BY P. GRAY MEEK.
s———
INK SLINGS. |
——— i
'—Recent rains have replenished |
springs, wells and streams until nearly |
all of them are back to a normal flow.
—Notwithstanding most inclement
weather the evangelistic services in the
armory have started off with most grati-
fying attendance.
—Governor BRUMBAUGH'S symptoms of
independence are likely to please all but
the fellows who were nursing the secret
hope that they would be able to control
him.
—Eighty cents is being offered for
corn in Centre county and notwithstand-
ing this high cost of living reports are to
the effect that there are more pigs than
usual in the county.
—The popular impression hereabouts
that the Hon. Cyrus Woobs, the new
Secretary of the Commonwealth, was
born in Centre county is illffounded. He
is a native of Clearfield county.
—If Mexico keeps pegging away all of
her distinguished citizens will have had
a try at playing President. After that is
accomplished surely there will come
peace, for no one will fight for a job not
worth having.
—Of course there’s many a slip twixt
the cup and the lip but basing the state-
ment on the result of the election last
fall it would appear that Centre county
license holders would have little to fear
of the passage of a county local option
bill by the new Legislature.
—Governor BRUMBAUGH’S message has
the ring of sincerity, but what it accom-
plishes will depend entirely upon anoth-
er kind of a ring, the ring that formed a
wonderfully adroit “pickling’’ committee
even before the Governor made known
what he would like to have done.
—According to their pre-election prom-
ises the new Law and Order committee
of the House will report favorably almost
any local option bill that is presented to
it.. The committee in the Senate, how-
ever, is just the reverse, so the game
seems to be gummed before its begun.
—The Federal Civil Service Commis-
sion is sending out places and dates for
the holding of examinations for fourth
classs post-masterships. In the light of
what we know has happened in Centre
county the WATCHMAN declines to com-
pound a fake and will not publish the
list.
—Representative ScoTT, of Centre, has
landed on the Appropriations committee;
an important place for a new Member,
but we think his services on the Mines
and Mining committee might have been |
of more value than those of Members’
from counties in which mining is not
carried on.
—MIKE DoRizAs, the much exploited
strong man of the University of Penn-
sylvania, is to meet LEVI LAMB, State's
unthrown wrestler, at State on February
13th. Ir will be a bout that will attract
unusual attention and Centre countians
will doubtless join in our hope that it
will result in the downfall of Greece.
—Highway supervisors should be “li-
censed road-keepers and not political ac-
cidents,” thinks Governor BRUMBAUGH.
It is a sentiment in which thousands will
join all over Pennsylvania, -but it will re-
quire an almost impossible elimination of
partisan feeling in many townships of
the State to accomplish such a result.
—A Hammond, Indiana, horse was
partially destroyed by fire on Monday.
The animal is probably the only one liv-
ing that has a wooden foot and works as
well as a horse with all of its natural
pedals. On the fateful day “Molly,” for
that was the horse’s name, stood in some
hot ashes and didn’t know they were hot
until her wooden foot had burned off.
—In selecting FRANCIS SHUNK BROWN
to be the Attorney General, and former
Senator CYRUS WooDs to be the Secre-
tary of the Commonwealth in his cabi-
net, Dr. BRUMBAUGH may not have pleas-
ed the bosses of his party very greatly,
but he has made a long stride toward
surrounding himself with men of unim-
peachable integrity, who will give to thi
service the best they have. ‘
—In his inaugural address which at
the same time was his message to the
Legislature Governor BRUMBAUGH con-
cluded a strong appeal for a county lo-
cal option law with these words: “I re-
peat, I am unequivocally for county local
option.” This was clear enough to in-
sure a test of strength between the ad-
vocates of local option and 'its opponents
at some time during the present session
and, judging from expressions already
made by individual members of the Gen-
eral Assembly, we will not be surprised
if such a law is passed.
