Remorrac Yada BY P. GRAY MEEK. INK SLINGS. —Only seventeen days until Christ- | mas. 7 —Congress is again Pity poor President Wilson. ——It must be admitted that the | -—-- -—— Kaiser is a resourceful guy. When | German seamen refused to man the submarine he put Turks on the job. | —85,446.18, with more districts to | hear from, isn’t so bad for Centre county, when she started out to raise $3000.00 for the Y. M. C. A. war fund. —President Wilson’s message to Congress, delivered before a joint ses- | to understand that the Vare conspira- {army in France, gave as one of his Congress reveals the sublimity of America’s motives in the war and proclaims him the Moses of the mod- ern world. —Col. House made a speech 225 words long at the inter-Ally confer- eace in Paris on Monday. He was running true to form in his long es- tablished custom of conserving words. —That Colyer doe that sported a horn was probably the deer that “wore the pants” in her particular household. She got shot for it too. Moral—There is great danger in doe’s usurping buck’s prerogatives. —Brit Steele told us last Saturday that because the fish were lying in the bottom of the stream it was going to snow. It hasn’t snowed yet and the fish are still at the bottom of the | stream so the question naturally arises: What is Brit? —Two hundred sweaters, two hun- dred scarfs and two hundred pairs of wristlets are only part of what the Red Cross women of Centre county have thus far done in their work of love for the soldiers and loyalty to their country. God bless them! Are you a Red Cross worker? —Why shouldn’t the soldier boys in the camps and the trenches have had turkey for their Thanksgiving dinners while we contented ourselves with chicken? They are fighting our fight and the sacrifices we ought to make at home can be nothing to what they | are offering to make abroad. —If you want your friend to know of all of the activities of our soldier boys at the front and all that the men and women at home are doing for them, send him the “Watchman” for a year as a Christmas gift. It is very inexpensive but wonderfully appreci- ated by its recipients. —Few of the poorer people will find it much of a difficulty to observe two | meatless days a week. They are now having that many and probably more. | The more affluent are the ones to whom the appeal is directed. They are the people who should look upon the “two meatless days a week” as a test of democracy, a test of whether they are able to control their ‘appetites in or- | der that the nation may endure. —A personal item that might have appeared in this issue of the “Watch- man,” if it hadn't been cénsored, was to the effect that Miss So and So! passed through town on Wednesday on the way to the butchering of her It was lucky | that we discovered the unfortunate | father. Poor father! phrasing in time else we might have had to insist that the horrible ceremony be carried out if for no oth- er reason than to maintain the “Watchman’s” reputation for getting things right. —Time and again, this year, the “Watchman” has published special appeals to farmers to cover their farm buildings and crops with ample insurance. And this week we publish the account of another appalling fire loss in the county in which owner and tenant will suffer so seriously as to embarrass and handicap them for years. It seems so footless, this thing of preaching, week in and week out, to a public so deaf to suggestions that are made wholly for its own good. Mr. Alexander saved a few hundred dollars in insurance premi- ums and has lost thousands in the de- struction of his stock, implements and grain. —The Hon. George E. Alter, of Pittsburgh, is being spoken of as a possible Republican harmony nomi- nee for Governor and because he thought that the “Watchman” was seeing things for Democracy that will never eventuate, when it mentioned the fact, several weeks ago, that our own distinguished townsman, Judge Quigley, was talked of as “a leader of the forlorn hope” we want to assure him that we have no idea of ‘encouraging competition among gen- tlemen by forthwith putting him in the “forlorn hope” class. A personal acquaintanceship with both gentle- men, however, justifies us in adding that a greater calamity might befall the Commonwealth than the selection of either one of them as its Chief Magistrate. > —The New Year is approaching. ! The time is here to think about your home reading for 1918. We assume that you are going to continue read- ing the “Watchman” because we feel that you believe it to be the one real- ly worth-while newspaper in the coun- ty. May we ask you to tell your neighbor, if perchance he is not a subscriber, just what you think of the “Watchman” as a reliable home news- paper; tell him how frequently it is a week ahead of all the others spreading the news of important events in the county and how thor- oughly it covers its field and what a clean, uplifting newspaper it is. Find a reader of the “Watchman,” no mat- ter where, and you will find one of the | imagines he is not at war with this ed at Washington?” best informed persons in his