win ww» BY P. GRAY MEEK INK SLINGS. — When the women get a vote all the, candidates will be “Lady’s Men.” * Ome in every five inhabitants of Centre county is a member of the Red Cross. Old Centre is doing her part, isn’t she? : © Tt is beginning to look as though the Kaiser, having greased the Bol- sheviki for fools, is in danger of los- ing his lard. When shaking and shivering because of the cold weather these days, cheer up! Trout fishing season is a little less than three months away. . —We are anxious to find out who among the “Watchman’s” present readers have taken the paper contin- uously since it was started sixty- three years ago. ; —Beginning with today all the bus- iness places in the United States not absolutely essential to maintaining human life and the business structure of the country, are supposed to be closed and remain closed for a period of five days in order to conserve coal. The new British Food Control- ler, Lord Phondda, appears to have been attacked with the “high strikes.” He has handed out a roar on the food situation which is as surprising as it is uncalled for unless the food statis- tics of the past year have been sys- tematically falsified. —Inasmuch as we have really had an old fashioned winter we are justi- fied in hoping that we will have the January thaw that always was part of the weather program. But when it comes it will probably bring a flood that will tie traffic up as effectually as the snow has done. —The women of the country will remember Tuesday, January 10th, 1918, for all time, for that was the day on which the constitutional amendment granting them suffrage passed the House of Congress by the mecessary two-thirds majority and made their cause a national issue. —When Al. G. Field’s minstrels have to abandon their palatial palace cars and take to riding “straight backs” for the sake of minimizing railroad loads the small boy may well inquire as to whether circuses will be traveling next summer. It is a long distance prediction, but we believe that the circus train will be traveling next summer because we believe that the circus will be regarded as an es- sential in the way of alleviating men- tal depression. —Lest some of you who are heap- ing unjust and unwarranted maledic- tions on the War Department forget let us remind you that as yet no such scandals have come out of the recent stupendous war preparation as dis- graced the country in 1898, when Al- ger was directing the machine that was fighting Spain. There has been no “rotten beef” served to the sol- diers and there has been no writing home for necessary hospital equip- ment, such as was done by our boys immediately after their arrival at Chicamaugua to find nothing of the sort there. And the present under- taking is many times greater than was that of 1898. —The Hon. George Washington Rumberger, he of “The Cat Came Back” song, farmer, pedagogue, coun- ty office-holder, air-ship captain and prophet of Unionville, resents the idea that any person has pored over the “Watchman” for more years than it has been his pleasure to do. He says: “I would no more think of do- ing without it than I would think of doing without my daily meals of chicken and waffles, ice cream, etc.” Think of the combination! Such food, and the “Watchman.” With such gas- tronomical and intellectual feasts for sixty-three years it is no wonder that George never grows a day older, that ke is always seeing way over the tops of the mountains that tower above kis cosy home and doing his bit by way of a pleasantry or kindly help- fulness to cheer the other fellow on his way. —We are with Senator Kenyon in his contempt for those fanatics who would have us believe that our sol- diers abroad are drinking themselves to death. It seems that some Prohi- bition agitators just can’t keep their mouths shut. If they hear of a per- son taking a glass of light wine or liquor that is enough for them to start a story that the fellow is a con- firmed drunkard. And so they harp about the drunkenness of the Ameri- can soldiers in France and hold the flag up as a shield when they declare that the drinking is reducing the effi- ciency of our army. Granting that such lies were all true, drinking evi- dently didn’t affect the efficiency of the German army, for isn’t it record- ed that their triumphant march clear through Belgium and almost to the gates of Paris was made with men continuously drunk on the loot from the wine cellars of the country they passed through. And isn’t it true that when some of these abnormal- nosed cranks took President Lincoln to task because they thought General Grant was drinking too much whis- key that the martyred christian Pres- ident asked them to let him know what kind of whiskey Grant was drinking because he thought it would be a good thing for some of his other Generals. The boys in France are all right. General Pershing says so. The pity is they can’t be brought kome and their calumniators sent to take their places. STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL. 63. Touching the Vulnerable Spot. In the appeals of western Pennsyl- vania Republicans to the Vares, of | Philadelphia, to