University of South Carolina Libraries
CITY PLANTING ? AN? BEAUTIFYING "they*jes (By Julia Lester Dillon. City' Land scape' Architect, Sumter.,S. ?.) Ten years ago it would have" been almost impossible to find- in the i south one oQhe smaller cities or a small town where the municipality recognized the necessity of city planting and beautifying, aprd, con sidered the question of enough im portance, to incorporate in iis budget, funds to cover the; werk of the Tree and Park Departments. It is especially true in this1 section that our trees, and our-towns, as well, arc like Topsy, growed." Until the General Federation of \ Women's Clubs took up the work- of Conservation there was no concert ed effort looking to civic beauty. "&heir civic leagues, garden elubs. garden contests, committees for j beautifying school grounds, rail-j road stations, and court houses; with their individual attempts to : plant their home grounds j ^-artistically, followed1 by the! movement inaugurated by -the I /American Forestry Association, af- j ter the great war, for the planting | of Memorial Trees and Parks, have j brought about an awakening. The j trmrists who have built homes in j *' the south and . brought landscape j architect*! from other sections to malfc* gardens for them have also helped. Now, our towns are realizing their ugliness, are seeing their neglected trees, their crooked streets, or their bare concrete paved driveways that are^like ruled lines on a map. their grass-grown parkways on the side walks, end recognizing the need i / 'are trying to find a remedy. They j are also seeing the unbounded j richness of the southern flora as a! apod-given heritage hitherto despis- ! ed and unused. What has been a, j tormen' ?riotous growth?is be coming known as an asset, more and more valued. This problem of city planting and .beautifying ; is as wide as the south and i3 vital j r to her present and future progress j and prosperity. f Intelligent planting is the fif^t j step in the campaign.. This calls! for a survey of resources and con- ! ditions. There must be an intelli-1 ge%t recognition not only of the j , present conditions but future de- j velopment and needs must be look- j ed after. , On our city maps, we have the j v7 paved streets, sidewalks, sewerage, j gas and water limits marked. Then a census of the trees must be rc c.de. Listed in the field hook-will Toe the location, distances apart, va riety, size, and condition of every i tree in the stjreets and parks of the cky. During the working season it is very easy to make this census! while the workmen are pruning1 the trees. Their work helps much j in. deciding about the condition of! each one, because it is practically j impossible to estimate the decay; df* any tree until the dead wood j is removed and the sound wood is' rested. By transferring -from, the j ne.ld book to the city .map the loca- ? tion of each tree on the street lines j a glance shows how the trees are j grouped, where they aremeeded and ! ftow'many should be planted^. New j ??ees arc marked on the map with j red ink and'from season to season it is easy to keep the record. . 1 The field book also tells what J kind of trees should be planted on ! & street to carry out the planting j already started and whether or not j che old trees are worth working on j \ or new ones should be set among j them. Following the nomenclature J of Solotaroff, of East Orange, New j Jersey, they are marked "good" to j indicate that. they are in perfect condition, and need only moderate care with annual inspection to j keep ^hem so. "Medium** means : that with slight repair?root holes j <:Hed with cement, holes in the1 branches filled, these trees will go I over into the "good" class. "Bad" ! means that much work and expense They're sisters even if they don't ,V)Ok it. The woman 'in front 'loos* We Lloyd George, '"oesn't she'. "Well, she's his daughter; Mrs. Ca rey Evans. Behind is Miss Megan Lloyd George. They're hiking at "Bournemouth. will be necessary for save them, but after dangerous branches are re moved they may grow and flour ish without other care for many years. This census gives the num ber of trees in each class and --is an invaluable working basis. One of the most important prob lems in the survey, and ultimately, i is the location of the lines of poles j and overhead wires on which are I carried the telephone, telegraph, ! electric light and fire alarm scr I vices. On theSb w:res depends the i city's welfare and the companies ? consider that they have absolute I right