—The attorney for the western rail-
roads in their arbitration proceedings ex-
‘ pressing their attitude toward the de-
mand of their engineers, firemen and
hostlers for better wages, stated that the
Governors of seven States of the Union
could make more money as engineers on
their lines than they are making as Gov-
ernors of great Commonwealths. It is
rather a startling statement of fact and
would be more so if many people didn’t
believe it possible that some of the men-
tioned railroaders might not make better
chief magistrates than some Governors
they have known of. COLE BLEASE and
Some of the manufacturers of the,
Schuylkill valley appear to be unduly
worked up over the proposed investiga-
tion of industrial conditions in that neigh-
borhood, Mr. W. W. FINN, secretary of
the Montgomery County Manufacturers’
Association, commenting upon the sub-
ject, says, ‘‘the depression from which
we suffer is universal throughout the
country. Our facts and figures will show
too clearly that there is depression here,
but probably no greater than anywhere
else where large manufacturing interests
are centred. If itis Mr. REDFIELD’S in-
tention to investigate conditions here,
but no where else, then, surely, Mont-
gomery county holds a far more import- ;
ant place in’ the affairs of the nation
than we have been wont to suppose.”
Mr. FINN begs the question. The!
Montgomery County Manufacturers’ As-
sociation has been addressing letters to
the President of the United States and
others in authority, complaining, not that
there is industrial depression, but that
the UNDERWOOD tariff law is responsible
for the industrial stagnation there. The
President and Secretary REDFIELD agree
in the opinion that the industrial depres-
sion is ascribable to other causes. The
closing of foreign markets to commerce,
the withdrawal of capital from activity
in manufactures, the distress of railroad
corporations and other causes have com-
bined to work the resu t and the UNDER-
WwooD tariff law had nothing to do with
the matter. In fact many of us believe
that other things being equal the tariff
law betters business. :
It is not likely that the investigation
which the absurd folly of the Montgom-
ery County Manufacturers’ Association
set in motion will end with an inquiry
into the industrial life of the Schuylkill
sections of the country for. the purpose
of emphasizing the truth that there was
neither justice nor reason in the frequent
and insistent complaints of the members
of that partisan organization of which
Mr. FINN is the secretary. It will be
easy enough to prove the fact without
going further but-there can be no harm.
in holding up thé mischief makers to the
ridicule of the country and th€ world.
They are in the habit of perverting
everything to their partisan plans and |!
purposes and we may as well finish them :
up. : .
——Of course it is a safe bet that
either Senator MCNICHOL or Senator
VARE will be casting brickbats, figura-'
tively speaking, at Governor BRUMBAUGH |
before the present session of the Legis- |
lature adjourns and we predict a short
session at that.
Mr. Bryan’s Letter to Mr. Vick.
We are literally compelled to express
a word of appreciation of Mr. W.
BRYAN's letter to Mr. VICK, lately Re-
ceiver of Customs in Santo Domingo. It
affords two sources of satisfaction. It
reveals a vast improvement in the men-
tal attitude of Mr. BRYAN with respect
to the matter of distributing party pa-
tronage and it has reduced alot of Re-
publican place:holders to a state of
frenzy. Party ‘charlatans like Senator
LoDGE of Massachusetts and Representa-
tive MANN of Illinois are simply wild
over what they pretend to think is the
prostitution of power and there must be
something good in what thus disturbs
them. Neither of them ever had an im-
pulse above party spoils.
Mr. BRYAN wrote to Mr. VICK “now
that you have arrived and have acquaint-
ed yourself with the situation, can you
let me know what positions you have at
your disposal with which to reward de-
serving Democrats. Whenever you de-
sire a suggestion from me in regard to a
man for any place down there, call on
me.” Of course no interpretation or con-
tortion can make a crime out of that.
Mr. BRYAN understands, as well as
another, the value of patronage and how
to “place it where it will do the most
good.” Besides that he knows the ad-
vantage of having his own friends “on
the job.” Mr. Vick was his friend and
he proposed to get in early so as to “beat
others to it.”’
The greatest source of satisfaction in
the affair, however, is his qualifying
adjective in his search for and use of
patronage. As a rule Mr. BRYAN doesn’t
pay much attention to the matter of
merit from a party standpoint. Hitherto
the man who served Mr. BRYAN is the
only deserving man and all others de-
fectives. In this State, for example, he
favored only those whom he believed he
could depend upon to favor him, and
that standard met he didn’t care whether
they were deserving or not as Demo-
crats. As a matter of fact most of those
whom he supported for office under the
administration: were men who made a
practice of betraying the party when-
S. PENNYPACKER, for instance.
ever it was most in need of help.