support Denny O’Neil | for Governor, the “fine Roman hand” of that candidate is clearly revealed. ! The Business Men’s association of | Armstrong county telegraphed that | Mr. O’Neil would carry Armstrong county with ease. The Business Men’s | association of Tarentum telegraphed | that “realizing that with you lies the | power to elect the next Governor of ! Pennsylvania, we would say that in| | ate committee which BELLEFONTE, PA. JANUARY Working With the Enemy. If Secretary of War Baker were under indictment for treason the Sen- is investigating conditions in Washington could hard- ly have been more discourteous to him. Senator Weeks, of Massachu- setts, a bond-broker, has been particu- larly inquisatorial and Senator Wadsworth, of New York, has reveal- ed his partisan spirit at every stage | of the inquiry. If there was any pos- sibility of good coming from the ex- ploitation it . might be overlooked. the Twelfth legislative district Mr. But as a matter of fact it accomplish- 0’Neil would poll 80 per cent of the |es nothing except giving encourage- total vote.” It is more than likely | that there are no Business Men’s As- | ment to the enemies of the country who see, or imagine they see, in this sociations in either of the small towns | inquisition a division of public senti- from which the telegrams were sent. | ment on the question of the policies Besides any Republican would easily carry Armstrong coun- ty and the normal Republican vote in conditions candidate | of the administration. Secretary Baker in his statement of presented rather a rosy the 13th district of Allegheny county situation. He showed that all records is 80 per cent. The Business Men's Association of had been broken in the matter of achievement. With a meager basis Homestead is less flattering to Broth- | upon which to build a splendid struc- er Ed, and a trifle less enthusiastic | fite had been erected and that not for Mr. O’Neil. “If there is anything ! only a great army had been recruited you can do to boost his (O’Neil’s) ‘but that it had been provided with a nomination for Governor,” that or- magnificent equipment, comparative- ganization telegraph’s, “do it.” Retail Grocers’ Protective Union, of Protective Association of that city also appeal to’ Ed and Bill in behalf of Denny but the language employed has not been made public. Presuma- what conservative in their expres- sions of faith in the power of the Vares to control and the desirability | of Denny as a candidate. neighbors and they naturally yielded to persuasion, But being and trailed along. But they are less adroit than the Kittanning men, less zealous than the enthusiasts of Tar- | entum. Of course these ardent appeals to the Vares were not addressed to either the intelligence of the Philadelphia bosses or even to their prejudices, The | | plete a refutation of the calamity Pittsburgh, and the Retail Merchant’s | shrieks which had been started by | 1 fellows-in-business, ly speaking. This afforded so com- | partisan politicians for partisan pur- | poses, that the more bigoted Senators set out to disconcert him and dispute | his statements by the grilling process. ‘ing their own traitorous purposes. Secretary Baker frankly admitted that mistakes were made in the begin- 'ning of the work of preparation and that there is still urgent reason for a {full measure of energy in providing imen and materials. But he made it clear that everything possible is be- ing done to meet every exigency of the future and that our great army will fulfill the most sanguine expec- tations when called into the front trenches as is likely to be in the near future. The partisan prejudice of the which are strong. An appeal to their | Senators who are trying to make Sec- intelligence would be like cartridge aimed at the moon and there is no need of stimulating their preju- di®es. But it was skillfully directed to the most vulnerable point. It was an appeal to the monumental vanity of the Vares. No man knows this better than Denny O’Neil and no man | understands the value of a centre shot in politics. Vares may cherish a per- sonal liking for Senator Sproul and no doubt entertain the highest admi- ration for his vast fortune. But un- less he is ready to recognize their po- tency in politics as freely and flatter their vanity as fully as O’Neil will, he will get no help from them in his ambition to be Governor. The “coal hogs’ ought to be butchered but they are not fit te eat. Distress Will Force the End. The authorities are wise, no doubt, in preparing for a long war. It is possible that the military operations in Europe will continue for two or three years and it is generally felt that the burden of the final struggle will be upon the United States. But there are good reasons for hoping that it will come to an end before the setting in of another winter. At the beginning nobody believed that it would last three years with the prob- able exception of Lord Kitchener. Nobody other than he thought the great burden of expense could be borne for a longer period. That lim- it of time was reached more than six months ago and the end is not in sight of the average observer. The news that comes from Germany through private sources indicate an early exhaustion of the resources of Germany, however. Miss Herring, daughter of the late Judge Herring, of Bloomsburg, who recently return- ed from Germany tells stories of de- privations and distresses among the people which leave no doubt that the end is near. When the war began Miss Herring was in Germany study- ing music. She tried to get home at once but was unable to do so and re- mained there at one place or another during three years of hostilities. Many times she was herself on the verge of starvation but her suffering was trifling compared to that of the people of Germany in the common walks of life. While in Saxony, Miss Herring writes, she was so weak from malnu- trition that she couldn’t follow her studies. “In Dresden last winter,” she adds, “conditions were perfectly terrible. * * * Potatoes form- ed our only diet and they were always frozen or rotten.” Prices were out of reach of any except rich. Ham was three to four dollars a pound and but- ter three dollars a pound. The ration of bread was three pounds a week and it was made mostly of cabbage root. With one meal a day of such material the people got through last winter. How they are suffering now will probably be learned later but the contemplation of it compels the im- pression that the end of the war must come soon. a blank | retary Baker’s task more difficult are | probably creating joy in Berlin and {in the enemy headquarters in France land Flanders but they are accomplish- ;ing little else. The people are with | , Baker. ——Some fellow has suggested that | Theodore Roosevelt be appointed | Minister of Munitions in the Presi- {dent’s Cabinet. And there are hope- { ful souls who imagine we have no use ‘for lunatic asylums. Old Fashioned and Democratic. | Senator Sproul has announced his i candidacy for the Republican nomi- | nation for Governor, according to the program referred to in these columns Hast week. The factional war, also predicted in the same article, has been declared: Thus the politicians have an abundance of food for gossip and they are ravenously “eating it up.” Before this issue of the “Watchman” reaches its destination Denny O’Neil’s “hat will be in the ring.” There may be others but these two are enough to make an interesting fight. Sproul has money “to burn” and O’Neil has energy unlimited and something of a bank roll besides. And the respect- ive backers of the candidates hate each other intensely. It has been said that Sproul would not run unless he had assurances in advance of the Vare support. The moment his announcement was made O’Neil went to Philadelphia but fail- ed to see the Vares. Meantime Vare says the Penrose ticket is ridiculous and Brumbaugh refuses to say whether the Vares have thrown him overboard or not. These facts inject an element of uncertainty into the sit- uation which is interesting. If the Vares support Sproul Brumbaugh be- comes an unpleasant memory and O’Neil a “hopeless has-been.” If on the other hand the Vares attach themselves to O’Neil’s pipe dream, the campaign will become a matter of uncertainty after the nomination. It doesn’t matter much to us or other Democrats of Pennsylvania how this problem of local politics resolves itself. The Republican party in the State is down and out. It has been rotten for a quarter of a century but kept the fact concealed through the force of plunder and graft. But con- cealment is no longer possible. The Vares will go with whichever faction of the party is strongest in the hope of retaining some of the spoils of of- fice. But they have neither the cour- age to employ sufficient fraud to win or the strength to win without fraud and the opposition will be equally im- potent. This year has started on old- fashioned lines and will wind up with Democracy permanently established. —The railroad officials may be willing to help McAdoo to success in ‘his transportation enterprise but the weather shows no sympathy. ——Singularly enough only those who would like to see Germany win are able to see faults in our work to defeat Germany. bly those organizations were some- | They have succeeded only in reveal- | Railroad Problem to Solve. There must be something the mat- | From the Lancaster Intelligencer.” ’ The unusual- | i i 'ter with the railroads. ly severe weather accounts for some of the deficiency in service, of course, i for. fewer cars can be hauled by a lo- | comotive in extreme weather. But Director General of Railroads, Mec- | Adoo, issued an order the other day, or made a request of shippers, to un- load cars consigned to them that are held at the terminals. This would in- dicate a scarcity of cars and reports from various sections of the country indicate that storage yards are liter- ally filled up with empty freight cars. We have been told, moreover, that if cars were supplied plenty of coal can be provided both for domestic use and ' manufacturing purposes. The scarcity of motive power seems to be the seat of the trouble, and en- ergy should be directed to remedying that want. In ordinary weather one locomotive would easily haul ninety jor a hundred cars over any grade. | Since the cold spell set in, if the state- ments of railroaders are to be relied ‘upon, an ordinary locomotive has dif- |ficulty in hauling thirty cars over the {main line of the Pennsylvania rail- | road between Philadelphia and Pitts- ‘burgh. But even zt that if the mo- tive power is properly taken care of ‘and renewed as rapidly as possible, there ought to be enough locomotives to haul all the trains needed to trans- ‘port the products of the country. The present conditions are intol- ‘erable and improvements must be {made at once. Revenue to meet the war expenses cannot be raised unless the industrial life of the country is in good condition. The industries can’t be kept in motion unless they are provided with fuel. We are in- formed that fuel is available in plenty but there are no cars to carry it to the industrial plants. Denny O’Neil proposes to put automobiles in serv- ice to carry the coals but Denny talks for political reasons. The solu- tion of the problem lies in providing locomotives enough to use all the empty cars in every section of the country and that result may be achieved if proper effort is made. ~—On page two of this issue of i the “Watchman” will be found an ar- ticle on “The Patriotic in Music,” be- ing a paper read by Rev. Malcolm { DePue Maynard, pastor of St. John’s Episcopal church, at the December meeting of the Bellefonte Chapter D. 'A. R. The article is very interesting throughout and Rev. Maynard makes some very timely suggestions that Bellefonte and other places in Centre county could act upon with profit to each and every individual. One of his suggestions is to inaugurate a regular program of community sing- ing and make it either a weekly or a monthly affair, but of such characte: that all could join in. The fact must be admitted that while there are some music lovers in Bellefonte the town is away behind the times musically, and anything that would serve as an inspiration to a greater effort in this direction ought to be welcomed by one and all. Therefore the “Watchman” commends Rev. Maynard’s suggestion for community singing and expresses the hope that it can be successfully inaugurated. : While Bellefonte did not get the full force of the blizzard which | swept in from the west the latter part of last week it got enough of it to make every individual wish for some of that hot weather they complained about last summer. Beginning with a hard snow storm last Friday even- ing it continued until almost midnight when it turned to rain. It rained the balance of the night and in the morn- ing blew up cold, growing colder all day Saturday. By Saturday evening the wind was blowing a regular hur- ricane and the thermometer dropped to below zero with the result that Sunday morning gave us about the worst spell of weather we have had during the winter. With the ther- mometer six degrees below zero and the exceptionally high wind it was literally impossible to keep a building of any kind comfortable. But fortu- nately the cold was not of long dura- tion, as it moderated Sunday after- noon and the wind abated so that by Monday the weather was about nor- mal for this time of year. —Who will knit the sweaters and socks when the women are out elec- tioneering? Why, the women will. They've been doing it all the while they have been campaigning for suf- frage all over the United States. ——Those traitors who undertook to stop the draft by legal process find little comfort in the supreme ‘court decision. Chief Justice White declares that their objections “are too frivolous for further notice.” | ——If Governor Brumbaugh had been half as zealous in the temper- ‘ance cause during the last session of the Legislature as he is now the re- sult of the vote on local option might have been different. 18, 1918. i ' ting it in the other. | all—or nearly all—being spent in this War Cost and Confidenee. Uncle Sam’s pay-roll, we are told, is now very nearly a hundred million dollars a month. A staggering sum, truly, but we may remind ourselves that we, the people, are practically taking it out of one pocket and put- The money is country, and the only thing that needs concern us, is that a large part of it goes for the inevitable waste of war, the unproductive employment of men. To that, must be added the naval and civil pay-roll. Besides all that, there are many millions spent for war supplies that are to be burned up or shot away, and we may thank our good fortune that this is to be in distant theatres of war, and not in our own land; that there is to be no wrecking of any American region, such as the devastation of broad areas of France and Italy, Ser- bia, Poland, Rumania and Russia. Then there are the millions for the feeding, clothing and maintenance of army and navy. . The statements of war cost in monthly pay-rolls, and of war ex- penses of all sorts serve to impress ‘the urgency of making war with all possible vigor, in order that it may be ended as quickly as possible and in the right way; for no other ending can be either permanent or safe. It is certain that no other country can stand the financial burdens as well as we can. No other country in- volved in the war is so unselfish in its war aims. Both of these truths are appreciated, even by our enemies, and we are therefore in the best po- sition both for pushing the war and directing the efforts for peace. Under the circumstances, it is most fortunate that we have a President, who has often shown himself to be free from prejudice and able to change and adjust his views and opin- ions in accordance with facts and rea- son; as just illustrated by his surpris- ingly sympathetic view of the Rus- sian situation. President Wilson, who kept us out of the war as long as he could, may be relied upon to push things, and to get us out of it as soon as he can with credit and safety. Therefore, we may continue to lend and spend with cheerful confidence. The world appears to have gone mad with horrors and disorders mul- tiply, but as Garfield told a New York mob at a critical period of the Civil war, “God reigns and the government at Washington still lives.” ’ A Hot Time in Germany. From the Altoona Times. It begins to look as if the Germans are going to pay dearly for their fat- uous dream that they were going ar- rogantly to ride rings around the Bol- sheviki and make a separate peace with Russia which would bring the greater part of that country into their camp, tied and bound. They have made no peace with the Bolsheviki and it does not look as if they shall. On the other hand, their refusal of the terms which the Bol- sheviki laid down has caused social and political disturbance at home the like of which Germany has never be- fore experienced. The radicals are asserting that Ger- many ought to have accepted the terms of the Bolsheviki, that no an- nexations and free determination of nations as to their alliance or inde- pendence is just. Ludendorf and Hindenburg are said to be ready to resign if the mildly less militaristic Dr. Kuehlmann and Count Czernin, foreign ministers of Germany and Austria, do not recede from their very slightly liberal views. But, that is nothing. The Social Democrats and other radicals are calling for even greater liberality of political ideas. It looks as if Bolsheviki were not so wrong after all in stating that the terms they offer would either be ac- cepted or revolution would result in Germany. There is a simmering of the political pot in Germany, but that is not revolution. It is still a long step to revolution in Germany—but, even that step might be taken. The Foundations. From the New York Times. All affirmations and discussions of principles relating to the freedom of the seas, the openness or the secrecy of diplomacy, the reduction of arma- ments, the League of Nations, and the self-determination of peoples may be put aside as of secondary moment until we have made sure the founda- tions of peace which President Wilson rightly says must be unshakable, for otherwise “no part of the structure of international justice can stand.” The war aims of the allies having been re- stated by Mr. Wilson, we trust to the satisfaction of those who have so per- sistently demanded restatements, may we now hope that some further and satisfactory progress will be made in fighting Germany? There is no oth- er way in which the foundations of peace can be laid, for Germany is very far from having been brought to a condition bearing any recognizable re- lation to the picture presented in the words of Mr. Wilson when he said that the free peoples of the world must be delivered “from the menace and the actual power of a vast mili- tary establishment controlled by an irresponsible government.” 3 Mr. Rockerfeller has made another liberal contribution to the Rockerfeller Foundation and a furth- er increase in the price of gasolene may be looked for. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. Mrs. Catherine Rodgers, aged 84 years, of Hooversville, is doing her share for the American Red Cross by knitting for the soldiers and. sailors. She is one of the oldest knitters in Somefset tounty. —The plans. are proceeding for the horse and ‘ motor races to’ be held tomorrow on the ice in the West branch of the Susque- hanna river at Lock Haven, the volunteer offering to go to: the local Red Cross. = —Ruth Amelia Carlson, aged four years, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Carlson, of near Scottdale, fell into a tub of hot water Wednesday and died on Thursday afternoon from the effects of the burns. —At a meeting of thé Fort Antes Chap- ter, D. A. R., Jersey Shore, announcement was made that Cel. Henry W. Shoemaker has presented a boulder to mark the site of the last Indian grave in that vicinity. —The Ladies’ Aid society of St. John's Lutheran church, Williamsport, at the an- nual congregational meeting held last Wednesday evening, presented the church with a check for $1,000 for the new church fund. —After running away from home six years ago, at the age of thirteen years, William ‘Knight was located recently at Punxsutawney and after police communi- cated with his father in Arama, Cal, he was sent to his home. —Struck by a light engine running westward on an eastbound track in the Lewistown Narrows, Pennsy middle di- vision, Mason Suloff, aged 30 years, a track walker, had both legs severed last Thurs- day morning and died at midnight in the Lewistown hospital. —Damages of $2,639 are claimed by Jesse Kohr, of Conewago township, York coun- ty, in a_suit against the Fox Baking com- pany, of York. The plaintiff ‘alleges that his wife swallowed a pin while eating bread sold :by. the defendant: company, and- that she had to undergo an operation. The ‘jury in the ease of Nettie Rich- ardson against Henry Deniston, a wealthy recluse’ of Pittsburgh, for $500,000 for breach ‘of promise, failed to agree upon a verdict and was discharged. This is the second jury. to disagree on the case. The first jury awarded Miss Richardson $100,- 000. —The State Compensation Board has made an award in favor of the dependents of a tanner who died from anthrax con- tracted while handling hides. It is held that anthrax is a disease suffered in the course of employment and to be regarded as an accidental injury. The man was em- ployed by the tanning company of Som- erset. ) —Engineers H. E. Moses and I. M. Glace, of Harrisburg, have been sent by the State Commissioner of Health to Wilkes-Barre to investigate a type of illness which is prevalent in parts of Wilkes-Barre, Kings- ton, Forty Fort, Luzerne, Edwardsville and Wyoming and to work with the de- partment’s county medical inspector, Dr. Charles H. Miner. —Nine hundred pupils “of the Second ward school at Kittanning were marched safely out of the building, though halls and rooms were filled with smoke and flames on Monday, when the building was destroyed by fire with a loss estimated at $100,000. The building, an old structure, consisted of fourteen rooms and the fire had gained considerable headway before being discovered. —M. Luther Stover, a retired farmer, re- siding about one mile from Cassville, was instantly killed at noon on Monday at the Mapleton depot crossing by the engine of a freight train. With his wife and daugh- ter he had gone to Mapleton to take the train to Huntingdon, where they expect- ed to attend the funeral of Mrs, J. Oliver Wright. He became confused by the ap- proaching train, thinking he would miss his train, and ran right in front of the em- gine. Both his legs were ground off. He was aged about seventy years and leaves a wife and three children. —Although several days have elapsed since Charles H. Schleig, the young Mahanoy farmer, was found brutally slain on the Big Mountain path leading to Gowen City, the murder still remains un- solved, although officers have expressed confidence that there would be important developments within the next few days. County detective Joseph Gill, special offi- cer MeNut and the state police at work on the case, have worked tirelessly on the murder mystery ever since the.finding of the victim's body Saturday afternoon and they have secured several tangible clues which it is hoped will result in the arrest of the slayer or slayers. ' — Isaac Soloman was arrested at Lewis- town Sunday night charged with obtain- ing money under false pretense. Soloman visited the Protestant churches where he claimed he was a converted ‘Hebrew and that during his week in Lewistown he had converted two prominent Hebrews to the Christian faith. Soloman asked at each of the churches for a few minutes to state his case and, of course, a collection follow- ed to cover his expenses. When arrested $500 in cash, valuable dianionds and bank books showing that he had $3,000 on de- posit in a Detroit bank and $2,000 in a New York bank, were found on him. The Jews disclaim all knowledge of the man or his activities in this section of the State. —By forcing in a window in the hall- way leading to the wareroom of the J. G. McCrory store on Tenth street, Tyrone, thieves got away with about $165 in cash and numerous small articles of merchan- dise at an early hour Tuesday morning. The robbery was discoxered in the morn- ing by Charles Klee, manager of the store, when he arrived and found that the front door was unlocked. Upen a hurried in- vestigation it was found that footprints were discernible in the snow leading from Logan avenue to the window through which entrance was gained. After secur- ing their plunder, the thieves departed by the front door, and as yet no clue has been obtained which will lead to their identity. —A fugitive from justice for fifteen months, Edward Fleck, of Johnstown, wanted for embezzlement in that city, walked into the Altoona police station Saturday night and was recognized by Lieutenant of Police B. I. Miller, who held the man for Flood city officials. Fleck, it ds said, admitted that he ran away im 1916 after he confiscated several checks and cash to the amount of $50 from his employer, A. Litzinger, a Johnstown drayman. The man said he wandered all around the country but finally drifted back to Altoona. He was seeking lodging at the police station when arrested. In response to the message from the lieuten- ant of police, the Johnstown police stated Fleck was wanted there and an officer was sent to take him back to that city.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers