that plant. In gardens it is very common on asters and related plants. There are many other varieties of aphids, however, and for many of them ants have a tender feeling. For instance, there are the aphids that attack orange trees in California, The ants surround these aphids, attack other insects that attempt to reach them, and induce the aphids to excrete honeydew by stroking their bodies with their antennae, or feelers. Unfortunately for the orange aphids, however, they are attacked by winged parasites which "oHncr" onH lav ocrtra in thom anH these parasites are so small and active that the ants cannot successfully defend their charges. The corn root-aphids in fields are controlled by rotating with crops upon which the aphids can not live by plow- i Ing and disking, breaking up the ant : md aphis colonies, and by the use of certain pungent substances, mixed with a chemical fertilizer and distributed by means of a fertilizer attachment to the corn planter. These sub- < stances tend to drive away the ants ind prevent them from placing aphids : an the corn roots. ' To home gardeners whose plants are '' lttacked by aphids, such as the melon 1 iphid, spinach aphid, potato aphid, ' md the turnip and cabbage aphids, 1 .vhich live above ground, the speoial- ' sts in agriculture recommend spray- 1 ng with 40 per cent nicotine sulphate 1 it the rate of one teaspoonful of the c mlphate to one gallon of water, in c vhich has been dissolved a one-inch 1 mbe of laundry soap. 1 Killing the ants, of course, by des- 1 roying their colonies, will help In the : ontrol of the corn root-aphid in gar lens, and this is about the only way '' t can be controlled, since, living unlerground, it can not be reached by " iprays. The simplest attack on the 1 mts is to scald their hills with boiling water. Another method is to pour a ' ittle carbon disulphid into the en- 1 ranee with earth in order to keep the loisonous fumes in the burrow. Spraying with nicotine sulphate, low ever, is the standard remedy for nost garden aphids, and should not ie postponed or neglected when they ? ire found to be present, as they in- ? .rease very rapidly and unless checked 1 ?oon kill the plants. ( BRITAIN DEPORTII BHHH. j About one hundred bolshevlstu wer don, for deportation to Russia. They \ to the embarkation port The photogri and friends of the prisoners gathering tho fl*st motorbus was filled up. TIC AIR RACE ght contest. It will start from NewCaptain Alcock, pilot of this alrplM . LEADING IN SHIPS. American Merchant Marine Much Greater Than Ever. "Emergency" ships, built under contract for the United States Shipping board, standardized and rushed to completion in the greatest industrial drive of thp war, are soon to be put to the test of ability to compete on a atrictly commercial basis with ships of pre-war and post-war construction and with ships of other nations. Many of these ships that were built under the urge of wa\ a tonnage aggregating 2,000,000 gross tons, are now in overseas service, following regular ?niit?a under the control of the Ship ping board- Others of an aggregate tonnage of 833,333 art engaged in overseas food relief work. Edward N. Hurley announces that the greater part of this tonnage will be released from food relief work by July 1. The desire of the Shipping board to balance the sheet and give it elasticity and the highest commercial strength chiefly affects future construction, the tendency of which, It was stated, is toward larger ships, affording accommodations for both passengers and freight with speed and great steaming radius. A comparison of American and British activity in shipbuilding was furnished by the Shipping board. The tabl3 shows that 486 steel cargo steamships of 2,000 gross tons or more are now under construction for America, as against 279 being built in the UnitTrl 3 TV,*, RHtinh nhviouslv eu A.1115UV111. .?w.. favor ships of about 11 1-2 knots, as more than half their construction is designed for that speed. In the American fleet now building 313 vessels have a contract speed of between 10 1-2 and 11 1-2 knots. The largest number of British vessels of one type under construction are 94 of 5,100 tons. The largest number of American vessels of a type are 73 of 5,808 tons. There are only a few British or American shops of more than 6,666 tons', the British building one of 7,300 tons, twenty-six of 7,500 tons, two of 8,000 tons, one of 9,200 tons, one of 11,350 tons, one of 11,820 tons, one of 12,900 tons and one of 15,650 tons. The American list shows only two of 7,788 tons, three of 7,871 tons, one of 7,920 tons, five of 8,250 tons, and two of 9,240 tons. Both the United States and Great Britain are turning from the standardized types to the task of balancing their fleets, although ships of the standardized types necessarily will forpi the backbone