"the office of Secretary of the Common-
_BRUMBAUGH ' has proved that he isa
valley. It may be extended into other
. voters of Pennsylvania will not stand for
In the selection of his official advisers |
Governor BRUMBAUGH has shown that he '
is an adept at straddling. FRANCIS SHUNK
BROWN, who has been chosen for Attor- |
ney General, is one of the principal as-
sets of the VARE political machine. His
appointment gave the VARE brothers
supreme satisfaction and is justly accept-
ed by them as a discharge in full for all
the Governor's obligations to them.
Former State Senator Cyrus E. WoODs,
of Greensburg, has long been a faithful
adherent of the PENROSE machine. He
has served that boss in various capaci-
ties and always obediently and efficiently. |
It may be said that his appointment to
wealth “balances the books” with PEN-
ROSE.
A good many persons feared and some
hoped that in the naming of these offi-
cials Governor BRUMBAUGH would cause
an open break between these divergent
forces in the Republican party. If he
had taken both from the same faction an
internecine and irrepressible war would
have been inevitable. It may be said
that the leaders of both factions courted
such a conflict. But Governor BRUM-
BAUGH is not willing to assume the re-
sponsibility for precipitating it and he
evaded that burden by straddling. He
shifted to the shoulders of the factionists
themselves the beginning of hostilities.
Possibly he has averted the overt act for
a number of years, but most likely the
armistice will be only for months.
In any event, however, Governor
skillful politician. Less masterful than
QUAY or PENROSE or MCAFEE he may be
but neither of those gentlemen could
have managed better under the circum-
stances. Of course he will have many
difficult situations to encounter in the
‘future and how he will solve the prob-
lems as they come before him remains
to be seen. There are other important
offices to fill and the factionists will be
insistent with respect to them. But he
' may reason that there is no hurry and as
Highway Commissioner BIGELOW'S term
doesn’t expire until near the close of his} thexe
tenure, he may conclude that “it’s time
enough to cross that bridge when he
comes to it.”
——That “politics make strange bed
fellows” is proverbial but the Democratic
faction breeding. That is as certain as
fate.
Governor. Brumbaugh’s Inaugural.
Governor BRUMBAUGH'S first official ut-
. terance, his inaugural address, will make
i a favorable impression upon an enlight-
{ ened public mind. Itis a clear and lu-
| cid expression of an honest purpose to
. serve the people well. It not only reiter-
‘ ates his pre-election pledges but empha-
| sizes his promises of reforms. His ap-
| peal for local option is candid and force-
ful. His plans for highway improve-
' ments are practical and progressive and
, his deep interest in education is clearly |
; revealed and happily expressed. He is
frank in support of civil service and
“women suffrage and shows a clear un-
! derstanding of the faults of our charita-
‘ble system. Even those who disagree
i with him will recognize his earnestness.
| Governor BRUMBAUGH'S conviction that
. we have too many laws and too frequent-
| ly of a bad kind will-command approba-
tion among thoughtful citizens. “We
have gone too far,” he declares, “upon
‘the theory that legislation is the cure of
all social, economic and political ills.”
This grave misconception is an inherit-
ance of the brief era of Populist frenzy
which has been accepted by Mr. ROOSE-
VELT, Mr. BRYAN and others who mis-
' take demagogy for statesmanship. JEF-
FERSON believed that “that government
is best which governs least.” The Popu-
list theory, on the other hand, is that
_ every conceivable act should be regulat-
1 ed by legislation and that the absence of
! intelligence in making laws gives them
merit.
Of course Governor BRUMBAUGH will
, encounter obstacles in putting his ad-
! ministrative and legislative programs
‘into operation but we sincerely hope
that he may be able to overcome them.
Ep and BILL VARE, who so proudly march
ed in the inaugural procession at Harris-
burg on Tuesday and so plainly mani-
: fested a proprietary interest in the pro-
| ceedings, are not moved by the civic im-
' pulses he expressed. Jim McNICHOL and
| DAVE LANE, who showed equal confi-
dence in ownership as they paraded the
capital city highways on that occasion,
will hardly share in his altruistic ideas.
