Bemorrait Wap BY P. GRAY MEEK. INK SLINGS. —Stand by the President of the: United States. —Philadelphia is making a noise like she is waking up from a long sleep. . —“Qur country! May she ever be right, but right or wrong, our country.” . —This year the Fourth of July will mean all that the Fourth should always mean to us. _ —Roosevelt dined with Hughes in New York on Wednesday night. Ma- homet simply had to go to the moun- tain. —Don’t look for the “Watchman” next week. It will not be published because all the employees are going to take the week off. —Recent activities on the Belgian front give rise to the thought that the long looked for “great English drive,” is about to begin. Something of the sort ought to be done to re- lieve the pressure on the French at Verdun. —Every member of Troop L will have all the news from home each week he is at the front for a copy of the “Watchman” will be delivered to each tent as long as the boys are in service, and we hope they'll enjoy it as much as we will the sending. —Hay cutting has begun in Cen- tre county, but hay making is anoth- er thing. The grass is so rank and full of moisture that it takes several days to dry and during that several days, as you know, we have had sev- eral showers to add to the difficulty. —Bellefonte made history last Sunday morning and that is why the “Watchman” has devoted so much space to the departure of Troop L. If the undesired clash comes our boys will have the opportunity to add more lustre to the fame of Cen- tre county soldiers and this issue of the “Watchman” may turn out to be a very valuable reference number in years to come. —The khaki-clad boys who started Sunday morning to march, the Lord only knows where, were such fine and well set up looking young men that any community might well be proud of them. Bellefonte is and will be proud of them because they will be true to themselves and their colors wherever the uncertainties of this crisis may lead them. Sad were the scenes when they left, but tears are not symbolic of weakness; they are expressive only of that part of sentiment that makes men love their homes and because they do love their homes they love the flag that protects them and go forth unfalter- ingly to defend it. —Here’s to the Rookies. The twenty-eight boys who left Belle- fonte Tuesday noon to swell the ranks of Troop L up to the full war strength. Looking square in the cannon’s mouth they held up their hands and took the oath and march- ed away without arms, uniform or accoutrements. Why? Let us tell you in the language of one of the youngest of them when he was pleading with his widowed mother to give her permission, which was nec- essary before he would be accepted. He said: “Mom. How can we have a country if we can’t fight for it when it needs us?” That’s what took the Rookies away. Heroes, every one of them. —It is regrettable that everyone could not have heard the exceeding- ly sensible talk of Rev. P. McArdle upon the occasion of the closing of the parochial schools of Bellefonte. The “Watchman” has been able to secure some extracts from it, how- ever, and they are published along with the story of the closing exercis- es. We would especially like to have all the readers of the “Watchman” read Father McArdle’s remarks. He is a man many of you know little or anything of and this slight revela- tion of what is-back in his mind will probably be a revelation to some of you. Certainly the venerable Priest was thinking of an ideal manhood when he spoke as he did. —Let us pray that we don’t have war with Mexico. Not because we are cowards nor because we are fearful of the outcome of it. We know what our manhood is too well to believe the former. We know what our resources are too well to give a moment of concern to the lat- ter. But after looking at the splen- did types of young men who march- ed away Sunday morning and re- - flecting on the loving care that par- ents had lavished in the effort to raise them properly for peaceful pursuits let us pray that God, in his wisdom, will some way shape the destiny of our Nation that it may yet not be necessary to send one good *‘American boy to lay down a life that is worth a million of the Greaser kind. i VOL. 61. STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. BELLEFONTE, PA.. JUNE 30, 1916. Only One Avenue of Escape. There is only one way to avert war with Mexico. If Carranza will re- store to their commands the soldiers taken prisoner at Carrizal, declare that it was not his intention to have : the troops of the Tenth cavalry fired on and give a guarantee that full reparation will be made for the sol- diers killed and wounded, the decla- ration of war may be withheld. If all these things are not done prompt- ly and the miscreants who made the attack are not severely punished, the Mexican banditti in office and out, civil and military, must be scourged to the full measure. no mercy shown in dealing with these homicidal wretches. Their crimes are deliberate and their pun- ishment must be severe. Carranza has enjoyed the friend- ship of our government and betray- ed it. His pretense that he was in- fluenced to that course by the patri- otic impulse of National pride is not only false but absurd. He has no pride of any kind and no principles. He is simply a criminal and deserves only such treatment as is meted out to other murderers. In the nature of things our government might justly claim his life as a vindication of the law he has outraged. But that would be contrary to the methods of civilization. A demand for full rep- aration for the families of every sol- dier killed is within the line of