of the fleets of both nations. Elevation of the Lowly.?Who in America Ave years ago could have imagined the scene that took place when the assistant treasurer of the United States publicly bought himself a fresh loughnut on the steps of the subtreasury in New York city? This was the first doughnut sold by the Salva:icn Army In New York in its campaign for funds to pay off war-work ndebtedness and secure a sound financial backing for home service A'ork. In different parts of the great ity the beating of the Salvation Army Irums started the "drive" at the noon lour and Salvation Army bands were )laying with even more than their cus:omary vigorous enthusiasm as the issistant treasurer of the United States purchased his doughnut. Withn fifteen minutes the first batch of a housand doughnuts had been sold, ind more were coming. Most of those vho bought doughnuts paid a dollar ipiece for them, but one doughnut sold 'or $50, unquestionably the highest V?n/1 Knon nol/1 fnr >i iuiai uau?cm uttu puiu iui vhat, according to Washington Irving, lie inhabitants of Knickerbocker New fork used to call an "olykock." tir It is worth much more than you pend on a visit to a 5-and-10-cent tore or up-to-date popular-priced resaurant, just to see how efficiently evrything is handled. ilG BOLSHEVISTS Tr; ' s^v i e removed from Brixton prison, Loneere placed In motorbusses and taken iph shows a small crowd of relatives about the entrance to the prison as TREES FOR OUR ROADS. si Highway Commission Has in Mind w Black Walnut and Pscan. f1 1< At its meeting in June writes W. J. Cormack the Columbia correspondtent of the News and Courier the state high- n way commissioner will consider plans q for planting trees along hard-surfaced c roads already constructed and to be u constructed in South Carolina. The carrying out of this plan will be a mat- g tcr of decided interest, since the trees t will have both an esthetic and utilltar- p lan value. ^ It has been suggested that the commission decided on black walnut trees j, for bo-dering the hard-surfaced roads ^ in the Piedmont, and pecan trees for s similar roads in the costal section g nt tho atnto The nlanting along hard- r surfaced highways of these nut-bear- t ing trees would undoubtedly meet a with the unanimous approval of all | small boys. However, there are other s considerations besides providing trees which will yield a harvest of nuts. 8 One consideration is the factor of rap- a idlty in growth. Neither the black ? walnut .ior the pecan would compare s favorably in rapidity of growth with several other varieties of trees. Another factor of importance in undertaking tree planting on a large scale as a state-wide proposition is the ease I with which seedlings could he oDt&ined. There would be no difficulty whatever in obtaining young pecan trees, but black walnut seedlings are very * scarce and it would probably be nec- 1 essary to rear them before enough be 1 secured to border existing stretches ( of hard-surfaced highway in the Pied- ' mont, not to mention the other J stretches of hard surfaced highway to ' be built in that section of the state. ' From the utilitarian standpoint the ' black walnut would he a splendid I choice, for the reason that the timber < it yields has become very scarce, is exceedingly hard and takes a splendid t finish. No one could be found yester- 1 day who could render expert Judg- I meat on pecan wood as timber, but !i since this tree is closely akin to the 1 hickories it would probably yield I good hard wood if worked into timber. 1 Returned soldiers have pointed out ] that In the trees which border its highways France had a resource which ( contributed substantially to winning ( the war, as the war brought about an ] increased demand for timber of all kinds; the French cut down the shade ] trees along their roads,, taking first alternate trees and then In many Instances taking all the trees left standing. So keenly alive were the French \ to the value of trees that even work- i. ing under enormous waT pressure they had time, to plant out "seedlings along . highways which the necessities of war forced them 10 denude- of trees. The French highways are built with a view of planting strees on either (j side of them, and have specially con- i structed shoulders both along level ^ stretches and in cuts and across Alls. At the present stage of road development in South Carolina engineers don't consider it desirable to border [ top soil or sand-clay surfaced roads with trees, for the reason that theso roads need a great deal of sun in order to dry off rapidly after rain." Roads with a permanent surface of cement concrete or asDhRltic con crotc are not affected by shade; in fact shade in summer on such roads . would in all probability lessen the enormous wear and tear which they 'must undergo on account of heart expansion and contraction. This expansion and contraction Is one of the silent but exceedingly powerful forces cf nature with which builders of hardsurfaced roads must reckon. Sharing such roads in summer would lower the temperature and reduce the degree of expansion which they would ' otherwise undergo when the sun's rays beat down upon them. The question of the state highway ' commission at its meeting in June on the proposal to border hard-surfaced ' roads with trees will be awaited with ' keen interest. Undoubtedly all small ! boys will vote heavily for black wal- 1 nut and pecan trees. ' W. J. Cormack. ( Condition of Cotton. There was con- ? tinued unfavorable weather for cotton 1 in most districts of the belt during the t week ending Tuesday, the weather 1 bureau's national weather and crop t bulletin has announced. "The rainfall i was rather heavy in the central and r BREA One of the thii its dependabili in the house. Whether you \ it's always re ashes?ana yo knew before. The Puritan t direct contact medium or hij #l,d odorless. ^ Sold by all des [V j| STAND I \ S. I Waihiafton, D. C If ~ ?1 Norfolk, Va. I i t I RinKmnnd Va iSPc \&MlOlL < outheostern portions of the belt, ay* the bulletin, "and also in some western localities. The temperature or the week as a whole averaged beow the norma* except in the Caronas and Tennessee the week being specially cool in Oklahoma. The crop rnde satisfactory progress in the ta-rolinas and Florida, elsewhere the ontinued rainfall and wet soil were nfavorable for cultivation and growth. The condition of cotton continues atlsfactory in Georgia but it is deerloratlng from lack of cultivation, 'rogress was slow in Mississippi and ilabama. "Grass is becoming serious in Louisana and Eastern Arkansas but con litions are more satisfactory in the outhwestern portion of the latter ate. The soil continued too wet for ultlvation in Oklahoma where coton made generally poor progress, the tand and condition are satisfactory n the southeastern portion of that itate. "Cotton made little progress in Texts during the week on account of wet toil and grassy fields and chopping ind replanting were delayed but inlects show less activity." COMMODITY VALUES. ron Shows Comparative Increase Over Pre-War Level. Steel and iron prices at present levsis show only modern Increases over >re-war figures as compared with the idvances which have taken place in )ther commodities, according to statists which have been compiled by the Dai v Iron Trade and "Metal Market Re >rt. In making comparisons, No. I foundry pig iron and open hearth billets are taken as the basis, the parallels considered being with wheat, corn, :otton, wool, hogs, and beef cattle. "Commodity prices," the publication jays, 'have been advanced abnormally when compared with Iron and steel or? the reverse is equally true?Iron and jteel price increases have lagged behind the war parade. Equally interesting is the fact that just now, as Iron ana sieei prices are Deing reaucea, me prices being paid to producers of wheat, corn, pork, and beef are increasing, while the decreases in the two exceptions, wool and cotton, are negligible. Thus the spread between the typical steel base and the food cotamoditles widens rapidly just as the distance between two men walking (n opposite directions. "Take wheat and foundry iron for a typical comparison. One ton of No. 2 foundry iron, Chicago furnace, in 1913 would have purchased not quite twenty-one bushels of wheat, Chicago market quotation. Today a ton of this same grade of iron could account for only ten bushels of wheat. Figuring the other way, the price of wheat today is practically three and one-half times what It was in 1913, while foundry iron brings only one and one-half times what it did in 1913. "Wheat, as stated, now comes at approximately three and one-half times nrhot It rit/1 nix VAArS SLZO. Com is Sim ilarly priced; wool, pork, and beef seli for about three times as much, and cotton a little bett?r than twice. Foundry Iron; however, is quoted at only one and one-half times what it was in 1913, while the comparative cost of open hearth billets is a fraction greater than that. Foundry iron a billets both registered their high water marks in 1917, when operating costs first dawned with greater effect. Food prices on April 25, 1919, compared with the average for 1918, showed greater increases than in any period since 1913. "Beginning with the average of $15.95 for 1913, foundry iron dropped back to $13.60 in 1914, and then advanced steadily to $41.13 in 1917, and since then has receded steadily. Open hearth billets also slipped back in 1914, then mounted to $73.52 in 1917, with a consistent decline since. Barring a recession of 5 cents in 1916, the price of wheat maybe jaid to have increased steadily ever since 1913. The upward Journeys of corn, wool, cotton, pork, and beef have littered only in detail. "When wheat cost 76 cents a bushel md No. 2 foundry iron (15.95 a ton. jack in 1913, one ton of iron would buy ipproximately 21 bushels of wheat. tVIth No. 2 foundry Iron today quoted it $26.75, wheat to maintain the 1913 elation should be priced at approximately $1.28 whereas It is $2.26." KFAST ON ' ags you'll enjoy about a Puritan < ty?breakfast is always on time w vant a quick hot oven or a slow sin: ady without bothering about cof ur kitchen has a summer coolness >urner gives a hot steady flame t with the utensil?instantly reguh |h heat. The flame stays where s< The brass burners last for years tiers. 'ARD OIL COM (New Jersey) ( Baltimore, Md. IRTI7 COOK STC SIQN3 OF THE WEATHER They Are More or Lets Plain to Those Who Understand. Adam may or may not have tried his hand at weather-prediction, but It is written that as far back as the time v of Noah, that gentleman prophesied a long wet spell, and, unlike a lot of later weather-prophets, he had such faith in his own prognostications that he took measures to meet the situation. Further than that, subsequent events proved that Noah was 100 per cent prophet. Many of his successors, however, showing a lower batting average, it became increasingly apparent ? as times went on that in view of the frequency with which the prognostications failed, the subject should be placed on a scientific basis in order to obtain accuracy In the results, or at least to spread a sort of halo of learning and philosophy about It, and thus minimize the course, as it were, of possible errors. So weather bureaus were Instituted, which same have been ^ in more or less successful operation now for many years, with attendants on the government pay-roll and everything. Entirely apart from scientific observations, however, home-made weather forecasting has persisted as a pleasing pastime all these years, and on this very day there is a set of rules ! m am nr lau FM<AfnlMd ftWfCi U1UQ Il| M?V? v wa avww v.ww.. by all amateur weather-propheta. For the benefit of those who may be unfamiliar with these rules the New Tork Sun has obligingly made a compilation ^ of them and they are set forth as fellows: When standing on high ground and i the horizon is unobstructed from all quarters, If the sky is absolutely cloudless, look for a storm within fortyeight hours. If it starts to rain after seven o'clock In the morning it will continue to do so all day, and very often it is the indication of a three days' rain. When it is raining and it brightens and darkens alternately you can count on an all-day rain, with a chance of clearing at sundown. When the rain ceases and the clouds are still massed in heavy blankets one sure sign of dear weather is the patch of blue sky that shows through the rift large enough to make a Palr ?f "sailor's breeches-" Another sign of continued rain is when the smoke from the chimney hovers low around the housetops. When it ascends straight into the air this indicates clearing weather. 1 - j 1. II 4Va A ioggy morning u usuaujr uc iu.?runner of a clear afternoon. A thunder-storm in winter (usually In January or February) is always followed by clear, cold weather. It is not, as many think, the breaking up of winter. People living near the seashore say a storm is "brewing" when the air la salty, caused by the wind blowing from the east A red or copper-colored sun or moon indicates great heat A silvery moon denotes clear, cdol weather. The old Indian sign of a dry month was when the ends of the new noon were nearly horizontal and one of them resembled a hook on which the . Indian could hang his powder-horn. Many people troubled with rheumatism and neuralgia- usually are excellent barometers and can predict changeable weather by "feeling it in their bonea" And the advice of the old weather sage is "never go out during April month without being accompanied by your umbrella" And then, for the special benefit of those who never can remember anything they read in prose, but do have a faculty for retaining jingles, the fol' -i #AKmillAfl QM OAf ft lit lUWIUg lUiyullAllk iV? utUMMf ?MV wv. - m in verse: Red in the morning the sailor's warning; ^ Red at night the sailor*! delight. When 70a see a mackerel sky, 'Twill not be many boors dry. When the seagulls Inland fly Know ye that a storm is nigh. " A ring around the moon Means a storm is coming soon. When it rains before seven 'Twill clear before eleven. Kitchen Logic. "Please, mum, there ain't no coal in the cellar." "Why on earth didn't you tell me before?" "Because there was some then." The Passing show. * BB fl^^H^HKBRHlin riME Cookstove is ith a Puritan imering heat, il, wood and that it never < hat comes in ited for low, st, smokeless PANTf SrK F?r Bert barlettoa, S. G. ReSUltfl rwsf WES?