of way. Where possible all ! wires should be placed under ground. v The future of the- shade trees is I inseparably associated with these f lines of wires and there must be ? co-operation between municipal of ! ficers and these service companies. Absolute municipal control is nec essary to protect present and fu ture growth. The hey to the relief of the whole situation and 'abuses is*to have some one person as rec ognized authority; Then notify the \ light and telephone companies? they are the worst offenders?that no poles are to be set for new wires, net a twig or branch is to | be cut on any* tree, for the run- ! ning.of new lines or the changing of old ones,- without consultation J with, this authority, be it city man ager, tree and park commissioner, | city landscape architect, or one of the members of the city council, who has agreed to serve in the ca pacity of tree warden.^ If a lineman injures a tree by j cHmbing with hi3 spurs; thus mak ing often frfty or more bark wounds, he must pay the bill for repair?j the damage is irreparable?but ac- j tual cost for labor can be collected | and one biil for this "fault usually j corrects it. Very soon the linemen j learn how to take off branches j without injuring the tree, to make j a clean cut, and to paint the j wounds?tney have'to>know that; they are being watched, however.! T^hey are willing to do the right: thing but since nobody has cared i and nobody has told them not to, ,how can they be blamed? For; each man's work is first with him.' or should be. But, oh, the destruc- j tion .of trees these companies have! left in their wake! You see it in every town and city along every J country road. Other resources should be listed j also and these finished we are ready ip plan for street changes where I necessary for either service or beauty. Some streets may have to be closed, others opened. New lines of streets must be planned with adequate room for' sidewalks, j parkways wide enough in which to j plant shade trees, roadways wide j enough to carry the traffic, and if j there are trees in the line of the! right of way, parking ' places! should 'oe planed so as *o preserve { them. Paving construction com-! panies are as ruthless in euttting{ dowr. trees as the overhead wire j people are in cutting off branches i and several fights may be necessary j to so control the situation as to; save the trees and. force the ciry j tc make a parked space with one tree or a line of trees set in a lawn I plot for a V-atrty spot instead of a smooth, , unbroken speedway?a temptation to racing motorists?of concrete or asphalt pavement. Palataka, Florida, and Washing- j ton, North Carolina, are two south- i cm towns which have been strong i enough to conserve their trees in I this way. They have the most be-' witching curves in a "few places in j their beautiful streets. A giant j oak, with emerald turf, framing it, j enclosed in a concrete curb while; the lines of the drive encircle it,' against a background of blue sky! and bluer water makes an Oasis of ' lovclincs long to be remembered, j The location and condition of j parks and playgrounds, if there are I any, the reservation or acquisition j of open spots to serve as breath- ! ing spaces, if future growth de- j mands. is a most vital feature of j any city plan. It is not hard to se cure co-operation if definite plans j have been formulated and ajc pre- j sented to the people on a working i basis. The railroad companies at j the station?, the county commis-} sioners at the court house, the j board of education in charge of j school grounds will spend money; for landscape development ? if ! public sentiment calls for it. The i people usually get what they want j ?if they want it hard enough. Not only these places should be planted? but every building owned by the city, every spot under their control should become a municipal j beauty spot. Corporations should j be called upon to do-their part | and usually they are more than ! willing. In many places they arc leading. > Kingsport-, Tennessee. Graniteville. S. C. the Erlanger and Dacotah Cotton Mills. Lexington. N. C, are places that occur to me where landscape work on a large } scale is being done.* Notable attempts at beautifying their stations and railroad shop grounds and offices was done by I the Georgia Railroad at Augusta in j 1916. A little garden back of the ! terminal for years was kept in per fect condition and attracted much attention. Injured by fire it needs loving care now. The * Atlantic Coast Line, the Central of Georgia, the Atlanta and West Point and the ! Georgia Railroad have done sys1 tematic work in this beautifying of terminals. They should be en- j couraged and municipalities should i take up the matter With them and ! insist upon attractive entrances to their towns. Corporations will stand by the towns when called upon. I know by delightful experiences. The city plan will cover then: 1. Old and new streets, with all that is included. 2. Old and new parks and play grounds. All places ami buildings un der municipal control. t. All buildings and gr mnd? un ! d< r corporate control. .*?. The conservation <?; all pros eat growth. Transplanting 10 b? done, if necessary. ?I. The abolition of :ill mtma ipal plague spot*. ?^Scientific planting is :w> less pcrtant than intelligent planning. ; tt is just a* necessary to know : what in plant e.s it kn?w iWhere, ami when, and how to plant. I It is impossible to exhaust the ! planting possibilities and the usual \ fault in street, garden, and park i planting is in the selection of too j many varieties. Most of the street j trees planted by private property \ owners are unsuited for the pur pose both from the standpoint of ; beauty and sanitation. ' China ' berries, mulberries, Fiackberries, I ailanthus. poplars, both Carolina 1 and Lombardy. all the maples, and i-locusts. are good in their places but are never good on the avenues j where water or sewer pipes are laid or where artistic effects are de j sired. The most beautiful stroots and ! avenues in the world are those on j whfch all the trees are of one va ? riety. In a recent survey and cen ! sus of forty-eight miles of trees, pabo?t 2.?U0 in all (there should i have been 5.000), there were thirty five kinds listed of which only eight species^were desirable for the pur pose and this list will cover the most satisfactory street shade tree:? for the southern "states?perhaps a few more for the Florida and low | er Gulf Coast regions. Of these, the oaks are first for strength, endurance and beauty, i The pin oak. Quercus palustris-. I the willow oak, Quercus phollos. j and the red oak, Quercus rubra, are more symmetrical, satisfac tory and longer-lived than the wa ter and white oaks. The water oak-! is very susceptible to decay. Wounds of the same character made by linemen on willow and pin oaks; without undue damage have caused I overwhelming decay in the water I oaks. Restriction of the planting! ! of street trees to the above named i oaks, and to the elm. T'lmus Amer f icana; the maidenhair fern tree, [ Ginkgo biloba, or Salisburia adian- j tifolia: the sycamore, Platanus occi dentalis; pecan. Hicdria pecan: and ! the baswood, the American linden, J Tilia Americana, with all the trees of the same variety on each street ; will in time to come give to our 1 cities^ avenues of unsurpassed' lux uriance and beauty. The evergreen oaks, Darlington*": Quercus laurifolia, and Quercus j Virginiana, the live oak, with otlr er evergreen trees are much favor- j ed for street planting in th lower sections of the south. The heavy j snow and sleet of last winter was! very disastrous in its effects on! them?many large trees were utter- I ly ruined by the breaking of the branches. They shi id nGt be! planted for shade trees unless the j streets are very, very jvide. They are most attractive in their win- | ter dress of green but are somber.* j and winter sunshine is better than shade, and the evergreen trees ] should be reserved for th ; parks j and to frame buildings and wher- \ ever screens are needed to shut out ; unsightly views. All buildings should have foun dation plantings in which ever- \ greens, preferably theb road-leaved '? varieties, predominate. There should bo an intermingling of de- j cidouous shrubs to give color and { blossom through the year. Ligus- ! trums: iucidum, pepalensc, qui- : hiof, japonicum; pittosporum to- : bir?: abelia grand iflora: ""yjth spireas: Thunbergii, Van Houtrei. Reevesiana. Callosa, Biilardi. Bu malda, altheas; forsythias: cy donias; exoehordas: deutzias; make up a range of plantings that prac tically fills all the needs for tin shrubbery beds around bui! din gs and for foundation lines. The coniterous evergreens nee- . essary for accent and height and for specimen trees on file lawn? are so varied as to make our choice em- j barrassing. Biotas. Thuyas, jtmi- [ pers, cedars, cypre&scs, retinisporas, even firs and spruces may all be reckoned as material governed only by the purse and the taste of the planter. A park is beautiful if there tire j only stately trees, set in smooth shaven lawns and every open space in a city should be so planted in grass and trees, and kept clean and well-cared for. One park, at /east, should be more tnan well- | shaded lawns with graveled courts j on which the children can play. There should be shrubbery beds; with many varieties of native and foreign shrubs. There should be! many and different kinds of trees, blossoming, evergreen, coniferous) and deciduous. There should be many broad and colorful masses of flowers to please the eye. distract the mind and rest the soul. Not necessarily expen sive plantings need be made: If' they can be afforded high-priced bulbs and bedding plants make aj wonderful display. The winter- , blooming bulbs are particularly J lovely in their season, but charm ing effects can be secured with very little expense. The glowing sun-, shine of the California poppies that seed themselves and recur season after season are like sheets of clear gold in the foreground of the shrubbery beds. The azure of the African daisies, the snowy white - ness of the Shasta daisies, with golden coreopsis, rich scarlets and orange of gaillardias make won derful masses of color and bril liance, with very, very Kttle ex pense for either plants or labor in caring for them. In a recent number of the "Florist's Exchange." an account is given of a planting of Shirley poppies in the Sumter Memorial I Park. The writer says: "Never J were any flowers more enjoyed by a whole iown than were those from j the 234? feet of border and from one-half ouvtce of Meed. Thirty cents was the cost. They w< re cm daily by hundreds. Linie chil dren, old men; pretty girls, sturdy hoys, charming women and negro workmen came to the Memorial Park for poppies. X<> cue was turned a way empty-handed. The flowers \v nt to the schools, they bright* ried countless homes, they ..)ao, d receptions, t hey wen- placed on the altar: Ol chwr heS. ;!;. y -.?; i o;e.-d t he harshness 01 new lure in numberless visitors. For ?-j:;h: -it iv.- weeks t!:is border, three ; v\:d.- wax a continual sour. '- io joy. The blossoms were of : arh dainty, exquisite coloring and the lexvuiv v.:is so fine ihal : tiiev w? re tike butt, rtlies ??r fairy ! flowers in the park as well as in th-- rooms." j The polyantha rose* culled Baby Read?Then Look Again Look at Loretta's come-hither eyes and invitational eye?. She's a bold vamp who has all the boys in Miclngan University talking-. It's this way?Loretta is a character in the forthcoming Michigan Union Opera. '"Make It For Two," and Albert Schirmer, of Sagihaw, a senior engineer, plays the role. * "All's Quiet" in Soviet Russia Lenin is telling 'em all about it in Moscow at the "peace-on-all-fronts" demonstration. For the first time since 'the Bolshevik revolution no Bolshevik army is fighting Ramblers, are wonderfully striking \ planted trees. They were thrifty and attractive and blooming as and strong water ' oaks, nursery they do frcfra April to Christmas; grown.-but of the 600 planted, not they are a never-failing source of one ever showed a single bud or interest' and beauty, season after ! leaf or shoot.?fPhis experiment cost season and month after month. the city about $3,000 for the tree3 For midsummer plantings that and planting. The nursery replaced give color and blossom for months, the trees next season, ihe city re sinnias. giant, dwarf, large-flower- j planted Lhem in the same hardpan ins and miniature are most satis-I. clay and gravel and rock. Of factory of all tin- annuals. Plarft course, none lived. The city au thera with the colors separate, and thorities cannot understand why. if a volunt< er pink appears in a They have no supervisor of parks bed of tawny yellow, root it otit. ' and tree . n busy in other lines If a stray of orange shows in a bed of business attempt to oversee the of scarlet, throw it away at once, work and all >w eight or ten thou This don", masses of clear yel- rand dollars to be wasted annually lows, bright scarlets, deep crimsons, because they are too economical ?o fiaming orange, soft flesh pinks, j pay for intelligent and adequate su rich salmons, and clear whites will pervision: Nor is this city alone make glowing f,'lory through the in this short-sight. ' policy. It is shrubbery masses for weeks and | ?hc ruh. rather than thy exception months on end. ?m ore's tin pity. Groups of cannas. here and thwe.! Civic Reaufv u Necessity. Is arc also fine if the individual colors! r;.,. beautifying of a city necessary arc kept intact. Phlox, rudbeckia, {for the promotion of its healthful hary chrysanthemums, cosmos. j growth 1 Cndoobtedly, yes. candytuft, gladioli, iris, sweet wil- From fhe standpoint of: Iiams, hollyhocks and pansies in j, Samta *?:*>;?. There can be no season are all excellent. Tin- main! beauty wh?ne there is filth ana thing is to keep something in waste. '? ??? 'u!:'::i city will be a bloom all the time in the fore-! ek-an city, t -foiv, a healthy city ground, background and middle [n which i ? \i\ : distance?something that can be j * Morak: Clean surroundings cut. that should be?; cut in order jn:ake . iJOdies: healthy to prolong the bloomin;: season, i I . ..?.??, lnind3; sound This done there will never be any ,v. ? ,-r<l. ?()<w-( jlU},;t!c; trouble with flower stealing, in the | q-^,\c beaut v therefore" stand's for public park. Let the children know; t:vio rV,rbteourTv-ss The most that flowers can he had for the ask-, beautifuLcity is the cleanest and ing and although they come l?y. llu. bcs{ ci!v- ,.. v:hich t0 hundreds the few who want the p-v fiowcrs will come to the care-taker, . . ask for them and be made hap-1 3- Popnwnry. Ihe cry of pr bv receiving them. Happy little ! which ,ls citizens are proud De children ar- the most desirable^ ]'* : !V rUan' Iis parks plants we - row in our parks, there- am*)lc and ^ell-cared for. its mu ter.-, plant (lowers that need to be Ili,'i?,;:I Properties neatly und ams picked and I t the children have t,Ianrccl ;,:"! !:::;: :n""' ls this joy. ,\ park planted with shrubbery, trees and bios:-:o:ns that follow the sea ."u." in i heir whirl, becomes an inspiration and an example to the town. In. one season tin- difference is noticeable. .he city which attracts new busi ness, and new citizens of the bet ter class. It is ti:" city of homes, well-built, surround- d by smooth lawns and gardens rightly planted. ?!. rlconomy. No eity can at iVrd to negb . t its trees or tree planting. No city can live with To provide material for the parks .?nd playgrounds. No planting of the shade trees on tie- eity can afford ill-kept municipal streets, for keeping the shrubbery j property. One well-kept park is borders owned by the. eity always j r,t?tt?-r than a dozen poorly-cared i>; perfect condition, a municipal f(>r. Weed -grown. paper-strewn nursery, even though small, is al- |;)Vi most an economic necessity-. tre< .vii areas ami neglected street ???> are infallible indications of Tin- preparation for planting, the municipalities lacking in civic pride analysis of soil conditions; building up soil and deciding when plant ing : houid he d ne comes iwjdVr the head "i ? xpen supervision. Xo ii;oi'i' planting should be undertak en in any season thai can i>e c.iv? m the supervision necessary for ihr: protei lion ??-eveJcpmenj ot tb? growths. X'o mote planting should Ue math: than \. - giv, ,j u!.> r ma imenn a? < . ,).- vi ekh ss war:.- d by the and iocal patriotism, usually over ridden by self-seeking politicians and poor places in which to live :i rid rear a family; livery municipal beauty spot is a,i object lesson ia landscape de velopment that leaches a whole city. The southern people expend , Hough < ?!"! :-' on their summer gardens, and enough money for do wer seeds :<> keep their home .units la ? ;;t i: e] rr.mi one end Of t .. . ?? it lie ?a hi ;-. v. it h one ia?-!: ??: expert supervision a no <-.)::- ' >? 1 io 1 o tinued t: was :;.-?:..!.? <: expenditure of funds and a mint in a nearby city ?.<?;?;- ivoenriy. A ."? cart-. r,.,.{ v.as pav d. The driveway T5>y n-ed only to be taught how v.as nan iv. the parking: strip; and our eities must take the lead widened t-n fe*'i on ?:;.;] sid<- <>: in this !..<?! im pacta nt i .ranch ot the roadway. A force of la.t>orers visual ? ?: :n-at hoc Tlrr !'ui..d Slates -.I'.u.f along and ?lux down into tit- treasury part men; initiated a i'ca macadaui* fomidation of lie- lure like this in connection with ?oadway. how th<> new parking I heir l>uilding program of new ?nip, and then in these holes postothees, customhouses, etc, Serbia'Has Come Bark. Belgrade, Jugoslavia, Nov. .".? (By the .Associated Press)?Serbia lias "come back.''" This is perhaps the most incisive way of saying that the little Slav kingdom has re covered in the most spectacular way from the effects of the war. For the first time in H> years the country is standing on its own feet and'is in no need of outside as sistance. The peasantry of Jugo slavia, which form the backbone and ? mew of the country, are enjoy ing a degree of prosperity and ma terial contentment unknown before. I Other countries may have their } unemployment problems, but Ju ! goslavia has none. Indeed, she has ' abundant work for thousands of I aliens who arc honest, have the will ; to work and are free from Bolshe vism; Two hundred thousand good ? Russians who were without em [ ployment since the Petrograd rev olution of If) 17 have come to hos pitable Jugoslavia and found useful ; and profitable pursuits among pco : pie of their own tongue. Every Serbian soldier, too, has found re : munerative work upon leaving the army. Soldiers' unions, legions, or ! employment bureaus do not exist in j this country. ; The most impressive evidence of : Serbia's rejuvenation is the cxtra | ordinary building boom which is .sweeping the country. In Belgrade I alone 4.000 buildings are in course j of construction. In every corner of i the kingdom business buildings, school houses and private dwellings are springing up with a rapidity that reminds one of the building j boom in the western towns of the United States when gold was dis covered, or of the home-building craze that seized the suburban cen \ ters of that country a decade ago. j Every square foot of the 4,000 : buildings'* now in erection in the I Serbian capital is taken, and it will j require thousands of additional structures to accommodate the busi I rress firms and individuals who are : flocking to the Jugoslavian me tropolis in ever-increasing numbers. ; Once called "an overgrown village," I Belgrade is now for the first time [assuming the proportions, import , ance and dignity of a real capital. ! Soon the city will have a splendid parliament building, a royal resi ' dence, and an opera house of < which more prosperous and osten ? tatious countries might feel proud. I -? ?? For Export. The Russian Soviet has offered leases to private concerns for the 1 manufacture of vodka and other j Russian alcoholic drinks for export I only. It is planned to make the ' manufacture of liquor a govern i ment monopoly, and while the I wares cannot be distributed in Rus j sia, they will help trade with other ; nations. Incidentally, the Soviet ; hopes to fill its treasury with some j of the proceeds from the tax it i v.'ill collect. - ; Liberal Allowance for Unemploy ment. Osaka. Japan. Nov. 10?(By : mail)?The greatest unemployment ? allowance ever granted to labor : ers in the history of Japan has just been given to 31 employees of the ? Asahi Glass Company. This com ; pany has been discharging its em ployes gradually since last spring owing to the dullness of the glass : market. Thirty-one of the most I skilled and industrious workers j survived the storms until this last j week when they were also let out. '?, They were given a discharge al ! lowance of Y. 34.226 ($17,113) to j be divided among the 31 men. Kf ? ? I As we understand the theory, the dogs of war won't die until they : have a sinking spell. - ? V t If things don't come your way? ; go after them. The cards in some hotel rooms reading "Have you left anything" .' should be changed to "Have you ! anything left?"?Burlington Xews. I Columbus* fame lies in the fact 1 that he was the first man to grasp 1 the advertising value in seeing ! America first.?Philadelphia North American. m ? o j, "Irish Conference Opens With I Talk."?Headline. Which is the j way ?ll well-regulated conferences j open, proceed and terminate.? j Nashville Banner. ? ? ? < ? - ; "Congress Klan Probe""?hcad I line. It sure klan. '? which was interrupted by the war ! and is to bo taken up again soon. 1 we hope. It is interesting io note that in several towns where the postoffice planting was absolutely the first real landscape develop ment there has been a worthy emulation and many gardens, pri vat?- and under corporate control, show permanent and artistic group ings of shrubbery and trees as a result. Private landscape work is not a hardship, but* municipal landscape work is a* joy. It is delightful to find on every city block garden < rs asking about grasses for lawns, shrubbery for borders and Mowers for mass planting. It is good to feel that an intelligent interest has been awakened and that you arc helping to make a whole town grow healthily, beautifully and. therefore, happily. Not only is the beautifying of a city inspirational to its own citi zens but it is marvelous how quick ly visitors from the neighboring (owns recognize the difference the investment has made and how per sistently these towns say. 'Tome over arid help us to make our waste places beautiful." Beautifying a city fosters civic pride, develops artistic instincts and appeals to the higher side of men's natures. Anything that fills such a three-fold purpose cannot be bought too dearly. .\ city de veloped cm the lines of an intelli gent plan, planted scientifically, maintained regularly under expert supervision, will be a: 1. Healthy City. 2. A Righteous City. .*}. .\ Prosperous City. 1. a veritable City Beautiful. The Yukon: Mississippi of The No Ith. Washington D. C. Dec. 9*? "The closing of the Yukon River to nav igation because of ice, noted in a press dispatch late in October, serves double purpose of bringing annually to the attention of the stay-at-home Americans one of the greatest of their rivers, which to the majority is probably little more than a name, and of warning of the southward thrust of the icy fingers of winter which will soon, grasp the shores and straits of the Great bakes." says a bulletin from - the Washington. D. C. headquarters of the National Geographic Society. "The Yukon, despite the general failure to recognize it as such, is ?one of the great, rivers of the world." continues the bulb-tin. "It is over 2.300 miles long and is both the longest and the largest river flowing, into Pacific waters in the western hemisphere, surpassing by a considerable margin its nor,rest competitors, the Columbia and the Colorado. Among all the rivers of North America the Yukon is sur passed in length only by the Miss issippi system and the Mackenzie. It is. longer than the St. Lawrence as well as all the other rivers except the Mississippi system which flow into the Gulf of Mexico or the At lantic. Among Greatest Rivers of The World. "Though the discharge of tin Yukon has not been accurately measured it is its tremendous vol ume of water rather than its length that causer, it to be ranked as a great river. It is of course far out distanced by the vast Amazon, greatest of rivers, and the Congo, which probably ranks second. But ?Nhc Yukon has been estin^ated to have three-fourths of the volume of discharge of the Mississippi, and if this estimate be accurate the stream which it pours into the sea is probably among the half dozen greatest in the world. "To Alaska, heretofore having no highway of steel into its interior, the Yukon lias been indispensable. Because of the shallow bars at its mouth, ocean steamers cannot en ter the river: but at the harbor of. St. Michael, just north of the mouth, freight is transferred to shallow-draught, stern-wheel river sieamers which ascend the stream not only throughout the breadth of Alaska, but for several hundred miles into Canada. "The Yukon, flowing through Alaska roughly from east to west, 'divides the territory into northern ; and southern halves. Large areas ; along the banks of the river and its ; tributaries as well as at. consider \ able distances from the stream ! can thus be served by freight j boats. The principle object'ives'of ? the river steamers, however, are [ Dawson, on the Yukon about 60 j miles in Canada, and more than 1. ; 300 miles from the mouth, and Fairbanks, the 'metropolis* of in i terior Alaska, near the head of ; navigation on the Ta.nana. a tribu | tary of the Yukon. j Route of Telegraph lane to Europe. "The Yukon i. an international river, rising nearly 500 miles with i in Canadian territory, and sweep ing in a great arc to the north : and east. Although the river is ! over 2.000 miles long, one of its j sources, a small, lake, is within twenty-five miles-of the salt water I to which it makes such a round , about journey. j "The existence of such a large j river as the Yukon in the far north j was long unsuspected. A Russian ! lieutenant. Zagoskin, entered its ; mouth by boar in 1S42 and travers [ ed it for several bundivd miles. The I Hudson Bay Company had discov ered its headwaters in Canada: but j the two bits of information were not pieced together. The existence j of the river as a stream of great ; magnitude and length first became ; really known- through the daring i romantic project of installing land '. telegraph wires between America 'and Europe across Alaska. Behring ! Strait and the wastes of Siberia. ' Robert Kcnnicott. in connection I with this enterprise, blazed the Yu 1 kon trail by descending the river in : 1S65. The first trading steamer i ascended the stream in 186!?. The ? Yukon really came into its own with the discovery of gold in the ! Klonkike in 1 S9G. ?; "The Yukon is not alone in being I a jjreat river which has remained ; in comparative obscurity because : of its far northern situation. Just ' to the east the Mackenzie?a broth | er stream of hardly less magni tude?which is now also beginning i to feel the throttling grip of frost. I flowed almost unnoticed through a little-known wilderness until the j discovery of oil along its banks brought it into the lime light. And in the eastern hemisphere three rivers, worthy to be classed among the mightiest streams of the earth ?the Ob. the Yenisei and the Lena ?pour hundreds of thousands of j gallons of water into the Arctic j each second in a mighty but losing ' battle against the congealing power I of cold.*' "The Four Swallows" ! A cloth-bound. "The Four j Swallows." is proving popular with I imbibers, it has all the appear ; ance of a pocket sized book, but ; when it is opened the reason for I the, title is eeen at once. It con | tains four vials, each of which can be filled with just enough liquor for a good drink. Pays Fine He Imposes. When a Brooklyn printer was haled uji in court recently on a charge of intoxication the magis trate fined him Si and costs. The printer explained thai he had only money to pay his carfare to work: that it was pay-day at his plant and he would return later with the money. The magistrate, handed over the fine from his own pocket to tin* ch-rk of the court and told the printer he could pay him later. Celebrating a friend's wedding was the excuse given for the jag and his presence in court by tin1 printer. Farmer For Board _. ? * A ceo .- ding to Act, He WiS Succeed Chairman Washington, Dee. I JT.?A3 chair man of a sub-committee of the ! agricultural .^mup appointed to ? draw up an amendrh^T? 10 the i Federal Reserve Act requiring that j one of the members et the Federal Reserve Board shall be a real ; farmer. Senator -Smh m ??f South i Carolina. has s > worded the I amendment that the appointment of a farmer shall be.made when the first vacancy occtnrs on the board. The Senator boKeves he has the votes to put this amehd ' ment through. P was discov* red ! today that the first vacancy which will occur en the hoard unless res ? ignation er death should inter vene, would be caused by the e:c ; piration of the term of Chairman I W. P. G. Harding. ? ? #? Ex-Service Men Dying ____?? "On Deserts of Arizona," Says Senator Ashurst Washington, Dee. 12.?Told by Senator Ashurst. Democrat. Ari zona, that hundreds of former service men were dying of tuber ! culosis "on the deserts of Ari i zona," where they went seeking a cure for disabilities resuliin.g from [ gas. attacks -of the Germans, the ! senate voted an appropriation of n ; million dollars for additional hos i pitalizaticn. The funds which are ; carried in the lirst deficiency bill : passed by the senate would be ex pended by the veterans* bureau. ' ? o ?? ? About Marshal Lyon Washington, Dec. 13.?Senators i Smith and Dial and Representa- "* i tives Byrnes and McSwain, of South ? Carolina, called at the department ! of justice today to inquire about the r request for the resignatiorr of Unit ; cd States MarshaS (V J. Lyon, of ; Abbeville. After discussing the j matter with Assistant Attorney General Holland, in the absence' of Attorney General Dau^herty, Sena tor Smi;h wired for Marshal Lyon ! to come to Washington. Pending the marshal's arrival the members of the delegation who called at the department preferred not to j discuss the subiject. . ., France wot. I like te reduce her ? army, but "What would the neigh : bors say?'' ? ?? ?? When permanent peace comes it will be labeled "Made in U. S." O?O-O-->*? i "Rules Bees Can Roam at.Will" : ?Kansas headline. Pity poof Wl'.l. -*~c?e?-? Krc!~kr may be Austrian Ambas . sador if his country ? has enough, left to pay the fiddler.?Wall Strict Journal. -o-o?o Little children should also begin their Christmas goodness early.? Syracuse Herald. o ?? o The shopkeepers of Vienna re ? fuse to accept Austrian money its j payment for purchases. , Thev want American, British or French I money and the preference ' is for :' American money. -o-o <? A London judge refused to allow I a husband to return his bride to her family because he found her "un satisfactory." The judge told the husband that lie had to,keep his wife. o-^> ?? And when that Kentucky jury drank the evidence the paper prob ably said "Case goes to jury." -<* ? ? A man wants a divorce because his wife is a palmist. , An itching palmist, perhaps. ?o- o o One way to keep others ofT'your tots is to be on them yours . ;f. o?o?o A Regal Canter ; Hirohito, newly proclaimed regent >f Japan, "enjoys" a canter through ?he streets of Tokio. Doesn't ap pear to be used to the saddle, what*2