Demorraic; Waldman BY P. GRAY MEEK INK SLINGS. The steam plant's busted And the town's in despair We're digging many ancient stoves From out their dusty lair Egg stoves, Hathaways, Any old thing that’s found To make some smoke and a little heat For the family to gather round. Old fashioned winters Were for old fashioned folk So when they sic one onto us T’ll tell you it's no joke. Forty days zero And forty nights as well, July for me I rise to say E’en though its hot as——usual. —Cheer up, summer isn’t here of course, but it isn’t steen degrees be- low zero. —Is this the January thaw arriv- ed like the trains, the mails and every- thing else, a few days late. —By the time March gets here no one will care a tinker’s dam whether it comes in like a lion or a lamb. — From December 16th to February 4th the average low temperature each day was two degrees below zero. —Many people in this neck o’ the woods never knew until now what the weather man really has in.mind when he speaks of mean temperature. —If there is a ground hog we'd take our hat off to him were it not for fear of our old bald pate freezing while the ceremonial salute was being given. —Heatless Mondays are to be con- tinued. Weather conditions have again tied up traffic and made it im- practicable to rescind the order, as was thought possible to do a few days ago. —Think of the boys who made the supreme sacrifice on the Tuscania. Think of them before you begin to complain because you are asked to use less wheat flour in order that their kind may have enough of it too. —So our boys are now actually holding part of the line in France. God strengthen them and bring us to realize that we must make the sacri- fices the government is asking us to make in order that they can be prop- erly supported. Carranza, the President of Mexi- co, has sent a message of felicitation to Kaiser Bill on the occasion of his birthday anniversary. Such things are rare in Potsdam these days so Bill is probably all puffed up over the well wishes of the old rascal who hap- pens to be in power in Mexico. —Governor Brumbaugh has indi- cated that he will return to the ranks of the school teachers at the expira- "tion of his term next January. How thoughtful was His Excellency when he gave this information to the pub- lic. He is likely never to be heard of again after January so that it is well that some record is made of the re- treat in which he can be found should anyone inquire. —Food hoarders are being severely dealt with in Pittsburgh. For having more than forty-nine pounds of flour in your possession at a time or two pounds of sugar you are liable to a fine of $5000 and imprisonment for two years. There is plenty of flour and sugar in the country but there won’t be if people hoard it. The easy way, the patriotic way is to buy as you need it. It means a few more trips to the store, of course, but it also means a chance for the other fel- low to get some. —A Hun sub has gotten in its dead- ly work on another American trans- port freighted with our precious sol- dier boys and over two hundred of them went to the bottom of the sea without a chance to fight back. We must steel ourselves for announce- ments of such calamities. We are at war and victories are not won with- out some disasters. Are you trying to make it easier for the government to get these boys landed safely on the other side or are you kicking and com- plaining about every little sacrifice it asks you to make in their behalf. —When the water in a tea kettle that was sitting on the back of a stove in which there was a banked fire froze solid on Monday night we thought we had heard the prize cold weather report of the deceased steam heat company’s orphaned houses. But another came in that makes this re- frigerating kitchen look warm as a Palm Beach pazaza. In the really cold kitchen in Bellefonte Tuesday morning cream standing in a pitcher on the back of a stove froze solid while the semi-congealed good wife was boiling a cup of coffee for her husband on the front of it. —The grocers of Bellefonte an- nounce in another column of this is- sue that it costs $15,000 a year for them to maintain delivery trucks. What an economic loss in times like these. While it is scarcely possible to wipe it out entirely patrons of the various groceries should co-operate to cut it in half, at least. Competition, of course, is responsible for a system that consumes half a gallon of twen- ty-five cent gasoline to deliver an emergency order for a five cent box of matches, but if the grocers are re- ally organized and play fair with one another they can break up such waste- ful practices. And if their patrons were to visit the stores in person rather than by telephone they could buy more profitably, as well as con- tribute a bit toward the effort to save a part of the $15,000 now represent- ing nothing more nor less than waste. VOL. 63. Senator Hitchcock’s Pop Gun. Senator Hitchcock, of Nebraska, delivered his much heralded speech “agin the government” on Monday. It occupied a good deal of time and covered a good many complaints but in the last analysis revealed a single purpose which was a