jus- tice and reason, however, and that demand should be made and prompt- ly enforced. The country can’t well spare, even for a time, the splendid young men who have responded to the Presi- dent’s call for mobilization, The life of one of these young heroes is of more value to the world than those of a million of the *“greasers” who have betrayed their obligations to hunt down the murderous bandit who led the attack upon peaceful cit- zens in New Mexico. But the perpe-" trators of the crimes of Columbus and Carrizal must be punished if it be necessary to sacrifice thousands of lives in the achievement and bil- lions of treasure. The honor of the nation is involved and Woodrow Wil- son may be depended upon to defend that. He knows his duty and will fulfill every obligation. Hughes Champion of Plutocracy. The opposition which Justice Hughes, at the time Governor of New York, set up against the income tax accounts for the zeal of Wall Street operates in his behalf now. Congress having adopted the amend- ment to the Federal constitution authorizing legislation imposing a tax on incomes, the question of ratification came up in the session of 1910. Mr. Hughes sent a special message to the Legislature urging the rejection of the amend- ment upon the ground that it would work an impairment of “the essen- tial rights of the State.” The result of his protest was the defeat of the ratification. In 1911, however, the Democrats had a majority in both Houses and the amendment was rati- fied. Ever since the Civil war the aim of the Republican party has been to shield the wealthy from the burdens of government. In tariff schedules rates invariably discriminated against the poor and in favor of the rich. The cheaper grades of goods used by the poor were taxed twice and in some instances as much as four-fold more than the articles used by the rich. The policy of tax- ing incomes was resisted with all the energy the party leaders could com- mand, and when finally, underpres- sure of public demand, the constitu- tional amendment authorizing tax- ing incomes was carried through Congress, Charles E. Hughes contin- ued his opposition and delayed the reform a year. This year the tax on incomes of up- ward of $3000.00 yielded a revenue of considerably more than $100,000.- 00 and reiieved the industrial life of the country of burdens to that ex- tent. If Hughes had been President then the amendment would probably not have been adopted as his concern for the plutocrats and his protector- ate of special interests would have influenced him to oppose its passage through Congress. If he should be elected President in the future he would likely bend his energies to compass the repeal of the income tax legislation , thus benefitting such friends as Morgan, Perkins and other recipients of large incomes. But the people will see that he will not get the chance. There can be Roosevelt’s Forehead Branded. | No man has ever fastened the lie open the face of another as clearly burgh, President of the Pennsylva- and ineffaceably as the Secretary of ! the Interior, Franklin K. Lane, has tressed people of Belgium. roving about telling any one willing to listen that because of President Wilson’s policies, all the world, and especially Europe, has lost respect for the government and people of the United States. Even in his recent “dirge over the grave of the dead Bull Moose party he reverts to his cus- tomary falsehoods in this respect. | In addressing the great conven- tion of advertising men in Philadel- ‘phia on Monday evening Mr. Lane "said: “Herbert Hoover represents the spirit of America. He has fed the “people of a nation and has put in working order a great financial sys- ‘tem for that poor country. A modest man he is and one day when I said to him, ‘tell me, is it so that we are ‘not held in the highest repute abroad.” He answered, ‘Oh, never believe it. Tell any one who says {that to go to Brussels and tell him to stand in front of the American ‘legation, where the Stars and Stripes wave from dawn to sunset. He will see a procession of Belgian artisans and peasants, and to this one flag, not to that of any other nation but to ours, do these peasants take off their hats and bow in reverence.” What more complete answer could be made to the mendacious mouthings of a disappointed grouch. Because Woodrow Wilson has pre- vented his election to a third term as President, in contravention of Wash- ington’s advice and in violation of a cherished tradition of the country he has been vilifying the President and ‘aspersing the country for ‘two years. But he deceives no one except him- !self. Every day developes new evi- dence of the high esteem in which the government and people of the { Uuited States are held in all coun- | tries except that in which the ruling power had arrogated to itself the right to control our national policies and domestic affairs. Roosevelt Out for Hughes. Theodore Roosevelt has finally re- vealed the full measure of his hypo- crisy. In a letter addressed to the National Committee of the Progres- sive party and read at its meeting in Chicago on Monday, he formally de- clined the nomination of that party for President and declared his pur- pose to vote for Hughes. Like a dog he “has returned to his vomit.” When he left the Republican party four years ago he pretended that he was influenced by patriotism. His action now proves that he had no other reason than a lust for power. Ambition has obsessed him and the {yearning for opportunity to graft and dominate has carried his reason away. His appeal to thoughtful Pro- gressives is not likely to avail. Theodore Roosevelt is the most despicable figure in America life to- day. While he was President he drew upon the public treasury for all his personal expenses. His valet was billetted as a clerk in the Adjutant General’s office, his cook as an em- ployee of another department and so on through the list. He used three war ships for personal service and held up the railroads for transporta- tion expenses. His desire to get back to this mode of living rather than interest in betterment of public methods influenced him to break with his party then and a hope that some way will be open to re-enter public life and resume graft has in- duced him to return to it now. Since the adjournment of the Chi- cago convention negotiations have been in progress for his return to the party. These dealings have finally resulted in an agreement though the public will not be informed as to the terms until after the election, and probably never. It may safely be conjectured, however, that he has made arrangements to get an in- fluential and lucrative office in the unprobable event that Hughes wins. To be the “power behind the throne” might satisfy him if it carried a generous compensation. An office brokerage might do but that is pre- carious and Roosevelt wants certain- ty. The matter of principle or ques- tions of reform had no consideration in the conferences, however. | i imprinted it upon the forehead of : Springs on Tuesday presented some Theodore Roosevelt by telling the statistics in reference to office hold- story of an American mining engi- ing which are more interesting than neer who has been helping the dis- his deductions are valuable. For | states that there are in the United nearly a year Roosevelt has been States, including Federal, State and Office Holders and Franchise. | Mr. George B. Gordon, of Pitts- nia Bar Association, in his annual address before that body, at Bedford He municipal offices, a civil list aggre- gating 2,196,400 and that the sala- ries or wages paid them annually amount to $733,066,000. Estimating the population of the country at 100,- 000,000 this involves a tax upon every man, woman and child of a considerable fraction more than sev- en dollars each. This accounts for a good part of the high cost of living. Mr. Gordon’s remedy for this obvious evil is such a curtailment of the franchise as would deprive all government officials, from President of the United States to the sweepers on municipal streets of the right to vote. He reasons, justly or other- wise, that the office holders, through their large number and activities in- fluence legislation in the direction of extravagance. <The number of offices is constantly increasing, he observes, because the interests of the office- holding class are thus promoted. The fact, he adds, that every wage- earner “must contribute twelve per cent. of his energy toward the sup- port of the civil employees of the government,” is abundant justifica- tion for his suggestion. But how would he procure the necessary legislation to put his idea into operation? In the first place no legislator would be likely to vote for a system that would disfranchise himself. Senators and Representa- tives in the General Assembly are included in his “civil list,” and the Governors who must approve legis- lation to validate it are in the same situation. Besides «it is doubtful if the plan would work out well. A man who would consent to his own dis- franchisement, who would voluntari- ly relinquish his highest privilege, would be lacking in the moral fiber essential to good service in the Leg- islature. We agree that there are too many offices but a better remedy for the evil must be discovered. ——In his his letter to the Pro- gressive National Committee Mr. Roosevelt says: “It is urged against Mt. Hughes that he was supported by the various so-called German- American Alliances. I believe that the attitude of these professional German-Americans was due, not in the least to any liking for Mr. Hughes, but solely to their antagon- ism to me,” which calls to mind the story of the Chatham street second- hand clothing merchant. Having en- ticed a passer-by into his “em- porium” this merchant presented for his examination a dirty and possibly infected garment and after fulsome praise asked the proposed victim to buy it. “Why,” remarked the stranger, “that coat is filthy. It stinks.” “Mine got! mine frieunt you wrong dot coat,” replied the merchant. “Dot coat don’t stink. It’s me that stinks.” ——Of course the boys who are heading for the Mexican border are entering upon a hazardous enter- prise. But they will get all possible care and every comfort that can be procured and most of them will get back to resume an honored place in the life of the country. ——The Pennsylvania National Guard has certainly justified the promise of the friends of that force that it is entitled to the rank of “second line of defence.” The regu- lars could have hardly mobilized in less time. ——Liberally translated Roose- velt’s letter to the Progressive com- mittee means that having lost its power to further Roocsevelt’s ambi- tion it has lost its usefulness and may as well be abandoned. I ——— Tc —————— ——Bill Flinn is back in the Re- publican party but he will soon be given to understand that he must keep quiet. ——The report that Villa is dead has been revived but it will fool no- body even part of the time. —Are we going to have a citizens parade next Tuesday. —Put your ad. in the WATCHMAN. NO. 26. The President was Prompt. From the Philadelphia Record. Republicans who are giving a grudging support to the Government in this emergency are ill-naturedly accompanying it with grumblings that the President has been very tardy; the Mexican situation, we are told, is due to the dilatoriness of the President; if he had acted earlier it would have been averted. This is at best nonsense; at worst, it is petty partisanship. If the Pres- ident had sent troops into Mexico prior to the raids of last September he would have intervened in a for- eign country on account of local dis- orders, which affected Americans who put themselves under a foreign Government, but not others. The United States is not a superior Pow- er, authorized to police the Western Hemisphere, and charged with re- sponsibility for the internal condi- tions in Mexico. = We should have had great difficulty in justifying ourselves before the world if we had invaded Mexico on account of its in- ternal troubles. : In September the situation was changed by the beginning of raids across the border. But these raids were made by small parties of ban- | dits which the de facto Government was presumably trying to control, but had not yet succeeded in re- straining. Neither American opinion nor the opinion of the world would have justified us in risking war with Mexico on account of the lawlessness of small bands of freebooters; any Government is liable to have some subjects of this troublesome char- acter. The President continued to endeavor to deal with the de facto Government and induce it, or enable it, to preserve order within its own dominion. The raid on Columbus was much larger than the previous raids; it had more the appearance of an in- vasion; it followed six months of similar but smaller attacks on our frontier. The time for action had arrived, and the President acted. Just as soon as men could be got to- gether to safeguard the frontier a substantial force was sent into Mex- ico to hunt down the Villistas whom the de facto Government did not make sufficient effort to control. This force received no support or co-operation from the de fasto Gev- ernment, though: Villa was its. enemy as much as ours. At las’ one of the subordinate de facto commanders at- tacked a squadron of our cavalry. This brings the two countries very close to a state of war. The worst may be averted, but it is criminal ignorance or mendacity that charges the President with tardiness; he had no right to act until our own soil was violated, and he would have been unworthy of the head of a great na- tion if he had acted even then while there was any hope of energetic ac- tion by the Mexican Government against its own desperadoes. If it shall make common cause with them, of course, we are in for a war, but any decent Government would have avoided war just so long as it was possible to hope for adequate action by the local authorities. Germany’s Baiters Busy. From the Johnstown Democrat. The country seems to be in for an- other “blame it on the Kaiser” per- iod. Washington’s news dispatches take theview that much of the up- roar southof the Rio Grande has been stirred up by German agents who want to create a condition that will make it impossible for the Unit- ed States to capture any of Ger- many’s Mexican business. There are a few blowholes in that point of view. First of all, Germany does not have any Mexican business just now. Next, German agents are tolerably busy with affairs at home. The Kaiser, it would seem, has about enough trouble on his hands without attempting to start anything on this side of the world. The “blame it on the Kaiser” idea illustrates just how far some of the news agents are willing to go in their efforts to create hatred for Germany. The same news stories that tell how German agents are plotting against the peace of this country go on to state that the allies are using every effort to induce Carranza to dodge a break with this country. It is not likely that the allies are devoting very much time to the Mexican muddle. They are tolerably busy just now. True, Great Britian is interested in Mexican oil lands but she is letting Uncle Sam handle the situation. But the fact that she is doing so does not prevent her publicity agents from planting stories on papers that are foolish enough to take the tales seri- ously. —A bulletin recently published by the U. 8S. Department of Health de- clares that a flyless town has few funerals. This sounds well. It is alliterative and anything savoring of alliteration rolls on the tongue pleasantly. But that is about all there is to it. If “the flyless town has few funerals” how does it come that we invariably have most fun- erals in the cold months when there are no flies? —If Carranza were to grant am- nesty to Villa that would be adding insult to injury, sure enough. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —The citizens of DuBois are preparing for a big celebration of the coming anniver- sary of the Declaration of Independence. —In the Juniata valley the wheat harvest will be about ten days later than usual while the cherry crop has been badly damaged by recent rains. —Mrs. Fanny Best, of Reynoldsville, Jef- ferson county, one of the oldest residents of that section, is dead from paralysis at the age of 90 years. —Richard W. Williamson, of Huntingdon, who was defeated for Congress on the Re- publican ticket at the May primaries, an- nounces that he will be a candidate again in 1918. : —Some thief who thought he needed the money broke into the rooms of the Frater- nal Order of Eagles at Renovo the other night and got away with all the money in the cash register, some $10 or $12. —The commissioners of Clearfield county will shortly act on the issuance of bonds to the probable amount of $500,000 to furnish funds for the erection of the two wings to the court house ordered by the court. —Mrs. John H. Weaver, of Williamsport, has caused it to be known that if battery D, which left that city for Mount Gretna on Sunday, is called to the border she will fur- nish a fully equipped ambulance for its use. —~Charles, the two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Morris, of Mosscreek, Cambria county, has a portion of a toy rake in his stomach, having swallowed it several days ago. It is an inch wide and contains six pointed teeth. —F. A. Messler, general secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association, Wli= liamsport, has been granted leave of ab- sence and has offered his services to the State organization for duty at Mt. Gretna or on the border. —Rockwood, Somerset county, cial election a few days ago on a proposi- tion to authorize a bond issue to the amount of $4,000 for’ High school ' better- ment. Forty-nine ballots favored the pro- ject; 124 were cast against it. had a spe- —James Meeks, alias Mason, alias Molden, an escaped prisoner who worked his way out of the Michigan, Indiana State prison four years ago, wes arrested while at work in a barber shop in Clarion last week. He had been working there for five weeks. —Cleo Phrobesky, aged 12 years, living near Ernest, Indiana county, sent by his mother after the cows, laid down on the railroad track and was fatally injured by a train which ran over him. He died while being taken to the Indiana hospital. —One day after Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, of Columbia county, celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary, the death of the former occurred at the age of 83 years. He seemed in fine health during the day but became ill in the afternoon and died in the evening. —A house owned and occupied by Mrs. John B. McCarty, located near Philipsburg, was destroyed by fire recently. Mrs, Mec- Carty and the George Green family, who jointly occupied the building, lost almost all their household effects. A defective flue was responsible for the loss. —Mrs. Reed Knepp, a resident of Boggs township, just outside of Clearfield borough, gave birth to triplets two weeks ago. There are two girls and one boy in the lot and all are healthy. This is the second set of trip- lets that Have been born in that township in the past twenty years. —While Michael Kratzer, of Mount Zion, Clearfield county, was cultivating his corn a swarm of bees came along and began to alight on the shoulders of one of his horses. By the aid of a thick-leaved bush he was able to divert their attention and the bees went straight down the road. William —C Citizens of Williamsport held a meeting in the court house last Friday evening with the members of battery D in the front ranks and in a few minutes raised the sum of $5,520 for the relief of the families of the soldiers. On Saturday additional subserip- tions brought the fund up to $7,570. —~Carl Lloyd, aged 6 years, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Lloyd, of Winburne, Clearfield county, stepped in front of a passing auto- mobile and sustained a fracture of the skull. The child is in the Philipsburg hospital and his recovery is looked for. The offending car belonged to Gus Bergen, of Grass Flat. —While holding her 18-months-old son John in her arms, Mrs. John Donnelly, of near Blacklick, Indiana county, undertook to hasten a fire by pouring coal oil from a can. The usual result followed: Both woman and child were so badly burned that they died about five hours later, within a few minutes of each other. —Elizabeth DeLarme, aged 25, disappear- ed from her home on the DeLarme farm, near Rathmel, Jefferson county, on Thursday of last week. Last Sunday afternoon her body was found in a creek about a mile and a half from her home. It is not known whether she fell into the water accidentally or committed suicide while laboring under mental aberration. —Joseph Servinski, aged 16 years, a resi- dent of Portage, learning to ride a bicycle, came into violent collision with a pony rid- den by Thomas Slautter, aged 15 years. The bicycle and rider were thrown to the ground and the pony fell upon them, Ser- vinski suffering concussion of the brain. The accident happened about 1.30 Sunday afternoon and the injured lad died five hours later. —Fire on Saturday evening about six o'clock totally destroyed the home of Mrs. John B. McCarty between Philipsburg and Osceola, on the hill just above the Mapleton branch railroad, near Monarch shaft. In addition to Mrs. McCarty, well advanced in years, the house was occupied by George Green and family. Both families suffered the loss also of practically all their person- al effects. —D. H. Faulkner, of Sandy township, Clearfield county, whose residence near Du- Bois was destroyed by fire and his wife and three children burned to death last Februa- ry, says the fire was caused by the explosion of kerosene oil sold by the Freedom Oil Works, a Pennsylvania corporation, with a branch in DuBois, and he has brought suit against the company for damages in the sum of $95,000. —The will of the late Eliza Sprankle, wid- ow of John A. Sprankle, a former Altoona merchant,who died at her home, 1403 Ninth street, June 9, bequeathed her entire estate, estimated to be worth $35,000, to charity. The sum of $20,000 was given to the theo- logical department of Lincoln University, Lower Oxford; $5,000 each to Altoona and Mercy hospital, and $5,000 to Passavant Memorial Home for the care of epileptics, at Rochester, Beaver county. ——Subscribe for the WATCHMAN.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers