4 THE CHARLOTTE NEWS AUGUST 13, 1911,
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The Charlotte News
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SUNDAY, ANGUST 13TH, 1911.
plac« Is being taken by the young
and active fruit grower, who even
tually will cause the mountain slopes
of North Carolina to be reckoned
among the great fruit growing cen
ters of the world.’ ”
“Following the survey in North
Carolina Prof. Cox transferred the
scene of his experiments to the vi
cinity of Cape Cod, Mass. Prof. Willis
Moore has planned to establish a
number of weather forecasting sta
tions' there also. The mission of 4:he
stations there will be to keep the
cultivators of cranberry marshes in
formed regarding the probability of
frosts.
“The scheme which the cranberry
growers resort to is unique, said
Prof, Cox. ‘When a frost Is expected,
water from a reservoir Is turned into
the lowlands In which the cranber
ries grow. The water covers the ber
ries and protects them from frost.’ ”
FRUIT GROWING A COMING IN
DUSTRY.
Several large companies have been
formed during recent years to pro
mote orchards in the Brushy moun-
tain= In the Blue Ridge range
equa: interest has been manifested
ot !at= '.n up to date and scientific
orrhardin^ Conditions which affect
rlieg ror\-th and development of fruit
nre being carefully analyzed
and The increased yield already re-
rorted shows that the efforts ex-
Those who are in position to know
whereof they speak, who *have stud-
Ipd conditions on the West, where
fruit growing is one of the leading
Industries, declare that no section of
the miff'd States surpasses parts of
North Carolina in possibilities for a
rirh kield from this source.
Several days ago the Associated
Press earned a brief dispatch, telling
of the findings of Chicago’s weather
foreraster on an investigation of con
ditions in Western North Carolina.
A friend has just sent In a copy
of the Chicago Record-Herald, which
contained a front page display story
describing the wonderful possibilities
for fruit culture In western Carolina.
We make room for the same In full,
believing it will be read with Inter
est, since It shows that through a
somewhat new avenue our stale
Is beginning to attract attention:
■'Prof. Henry j. Cox, Chicago's own
weather forecaster, has returned from
a survey of the North Carolina fruit
land belt and brought word of a new
* Kcheme by the weather bureau to
help settle the North Carolina moun
tain slopei, first by telling prospec
tive pioneers how they can make a
.. living there, and then supplying them
with a system of weather forecasts.
"Prof. Cox was assisted In the work
by W. M.' Hutt, state horticulturist.
• The region surveyed showed great
agricultural possibilities, and a gen
era! awakening of interest in agrlcul
tural affairs is in evidence through
out the fruit belt.
"The main purpose of the prelimi
nary survey was to designate sites
for the location of weather forecast
ing stations to keep the fruit grow
ers of the mountainous regions in
formed regarding the weather condi-
. Tlons, and in this way prepare the
growers for the periodic frosts which
occur in those regions.
Says Possibilities Are Great.
"Another purpose of the co-opera-
’ tion of the weather bureau and the
• htaie agricultural board Is to col-
) ' lert accurate data regarding agricul
tural merits of the various mountain
Hlopes In North Carolina for pros-
. pective settlers.
'There are wonderful agricultural
possibilities in North Carolina,’ said
. Dr Cox. 'In many sections where the
conditions are almost ideal for fruit
growing there has been practically
no development. In the working out
of Prof. Moore’s plans for the estab
lishment of forecasting stations at In
tervals along the mountain slopes
the best interests of fruit growers
’ * may be furthered.
"‘The conditions found on the
'*1 mountain slopes of North Carolina de-
mand considerable scientific investl-
,,, gation. Many peculiar temperature
there. At some of the
-conditions have been discovered
there At some of the mountains
'* It has been found that the tempera-
' ture Is higher on the slopes than
^either on the summit or down in the
WL valley. Unexpected conditions like
■'^thls have caused great financial loss
to many of the growers.
Big Orchards, But No Fruit.
3 “ ‘At Blowing Rock, N. C.. we found
2 ®n orchard of 30,000 trees which has
2 yielded practically no fruit. We found
^ the altitude there about 4,200 feet,
^ which is too high in that latitude for
m successful fruit growing. ,
^ “ ‘At some of the mountains we
ft found the fruit ripe both In the valley
• and on the summit, while on the
9 ilope It was still green. The reason
^ for this phenomenon Is that the air
{becomes cool and tends to settle
down toward the valley. The data
{gathered on our survey will be used
to acquaint fruit-growers where such
.conditions exist.
5 “ ‘It is a fact that North Carolina
jklt awakening to a realization of Its
resources. Several very excellent rail-
^ roads are being constructed. These
8 roads, from the transportation of
fnilt alone, ought to be successful.
m “‘It has been said of that country
H thAt It Is a great land for men,
P that It I* a great land for men, but not
Pfor women and children; I suppose
5 from conditions which have been
^prevalent there for years, that this
’li txue in some measure. The moun
taineer Is a queer person. But the
laiy type Is dying out, and Its
A POUND OF STEAK.
We should like to ask Patton, of
the Charlotte News, or Simms, of
the Raleigh Daily Times, to solve this
one: A nxan eats a pound of beef
steak and yet weighs no more. What
becomes of the pound?—Wilmington
Dispatch.
If the man bought the “pound” of
beefsteak from a Wilmington butch
er, he might not weigh any more,
but up this way. when a man gels
on the outside of a "pound” of beef
of the quality and weight our
butchers give, he is just a pound
heavier than he was before the oper
ation. \\e would suggest to Colonel
Cowan that he change butchers, and
he probably will not longer be vexed
with such problems.—Raleigh Times.
When a man eats a “pound” of
the Raleigh beefsteak, lauded by
Simms, he weighs no more. He rests
no more; he smiles no more; he
sleeps no more—in fact, it only re
quires a few pounds to put him in a
state where he is no more. But this
is all irrelevant since no Raleigh cit
izen ever owned or ate that amount
at one time.
Gentle Raps at The News
Admits His Guilt.
The Charlotte News asks: “Will
Farmer Phillips tell us If he gro'^*
pie on that Moore county farm of hla?
Yes.—Greensboro News.
, Drought And Milk.
During the recent drought la Char*
lotte the Mark Tapley who edits the
Charlotte News consoled the people
by telling them that there was one
consolation—there wasn’t enough wa
ter to enable the mllk-men to water
the milk. The Winston-Salem Jour
nal quotes from a paper sent by Mr
Henry E. Fries, who is spending the
summer in Europe, this paragraph
from a London paper:
“Owing to the continued drought
the milkmen of the Caterham district
have decided to increase the price of
milk one penny per quart.”
Perhaps the Charlotte News wasn
right after all, or it may be that only
In London is the price of milk regu
lated by the quantity of water to be
obtained. During the recent water
famine, when a mother had to pay
tv.enty-iive cents for enough water in
which to bathe her baby, a friend in
a neighboring town asked: ‘‘Why
doesn’t she bathe the child in a rum
bath? I have heard it was very good.
This was paralleled by the Fiench
Queen, who, when told that the people
of Paris could not get bread to eat
asked ‘ Why don’t they eat cake?
—News and Observer.
FROM OTHER
SANCTUMS
Praying for Rain.
Low water in the Catawba river
shuts down 162^ cotton mills and
throws 70,000 operatives out of work.
North and South Carolina people are
holding special religious services and
praying for rain. What they ought to
do la to ask forgiveness for their sins
and do works meet for repentance.
In other words, they should renew the
devasted forest cover and store the
floods that now run to waste. God
gives us a world, but if we destroy or
waste It, we suffer. The way to pray
Is to do.”—Omaha News.
k.
Don’t Sulk and Lurk in The Dark.
After passing through a peevish
stage and handling the water situation
in its city in really masterly manner,
Charlotte’s water board again got “so
n-e-r-v-o-u-s-,” or really angry and
commenced to hold secret meetings,
which brought down the wrath of
many upon Its head. Just wrath it
may be noted, because municipal
bodies have no business holding secret
meetings. In the first place, there
should never be anything to conceal
from the public and If there Is some
thing wrong somewhere. City officials
are but employes of the people, and
every firm has a right to know what
its employes are doing during business
hours. What would a business man
think if his clerk went off In a corner
to make sales and placed the money
in the cash register without punching
the keys so as to show the amount of
sale? W’hat would he think If the clerk
would leave the store at times, mere
ly Informing him that he was going off
on the firm's business without specifj'-
ing the nature of the business? The
business man would not stand for it,
and neither should, nor, will the vot
ers, in the long run.
Secret meetings also breed suspi
cion. It Is not always necessary to
publish broadcast certain contempla
tions, but these contemplations must
be of very peculiar and delicate na
ture, to even be withheld for the time
being and at that every citizen should
have a right to attend the meeting and
hear such matter discussed, or go ex
amine the minute book. The people
also have a right to read newspaper
reports of the meetings, and the news
papers should publish such. Secret
meetings leave the people entirely In
the dark and generally lay a founda
tion of quick sand. For future con
sideration and benefit the people are
entitled not only to know that the mu
nicipal body adopted or rejected a cer
tain thing, but how each member vot
ed, and what were his ideas. If this
be not so then the people will live in
utterly oblivious of the ability and the
Impulses of their servants, it is nec
essary to know how each alderman,
councilman, or commissioner, by what
ever title the official is known, thinks
and voted. Only In this way can the
people judge of his capacity. Other
elections are coming and they want
to be In a position to know how to
vote intelligently. So. aside from any
personal privilege in keeping with the
spirit of this free country, they are
entitled to know the stand and the im
pulses of their city officials. And if
an official Is frank and fearless, he
should not hesitate for the people to
know what he wants done and what
he does. If he Is not of that type he Is
not worthy of the position directly on
the start. For a matter of understand
ing, for intelligent future considera
tion and harmony the people should
know all the business of the city of
which they are a part and help to
support. Of course, prlmarly it is
their business and they should de
mand to know all about It, or bounce
those who would create discord, sow
suspicion and act in careless or reck
lessness manner because they know
the people are not looking. Many a
man will take a big risk at night that
he wouldn’t take In the daylight.—Wil
mington Dispatch.
Hare’s to You Witchardl
Who would have thunk it? Which
ard, of The Greenville Reflector, has
had a birthday, bless his—now we
were about to say "bless his dear old
heart,” but we refrain because un
der the circumstances, he might get
riled over the use of the word "old."
Just how many years young he is has
not been stated, but as a “man is as
old as he feels” why, as an outsider
judging by appeararfces, we should say
he is not over twenty-five. He Is as
frisky as a young colt and as charm
Ing as one of .the coy nymphs that
revel in the waves at Wilghtsville
Beach (when we say that you know w«
have said something), and as popular
among the newspaper boys of the Old
North State as a pretty debutante with
a fat bank account. Hia charms will
never grow old, and may he never get
bald-headed. Of course, we know his
locks will never get silvery. But here
is the way W'ichard broke the sweet
news gently to his host of friends and
admirers:
“Almost everybody, if they are good
has a birthday once a year, and be
ing like other folks in that respect
the editor of The Reflector also com
es around for ane annually. This is
his day. It was on the 8th day of Au
gust, so and so many years ago, that
he first began making trouble in this
world and has been keeping it up
ever since. How many? No, we are
not going to tell that now, less it
might shock Jim Coman, Bob Phillips,
Joe Patton, and the other boys. They
think we are just a gay kid, and we
are going to let them keep on think
ing that way, at least for another year.
But it is good to be here, and it is
with a feeling of gratitude that we
come to every new anniversay and
start out on another mile of life’s jour
ney, even though with it is the real
ization that every lap is just one near
er the end. We try to make the best
of each year, putting in the best ser
vice of which we are capable, and so
we hope it will be as long as our
years come and go.”—Wilmington Dis
patch.
WANTS NEWSPAPERS TO
SPEAK OUT ON TARIFF.
POSTAL SAVINGS BANK
FOR GAFFNEY, S. 0.
Special to The News.
Gaffney, S. C., Aug. 12.—Postal In
spector G. M. Brown was in the city
today making his annual Inspection
and making arrangements for the
opening of the Postal savings bank at
this place on August 19th. Mr. U. G.
Hester, of the departnient, wUl have
active charge of the postal bank.
Editor of The News:
The tariff question seems now to be
more prominently before the public
mind than it has been in the last 50
years. The country owes a boundless
debt of gratitude to the high-class mag
azines for calling the attention of our
more intelligent citizens to some ot the
abominations of our iniquitous tariff
system. But very many of our people
do not read the magazines, and de
pend largely on the newspapers for
their information on public questions.
You would be surprised to find how
few of the common people (including
merchants, doctors-, farmers, me
chanics and such like) have any dis
tinct conception of the tariff. Perhaps
nine out of every ten, even of those
who have had their attention called
to the subject will tell you that we are
obliged to have a tariff for revenue.
They seem not to know that unques
tionably the best people in the world
(the English and Scotch) who^ have by
far the best government in the world
have no tariff. They do not realize
that our tariff system is the principal
cause of the graft and'corruption that
are the disgrace of our American insti
tutions. Would It not be well for our
newspapers to turn on the light now
while the people are taking an Interest
in the subject?
The republicans are continually
singing the praises of the tariff. In
almost every issue of the Charlotte
Observer you will find an article plead
ing not only for a tariff, but for a
protective tariff, and if our democra
tic editors do not speak out and tell
the truth about the matter It may not
be long until North Carolina will suf
fer the disgrace of being classed as a
republican state.
H. K. REID.
HAVE YOU NOTICED?
(Correspondence of The News.)
That passengers from the Southern
station, living on South Tryon street,
usuall get to the Square just as the car
South is moving off?
* * *
That the property owners ixaid much
more for the bithulithic that has been
put down, than was the bid made, when
several companies were In competition,
for the s-treet work that is to be laid?
INQUIRER.
Mr. Olivet is AgaiiT
After Water Board
-More Suggesiions
COL. BOOSEVELT ON WiTNSaS STAND
Colonel Th«edopo Rootavelt on th« wItnoM atand, teatlfying before the
house committee Inveatlgatlng the “eteel truet’* The ex-president
created a ripple of excitement when he took the atand, unannounced.
Among other thlnge, he declared that he asaumed reaponsibillty for
vs everything he did In the eteel truat matter while acting aa president and
adde^ that, If he had It te do over again, he would act the same. He
explained at length hie giving permiealen to the deal by which the Ten.
nessee Coal & Iron Compony becamc a part of tho United States Steel
Corporation.
Underwood-Biyan
Bieaka Siynificant
Political Event
Charlotte. Aug. 12, 1911.
To the Water Board:
You held a meeting last Monday,
August 7, and gave out what was
considered a partial answer to my
letter of a week ago today. In that
letter I asked that you give us the
truth. Your reply was as follows:
2d. The board invited bids from
consulting engineers and appointed a
time for the opening^ of same at
which meting there were present
15 bidders and the board with all
members present after carefully hear
ing the propositions from each bidder
voted unanimously in favor of ac
cepting Mr. Gilbert Whites bid,
which was the lowest, and also in
view of the fact that Mr. White
agreed to personally prepare the
plans and specifications, and move
his office to Charlotte, in order that
be might closely watch the very
minutest details in connection with
the work, and see that the plans
and specifications approved by the
board are carried out to the letter.
The bid of Mr. White, is the fol
lowing:
Compensation for self, $4,000.
Board to pay assistants, expenses,
11,800.
One inspector, $730.
One Inspector, $720.
Vehicle for engineers, $360.
Incidental engineering expenses,
1500.
Additional to be spent in engineer
ing, $600.
Total, $8,700.
Now compare the above with the
following letter:
John N. Ambler,
Civil and Hydraulic Engineer.
Winston-Salem, Aug. 9,M911.
Mr. Fred Oliver, Charlotte, N. C..
Dear Sir: Apropos of a recent
article in the Charlotte Observer
concerning the recent letting of the
city waterworks, I wish to say that
my own proposition was considerably
lower than that which I understand
was made by the successful engi
neer.
I made three separate • and dis
tinct propositions to the board, the
first of which I give you verbatim
from the sheet presented to them, I
selected this one as under it, there
could be no question as to what the
engineering work would cost, as it
provides that I assume the entire
expense.
My first proposition was as fol
lows:
this letter and their statement
cate, and It would please me irn’
mensely, as it would others for T,'
to be able to give a plausibe excusp
one that would stand a most thn!’
ough and rigid investigation bv tS
board of aldermen and a comiitto!
of tax payers.
« .according to statemect nnb-
Mshed in Saturday’s Observer have
decided to use, as per Mr.
recommendation, wooden pipe for the
first five miles from the river slat
ing the grade was only 25 feet to
the mile, or 125 feet total elevation
and which will give a pressure o'f
about 60 pounds per square inch plug
the strain of pump to overcome the
friction. Kow long do you expect r©
keep a wooden pipe tight under his
pressure, and how long will it las"
To have the water for this city
depend upon a wooden pipe un'Jer
60 to 65 pounds pressure is simpl. ri
diculous. Mr. White says he knows >f
severa) cities North that ha>/e in
use wooden lifpes and of some pi;.i;s
having been laid over fifty years
I defy him to cite a single instance,
east of the Mississippi river, where
wooden pipe has been in use fi-:
years under a pressure of 60 pou;.^i
per square inch. If he can cite a sin
gle instance of such folly I will ciu
100 cities that are using cast iron
pipe, and not one would use wooden
j pipe as a gifC
Why should Charlotte again expe
riment with its waterworks?
The Irwin creek experiment shovild
be all we ever want.
No! Cut out the wooden pipe ps
periment and give us nothing bin
high test, heavy weight, cast Ir'-m
pipe, which once laid gives no
trouble, and which will last an al
most indefinite length of time, I'iO
years or over at least.
It is stated Mr. White has sublet
contract to others for about all the
engineering work requiring skill and
at a price said to be only $900; this
is for the designing of pumping sta
tion and its -whole outfit, pumps and
power. Now what is there left t'*>
engineer, take out their big portion
of the whole? And who has he sublet
this vital part of the work to?
I have been told the sub-contrac
tors are sales agents for makers of
pumps and for power machinery. la
it natural to assume there will be
much if any, competition?
Will others have a ghost of a
showing against men who design the
plant and who at same time rep
resent machinery to be used in the
plant
I will now leave it to the board
of aldermen and citizens of Charlotte?
“(I) To make all surveys, design ^ ^ v, v.
works complete, furnishing detail to take^ such as^should^be at
plans and specifications, assist in
calling for bids and letting contracts.
Washington, Aug. 12.—Probably the; These are some of the things which
roost significant political event of the the democratic congressmen resent in
Should Water Before Sweeping.
Editor of The News:
Do you think it well for the city to
allow street sweeping without sprink
ling first? The filthy dust is consider
ed In other cities as veiry dangerous
and never done without watering first.
All of the hotels and eating houses
have complained. If you will look into
this I am satisfied from-every stand
point of health, you will use your best
efforts to have same discontinued at
once, and it certainly sould be. Germs
and filth of all kinds In clouds are
scattered in all places on Tryon, Trade
Church and Fourth and other streets.
It is certainly fearful. Please help
us.
past SIX months is the break between
the democratic house of representa
tives led by Oscar Underwood, and
William Jennings Bryan, three times
the candidate of his party for the pres
idency.
Already astute politicians of both
parties are trying to figure on tlje re
sults of this rupture. They are try
ing to determine how far its effects
Tyill be felt in the campaign next year,
and what bearing it will have upon the
next presidential fight.
Some of the politicians are convinc
ed that the systematic attacks upon
the present leaders in the house by
Colonel Bryan are nothing more or
less than the Nebraskan’s initiatory
moves in a fight to capture the nomina
tion for himself next year. He is be
ing accused by creating distrust in
the present leadership, in the hope
of creating a demand for his own
leadership.
There are others who contend that
the Underwood-Bryan controversy
means merely that the westerner will
bolt the next convention, and defeat
the election of the democratic nominee
whoever he may be. They doubt if the
Peerless Leader” has another nomi
nation for himself in mind, but they
say he is determined to “rule or ruin.”
Then there are a few of the opti
mistic who believe that the whole
thing will blow over, and that the
Bryan and Underwood elements of
the party will get together by the
time the big fight comes. They do not
explain just how their hopefulness
comes about, yet they remain hope
ful.
There can be no doubt that the
present democratic majority in the
house is favorable to the Clark and
Underwood leadership. The practi
cally unanimous applause given Mr.
Underwood when he arose to defend
himself of the charge of using his
power as chairman of the ways and
means committee to protect his per
sonal interest, shows clearly enough
that the sentiment there is against
the Nebraskan.|
This is the most remarkable phase
of the whole situation. There was
scarcely a democrat In the house who
did not cheer wildly when Underwood'
denounced Bryan. And it was this
same house that stood on its feet and
waved tumultuously when Bryan took
his seat on the floor on the opening
day of the present session. The ap
plause then was for the man, not the
political leader.
Since that time the enthusiasm for
the colonel has unquestionably cool
ed. And this is because the members
of the house and the people back of
these members feel that Mr. Bryan
is trying to dictate the policy of the
party from his position as private cit-
iizen.
The recent list of questions which
the Nebraskan framed and put out to
be answered by all possible candidates
for the democratic nomination next
year, was taken in congress to be a
piece of impertinence, it was ignored
where it was not denounced.
On top of all this the colonel picked
out a list of democrats whom he seem
ed to regard as qualified to be candi
dates for the democratic presidential
nomination. While this list included
a host of the prominent leaders of the
party there were
Mr. Bryan, and some of the things
which have turned the tide against
him. No less than three years ago
a democratic congressman from New
Jersey made a bitter attack upon the
Great Commoner and his speech was
received in silence. Not a word of
congratulation was given him, not a
look of approval was cast in his direc
tion.
Now Representative Underwood ris*
es and in five minutes has the whole
democratic house in an uproar. He
tells that body that Bryan has made
a false charge, one that completely
discredits the Nebraskan. And when
he does it he gets an ovation that
takes the speaker off his feet. Old
Bryan followers crowd around him
and join in the repudiation of the one
undisputed leader of his party .
And so it happens that the mana
gers of both parties are wondering
what is to come of it all. They all
agree that the colonel has his friends
among the people. To deny that would
be folly. »He has thousands of friends
and warm friends too, but he has not
the leading men of the present-day
democratic party behind him, and
from appearances, he will not have
tfiem should his ambition lead to an
other nomination.
The effect of this controversy upon
the political fortunes of Mr. Under
wood Is being widely speculated upon
in Washington. Already an Under
wood presidential boom has been start
ed, and this before the break with
Bryan. Now the house has commit
ted itself to Underwood, not only as
floor leader, but as a violent oppon
ent of Mr. Bryan.
Some of the Alabaman’s friends
therefore believe that this break, cou
pled with Underwood’s masterful
handling of the tariff situation in the
house, means that he is today the
most promising man in his party in or
out of congress. Some of the more en
thusiastic believe that he can win the
nomination of the presidency, if he
conducts himself in the regular ses
sion in December as he was in the spe
cial session and he will be in the same
rank with Woodrow W’’3on, Judson
Harmon and Eugene Foss.
Whatever else the present situation
has developed it has demonstrated the
fact that William Jennings Bryan is
no longer the “peerless leader” of his
party.
Senator Overman
Oj^ets Amendment
*1, XT V ^ number of big
men whom the Nebraskan did not men-
not®incfu7e^Jwasahere!oi^^ actual . .cotton condi-
Washington, D. C., Aug. 12.-Senator
Overman, of North Carolina, introduc
ed as an amendment to the cotton re
vision bill, a provision for the revision
of the chemical schedule of the tariff
la,w. Discussion of the bill w^s Inter
rupted, immediately after it had been
taken up by an executive session of the
senate.
Senator Smith, of South Carolina,
had tried a little earlier' during the
day to secure present consideration
of a resolutioii calling on the secretary
o( agricultiu’e for information, as
to the exact methods used in the
gathering and preparation of cotton
crop reports. He'sai^ he knew that at
some places men were gathering in
formation for the department who
inspect all material and appliances
used, supervise construction from
start to finish, prepare all estimates
for contractors, and assist in final
settlement with them, for 2 per cent
on entire cost of work. 1 per cent of
this to be due on completion of
plans, and 1 per cent on completion
of work. Out of this I agi*ee to fur
nish all assistants and other ex
pense of surveys, and extra inspec
tor when necessary.”
Of course my 2 per cent would not
have been figured against the $350,-
000 appropriation, but simply on the
actual cost of the work which I was
told had been estimated at $300,-
000. Thus I would have received
$6,000, and Ifess if the works cost less
nor would the city have been at asy
further expense for assistants, in
spectors, etc.
Very truly,
(Signed) J- N. AMBLER.
Gentlemen of the water board,
1 accept your statement as the
truth, although I could not recon
cile it to some known facts. For in
stance you stated in the communica
tion you had published that you gave
Mr. White the contract: First. Be
cause he was the lowest bidder. Sec
ond. Because he was to give his
whole time and knowledge to the
work. Third. Because he had a
splendid lot of letters from numer
ous people inside and outside the
state. All the above I could not make
fit Into your actions at the meeting
when the bids were presented.
At that meeting you called in each
engineer separately to have him pre
sent his bid in person and to explain
things not fully understood, and you
allowed each engineer not more than
fifteen minutes of your time. You had
about fifteen engineers who person-
allv presented their bids, no two be
ing alike in detail, as you had not
furnished specifications.
You also probably had many lev
ters of recommendation presented
with each bid.
Now: I would like to know how it
was possible to tabulate all the bids,
read over and consider all the num
erous letters of endorsement and ai-
rive at a fair and impartial decision
in less than a half hour after the
last engineer presented his bid?
Yet I am told it was less than
half an hour, some state not over
fifteen minutes, when you called in
the fifteen engineers, or all that were
waiting, and you announced Mr.
White as the successful bidder.
Why, gentlemen, it took the execu
tive board two days to tabulate about
eight bids for paving and to thor
oughly sift and digest the various
bids, and they had the city engineer
to help them and all bids were to
conform to their specifications, where
as you had no specifications for the
engineers to conform to. It certainly
looks as though the whole subject
was “cut and dried” before the meet
ing, and so far a« all other engineers
than Mr. White, were concerned, the
meeting might as well not have been
held.
I am publishing your statement or
last Monday in which you state most
positively that Mr. White was the
lowest bidder, also a letter I have
received, unsolicited, from one of
the engineers who made a bid much
lower than, Mr. White. I hope you
can tell the citizens ot Charlotte that
you never received this lower bid,
and yet the gentlemen presented it
In person, I understand. It is very
painful, to .me to believe that men,
ill whom I have always had implicit
confidence, could, of would do as
once taken to protect the water bond
funds being spent by and under the
present water board aftd the con
tracts they have made. Some action
surely should be taken without de
lay. Yours trulj’,
FRED OLIVER.
The Greatest Fly-Swatter.
Dr. Leland O, Howard, ch4ef of tha
United States government ibureau of
entomology, and the author of “The
House FI3'—Disease Carrier,” Just is
sued by Stokes, first came Into public
attention as the leader of the crusade
against mosquitoes as bearers of j’ellow
faver. Both by stirring up popular ac
tion. and through a book on the mos
quito, he was largely instrumental in
cutting down the mosquieto-borne yel
low fever of the south.
Dr. Howard is a middle westerner,
who came east to Cornell for his col
lege course. Since then he has gath
ered an M.S., a Ph.D., and a few other
titles. Just this summer, he was gi'‘
en another honorary degree—b”
George Washington University. Hft
has tought in Swarthmore and
Georgetown, has edited a magazine
called "Insect Life” and prepared defi
nitions dealing with the bug kind f(^^
two dictionaries. He Is a trustee of
Cornell University, curator of insects
in the National Museum, and a mem
ber of enough scientific' associatior;=
interested in bugs to use up the whole
alphabet.
At present. Dr, Howard is giving
chief attention to warring on the
house fly—or “typhoid fly*’ as he pre
fers to call it. Besides preparing hia
book “The House Fly—Disease Car
rier” he lias been working with the
fly-fighting committee of the American
Civic Association, and has prepare'
several government bulletins on wha^
he would call “musca domestics"—or
even a harsher name.
^None Needed.
A young woman of Baltimore who
recently entered upon the happy state
knows so little about housekeeping
that she shudders lest the butcher and
the baker and the rest of the trades
men discover her ignorance. She or
ders only articles with which she ha.,
some acquaintance and ends her bus’
ness interviews as quickly as possi
ble.
On one occasion this young wife wa?-
feeling rather puffed up by reason c»f
some newly acquired knowledge
things domestic when the ashman
came through the street uttering hn
usual cry:
“Ash-ees! Ash-ees!”
As the man neared her window she
grew more and more perplexed. “Wha*
on earth is he saying?” she asked her
self. At last he appeared at the back
door, and there she confronted him.
“Ash-ees?” came in a husky gur
tural.
For a moment she looked at hlr
hesitatingly. Then, drawing hers*"!'
up with great dignity, she replied:
“No, I do not care for any today.’’
Lippincott’s Magazine.
♦ i
♦ MUSIC MATH CHARMS. ♦
It took the master mind of Presi
dent Taft to conceive the brilliant ide^
ef winning over the Solid South with
the dulcet strains of the Marine Band-
Doubtless the leader was instructed i '
play nothing but “Dixie,’* and “WiHiP-
We Have Missed You.” Should the>'
mistake the cue. and break into “March
ing Through Georgia,” the President is
lilt^ly to ‘‘Burchsrd” hiniself and
hoist with his own petard.