Evening Star Newspaper, July 3, 1937, Page 11

Motion pictures. entertainment, instruction lectures and important meetings in the department’s own auditorium, shown above. are held Department of Agriculture Is Runner-up to Empire State With Completion of South Building. Group Forms Self- Contained City. By Howard P. Bailey. HEN the finishing touches huge building is impressive were put on the South A muitiple-panel switchboard Building of the Department | provided with stations for 10 or of Agriculture in May the | Mnking of that vast structure to the Admumnistration Building and the two wings made the combined building the largest public edifice in the world, second only to the Empire State Build- ing in size for office buildings. Concentrated in the 11.68 acres oc- | cupied by the building is a self-con- | tained city of nearly 10.000 popula- tion. Somewhere within the 1,498,627 square feet of floor space will be found 1| B @he Foen FEATURES * WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ny Sfar WASHINGTON D. C SATURDAY News of Churches a 3 JULY 19 The cool, inviting patio in the center court of the main building of the Depart- ment of Agriculture. 3“;‘.“..-_\ PAGE B—1 Thousands of offices and tens of thousands of daily calls keep the “Agriculture” switchboard busy as a beehive, Co-operative Store Offers Foods From Experimental Farm—Four Cafeterias Feed Employes and There Is Dancing in the Patio. ’I‘HE communication system of this erators. These girls are constant busy. Under the multiple hook-up the call for any phone shows at ev station and any one of the 10 op- erators can answer it The operators require more than switchboard experience. They must learn the personnel of the building and the nature of the work of each They must know to whom to cor the outside inquirer seeking informa- tion Just about every activity of normal f 'Fnr 1nsmn;r recently a hesitant life with the exception of sleeping, and b:drl; l:xqux‘l"g“ rn\nre;nmf r;ntml _nr perhaps a bit of that is done on the UBS ith no d Whatsoever sly. | Almost unbelievably, 4,500 offices are | provided in the South Building alone, | Expert pastry cooks at work in the pastry section of the de- i | lzhe operator connected the {nquirer partment’s thoroughly modern kitchen. to a xpert on household t One of the dining rooms for department officials. ke olch et < control 1,189 more than are to be found in the heretofore record-breaking Depart- ment of Commerce Building. Working in only a small portion of these offices is the greatest number of scientific workers ever gathered for regular em- ployment in one spot. In their labora- tories is concentrated more scientific equipment than ever found in use un- der one roof. Twenty-six hundred electric clocks keep the employes posted on the time of day. The janitor service cleans 9 miles of corridors every night. Forty-two elevators carry the em- pioyes up and down the seven-story building. Three million times a year the auto- matic counting devices on the dial telephone system check up on calls from one part of the building to an- other, not including in this total out- side calls that come in or inside calls that go out. These few statistics, given at ran- dom. may convey some. idea of the vastness of the structure and the ac- tivity which goes on beneath its roofs. The organic act creating the De- partment of Agriculture directs the department to acquire and diffuse use- ful information on subjects connected With agriculture, in the general and most comprehensive sense of the word The subject was first broached to the Continental Congress in 1776 Twenty years later. in his first annual Mmessage to Congress, George Wash- ington proposed Government aid to agriculture. Twenty-four years later, in 1820, the House appointed a Com- Mittee on Agriculture. Five years after that the Senate did likewise It was 14 years more before any fction was taken. In 1839 Patent Commissioner Ellsworth, who was at- tached to the State Department, urged Congress to appropriate $1,000 to col- lect and distribute seeds and gather information of value to farmers. This was done. Aid to agriculture continued in the Btate Department’s hands until 1862 When President Lincoln signed an act creating the department, with Isaac ramifications of its work may be indi- cated. Perhaps you might desire to go to market. Down in the basement is a co-op- erative store which is conducted for | the benefit of the employes. ner of food may be purchased for | consumption at home and to a limited extent on the premises. Out from this store runs a connecting link to the experimental farm at Beltsville. The farm, during the course of its work in animal and plant industry, produces crops. These find their way to the co-operative store. Fresh eggs, pure pork sausage, frying and roast- ing chickens, butter, cream, milk, cheese, buttermilk and other articles are available at attractive prices. Beltsville finds an outlet for its prod- ucts and the employes find absolutely fresh supplies at a saving, ERHAPS you want to park your automobile. In the sub-basement under the All man- | !sumh building is storage space for | 2400 automobiles. The basement is | divided into sections, each of which | will accommodate 600 cars and each | of which has a short ramp leading up to a courtyard. The courtyards be- tween some of the seven wings are also partly available for parking. Ven- | tilating and air-conditioning equip- ment in the sub-basements is pro- vided to make the garages safe. If your predilections are toward ag- ricultural and floriculture you find in- | teresting subjects on the roof of the south building. Two greenhouses have been con- structed and a third is planned. Glance into one of these greenhouses. You may find corn growing eight feet | tall, bearing tempting ears, but you | will notice that various parts of the plants are inclosed in cheese-cloth | bags. You will realize that experi- | mental work is going on, either to | combat some pest or to seek by cross- pollination the development of an improved type of corn The War Memorial in the patio of the main building. —Star Staff Photos. In another section you may observe " as painstaking in the development of tall. sturdy tobacco plants with some | vital information concerning floricul- of the leaves displaying a distressing- i tural activities as in the work of food lv yellow color and a tendency to wilt. | plants. | You may be certain that the plant | | pathologists of the department are | using these symptoms of disease in | | their experimenting for control meth- | ods. } | In other sections of AS IS fitting in all properly func- tioning cities. there must be police and fire protection Down in the basement is the guard the green- | room. From there the activities of | houses you will find flowering plants | the various guards in the building are | which have no other than an orna- | controlled and there is a central con- | mental value, yet the department isitrol of the fire protection system. Located in various easily reached spots are 156 fire alarm boxes. In an | instant steps are under way to meet | any emergency. Wherever there is a | real fire hazard, there is an automatic | sprinkler system. This would take care of first emergencies and the city firemen would be quick to reach the spot before any really serfous situa- tion could arise. All night long. of course, the guards patrol the building, covering the nine miles of corridors at stated intervals Upon the guard also falls rescue work. With so many laboratories and 80 many gasses in use, there is always the danger that some one will be over- | come. A call to the guard room will | find men ready to effect rescues, and | with three inhalators available | prompt resuscitation could be under- | | taken pending the arrival of an ambu- lance. A city requires a mail system Half-hour delivery service is in op- | | eration in the huge building. Mes- | | sengers visit every office every 30 minutes to deliver any mail or inter- | office_communications on hand and | to collect any ready to go out | At sub-station points pneumatic | tubes and carriers are available for| rapid transmission. Rapid. incidental: it is the name for point of the Sou administration carrier travel jusu 18 seconds. The resident of this 1l-acre city may be interested in literature. A large library is in operation Already it has on its shelves approxi- mately 275,000 volumes and pamphlets. | As 8 usual thing, about one-third of | the books are in circulation, an un- | usually iarge circulation, which give one an idea about how active t library is. Row upon row of steel | stacks, painted a serviceable gray, | occupy an air-conditioned room. Com- | From the far | Building to the | building station & through the tubes in | | petent librarians are present to locate | books called for and aid the inquirer | in finding a publication which will | contain desired information. TRAIL CLUB SHELTERS INVITING TO WASHINGTON HIKERS| Numerous Enthusiasts Tak Journeys on Shanks’ Mare to Accessible “Woods and Templed Hills.” e to Great Out-of-Doors in | | By Vesta Cummings. | HE foot that rocks the throttle is stepping out under its own power these days in a hiking craze sweeping the country. So says Myron H. Avery, president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, who knows as much about walk- ing for fun as any one in Washington | There are, he declares, District resi- | dents who never spend a week end in he city all year long. You find them n the hills, whatever the season, 1100ZIng in down sleeping bags under Newton as first commissioner of agri- | SPruce trees when the temperature culture. Finally, under Cleveland in 90Wn under is 90 degrees above, or 1889, the department became an ex- | COOKINg bacon in shelters when snow ecutive department, with Commissioner | 12¥s on the trails. Colman named the first Secretary. So much for the history of the de- Others only escape to mountain soli- tudes now and then, but the trend partment. | cannot be denied. 1It's a revolt, expert Reference was made to the fact that | hikers conjecture, against both traffic the new building houses a self-con- | and organized sports, but at any rate tained city of 10,000. That perhaps|it's a rare photograph of an isolated will bear some amplification and in the amplifying some impression of the vastness of the department and the | mountain slope in Winter that won't i show a spot that may be identified as a skier, and hikers are taking to their Pre paring the evening meal . Grove, Pa. at Tom's Run Shelter, near Pine heels in increasing numbers in both surtime and snowtime. By “hikers” Mr. Avery does not mean persons who return from auto picnics with runs in their silk hose. He is speaking of wayfarers who sally forth with packs containing what few things turn out to be the necessities of life when you nave to carry them on your back. No light and power company, no telephone company, no elevators, no Sunday newspapers, even though this be heresy, are contained therein. Hiking is simple and inexpensive, says Mr. Avery. Have you ever wanted to take a walking trip? And have you been stopped by not knowing what to take along, what to wear and where to go? ‘Where are nice places to go for one or three days, for a week, for thrze weeks? What do you eat? This information has been com- piled by the local trail club for the benefit of the novice hiker. “Some folks like their porridge hot, some like it cold—some like their hiking sort of intermediate, administered in small doses over trails rugged but never f“l from civilization; some like to pene- | trate the more inaccessible areas,” a | club bulletin leads off. And Mr. Avery | and Miss Jean Stephenson, a Gov- | ernment employe active in trail club | affairs, will answer all questions that might be asked by persons eager to | try a hike. IMPLE week end journeys afoot for persons whose limbs ordinarily play only a minor role in their loco- motion might begin with reserving one of the shelters operated by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club— five in Shenendoah National Park, two in Pennsylvania and one in George Washington National Forest—through the trail club secretary at 901 Union Trust Building. If you are a club member it costs nothing, guests ac- companying club members pay a quarter a night and properly identi- fied persons not members of the club may use the shelters for 50 cents a night each. At the club office the hiker is given & key to the shelter—it fits all shel- ters—and may purchase for & small sum maps and a guide book showing exact locations. No ene bas ever been | furn in the key, The ashelters are ' weah-ender 14 | countryside are willing to argue end- | Stout shoes are a necessity. Twelve- | inch boots give the best protection | of taste | are coolish in the hills, since night | On the trail, as slanting shadows and growing appetites bring visions of evening campfire. lost yet trying to find them. In each case it is possible to drive or take a bus to within a mile or two of your woodsy headquarters. Usually longer hikes are taken on the side tralls on Sunday. Shelter reservations have already been made for as late as Labor day, Mr. Avery says. ‘The prime advantage of the shelter house is, of course, that nothing need be carried on the trip except food and extra clothing—no tents, no cooking utensils, no blankets. You then given a list of every- thing in each shelter so that you will know what to carry for comfort, and are asked to report any equipment missing or in bad repair when you r equipped with kerosene lamps, a first- ald and snake-bite Kkit, kerosene, bunks and mattresses, blankets, in- door or outdoor fireplaces for cooking food, kitchen utensils, cut wood and kindling, a pail for securing water from the nearby spring (shelters are always erected close to a water sup- ply), dishes and silver, candles, tea towels, can openers and other essen- tials, N BPITE of tne can opener, ine experienced camper-outer takes lit- tle canned food, unless his walk from his car or the bus is very short, be- cause® liquid and tin add too much weight to s ecamping outfit. The wmally brings steeks, It’s Inexpensive, It's Easy—Club Gives Pointers on Where Hikers Should Tarry and What They Should Carry. chops or hamburger, potatoes, toma- toes and conventional picnic dishes. Eggs present a problem, requiring not | only space, but protection. The ex- | perts advise skipping them. As far as clothing is concerned, the folks who habitually walk all over the lessly in defense of pet garments. from snakes. Six-inch boots may look | pretty grim on woman hikers, but they have the advantage of being lighter than the taller ones. It's a matter | But no one except amateurs | wears oxfords—they're too hard on the ankles. Skirts are definitely out. Always, they tell you, bring a heavy sweater, wind-breaker or flannel shirt, other than what you have on when you start, even in Summer. Nights | temperature descends about a degree for every 100 feet in altitude. Miss Stephenson, for example, slept out- doors in a sleeping bag last August | at 3,500 feet, 100 miles from Wash- ington, when the temperature was around freezing. Don't go far without some protec- tion from rain—a light-weight slicker | | preferred. Never go into the woods | for an overnight stay without a flash- | light, matches and a compass. And never go out for more than two hours without a canteen of water. All trail club shelters may be reached easily before nightfall, leav- ing Washington around noon, all be- ing about 100 miles distant. On Sunday week end campers at shel- ters usually take one of the numerous side trail hikes indicated in club litera- ture, breaking up camp when they return in the late afternoon and din- ing at some wayside place on the way home. E locations of the shelters are as follows: Range View shelter is in the mid- die of the northern section of Shen- andoah National Park, 9 milese north of Lee Highway and Panorama and 190 miles from Washington. It is a stone structure with an inside stove and an outside fireplace and has bunks for eight persons. It is only thres-quariers of & mile from ibe Bky- line Drive and is a popular base for snowshoeing in Winter. Rock Spring shelter in Shenandoah National Park is 96 miles from Wash- | ington, through Panorama, a little | below Hawksbill Mountain and is at | the highest altitude of any of the | shelters, around 4,000 feet. It has bunk room for 10 or 12 persons, some | bunks being double, and has an in- side stove and an outside fireplace Meadow Spring shelter, 84 miles | from Washington, is south of Marys Rock and 2 miles from Lee Highway | in Shenandoah National Park. It is the only shelter without heating or | cooking facilities, but has all the| other equipment and is popular be: cause of its seclusion. It has six bunks. | Doyle River shelter, much hke‘ Range View, is in the southern part | of the park, north of Browns Gap, and is about 130 miles from Wash- | broadcasts are made to the Midwe: If data on proper feeding of lawns is sought the operator knows just the branch to answer the ques tions. Of course, the operators eannot know the extension number for every one of the 11,000 persons whose names are on the department's registry. To help out when the operator is stuck two girls are at the information desk They, too, are constantly busy. Han- dling the directory, which covers 4,000 telephones, is & task in itself. Telephones by no means exhaust the communications system Four telegraph and two teletype operators are in consctant employment. Radio. too, finds its place, with wires lea from the department’'s microphones the Naval Radio Station, NAA, Arlington. Over this station frequ at and Far West If you are scientific-minded. the wing will intrigue you. From base- ment to top floor each corridor lined with laboratories. In them tested everything from soaps to patent medicines, from poisons which Kkill plant pests to the diseases which kill animals, from the foodstuffs sold for human consumption to the germina- tion of seeds sold the farmer, from wood to dress fabrics. The scientists of the Food and Drug Administration of the Bureau of Chemistry and Sotls. of the Bureau of Plant Industry, of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, of Agricultural Engineering. of the Fores! Service and other branches of this vast establishment find their em- ployment in the many and varied laboratories, varied in many ways, but uniform in one, the possession of the most modern equipment. JUST AS no expense was considered in erecting this highly efficient building, so none was spared in pro- viding for the equipment which went into its many rooms In connection with the laboratories one interesting exhibit is maintained, known as the chamber of horrors | Located in room 2151, it is well worth a visit. On tables and pasted on the walls are many examples of mislead- ing and often vicious packages of food and drugs. Along one wall are lined up one famous old patent medi- cine after another, names familiar to Most of them offer the purchaser a cure for many diseases while, in fact, giving only a pleasant jag induced by the high alcoholic con- tent of the remedy, which is no rem- edy at all, but merely a stimulant As an example, one remedy was accompanied by a testimonial of an | every one ington. Pine Grove Furnace shelter in Pennsylvania is a 110-mile drive from (Continued on Page B-8) invalid who said how much he was improved after taking three bottles “As long as I live,” he wrote, “I'm (Continued on Page B-3) Dinner at Bock Bpring Shelter, along the mountain trail,