censure of the administration because some of the Nebraska grafters didn’t get con- tracts they wanted at the prices they fixed. Transportation facilities are inadequate because of the weather. War supplies have been tardy because the transportation facilities were in- adequate and fuel is scarce for the same reason. Airships have not been built as rapidly as needed and ship- ping facilities are lacking because of the absence of materials. But Hitch- cock blames it all on the administra- | tion. The truth of the matter is that Hitchcock and Chamberlain and all other Senators and Representatives in Congress who are embarrassing the administration with unjust ecriti- cisms and absurd suggestions are in- fluenced by prejudice against the President. Those of them who pre- tend to be Democrats probably imag- ine that he hasn’t correctly estimated their importance and want to curtail his influence on the public mind. The others of the small group want to manufacture materials to support their purpose to restore the Republi- can party to the control of the gov- arnment at the next Presidential elec- tion. They are coordinating their ef-' forts in full measure but are helping nobody but the Kaiser. Hitchcock did more in the interest of the enemy Monday than the German-American alliance has accomplished since the beginning of the war. Senator John Sharp Williams, of Mississippi, amply answered all the complaints of all the Senatorial grum- blers in a brief speech following the lamentations of Chamberlain on Mon- day. After citing the fact that “not one charge of moral crookedness has | been made against any man” connect- ed with the administration, while in all other wars such accusations were made and sustained, he added: “What is the use of standing here and muck- raking this. administration. * * * * Are we not all trying to do our very best? Is there a Republican on the other side of the Chamber who is not behind the American people in this war. * * * * * Do we not know we have got to win, and that the only way in God’s world to win is to sup- port the men who happen to be in au- thority ?” er —————————————— Pershing’s men have had the proverbial “baptism of fire” and the the report is that they stood well up to it in all its ugly phases. Fire, gas or bullets are alike to your Yankee lad when he is on the firing line and Jack Pershing will never have to blush for his boys. Railroad Bill Will be Opposed. Senator Cummins, of Iowa, and oth- er Republicans in Congress are organ- izing opposition to the proposed leg- islation regulating the government control of railroads. Senator Cum- mins bases his opposition to the pro- vision for compensating the railroad corporations during the period that the roads are under government con- trol. He is afraid the government will be too liberal. Other Republicans will give other reasons, no doubt, for opposition. But the real reason which influences all of them is the purpose to embarrass the administration for the next Presidential campaign. That is the paramount problem of this ses- sion. Legislation on this subject must be enacted during the present session of Congress. The railroads have been taken over and are at present being operated by the government under | the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. This action was taken in pursuance of legislation enacted dur- ing the last session with an agree- ment that the details of operation would be expressed in legislation to be considered subsequently. The wis- dom of the action has been clearly demonstrated notwithstanding the ad- verse weather conditions which have obtained during the period. But the failure to complete the legislation might jeopardize the plan and neu- tralize the advantage. The pending bill has been carefully considered by the Interstate Com- merce committees of both Houses of Congress after full and free consul- tation with the experts in railroading of the country. It properly fixes a time for the surrender of the proper- ties to their owners and though opin- ions differ upon that question those friendly to the administration are unanimous on the provision to which Senator Cummins objects. Mr. Mec- Adoo would prefer a measure without a fixed time for ending government control but other well-informed and well-disposed persons are of the op- posite opinion. The thoughtful peo- ple are likely to concur in this view. There is grave danger in leaving the | matter to opinion. BELLEFONT STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. Success May be Made Certain. | If the Democrats are not successful | at the polls in this State this fall they will have themselves to blame. The Republicans are hope- { lessly divided. Their so-called lead- ers may be drawn together by the i magnetic force of public plunder but !the voters will not consent to the i traffic. The time for such commerce has passed. Senator Penrose may | consent to the spoliation of the city of | Philadelphia by the Vares and the ' Vares may agree to giving the State over to the predatory operations of Penrose and his gang. But the people will not ratify such a contract in vice. They