— — Bemooraic atc BY P. GRAY MEEK. Ink Slings. —By the way ! Has anyone heard any- thing of one SAMUEL PENNYPACKER lately ? ~—In New York the courts bave ruled that eighty cents is all that can be charged for gas. In Bellefonte! Well—. —CHARLES DICKENS left an estate of four hundred thousand dollars which goes to prove that MicAwBER couldn’t have been the favorite of his character creations. —Mrs. CLAYT ERB wrote that ‘‘if it wasn’ for fear of hell I would kill mysell,”’ bat her sister didn’s give Crayr much time to relieve any fears of the same place he might have bad. —The old gaog is in the saddle again, sure enoagh, and what the Country Mem- bers get at Harrisburg daring thie session of the Legislature will be what the Phila- delphia and Pittsburg Members don’t want. —Dr. W. E. EVEREIT, government geologist, who is just now investigating the causes and probable fields of earthquakes, makes unwelcome announcement that the Atlantic coast States are in for a shaking up some of these days. He basn’t set any time for the upheaval, but it might ocoar about the tiroe TEDDY gets home from Africa. —Out in Illinois the Legislators are wad as hop toads because they think the Gov- ernor is getting too bossy. A fanny sitna- tion it must appear to be to Pennsylvanians. Governors don’t nsurp any such powers in this good old Commonwealth. They are held in trast for the political heirs of the late M. 8S. Q. and Mr. PENROSE has just been reappointed trustee. —Wouldn't it be a wise plan for the Bellefonte school board to make Mr. J. E. WAGNER the acting supervising principal until June and let it stand at that. If he bas the qualifications for it Mr. WAGNER is certainly entitled to the position and such a plan would give him the opportu- nity of showing without committing the board or embarrassing Mr. WAGKER. —A portion of the Bellefonte fire depart. ment hastened to the aid of burning Millheim, but before they arrived on the soere with an eugine the fire had burned about everything in ite path. The fact that our firemen rendered no great service is not the question. The fact that they were ready and eager to go is what should be remembered when the incident is dis- cussed. ~—It just took Jim McNICHOL about five minntes to sew the Senate up. The first aot of the new session was to pass his reso- lation requiring that that body should _oonsider no resolutions that had not been sent to a committee first, You know what that means. Sending them to committee is the easiest thing in the world, bat is beats h— how hard it is to get some of them out again. —A scientist, who muss have been from Missonri, went to investigate the assertion that there are absolutely no microbes on the Swiss mountains above an altitude of two thousand feet and found the statement to be a fact. To the lay mind the settle ment of the question doesn’t amount to much other than to let us know fora cer- tainty that the Swiss cheese is not made that high up. —Of course it is only heresay with us but the story goes that SAM GUISEWHITE, single handed and entirely alone, rescued two women and an orphan child from the eighth-story of the Musser houee, during the great fire in Millbeim on Tuesday. SAMULE is one of the veteran firemen of our department and was the hero of many a thrilling rescue before hie eyes got bad. —A news item from Allentown chroni- oles the fact of a woman, at her death, bav- ing bequeathed her fortune of $10,000 to her daughter, with the exception of one dollar which was to be given in the onsto- dy of a trust company and the interest thereon paid annually to her eon, a well known minister. And the will made no stipulations or placed no bar npon how the reverend should spend the income thus be- queathed him. —The part of Governor STUART'S mes- sage that insists that the Legislatore shall make appropriations only eo far as the revenues of the State will warrant is one thas all will applaud. Bat the Governor might bave reassured the people of the State a little by selling the Legislators that he intended to force a fair and equitable apportionment of the moneys available for obarities. It is all very well to keep with- in she limits of the revenues but what in- stitutions will be called upon to do is? Not those of Philadelphia and Pittsburg we'll bet. —The power of the boss in Pennsylvania politics was never better demonstrated than in the defeat of FRANK MoCLAIN, of Lancaster, for Speaker of the House. Dar- ing previous service in the chair he bad proven himself far more capable than the average Speaker and even tried to be fair and partially impartial with the Members. The experience was so novel and pleasing that personally there was probably uot a ball dozen of the old men iriihe House who did not want to vote forhig re-eleo- tion. Bot because MoCLAIN fried to be fair and partially impartial shiwbosses did pot want him in the speaker's shair and there wasn’t enough manhood in the orea- tures who are Pennsylvania's Representa- dives to vote for the man most of them preferred as their presiding officer. aol Good News If True. People hereabouts who know, or at least think they know, assure us that a two-mill reduction in the tax-rate of the county will be made very shortly after the new board of County Commissioners get down to busi- ness. We hope they are rights. Nothing would be more gratifying to the tax- payers. Certainly nothing would better please the people than to understand that for the future Centre county is to get along on a three-mill rate of taxation and that economy in county expenditures is to be the rule that will be followed by the new management. That we can get down to a three-mill rate is due to the good work of the late Democratic board of Commissioners. Their carefuloess made this possible. Their wan- agement wiped ous the forty-two thousand dollars of indebtedness, and the unexpect- ed claims presented against the monument, that was loaded onto their shoulders three years ago, and put us down again, to the simple matter of providing only for the ordinary county expenditures. Is will, of course, take wise and economical manage ment to get along on a shree-mill rate, bat that was the rate up to three years ago, and general county expenditares should be no heavier now than prior to that time. The five-mill rate that had to be resorted to temporarily was not because legitimate county expenses were increasing, but be- canse of the reckless and extravagant man- agement that obaracterized county affairs from 1902 to 1905, and as we understand, was promised to be taken off just as soon as the indebtedness that bad accumulated was paid. If the forthcoming statement shows, as it is wenerally believed it will, that there is a surplus of assets over liabil- ities, then the time is here for the promise made the people to be realized, and the new management will be but fulfilling the general expectation of the people by put- ting them on this basis. If masters are as generally anticipated, the incoming board will start under most favorable auspices—no debt, no outstand- ing claims against the county on account of the monument, the public buildings in good repair, the larger and more costly bridges all bails, tarnpikes condemned and paid for, our cous growing shorter and shonld be less expensive every term, and without any unusual or excessive oatlays necessary in any line for several years, they oaght to he able to get along with a less aggregate county expense than bas been known for years. Will they? Can they ? Anent the gratifying report referred to above, comes another later, that tells us that a movement, on the part of a lew po- litical managers, is already well nuder way to inflaence the new board of Commission- ers to les the millage stand as it now is for two years at least or until a considerable surplus is accumulated, and it is proven that the coanty can get along with a less rate. Very plansible argument, can be wade on this side, and it is possible they may be listened to by the Commissioners. But will not a surplus tempt to extrava- gavce, and may nos this move to prevent a reduction of taxation mean that there are schemes ahead that will need mouey to carry them out, or expectations of johs that will not be undertaken if there is not an excess of money in the treasury? Wait and you will see. Let Us Have a Change of Election Laws, Whether or not the Legislatare that has just adjourned for a two week’s rest and recuperation, after the arduous work of a two-day’s session, will have either the de sire or the disposition to so change our complicated, costly and frand producing election laws, that we will in the future be able to have honest elections at a rea- sonable expense, noone cau say. That it should is the belief of every honest citizen. That it will is the hope of every one who cares for either the honor of the State, or the bonesty of our elections, That we have the worst election laws that disgraces any of the Commonwealths of the country can neither be denied nor disputed. That they breed venality, pro- teot crime, [foster bribery and encvuiage rasoality and wrongs of every charaoter, is equally true. That our system, besides being as rotten and unfair as it is, is peed- lessly and excessively complicated aud ex- pensive, is known and ackoowledged by all. Why then not chaoge it ? It would be an easy matter to go hack to our old, simple and satisfactory, vest pockets system. A few changes in it, that would preserve the secrecy of the ballot and pre- vent the espionage of the citizen while cast- ing his vote, would secure us as fair eleo: tions, with as little expense as it is possible todo. It would do away with the busi ness of the briber. It would take from money the power to control our elections, and it would puta stop to both the de- baunchery and bull-dozing of voters. Two years ago a bill providing for a bal- lot somewhat similar to the old vest pocket ticket that was used prior to 1891, and that continued the present booth into which the voter was required to go and place the tickes he proposed voting into an envelope, unseen or unassisted by any ove, and then depositing it in the ballot box, was pre- sented in the House but was smothered in the committee, because the ringsters and ballot box manipulators were opposed to any change. The same bill, with such changes as would do away with some minor objections thas were made to it, ought to be introduo- ed and pushed from the first day that bills can be presented. There should be neith- er delay in starting nor les up in the fight, for a law and a system, that will save our State from she disgrace and debauchery, that the law and the system, we now lave, have brought upon it. Aud we hope that the honest members of the House and Senate will take this matter up, immediately upon their return to Har- risburg, and push it persistently and de- terminedly until the ringsters and roosters, the bosses and the boodlers, are compelled to permis the changes needed, or the peo- ple have demonstrated to them, in such a way as to leave no doabs in the mind of any one, who is responsible for a continua- tion of Pennsylvania’s disgrace and the evils and expenses that grow out of our rotten election laws. Good Saggestions, If the Republican party in this State is wise it will see that its Representatives in the Legislatore adopt the soggestion of Guvernor STUART as to public road system aud the preservation of the water supply of the State, without delay. His 1ecommen- dation for a State thoroughfare from Phil- adelpbia to Harrisbarg and from there to Pittsburg, to be built and waintained at the expense of the State, should certainly meet the approval of the people, as well as his suggestion that there be such changes in the present system as will secure the maintenance of such roads as are built jointly by the State, the county and the township. “‘It is useless,’’ as the Govern. or says, ‘‘to waste money in building roads,’ if after they are built they are not properly maintained or kept up, and itis simply squandering the publio fands, to grade and make foundations for roads that are to be neglected and uncared for until they become no better than the common highways. There is no nse to whick the money of the State could be put that would give greater returns, afford more comforts and pleasure to the people, or add greater to the wealth of the community, than in mak- ing good public roads. In this we will not even except such improvements as would probably be made in our public school sys- tem were greater appropriations made for that purpose. We have now reachod the point in school matters where every obild in the State is enabled to secure a good common school education, if ita parents so desire. Further than shat it is questiona- ble if she public should go in educational matters, But in road laws, road systems, or efforts to have good roads, we are away behind the times and most lamentahly lame. Even the State system that has been in force for the past six or eight years, bas proven a public sink hole where public funds are dumped for the benefit of the few who are favorites of the machine, and from which neither better roads nor benefit to the pub. lic have acorued. A few rods of fairly good highways, bere aid there, and =o far apart aud in snob varied directions that no connection can be bad between them, bas resulted, but for all the money that has been expended, no general good to the pub. lic has been returned. Such is the case at least in thie section and we presume it is the same in all other parts of the State. If the Legislature, now in session, will stop the patch work, expensive and we might say spotted system of road making now in vogue, and get down to the work of building public highways—Dbeginning some- where and ending somewhere—we might have some benefit from the money expended, but as long as we go onjwith a patch here aud a patch there and with neither pach long enough to be of any particular advantage to any partionlar section or community, the money put into this work will be prac- tically waated. “ ~The weather this week has been variable—that is, sunshine and cloudy, ain aod heavy fogs in She beginning of the week, then a sudden change ou Wednesday to cool, cooler and cold by Wedueulay night and yesterday moroing with heh, shifting wind —especially shifuicg. But don’t get discouraged ; if the weatier man kas any other kinds of weather on nand he will likely deal them out to ux hefore the end of the week. ~——Landlord H. 8. Ray en erained eighteen friends at a supper at the Brook: erhoff house on New Years eve, tue entire party being gathered around the festive board to weloome the incoming of 1808, "STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. BELLEFONTE, PA, JANUARY 8, 150 Wrong Man Condemuned. Mr. HENEY, the lawyer who managed the prosecution of RUEF, the San Francisco boodler, declares that EnwaArD H. HARRI- MAN, the railroad magoate, is responsible for the grafs in that city. He, Mr. HENEY adds, began the bribing business, and by packing thecoarts with corporate emissaries, made the punishment of corruptionists in public life practically impossible. A year or more ago LINCOLN STEFFENS attributed the venality of the public life of the ocoun- try to what are called the captains of fnance and it is now alieged that the ex- posure of graft in Pittsburg was in conse- quence of the importunities of the council men for boodle from the corporations and wealthy individuals who were constantly striving for special privileges and valuable franchises. This is unquestionably true. The story goes thas HENRY C. FRICK bas grown tired of paying Pittsburg councilmen for favors which he bas received at their bands. He didn’t object to dealing with them when he needed their votes. AS that stage of the game paying councilmen for their votes was preoisely the same to him as paying the boiler-maker for a boiler, or the car- builder for a car. Bat baving received the boiler and the car and paid the price agreed upon, that settled the accounts between Mr. Frick and the manufacturer. One payment was all that was required and if the councilmen had been equally amenable to the rules of business, there would have been no trouble between Mr. FRICK and them. Whenever he needed votes he would have continned to patronize them and pay whatever was agreed upon. Their capidity gob the better of them, however, and they offended, not Mr. FRICK'S moral principles bus his business instincts, and be tarned against them. The truth of the matter is that the busi- ness element of the country is rotten. The captains of industry speak disrespectiully of politicians because they acoept bribes. Bat the politicians wounldn’t accepts bribes if there were no bribes to accept. The mavufacturing barons and the Napoleons of finance want favors and express a wil- lingness to pay for them. They koow the councilmen are betraying their public obli- gations by engaging in this wretched com- merce. They understand that they are violating every principle of human and Divine law by enticing pablic officials to favor them at the expense of the public. But as long as it is cheaper to bribe council. men than to get what they want in a legiti- mate way, the bribery goes on. Mr. HENEY is right. HARRIMAN ought to have been convicted instead of REUF. Democrats and Tariff Revision, Representative RANDALL, of Texas, one of the Democratic members of the House Committee on Ways aud Means, oan dis- cern no hope of genuine tariff reform in the actions of that committee. ‘‘The scheme of revising the tariff,’ he observes, ‘‘is, as usual, fall of deception, aud it is quite clear that the toiling masses in this country will be Jeft to the tender mercies of incorpor- ated wealth. With the Republican party,’ Mr. RANDALL continues, ‘‘the first con. sideration is to satisfy the trust magnates who keep it in contro! of public affairs. The party is drnok with power and the trasts, confident of their new lease upon the resources of the country are exaultantly defiant toward all opposition.”” He could. hardly bave put the proposition in fitter terms. He gave a volnme of factsin a couple of sentences. For these reasons the Demoorats in the next Congress have practically decided to prepare a tariff bill for consideration. It is not enough to take the tariff off steel and iron and leave it on wool. As Mr. CARNEGIE has emphatically declared the steel and iron men oan undersell the whole world without tariff taxation and maintain prices at home because of the cost of car- riage of foreign product. Bat is is differ- ent with wool. Only a meager part of the wool used in this country isgrown here and the tax on wool is not only a burden to the consumers but it is a menace to the public health. There is mighty little sense in fighting tuberculosis on a small scale while we are disseminating the germs of the malady by making it impossible for other than the wealthy to get proper cloth- ing. The House Committee on Ways and Means proposes to put hides on the free ™ as another ‘‘sop to the whale.” Bat the Republican majority on that com- mittee will nos listen to a proposition to pus shoes on the free list and thus give the public a «hare of the advantages of the re- form. Every intelligent observer of af- fairs knows thas shoes are made in this country cheaper and better than anywhere ele in the world. Bas the price is kept up by the taiiff tax on the product of the shoe factories and it is now proposed to ine orease the graft by giviog the manulactar- ers free hides and maintaining she tax on shoes. The Demoorats will insist on free hides and shoes and that will compel a decrease in to the consnmer without impairing the profit of the manufacturer. 9. NO. 2. When the Wrong Was Domne. From the New Orleans Times-Demoerat. Mr. Taft wants a straight educational and property qualification with no excep- tions. No objection could be raised toa law of thie kind, he says, although it would as a matter of fact, disfranchise 10 or 20 times as many negroes as whites, and thus accomplish the purpose aimed at. Such legislation, it is needless to point out, in opposed to the dootrine contained in the Fifteenth Amendment, and would subject the States to a reduction in their represen- tation in Congress and the electaral college, if Mr. Crowmpaoker were insistent and could get action on his resolution. It is evident thas Mr. Taft has not given the subject the attention and study it de. serves. Had he doneso, he would have seen that it is not as simple and easy as he imagines. No matter has received more consideration than this in the Sooth, and the greatest minds of this eeotion have sought to reach a correct and practical solo. Hon ok hay takao years to do so, and while the plan generally accepted, aod which has been adopted in most of the Southern States, is confessediy faulty, it was the hest that could be devised to meet all the conditions found to exiss. The tronble is due to the basty and un. wise legislation contained in the war amendmeats, the Fourteenth and Fif- teenth. Conceived in a spirit of bitterness engendered by a long civil war, these amendments were intended to oripple the South politically, and did ori it, not only politically, but financially, industrial- ly and in vearly every other way. There are few to-day, North or South, who do not admit that the amendments werea grievous mistake and did incalculable harm. Mr. Lincoln himeelf bad opposed the idea of universal negro suffrage, but thought a few negroes of the class might be granted the franchise, as they proved themselves fis for it. But although the grant of a ballot to the negro is now, with almost unanimity, recognized as a mistake, the North will not allow that mistake to be corrected. It is a matter of sentiment, that it wonld be a surrender of what was won in the civil war. How the “Old Thing Works." (Adapted from the French of Bastiat.) A poor farmer of Pennsylvania raised with great care and attention, a fine crop of wheat, and forgot in the joy of bis eno- cess, how many drops of sweas the precious grain had cost him. ‘I will sell some,” said be to his wife, ‘‘and with the proceeds I will buy carpet for our bare floors.”’ The honest countryman, arriving in Philadel- hia, there met an American and un ishman. ‘‘Give me your wheat,’ American, “and I will give you'l Suds of carpet. The Englishman said : “Give itto me, and I will give you ahundred yards, for we Englishmen can make cheap- er carpets than Americans can for our wool is not taxed.” Bat a custom house officer, standing by, said to the countryman : “My good fellow, make your exchange, if you choose, with the American, but my duty is to prevent your doing so with the Eoglishman.” “What! exclaimed the countryman, ‘‘do you wish me to take 75 yards of American t, when I can have 100 yards from England ?"’ “Certainly. Do you not see that America would bea loser, if you were to receive 100 yards in- stead of 75%’ ‘‘I can scarcely understand this,’ said the laborer. ‘‘Nor can I ex- plain is,” said the cunstom house officer, ‘bat there is no doubt of the fact, for Congressmen and editors all agree that a people is impoverished in proportion as it receives a large compensation for any given quantity of its produce.” The countryman was obliged to conclude his bargain with the American. His wile earpeted three rooms instead of four. These good people are still puzzling them. selves to discover how it can happen that le are rained by reveiving four instead of three, and why they are richer with 75 yards than with 100. The next year the farmer voted for “Protection’’—as usual. He wondered why he could not make ends meet—as usual —SAMUEL MILLIKEN. The Man Higher Up. From the Pittsburg Post. Itisa confession of our own weakness that we stand in open-mounthed amazement before the statement of Francis J. Heney, that Edward H. Harriman is respousible for the graft in San Francisco. We are simply astounded shat this man has the temerity to make the declaration openly and without equivocution. It is no oredis tous to say that we have known it all re ee erhaps we only e guiding force of an noseen hand that worked all things and all men to its own ends— through the power of bribery. Bus, as Mr. Heney has clearly pointed out, the canses of on are alike in all cities. Those of ns who bave reasoning powers and make use of them muss have realized that public officials conld not have heen bought had there not been a paur- chaser ; that there could bave been no purchaser bad there not been something to purchase ; and that that something must save beso in the nature of a franchise or other favor, which would cost the chaser more if bought in the open es. Very simple logie, is it not? We must have conned it over in onr minds almost uncon soionsly. Let the political boss, the agent for the briber, be rooted out. His presence be- fouls theair. Butlet us not forget to unish the factor in the equation, which, v addition to our own apathy and indiffer- ence, is most guilty in giving the boss his license and privilege to briber. ~——**Three-of-Us’’ is the name of a play which will be at Garman’s next Friday evening, January 15¢h. It is under the management of Cohn, Coleman & Co., and bas been receiving favorable notices wherever it appeared. From the fact that the prices are from 25 to 75 cents it ought to be above the ordinary show. Spawils from the Keystone, —Altoona berbers are advoeating raising the price of a hair cut from 20 to 25 cents. =H. D. Seely, of Jersey Shore, while in Williamsport last Thursday, lost his pocket book containing $102. About 26,000 Red Cross stamps were sold in Philipsburg during the holiday season to help along the crusade against the white plague. ~There are at present 1,300 prisoners in the western penitentiary, at Riverside, Pitts. burg, and of this number over 200 are from Cambria county. —An epidemic of searlet fever is prevail- ing at Titusville, over fifty homes being under quarantine and public schools and Sunday schools are closed. ~Nearly 3,000 nomination papers have been placed on record in Wilkes-Barre for the various local offices to be filled through- out the county at the ensuing election. ~The people of McCounellsburg, the coun- ty seat of Fulton county, which has no railroad, are petitioniag for a morning mail, from the east, so they can get a reply off the same day. —Dr. J. C. Biddle, for twenty five years superintendent of the Ashland hospital, Schuylkill county, and noted as a skillful surgeon on limb amputations, has during that period made 2,500 amputations, all with the SAO SAW, —After experiminting for two years with the system of paying their road taxes in cash the farmers of Union township, Lawrence county, will, at the election in February, vote for a return of the old system of work- ing out their taxes. —The large purchase of heavy 1zils by the East Broad Top Railroad company has start- ed the report thatthe road isto be made wide or standard gauge ; also that it is to be extended to Burnt Cabins, McConnellsburg, and Hancock, Maryland. A gas well that is being drilled on the Campton farm, near Clarksburg, Indiana county, is now 2,000 feet deep but it is said the project will not be given up until a depth of 3,000 feet is reached unless gas is struck at a lesser depth. —Bids were received on Wednesday even- ing by the borough council of Latrobe, for a new bond issue of $57,000 bearing five per cent. interest, and the bid of the successful bidders, Kountz Brothers.of New York, was $60,237.60. Quite a flattering premium. —A quarantine to last 100 days has been placed over Springboro, Conneautville, Mead- ville, Brookville, Linesville and other towns in Crawford and adjoining counties, because of the prevalence of hydrophobia and. the presence of dogs said to be affected =ith rabies. —John Dietrick, watchman at the silk mill in Shamokin, early on Saturday morning discovered three men trying to set the mill on fire. He opened fire with a revolver and they also fired at him. He wounded one of the men but his companions aided him in escaping. ~—Mrs. Eliza A. Steinmetz, who died re- foently in Allentown, leaving an estate of $10,000, bequeathed all to her daughter except one dollor, which is to be placed in est paid annually to her son, the Rev. C. H. Steinmetz, during his lifetime. ~The fiftieth annual meeting of the State Horticultural association of Pennsylvania will be held in the board of trade rooms, Harrisburg, on January 19 and 20. A very interesting programme has been prepared and it is quite likely that some of the fruit growers of Centre county will be in attend- ance. —Henry Miller, an old and esteemed resi- dent of Union township, Huntingdon coun- ty, died at his home near Mapleton Depot, last Saturday in his 75th year. Senile gan- grene resulting from an injury received on the great toe last winter by wearing a boot that was too short was the cause of his death. ~The partly decomposed body of Harry Kinsey, the young bartender who disappear- ed from the Hotel Brenizer at Ligonier, om December 22, was found lying in some un- derbrush near New Florence on Wednesday afternoon, two houods having led their mas ter, Harvey Clark, to the remains. Death it is believed was due to exposure. —Jackson Green, colored, the oldest resi- dent of Bedford county, died in Everett on Christmas, in his 102nd year. Deceased was born at Romney, Hampshire county, West Virginia, on July 15, 1807, and was a slave for many years. At one time he was sold for $40.50 to satisfy the creditors of his mas- ter. He was a local preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal church, : —On January 1, 1908, two hundred and fifty talents were given to the members of Trinity Lutheran church, Chambersburg, a talent in this case being one sent. The mem- bers having the talents all put them to use and on New Year's night, when they came to render an sccount, the result showed a return of $784.84, with a few yet to hear from that may run the total up to $300. Quite a good return from $2.50. —Hundreds of people in Westmoreland county were surprised on New Year's day by the appearance of an immense aviator or balloon, which finally landed on the farm of A. 8S. Stover, near Ligonier. It was the “Ohio” carrying Dr. H. W. Thompson, of Salem, O., and Dr. J. G. Woltz and William Most, of Canton, O. They had come from Canton and made the flight of 151 miles sues cessfully in less than three hours. ~The Pennsylvania railroad has broken a long standing precedent in promoting John 8. Considine, of Columbia, Pa., but formerly of Lock Haven, to become assistant super visor. Mr. Considine had previously been a track foreman, which may be considered the highest rank of non-commissioned officers on the road. An ordinary laborer could event- ually become a track foreman, but it has not been the policy of the company to promote track foremen to a higher rank. There are some 150 tiack iorémen on the Pennsylvania railroad, and this removal of a long standing barrier will make it possible for any one of them to be promoted to the company’s high+ er ranks. The sctual effect of the new policy is to open to every man in the service the privilege of promotion to any place for which he may be fitted. : the hands of a treet company and the inter, oot nl,