During the war, Uncle Sam stretched out his long arm still farther into the trade and business of the country, and appointed a Director of Railroads to take control of most of the railroad lines in the land. It was that Board which made possible the conveyance of the enormous quantities of stores and munitions which supplied our armies in France. Going still farther, Uncle Sam took up the ship carpenter’s axe, the caulker’s mallet, and the riveter’s electric machine. All the ship yards in the country were brought under the control and direction of the Government. [Illustration: INSPECTORS OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY Inspection work in a large packing house] The Post Office has been Uncle Sam’s peculiar interest ever since the Federal Government was founded; and he pushes that business ever farther and farther. The letter, the newspaper, the book and the package, are sent flying from one of the long arms of Uncle Sam to another, till the business has come to total over three hundred million dollars a year. The registry service, special delivery system, and especially the parcel post, bring new conveniences, and new proofs of our Uncle’s desire to be useful. In the course of the war the whole system of telegraphs also was taken over. Many lines of business, especially the newspaper and periodical publishers, the mail-order houses, and the advertisers are dependent upon this field of Government operation. [Illustration: INFANT MORTALITY RATES (PER 1000) ACCORDING TO FATHER’S EARNINGS Combined figures from seven cities studied by U. S. Children’s Bureau The baby death rate rises as the father’s earnings fall] _Uncle Sam as a Watchman_ Most of all in times of danger and distress do we turn eagerly to that multiple of ourselves, which we call Uncle Sam. In the most peaceful days the sailor in blue or the soldier in khaki stood behind the courts and the laws and the policemen. When rioters and anarchists raised their heads they knew that Uncle Sam was drawn up around the corner, and would stop them whenever they passed from noisy words to desperate deeds. “U. S.” is the trench line which protects this country from invasion. “U. S.” builds the forts, works out plans of harbor defence, keeps powerful ships in commission, and raises, clothes, equips, feeds, and pays the armies which are the clenched fists of the nation. Other governments, state, municipal and local, offer many benefits, but Uncle Sam is the only American known to foreign nations as the creator of armies and the fighter of battles. [Illustration: WELFARE WORK FOR BABIES, WHITE AND BLACK Weighing and measuring babies. Work conducted by the U. S. Children’s Bureau, Department of Labor]