have learned that Democratic victory doesn’t mean commercial stag- nation and industrial paralysis. But the Democrats of Pennsylvania can make it possible for even an alli- ance to succeed. A true Democrat has an irrefutable aversion to party bossism. Itis a form of servility which he will not or cannot endure. True Democracy requires a full meas- ure of individual independence and complete equality among men. If the Democratic leaders should, this year as they have in the recent past, un- dertake to select candidates in secret conclave at a distant city, the rank and file of the party would be so out- raged and resentful that the Penrose- Vare conspiracy might be successful, by default. We hope nothing of this kind will happen. It certainly should not happen. Public officials enjoying the fruits of party victory are always unsafe party leaders. Party favors breed personal selfishness and public office is usually a reservoir of insolence. Men enjoying long continued tenure in office come to imagine that they have divine right to the title. Party leaders make themselves equally of- fensive when they usurp the functions ‘of the people. Party candidates | ought to be chosen by the party vot- ers in the open where every voter has equal opportunity with others to ex- 'ercise full liberty of thought and ac- tion. If the Democratic party will proceed on these lines to select a tick- et this year its success will be as cer- tain as that day follows night. Political gossips are speculat- ing upon the question as to whether or not Denny O’Neil will resign his present office when he opens his cam- paign for the nomination for Gover- nor. We are not in Denny’s confi- dence and therefore feel at full liber- ty to say that he will not resign one | office until the commission for another 'is absolutely certain. Result of Chamberlain’s Break. | Senator Chamberlain’s self-defence of his careless tongue vindicates the adage that “a renegade is worse than ten turks.” In a speech delivered in { the presence of a lot of enemies of the President, assembled at a banquet in | New York recently, the Oregon Sena- ‘tor said that all the departments of ‘the government had fallen down un- ' der the strain of making preparations for the war. The speech was printed in a New York paper and came under | the observation of the President, who | asked Chamberlain if he had been cor- rectly quoted. He said he had, where- upon the President accused him of ‘having distorted the truth. He might have appropriately used a “shorter | and uglier word.” Senator Chamberlain was elected las a Democrat and under that pre- tense was made Chairman of the Sen- ‘ate committee of Military Affairs. In | that capacity he instituted an inves- ‘tigation of the operations of the War { Department during which he has em- ployed every available expedient to embarrass the Secretary of War and discredit the administration. This ‘course naturally attracted the notice and won the admiration of Roosevelt and other ambitious Republicans who are willing to sacrifice the country to ‘gain party advantage and he was in- vited to address them in New York. Flattery has made many a stronger man foolish and some refreshments lead the tongue into absurd adven- tures. In any event Chamberlain seems to have formed a partnership with Roosevelt and started an open fight against the President. But he began badly. He denied the statements con- tained in the newspaper report that he had said “all the departments have fallen down,” and protested that only the War Department had collapsed. After this beginning he limped through a forest of verbiage, quoting all the unfriendly evidence that had been submitted and suppressing testi- mony of every witness who testified intelligently. If his purpose was to win the everlasting gratitude of Roosevelt he has succeeded and “that’s all.” — Strikes suppressed at the point of the bayonet are never permanent- ly settled. “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still” and the labor strikes in Germany will be causes of worry to the Kaiser for some time to come. E, PA.. FEBRUA | 3 Penrose and Vares in Agreement. Senator Penrose and the Vares have ' come to an agreement, according to current gossip, for the coming cam- | paign. These gentlemen have been | saying some hard things about each other and threatening all sorts of re- prisals. But the hope of plunder has ‘brought them together and they are ‘now pulling for a common purpose. ‘The Vares to get one place on the Penrose ticket and a license to loot ' Philadelphia to their heart’s content. Penrose gets all the other places on ‘the ticket and all the rake-off from | grafting operations in the State. In ' this deal the Vares are surprisingly ‘modest. They might have got anoth- ler candidate out of the seven. But | they care more for spoils. State Senator Crow, of Fayette | county, spent two or three days in | Philadelphia last week working out , this harmony plan. It looked like a tough job in the beginning, but Crow |is patient and persuasive and under- | stands the subject. Penrose wanted Sproul for Governor and as many oth- ler State nominations as he could get. | The Vares would like to pose as State {leaders but cupidity is their ruling | passion and the license to loot the big city was so enticing that they sacri- ficed their irridescent dream of State | control. It may come later when they l are better able to bear the expense ‘and after the defeat of the Penrose ticket makes it an easier proposition. ' They are thrifty as weil as cunning. But what of the people of Pennsyl- | vania if this vicious conspiracy is rat- ‘ified at the coming election? At the | recent election a majority of the peo- | ple of Philadelphia organized a party land conducted a campaign to prevent 'the use of a license to loot, to the { Vares. Though counted out by fraud they elected enough councilmen to ac- complish their purpose. But Penrose betrays them into the hands of their enemy and in consideration of an un- restrained privilege to loot the State, sells to the Vares the license they cov- et. Will the voters of the State stand for this outrage upon their rights and property? Penrose appears to believe they will for his own friends boldly announce the deal. The New Flour Regulation for Cen- tre County. For the guidance of all dealers in flour in Centre county I herewith sub- mit the latest federal requirements covering the sale of same. The at- ' tention of all dealers in the commodi- ty is respectfully called to its provis- ions with the request that they adhere | strictly to them until further orders are promulgated. W. FRED REYNOLDS, Food Administrator for Centre County Col. W. Fred Reynolds, Bellefonte, Pa. Please arrange to give the fol- lowing wire publicity in your first lo- cal papers published: To all dealers in food products and to the consuming public in the State of Pennsylvania. { The President of the United States has by proclamation called upon the American people to further aid in the conservation of our wheat supply and other food staples to such an extent as will enable the continued support of our armies and the armies and ci- vilian populations of those countries associated with us in the war. Per- suant to this proclamation the Unit- ed States Food Administration has is- sued instructions limiting the sale of wheat flour by the trade to the ratio of one pound of wheat substitute to each pound of flour purchased; the rule to be strictly observed by all wholesale and retail dealers in food unless modified by such specific writ- ten authority as might be granted in exceptional cases by State Adminis- trators because of a general shortage of wheat substitutes and difficulties and delays incident to transportation. The proposed ratio of sale was tem- porarily modified in this State. The authorities at Washington now, how- ever, believe that ample time has been afforded the trade to renew and re- plenish stock of the wheat substitutes to sufficient extent to henceforth per- mit the full operation of the govern- ment regulation even though such op- eration may still for a time be attend- ed by inconvenience in some localities and establishments. The need for wheat conservation is so serious as to demand instant co-operation on the | part of the entire public. It is ac- | cordingly ordered that beginning | Monday, February fourth, and con- | tinuing until further notice all deal- | ers in wheat flour either wholesale or retail will be permitted to sell it only in combination with other recognized | | wheat substitutes. The minimum ra- | tio of one pound of wheat substitute | to each one pound of wheat flour sold | unless it is first definitely determined | that wheat substitutes in equivalent | quantities have been previously pur- | chased from another source. For the ration by flour purchaser within the (Continued on page 4, column 1). RY 8, 1918. present a written and signed decla- The German Strikes. From the Lancaster Intelligencer. Germany is evidently having her dwn troubles and lots of them, but it would be a fatal mistake to count up- | on them to weaken her war power this spring. Her military discipline is too ! stern for that and her whole system ‘of government too efficient and thor- ‘ oughgoing. In spite of strikes and | varied unrest, her war front efficiency | is likely to be undisturbed until she strikes the long-expected offensive blows on the western front. Then, if ! she is even partially successful, she may be expected to crush the inter- nal disturbances with an iron heel, but if she is unsuccessful we may look for the beginning of the end. The imperial German power at home, as well as abroad, depends, like all such power, upon success in war. These strikes are not at all like the they are practically strikes against war conditions. According to advices by the way of Switzerland, the Berlin strikers are demanding first of all “accelerated conclusion of a general peace without annexations or indem- nities.” They demand a lot of things besides including a participation of la- bor delegates in the peace negotia- tions, a point highly suggestive of Russian ‘ Bolsheviki influence, but it is most significant that peace in a hurry comes first. Evidently, the working masses of both the Central