And these gentlemen will have to be
reckoned with in shaping the political fu-
i ture of the Commonwealth.
——Every time the President opens
his mouth the average Republican states-
man is sure to have a conniption fit,
CENTER \ FE +
CULE REE Ee
A h J W 3 »/ X 4 y¢ N\
Mn Ebi STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION.
VOL. 60. BELLEFONTE, PA.. JANUARY 22, 1915. NO. 4.
The Schuylkill Valley Investigation. The Governor's. Cabipel. . President Hibben and Professional Coach- Cheer Up!
es for Colleges.
President HIBBEN, of Princeton, is en-
tirely right in his stand, recently taken,
that college athletics should be more the
result of the brain and brawn of the men
in the colleges they represent than of
professional coaches. His is no new the-
ory either, for at one institution we know
of the very plan that he so recently pro-
poses was advocated five years ago. The
objection raised to it at that time and
the one‘that prevailed against its adop-
tion was, singularly enough, a condition
brought about by Princeton and the oth-
er larger and richer colleges of America.
If there is an element of professionalism
injected into college athletic activities
through the employment of high salaried
coaches the pace was set by the institu-
tions we have referred to.
There is every reason to believe, for
instance, that the brain and brawn of
the average student at The Pennsylva-
nia State College is equal to if not supe-
rior, in combination, to that of the aver-
ago student at Princeton, because of the
more healthy and less distractive envi-
ronment of the institution itselt. Grant-
ing this premise, then there could be no
other reason for teams of athletes repre-
senting Princeton consistently defeating
teams representing The Pennsylvania
State College than that of superior
coaching?
When the smaller colleges made this
discovery they began following the lead
of the larger ones with the result that
today it is not at all an unusual thing to
see one of them defeating a larger Uni-
versity football team that eight or ten
years ago would have played with it as a
cat does a mouse.
To our mind the mere element of
professionalism injected through paid
coaching is not the serious objection to
the system prevalent everywhere now.
There are two others paramount.
First, the salaries, abnormal and out
of all proportion to the earning power of
the coach in any other field, would bring
far more lasting benefit if expended in
so equipping college playgrounds that
these would-be some attractive, recrea-
tive ‘outdoor sport for every student in it.
Second, the college man who becomes
a professional coach does so at the sac-
rifice of the profession he entered col-
lege to equip himself for. The position
is in no sense a permanent one and the
success of the average coach, as a coach,
nearly always lasts just long enough to
leave him down and out when it is too
late to start the practice of the profes-
sion for which he was educated. In oth-
er words too many college men, who
might be destined to great and useful
careers, are lured by the fancy salaries
paid for coaching into abandoning their
real objective until their ambition to fol-
low it and the opportunity are both gone.
If paid coaching and scouting for play-
ers were done away with at all institu-
tions of learning such sports as football,’
baseball, rowing, track, basket-ball, soc-
cer, lacrosse, and tennis might not be
developed as scientifically as they are
now but the contests would represent
more perfectly the athletic activity of the
institution itself and they would be con-
tested on more even terms.
Happy Future of the Machine.
There is not likely to be a great deal
of friction during the operation of the
Republican machine at. Harrisburg. Sen-
ator PENROSE has declared that all the!
platform pledges will be fulfilled and
Governor BRUMBAUGH will be given all
the liberty possible, consistent with the
safety of the machine. No local option
law will be passed and legislation upon
the subject of employers’ liability will be
without teeth. But BRUMBAUGH will do
all he can for local option and ‘angels
could do no more,” while the bosses will
“point with pride” to their fidelity to re-
form. There will be no fight about it,
however. The reformers will be satis-
fied with the step in the right direction.
Taking one consideration with another
Senator PENROSE has many reasons for
a contented frame of mind. He has
shifted BILL FLINN from the shoulders of |
the party and thus removed one of the
greatest dangers from his path. ROOSE-
velt is no longer a menace for nobody
pays any attention to him. DRAPER
LEWIS is “a dead cock in the pit’ and
GIFFORD PINCHOT no longer passes as a
good joke. The horde of office seekers |
who formed the progressive party are
scampering back inthe hope of an ap-
propriation of one kind or another and
the old gang is again “all here.” There
will be no disturbance of the peace so
long as there are rewards to offer for
obedience to the bosses.
Governor BRUMBAUGH might clear the
decks but he won't. The hope of the
Presidency will be dangled before his
eyes every time he reveals signs of rest-
lessness and that will stop him. When
the gang was looting the treasury
through the operations of the capitol
building, Governor PENNYPACKER was
held in leash by the promise of a seat on
the Supreme bench. Under the hypnotic
influence of that promise the machine:
might have carried off the capitol -with-
out hindrance from him. The promise
of the Presidency will work the same re-
sult on BRUMBAUGH ‘and’ the machine
will have a “halcyon and vociferous”
season at Harrisburg unless all signs
fail, which is not at all likely.
‘| cuse, apology nor evasion. Everything
‘the result of the disaster of last week.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
Business never did thrive on pessi-
mism and fear. It has invariably expand-
ed with optimism and courage. The
chief note in the world of American
trade today is the spirit’ of hope and
progress. ag
For two years our enormous. plant has
been working only part time. History
shows that after such a prolonged de-
pression the chance of a revival is far
greater than a continuance of bad times.
So the new spirit of optimism is not
founded upon psychology so much as it
is upon the hardest economic facts.
Europe’s unprecedented orders for sup-
plies of ‘manufactured articles as well
as foodstuffs are a powerful stimulant.
These orders tend to consume our ac-
cumulated surplus in "a vast number of |
ways and so encourage a general restock-
ingon the part of American manufac-
turers. : Su ee
One thing is certain beyond point of
contradiction. The tide of business is
running one way. A most helpful factor
is the comparative ease in the money
market. This is certain to stimulate
greatly the absorption of bonds by the
public. That of itself would surely re-
sult in starting many wheels in motion
again. !
Plant firmly the notion that business
will improve and then give the corpora-
tions a chance to finance theif infinite
number of purchases and very ‘soon this
gradual betterment in trade will be speed-
ed up into a rea! rush. We have turned
the corner and the man who still persists
in walking straight ahead in the old di-
rection will find himself out of step with
the next great industrial boom. *
.
Andrew Jackson and Wilson.
From the Chicago Herald.
In President Wilson’s speech at Indian:
apolis on “Jackson day” he stood to his
guns as staunchly as the old Democratic
leader ever did. There was neither ex-
that had been done in his administration
had been well done. Not more set in
his resolution to have those historical
and ungracious references expunged
from the senate record was “Old Hick-
ory” than is President Wilson in his
opinion that the “new charter of free-
dom” is everything it pretends to be.
Not more determined was Gen. Jack-
son to resist the South Carolina nullifica-
rion idea—and to “hang John C. Cal-
hotin"’ if necessary—than is. President
‘Wilson in his insistence on the ship pur-
«chase bill. Not. more. fixed in his views
on, the eternal wickedness of the United
States bank was “Old Hickory” than is
President Wilson in his views on the
proper way to deal with the Mexican sit-'
uation. Not more fully did old Andrew
commit himself to the idea that all good
and all democracy dwelt in the Demo-
cratic party than did President Wilson to
the opinion that all hope for the country
at present lies in the same organization.
It was a typically Jacksonesque speech,
infused with the true Jacksonian spirit;
with that mixture of wunhesitating con-
viction and straightforward aggressive-
ness—that willingness to make and meet
an issue—that even an opponent must
respect. There are essential points of
difference between the college president
in politics and the old lawyer and war-
rior who played such a part in the same
great arena. Each is the product of his
age. . ; :
A Fresh European Horror. ’
300
From the Harrisburg Star-Independent. -
As though enough suffering and loss of
human life has not been visited upon
Europe through the deliberate - plans of
men’s mind, a horrible earth-quake dis-
aster in the making of which men ‘had
no part has fallen upon a wide’ area of
jal and taken a toll of thousands of
ives. ;
Italy thus far has remained neutral in
the great European war but even so
seems to have failed to escape from
horrors which in many forms have been
visited upon the European continent in
the last six months. Even Italy,though she
has taken no sides in the great war, has
suffered from its effects as have:other
neutral nations,—even the United States,
—and is thus made less able to relieve the
distress that has fallen on her people as
Truly these are times that tty men’s
souls. Human endurance is put to the
test as seldom before in the history of
the world. Yet under the stress of ca-
lamity following close upon calamity
those who survive are showing wonder-
ful fortitude and a marvelous ability to
rise above the distressing circumstances
that surround them on all sides, and to
lend aid to those who suffer most.
Despite the heavy drain that has been
made on the resources of charitable per-
leagues that bills would be much more
unde:
sons of America who have done and still
are doing so much for the aid of the dis-
tressed in the European war, we believe
we can say with assurance that if Italy
finds it necessary to look to this country
for relief from the results of yesterday's
disaster she will not look in vain.
A New Terror for Immigrants.
From the Boston Globe.
The Senate amendment excluding
aliens suffering from “constitutional
psychopathic inferiority’ had been reach-
ed, and Representative O’Shaugnessy, of
Rhode Island, who seemed bewildered,
wanted to know what the term meant,
“I'm sure I don’t know,” replied Speak-
er Clark.
Representative Brown, of New York,
declared that the term means “feeble-
minded.” he ik
_ Similar language in a Legislative
measure once tempted Victor Berger,
formerly a Congressman, to tell his col-
rstandable if they were drawn'by
SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE.
—S. Kauffman, a Philadelphia salesman, drop-
ped dead the other evening while displaying his
samples in a Clearfield store. Apoplexy did it.
—The body of Scacci, the Italian shoemaker
who committed suicide in Williamsport by jump-
ing into the river two weeks ago, has just been
recovered.
—The Johnstown camp of United Sportsmen
will presently receive a consignment of about 250
deer which will be placed in Cambria, Somerset
and Jefferson counties.
—Half a dozen Brookville merchants haye been
swindled by a check forger who purchased small
bills of goods and presented checks on the Snow
Construction company which were promptly
cashed. ’
—Poundmaster Nash, of Johnstown, has re-
signed, declaring that being poundmaster is no
job for any man, white or black, and if the city
wants a poundmaster-it should hire some slant-
eyed oriental.
—Victor Everett, of Cambria county, is spend-
ing a month or so in the county jail in lieu of
paying a fine of $25 and costs for having shot at
a pheasant. He admits he tried to shoot the bird
but claims he missed it. :
—Frank Stauffer, a well known resident of
Mount Pleasant, has been missing since last Fri-
day night. He was in bad health and melancholy
and since all his street clothing appeared to be
in his room, it is feared he left the house clad
only in his night garments.
—Mrs. John Hinkle, of Mechanicsburg, con.
victed in the United States court at Sunbury of
having sent scurrilous letters to a neighbor, was
sentenced to pay a fine of $500 without costs-
This should warn other writers of abusive letters
that they are playing a dangerous game.
"~.—Declaring that his only assets are two suits
of clothes, a watch, chain and charm, and one
overcoat, total value $55. Max Brown, of Wil-
liamsport, has filed a voluntary petition in bank _
ruptcy. His liabilities are given as $88,843.60. He
was president of the Standard Wood Pipe com-
pany.
—Choking on a set of false teeth which became
lodged in her windpipe when she bent over to
pick up her purse from the floor of a street car,
Mrs. Thomas J. Middleton, of Scanton,
died Friday night before she could be
removed to a hospital and the obstruction re-
moved.
—Judge Baldridge, of Blair county, has ruled
that Mrs. Laura Coffee, of Salem, Ohio, sister-in-
law of Frank Hohl the bandit killed in Cincinnati, :
recently, should become a claimant with chief of
police Cook, of Salem, for the $500 reward offer-
ed for the capture of Hohl for robbing a bank in
Altoona.
—Covered with snow, with seven bullet holes
in the body, and with the pockets cut from the
trousers, the remains of an Italian, identified as
Charles Ross, were found near Latrobe. It was
evidently another murder and robbery. No less
than four mysterious murders have occurred in
that vicinity.
—William Hart, aged 39, a well known mer-
chant of Clarksburg, Indiana county, committed
suicide by hanging himself in the second-story
of his establishment. Life was extinct when the
body was found by his brother. He was engaged
to marry Miss Mary Speedy and thedate of the
wedding had been fixed for January 27th.
—While a coal car of the hopper type was be-
ing unloaded at the Franklin open hearth mills,
Peter Drovinsky fell into the car and was taken
through the hopper into the coal, his lifeless -
body being found a short time later by fellow
workmen. No one saw the accident. Drovinsky
‘was 35 years old and leaves a widow ifr Poland.
—Jumping from the Market street bridge, Wil-
liamsport, into the river threatens to become
“epidemic... Katharine Murray, aged 23, perform-
Strangely enough she was not injured a particle
and was rescued and removed to the Williams-
port hospital pending an inquiry into her sanity. ~
—Mrs. Joseph Kendall and John Pierce, the
former the widow and the latter a friend of the
man murdered in a mysterious manner at Gar-
rett, Somerset county, ten or twelve days ago,
have been discharged from custody. No in-
criminating ‘evidence was found against them
and the authorities are bending their efforts in
other directions, it is said.
—Declaring that baccilli in the drinking water
was responsible for the recent epidemic of
typhoid fever that swept Kittanning, more than
fifteen citizens who lost relatives have filed suit
for various amounts totalling $100,000 against the
Armstrong Water company. Nothing has yet
been officially blamed for the outbreak, but it is
generally charged to impure water.
—Rev. Adolph Guttenmacher, aged forty-five,
weighing more than 300 pounds, a prominent
Jewish rabbi of Baltimore, died from a stroke of
apoplexy on a Pennsylvania railroad passenger
train west of Harrisburg late Sunday while en
route to Chicago. The body was removed from
the train at Huntingdon where it was prepared
for shipment to Baltimore on Monday.
—The Highland colliery of the G. B. Markle
company, near Hazelton, was destroyed by fire
Saturday morning, entailing a loss of $200,000,
partly insured. Nine hundred men and boys are
idle. Howard Howell, chief clerk of the com-
pany, who assisted at the work of saving adjoin-
ing property, was killed outright by timber fall-
ing upon him from the burning building.
— While on her way to church Miss Ruby
Shaffer, of Falls Creek, Clearfield county, was at-
tacked by a stranger, who seems to have mis
taken her for another. She managed to get
away, leaving her coat in the fellow’s hands. He
has not been discovered. The girl took refuge
in the first house she reached and promptly faint-
ed. She was all right next day, however.
~The largest single inheritance tax fee ever
received by the State, has been paid into the
treasury department by attorneys for the estate
of Robert H. Crosier,of Delaware county,amount-
ing to $175,000 on personal property alone. When
additional sums are received covering real estate
now owned by heirs of the deceased, it is ex-
pected that $300,000 in all will accrue to the State.
—Lock Haven has been the scene of the ad-
ventures of a swindler who claimed to be a
farmer. He secured a $5 bill from one lady who
was told that he had been sent by her son-in-law
to sell her some fresh eggs and had his wagon:-on
another street, “just around the corner.” The
lady entrusted him with the money and he was
to return the change with the eggs. He didn’t
return. Inseveral other homes he failed to get
any money. ~
—"“Unable to attend school because the rats eat
up our shoes,” was the excuse offered by chil-
dren of John R. Hearn, of Yocumtown, Mifflin
county, when they returned to school after a
week’s absence. An investigation proved the
old rookery in which they reside overrun by
rats that took refuge there during the high water
incident to the ice gorge on the Juniata one
week ago. Being unable to find other food the
rodents literally chewed the children’s shoes to
pieces. Te ; oat
—Emanuel T. Leib, aged 70 years, a veteran of
the Civil war, was shot and fatally wounded by
| Charles Phillips, a resident of Williamsport, in
Leib’s home a mile south of Muncy, about eight
o’clock Friday morning during an argument over
the payment of money Phillips is said to have
borrowed from the aged man. In a pistol battle
Phillips was shot by Leib’s son,Wm., who escaped
‘but was [ater captured and is now confined in the
bricklayers instead of lawyers.
| Lycoming county jail to await trial for murder.
ed that spectacular. feat. last Sunday afternoon.