or her community. There is a reason. in session. | in | | STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL 62. BELLEFONTE, PA.. DECEMBER 7, 1917. NO’ | President Wilson’s Message. i In his annual message to the War sion on Tuesday, President Wilson is | as felicitous as ever and even more | forceful than usual. | Penrose Will Press the Fight. { Senator Penrose has at last come Great Reason for Thanksgiving. General Seibert, with the American |v is State wide instead of a local reasons for gratefulness on Thanks- question. The dominant | bosses acquired the ownership of a! have gone “over there” Ever since the contractor giving day that none of the men who to fight for | {idea expressed is that “our present Governor they have been extending ‘democracy were killed or injured dur- ; | and immediate task is to win the war rand nothing shall turn us aside from {it until it is accomplished.” Omitting | details as to the causes of the strug- |gle and overlooking the work that has {been performed and the results that have been achieved, he struck the { keynote in the words quoted and add- ed, “every power and resource we | possess, whether of men, of money or | of materials, is being devoted and will | continue to be devoted to that purpose ‘until it is achieved.” The surprise in the President’s ad- I dress was the suggestion that a state of war with Austria-Hungary be de- !clared at once while such action with respect to Turkey and Bulgaria be omitted. “Austria-Hungary are not | free agents,” he says. Its govern- | ment is “not acting upon its own initi- ative or in response to the wishes and | feelings of its own peoples.” That is equally true of Turkey and Bulgaria. But “they do not stand in the direct path of our necessary action. We i shall go wherever the necessities of ‘this war carry us,” he adds, “but it seems to me that we should go only where immediate and practical con- ! siderations lead us.” 'In other words they will receive attention in due i time. In conclusion the President, in most incisive and eloquent phrases states our purposes in the war. “In the ‘present session of Congress,” he states, “our whole attention and every | energy should be concentrated on the ‘vigorous, rapid and successful prose- | cution of the great task of winning {the war. We can do this with all the greater zeal and enthusiasm,” he con- tinues, “because we know and all the i world knows, that we have been forc- {ed into to save the very institutions we live under from corruption and | destruction.” We have no selfish mo- i tive, no sinister purpose. We are not | fighting to aggrandize England or | preserve France. We are fighting to save our own soil and principles. Ports . ——One trouble practically certain to be encountered by Germany is that it may be necessary to make a new separate peace with Russia about once a week. And making peace with an irresponsible foe is such a confusing and annoying operation. Lord Lansdowne a Traitor. | The proposition of Lord Lansdowne, 'a conspicuous Tory statesman of England, that the allies make an im- {mediate statement of their aims in the war and their terms of peace, is {so manifestly in the interest of Ger- | many, as to fix him in the class with LaFollette. Every intelligent man and woman in the world knows pre- | cisely the purposes of the government of the United States in the war and the peace terms which will be accept- able in this country. The purposes of England, France, Italy, Belgium and Serbia are equally well known and their terms of peace quite as well un- derstood. Therefore the demand of Lord Lansdowne could have had no other purpose than to let Germany know that Britain is not a unit in the present crisis. In no country in which free thought and frank expression are encouraged can there be found absolute unity of purpose. Here and there will be found self-opinionated individuals who imagine that they know it all or that everything is wrong which has not been suggested by themselves. Lord Lansdowne appears to be in this class and his preposterous demand last week created more joy in Berlin and did more to hearten the Kaiser’s troops in the field, than anything else that has happened within a fortnight. | Such things are plainly giving “aid jand comfort to the enemy” and | whether coming from an imbecile peer in London or a traitorous Sena- tor in Washington, should be punish- against treason. As a matter of fact the present du- ty of those in authority in all the countries allied in the fight for de- mocracy is to discover the means by ‘which it may be most speedily brought to a successful conclusion. A successful conclusion of this war is a peace which will make it impossible for one or two or a dozen half-de- mented autocrats to start another war for financial profit, self-aggrand- izement or territorial conquest and no blithering idiot has a right to put difficulties in the way of the achieve- ment of that result. Lansdowne has performed his little part, however, in the service of autocracy and against | democracy and he is welcome to en- joy whatever satisfaction comes | from it. —1If any Austrian or Bulgarian j sonniny let him get in front of the guns held by Pershing’s men. ed by the full penalty of the law ! | their lines and expanding their area ing the voyage. i of operations so as to compass control | there are at least 250,000 in the Amer- | form of iniquity has been invoked to complete a Vare machine in the State. Senator Penrose declares that he is unalterably opposed to this vicious en- terprise and that he will exhaust all his personal and political influence to prevent the government of this State by street scavengers. He consulted with his friends, last week, and though his time will be taken largely by Congressional duties in the near future, he states emphatically that he will spend his week-ends at his Phil- adelphia office planning a campaign of extinction against the contractor boss- es. He believes that a majority of the voters of Philadelphia are in sympa- thy with him and feels confident that a majority of the Republicans of the State will support him in his endeav- or to place his party on a higher plane. We sincerely hope that Senator Penrose will succeed in his purpose to eliminate corrupt control from gov- ernment, State and municipal. Byt we again admonish those associa with him in the present effort to act promptly and move rapidly. He may not always feel the impulse of the crusader and the Vares are not above surrendering considerable in or- der to save a moiety. Before anoth- er election these new discordant ele- ‘ments may be working together in perfect harmony in order to save a “batch of spoils” placed in jeopardy by the quarrel. } ed. But an armistice might be fatal. ‘in Philadelphia that the people are {But a community which tamely to “government by scaven- gers” will get little sympathy how- ever much it may be looted. i TE ————————— Kaiser William’s Wicked Folly. | Unless the signs are misleading war { operations will be very active during 'this month and probably ‘through ‘next. Germany wants to accomplish as much as possible before the Amer- ican troops get into action and the perfidy of Russia will release a great many troops hitherto acting on the enburg is massing forces in the Ital- ian line with the obvious purpose of breaking through. He has also been exceedingly energetic in offensive op- erations in Belgium where he hoped to break the lines laid by General Byng. These activities are plainly for the purpose of doing much harm within a brief time. - For more than two years the Ger- man army has been sacrificed in France and Belgium without gaining a foot of territory or accomplishing anything that gave promise of ulti- mate victory. Men and equipment have been provided for these opera- tions but such things cannot go on forever. All summer the slaughter has been kept up and while it may af- the other side is losing men and spending vast sums of money, there iis hardly enough of it to balance ac- | counts. An end to it must come and | the longer it is delayed the greater | the evil. The army is being reduced rand the spirit of the people crushed. The score against the Kaiser is aug- ! menting every day. Within a few months the American {troops will be in the fighting and from that moment conditions will change. Now peace might be obtain- led on terms that would preserve the { autonomy of the German empire. Of course autocracy will be eliminated and the ownership of men abandoned. | But the German people are capable of ! self-government and under a consti- | tutional monarchy or parliamentary | regime they may prosper and live | happily. Delay is dangerous, how- | ever, and if the useless and wicked | slaughter is continued much longer the burden of debt will overwhelm ‘even so thrifty a people as the Ger- | mans. Let us hope that the Kaiser will come to see himself as others see him before it is too late. Sal Ay esteemed contemporary If the present move- | ment is pressed to its logical conclu- |abused by partisan newspapers and sion, excellent results may be obtain- | scolding politicians. l amergency they prove not only their Russian front for use in France, Bel- | gium and Italy. According to the most authentic reports General Hind- | ford some satisfaction to know that the vicious and enlisted the corrupt harm them. But not one has been | by every means of enticement known. | touched with the evil instruments of | Brumbaugh has traded patronage as an ingenious and savage foe. A kind ' openly as a huckster sells cabbages. | Providence has protected them night | The departments of the State govern- and day through storm and calm and ment have been debased into trading |safely delivered them at their desti- . She sniffies around with half her clothes posts for political speculators. Every | nation. It is estimated that of the Republican party of the State ican contingent in France and Germa- | In every section they have annexed [ny has invoked all her resources to Every mother’s son and. DEAR HAZEL. By Doc Mardis. Dear Hazel, the girl with her dress to her knees, (Why, gosh, you would think that the poor girl would freeze) ; stockings so white that the small flakes of snow That flutter and light on her ankles can’t show, And a sweater coat 'round her that’s only a joke, (A stranger would think that the girl was flat broke). Dear Hazel the girl with her dress to her knees, And stockings so thin they're a part of the breeze, And off, ‘daughter in this broad land should And sneezes out: “Gee, but I sure got a — Taxes are increasing so rapidly | are charged but their splendid capa- | " reine Eg by. z D b iment will try to keep knowledge of i the facts from the subjects and vic- i beginning to apprehend confiscation. submits | fortunate in securing the services of ‘Mr. Willis Geist Newbold, for many | Press association at that news cen- ‘tre, as its editor and manager. {the Republican ‘among the weekly newspapers of the scripted men, not already called for !service, keep their local boards ad- join General Seibert in thanksgiving for that. i The safety of our gallant soldiers is not the only reason for gratitude because none of them were injured or ! killed during the passage across the sea. The fact that it marks the im- | potency of the submarines in the face of a caution which should always at- | tend the movement of troops is a | great reason for thankfulness. When German savagery entered upon the | work of ruthlessness it was feared that no ships could escape the vigi- lance of these monsters. But in the statement of General Seibert is re- | vealed the fact that they can be made harmless if proper caution is exercis- ! ed in the work of evading them. It' may be assumed that German officials knew when and where the troop ships were sailing. But with such informa- | tion they were unable to damage them | in the least. Of course this is due in great meas- ure to the vigilance of the seamen in charge of the operation of transport- ing them. Always alert and entire- ly capable, they prevented the ap- proach of the U-boats to within firing distance. But a good deal of the cred- it belongs to Secretary of War Baker and Secretary of the Navy Daniels, who directed the movements of the transports and managed the manou- vers from start to finish. These two gentlemen have been shamefully” But in every fitness for the work with which they bility as statesmen. — Our esteemed contemporary | the Brookville Republican, has been | years a Harrisburg correspondent and for some time manager of the United It is scant praise to say that Mr. Newbold is among the forémost political writ- ers of the State and if he fails to put in the front rank country, we shall be greatly disap- pointed. Notice to Conscripts. It is very necessary that all con- vised of any changes in their address. The law is particular about this point and conscripts who have changed their address without notifying the local board of such change will be denied the privilege of preferred classes of service when they are called. Conscripts of Centre county don’t fail to let Sheriff Yarnell know if you make a change in your residence be- fore you are called. It may save you considerable trouble. ——Bright and early yesterday morning there was a call on our of- fice telephone and a charming female ' voice said: “We failed to get our | “Watchman” this morning.” Of | course we had to inform the young la- dy that she was just one day ahead of time, that the “Watchman” went | out on Friday morning, but at that we consider the young lady’s mistake | a great compliment. There is always | a feeling of supreme satisfaction in! knowing that the “Watchman” is missed so much if by any chance it is | not delivered promptly, but when sub- | scribers are so anxious for it that cough!” While each day she says: through me!” When the wind’s got nothing to stop it, you see. Dear Hazel, the girl with her dress to her Knees, And legs most as bare as the limbs on the trees, You'll probably live a lot longer than those Who wrap themselves up in warm, heavy clothes. “The wind cuts From the Philadelphia Record. We have no idea that it will be nec- essary to send to Europe 5,000,000 troops, or half that, but the President has a sound idea in insisting that the plans for the next fiscal year shall provide for an army of that number. We are not trying to kill Germans; we are trying to make Germany see the hopelessness of the struggle and give up. If the Kaiser won’t give up so long as his subjects consent to die for him, it is important to impress his subjects with the conviction that it is of no use to die for him because Ger- many cannot win in any event, and it might as well give up before exter- minated. It is important to make the Ger- man people understand that we can send 100,000 troops to Europe every month not only till next summer, but all the year, and all the years after. We've got the men and we've got the ships, and the ships we are getting in increasing numbers: Hundreds of new American steamers will go into service before the end of 1918 ‘ Scores have gone into service late 4 will continue going into servide. So far as it can the German govern- tims, but it cannot succeed. A good deal of news percolates into Germany, and pretty much all gets there event- ually, even if some of it arrives a lit- tle late. The war will be shortened by every demonstration that Germany cannot possibly win. In the course of time the German people will dis- cover that they have been crushed, but that is a slow process. We need to make our plans on so vast a scale that the German people will realize i the hopelessness of going on with the struggle. So long as the Germans were in the ascendant, the result of the elaborate preparations for this war, they were eager to have the war stop “in the in- terest of humanity.” Now, the allies have caught up with the Germans in the military equipment, and, while they still show a good, solid front, their supplies are approaching ex- haustion. Now, humanity demands that the Germans give up and save the useless effusion of blood. They have been pretending that the respon- sibility for continuing the war was on their enemies. Now, it is palpably on the Germans. the more Germans will get killed, but under no circumstances whatever can the Germans win. The spectacle of an army of 5,000,- 000 men in the United States from which we are sending 100,000 or 200,- 000—as it may be, in a year—to France every month will make an im- ! pression on the German mind. The bigger the force we can collect, the shorter time will be necessary to use it. An army of 5,000,000 would be a powerful peace argument. Even the Germans could feel the force of it. The Italian Situation, From the New York Tribune. Five weeks ago the German blow upon Italy fell. Out of the obscurity of that moment certain facts are now beginning to emerge. We know, for example, that the Italian general staff were not the victims of a sur- prise attack. Cadorna knew and had reported to his allies that the attack The longer- they resist,. ahead of its issue it is good evidence that they appreciate it. ——A total eclipse of the moon ing hours of December 28th. The moon will enter the shadow at 3:05, become total at 4:38, and remain so for just seventeen minutes, or until 4:55. The eclipse will end at 6:27. Thus it will be seen that all persons astronomically inclined will of neces- sity have to get up in the morning if they want to see this eclipse. ——General Pershing appears to be equally effective with the pen or the sword. He can build epigrams quite ‘as well as trenches and when he gets they begin to call this office a day was coming. will take place during the early morn- | Quite as clear now is | the fact that the main disaster was not due to the number of German | men or German guns concentrated up- | on the upper Isonzo river. It was due | primarily to treachery. It was due ito the fact that certain Italian bri- ' gade commanders ordered their men ‘to surrender and this order was due to a two-fold propaganda of treason, ! the propaganda of Italian Socialists ‘and Italian Clericals, one operating among the soldiers, the other among . the officers. Allied armies have now | come to the support of Italy. Unless 'we recognize that the same forces which induced the Italian disaster are | operating in France in England and i here in the United States we shall have at no distant date to confront another crash, another eollapse like that which has taken place in Russia ' SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE —Thieves entered the home of Lawrence Cowher, of Williamsport, and stole $107 in cash and rings worth $400. They over- looked $250 more. —Harry Snyder, a well known DuBois barber, dropped dead Friday afternoon while in the aet of shaving a customer. He was 62 years old and had lived in Du- Bois for about ten years. ’ —Cresson has an epidemic of measles and announcement was made that the four ! lower grades of the local school would be | closed for at least two weeks. Twenty- nine cases were reported last week. —Saul Kanarr, of Beech Creek township Clinton county is proud of the fact that although eighty years old, he has husked corn for fifteen days, thereby doing his bit towards harvesting the nation’s crop. —Philip Watt, aged seven vears, of Mun- cy, had his leg broken in two places the other day when he attempted to jump on a farm wagon. He was dragged some dis- tance before a passerby saw the accident and stopped the horses. —Administrators and executors of es- tates are required by a new federal law to file a complete appraisement of the estates in their charge with the collector of in- ternal revenue. This is a new law and there is a penalty of $500 for failure to do so. —The Repasz band of Williamsport ded- icated a large service flag at the headquar- ters on Sunday afternoon. It carried thir- ty-six stars; thirty-two for the members of the bluejacket and four for am equal number of members of other bands of that place in the service of the United States. : —Florence, the four year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Durnelle, of Sene- ca Heights, was burned to death last week at her home. It is believed that the child was playing with matches and in some manner set fire to her clothing. Her moth- er beat out the flames but it was too late to save the life of the child. —Every man who voted at Blue Ball, Clearfield county, on election day will be examined by a representative of the State Health Department in an effort to check the spread of smallpox in that community. One of the members of the election board had the disease in an eruptive stage on election day. It is considered likely that every voter will be vaccinated. —A fire Sunday night caused the death of nine horses and a loss of $20,000, when the stable and bakery of Jacob Otto, of Burgettstown, burned. The residence of Mr. Otto, nearby, was saved by very hard work, a bucket brigade being formed, which saved the properties adjoining the bakery. About 100 sacks of flour and many loaves of bread were destroyed. —Forty-eight bituminous coal mines are in full operation along the branches of the Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad im Huntingdon and Bedford counties. They are located on Shoup’s Run, Sandy Rum and Six Mile Run. With the large output going to the markets, both east and west, the Broad Top railroad is hauling more coal just now than for the past five years. —John Edgar Itinger, of Johnstown, was instantly killed at the new Franklin blooming mill of the Cambria Steel com- pany, Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Itinger was a foreman of brickmasons and was di- climbed upon it to test it when it gave way. and br feilils ho ground. “He died in an ambulance on the way to the hos- pital. —Attorney Reuel Somerville, of Johns- town, representing a group of creditors, purchased the plant and equipment of the Patton Brewery Co. at public sale on Saturday afternoon. The consideration was $12,350, plus $3,760 in judgments. The sale was conducted by attorney Arthur Simler, receiver for the company. The Central Hardware Supply Co. will take over the building. —The body of Benjamin Rine, aged 55 years, of Beavertown, was found by his wife beside the furnace in the cellar of his home late Sunday night. Rine was a well known business man of the town and returned late Sunday evening from church going to the cellar to fix the fire for the night. When: he failed to return his wife investigated and found his body. Heart failure was given as the cause of his death. —George Bokovich, aged forty years, an Austrian, died in Altoona on Sunday from gunshot wounds received Saturday night while he was guarding the explosives house of the Pittsburgh Limestone com- pany quarry at Clover Creek. Police are seeking his assailant. The shot came through a window. No attempt to molest the explosives was made. The man crawl- ed to a farm house a mile away and gave the alarm. —It is worthy of note that the Rush township road supervisors at the present time have over $4,000 in the treasury. In addition to this splendid sum they have due them the State bonus for the years 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917, amounting te about $5,000. This is surely a splendid showing, no doubt surpassing any other township in the county and unequalled by very few others in the State. The super- visors are to be commended and congrat- ulated, —When a highwayman held up Mrs. Samuel Fertig near the railroad station at Dauphin and robbed her of $20 and a gold watch, the Rev. William Zweizig, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, was the first to organize a searching party and hunt the highwayman. The minister scoured the town for four automobiles and in one car, led the chase over the moun- tain roads. The highwayman, it is believ- ed, evaded capture by hiding in the un- derbrush. —Farmers in Butler county who have been holding their potato crop for higher prices received a jolt, when it was an- nounced that the Chamber of Cemmerce had decided on drastic measures. The re- tail price there was $2 a bushel and the wholesale price $1.75. Large producers are holding out for higher prices. If farmers ‘refuse to sell at reasonable figures, the Chamber of Commerce plans to ship pota- toes in from other States and sell them at cost plus the freight. —The J. C. McCrory company, operat- ing a chain of five and ten cent stores, one of them in Bellefonte, has negotiated a fifteen year lease on the Witmer Inn prop- erty, Clearfield, for their store in that place. The chief reason for wanting the property is to secure a frontage on Sec- ond street for the Market street store. In the event the deal goes through with | | asks why “Colonel Roosevelt doesn’t (after the Huns they will find that he jn totality and in Italy in part. Ger- | Landlord Pickering to take over his lease, i like the way things are being manag- | Principally be- ‘ cause Colonel Roosevelt isn’t manag- ing things there. iis good on the chase. ——For high class Job Work come to the “Watchman” Office. . many has lost the war so far as it is i a military question. She cannot de- | feat the armies of her enemies, and cannot hope to win in any way. | the Witmer Inn will cease to be a place of . entertainment for travelers, and will be | converted into a business block and office | building. recting the building of a scaffold and had- o