Powers are having a desperately hard time of it, the attention and resources of the governments being firmly con- centrated upon maintaining and feed- ing the armies. The news should urge the greatest effort on the part of all the anti-Teu- tonic governments to push the war vigorously—to strike while the iron is hot. There should be no waiting for a German offensive, for the best defensive is always offensive, as the Germans themselves have often shown, and as the Italians are even now showing. Wherever there is force enough and conditions at all fa- vorable, we may look for a forcing of the fighting by our allies regardless of what the Germans may do; but the Germans are not likely to keep them waiting in spite of strikes in Berlin, or at Kiel, Hamburg, or anywhere else in Kaiserdom; for labor troubles won't trouble the war lords if they re- main triumphant, and more than the old Roman conquerers were troubled by the howlings of plebeian Rome. German democracy, ili ME ther deo: mocracy, can only hold up its head if autocratic armies are defeated. The Case of Mooney. From the Johnstown Democrat. It is interesting to note that the commission appointed by President Wilson has reported that Thomas Mooney, the San Francisco “bomb thrower,” was convieted as the result of a “frame up.” Mooney was brought to trial just at a time when there was a pretty general demand for some sort of victim. The President is at- tempting to secure a mew trial for Mooney under circumstances that will make it possible to weigh the issues. It would not be surprising in times like these to find that here and there men had been railroaded to the gal- lows or to the penitentiary as a re- sult of an infuriated public opinion. Such things happen in all lands in war times. They frequently happen even in times of peace. The President is to be commended because of his en- deavor to make it certain that Mooney is guilty before he is hanged. Every nation will have plenty of things to regret in connection with the war, but the hanging of innocent men should not be one of them. There must be a considerable ele- ment of doubt in the case, or the com- mission appointed by the President would not have interfered. Whole World of Hope. From the Springfield Republican. The outlook for our cause is en- couraging. Consider these great strikes. They take place not in France, nor in Great Britain, nor in Italy, nor in the United States; they take place in Germany, whose string of military victories is so long and so impressive. Is it not an astounding situation for a “victorious” mation to be thus afflicted while its “defeated” foes suffer from no such rupture of the bond between labor and the gov- ernment? Only last week the British labor party dedicated itself unquali- fiedly to the vigorous prosecution of the war, and this week hundreds of thousands of German workmen throw | down their tools and formulate de- mands to the effect that their govern- ment shall democratize itself and make a democratic peace untainted 'by the imperialistic spoilation of its neighbors. There is a whole world of hope in the contrast. Wants to Know the Hen Herself. From the Houston Post. Eggs are selling at a nickel each | wholesale and they are said to be yard eggs. We will believe they are | yard eggs, not when the dealers tell us so, but when we are standing in the barn lot where we can inspect the "nest as soon as the hen comes off and begins to cackle. — The Vulnerable Point. From the Baltimore Star. When it becomes necessary to ex- | pose those Hohenzollern boys to dan- ‘ger, then will the masters of Germa- ny propose peace terms that may be worthy of consideration. labor troubles of peaceful times, for SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —1In the recent thrift stamp drive at the Tarentum High school the students rais- ed over $25,000 to help win the war. —@G. Johnson Mellott, the mail contrac- tor between McConnellsburg and Mercers- burg, sold two fat hogs which aggregated 515 pounds and which netted him $152.25. —John E. Heckman, of near Chambers- burg, has a pig that is a museum freak, having two complete noses, two mouths, two tongues, two rows of teeth and three eyes. —An honor roll containing thirty-four names and a service flag with the corres- ponding thirty-four blue stars, was ded- icated at the regular meeting of the Sons of Veterans, of Indiana, last Friday. —A small epidemic of diphtheria has broken out in Knoxville, Indiana county, and the authorities of the Health Depart- ment have closed the schools there in or- der to check the spread of the disease. —Cleo Schenck, a well knonw resident of Clearfield, met with a most serious if not fatal accident when he slipped and fell off the Penn Public Service mine tipple at that place Wednesday morning of last week. —The Melville Woolen company has re- ceived authority from Col. Dalinski, Quar- termaster Department of the army, that their mill in Skeysville which manufac- tures 16-ounce melton cloth for soldiers will be permitted to operate. —David Smiley, of Punxsutawney, night watchman at the company store in Elea- nora, died shortly after noon Wednesday. as the result of frightful gunshot wounds in the head, inflicted by the. accidental discharge of his shotgun at an early hour last Wednesday morning. —Austin Mervine, of Summerhill, a ma- chinist aged forty-three years, was in- stantly killed when he was run down by a passenger train in the Conemaugh yards of the Pennsylvania railroad, Saturday night. Mervine was repairing an engine when the accident occurred. —Fire almost totally destroyed the in- terior of the Star Clothing building in Market square, Williamsport, at 10:30 o’clock Monday morning. The flames were discovered in the basement of Camarinos candy store and gave the firemen a hard fight. The loss is estimated at more than $75,000. -—The Standard Steel Works of DBurn- ham have erected additional buildings which are now fully equipped for the man- ufacture of five-inch guns for the United States government. This plant has been seriously handicapped during the past month, working less than half time owing to a fuel shortage, but will start this week on full time. —Three Italians were shot to death at Monessen late Saturday night by three un- identified men, during a pistol battle on the main street of the town. The dead in- clude Tony Longo, of Monessen, and two unidentified men, who, it is believed, re- side in either Brownsville or Monongahela. Authorities express the opinion that the fight was the outcome of a Black Hand feud of long standing. —Almost $1,900,000 was received for Ili- censing of motor vehicles at the State Highway Department in January, all rec- ords for revenue being broken and this sum will be added to the funds available for the maintenance of state highways, in- cluding the cost of keeping the roads free of snow. Ia the registrations were .over 150,000 automobiles and almost 18,000 trucks. : —Contracts for reconstruction of two sections of state highway in Erie county, which will aid in linking up New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio roads were let on Friday by Commissioner O’Neil, who stat- ed that they were needed for transporta- tion of military supplies and foodstuffs. Bids for road construction in Clearfield borough were rejected because Clearfield authorities refused to join in agreements. —The State Health Department at Har- risburg on Tuesday received notices of five new cases of smallpox in Pennsylva- nia, three in Erie, one in Sharpsburg and another in Sharon. Two of the three pa- tients in Erie are children and announce- ment was made that the arrest of J. W. Wright, principal of a school there, would be ordered because of the alleged viola- tion of the law providing for the vacecina- tion of the school children. Federal authorities last week took into custody at Windber, Andrew Janasz, an Austrian, charged with violation of the espionage act. Janasz, it is alleged, ridi- culed the draft law and boasted that he would never fight for this country, even if he was a citizen. A week previous he was arrested by George Wilkinson, chief of the Berwind-White company police and held pending the arrival of federal officers. He is in the Johnstown jail. — The Anthracite Brewing company, of Mt. Carmel, feeling the effects of the de- crease in consumption of its products, is equipping a portion of its big brewery for use as a creamery. Malone brothers, own- ers of the brewery, own a 100-acre farm near Fountain Springs and have herded there more than 100 well bred cows. The product will be transported by auto- trucks from the farm to the combination brewery-creamery at Mt. Carmel, and within a short time butter and other creamery products will be placed upon the market. The Messrs. Malone declare that if “the worst comes” the entire plant will be transformed into a creamery. Hunted by police and detectives since late Monday night, when it is said he shot and killed his wife, J ohn Bodner, of Erie, aged thirty-seven years, was probably fa- tally wounded on Tuesday im 2a revolver duel with Patrolman Benjamin Chamber- lain, one of the men detailed to search for Bodner. The alleged wife murderer was reported dying in a hospital in that city. Bodner when discovered by Patrolman Chamberlain began firing at the officer and it is said fired five shots before one of the policeman’s shots took effect. The body of Mrs. Bodner was found in the Bodner home by neighbors. A -aven-year-old son is said to have told t .e police that “Papa did it.” —A legacy of $3000 has been left to Hen- ry C. Kraft, of West Hazelton, Pa., a min- isterial student with the 311th Field Ar- tillery at Camp Meade, Md., by the Rev. §. A. Bridges Stopp, a Lutheran clergy- man of Allentown, who also gave Kraft 200 books from his library. Kraft was a friend of the deceased clergyman while a student at Muhlenberg, from which he was graduated last June. He was at Mt. Airy Lutheran Theological Seminary last fall preparing for the ministry when the Gov- ernment ruled that he was not enrolled in any college as a theologian on June 5, when he registered for the draft. He was called to the colors, threw down his books and reported at Camp Meade.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers