pT INK SLINGS. — At present prices of pork there would be no economy in making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. —If everybody would be as frugal now as they were while the war was on there would be little in this h. c. L howl. Probably Carranza is hunting trouble and nobody ever failed to find all he wants of that unmarketable commodity. — The daylight saving law has been repealed. The Senate has sustained the House in passing it over the Pres- ident’s veto. —Of course we like the person who says nice things to us, but the one who does nice things for us has the shade in our favor. _ Strikes seem to be about as much of a fad as appendicitis once was. They could be cured the same way too, by cutting them out. —TIt may be said that some of those associated with the Brumbaugh administration have not yet come un- dér suspicion but not many. — Philadelphia ought not to be as much concerned about where Hampy Moore stands now as where he will stand after being elected Mayor. — Recent rains have put the finish- ing touch to the corn and late pota- toes in Centre county and made the old sod easy to plow. Surely the far- mer is in luck. — Read the story of conditions in Armenia, sent by Aimee Vanneman Higdon, on another page of this issue and if there is any heart in you you'll do something to help this work. —Why not ratify the peace treaty at once and amend it, if necessary, later. That is the way the Constitu- tion of the United States was adopt- ed and no one thinks it isn’t a very satisfactory instrument. —Williamsport’s chief of police wiil not arrest persons for selling two and three-quarter beer in that city be- cause he claims to have no instruc- tions to do so. Chief Tepel evidently isn’t next of kin to that official who “geen his duty and done it.” —Can anyone explain why nearly all the candidates for office in Centre county take such poor pictures? It is just possible they don’t, but a stranger looking over the collection of cards to be found most anywhere would be justified in thinking they do. —The high cost of living evidently hasn’t struck Mexico else those ban- dits would not have been so reasona- ble in the ransom demanded for the release of the two American officers whom they captured. They might as ‘well have had fifty as fifteen thous- -and dollars, - _s-Those striking New York trac- tio! en got a twenty-five per cent. raise in wages. None of the New York traction stocks have been par- ‘ticularly profitable investments so that this increase must result in in- creased fares else the properties will become insolvent. If fares are in- creased New Yorkers will kick more ‘than ever about the h. 1. ¢. and de- mand more investigations from Wash- ington without a thought of the real cause. —They tell us that the soft coal miners are getting ready to make de- mands that might send many men to sawing wood this winter. A dollar and a half a ton for mining, five days work a week, eight dollars a mini- mum wage per day for day men, min- ers to be hauled to and from their work in separate cars from their tools and a lot more fancy things that will boost the cost of coal are being talked of. Apparently there are more soft things than coal being thought of in the bituminous regions. —The trouble with Congress is that it spends all its time diagnosing the country’s case and none of it in find- ing a remedy. Surely the people must be weary of investigations that reveal nothing until so long after their institution that other troubles have entirely superceded them. It seems as though nearly every Con- gressman beats it up a blind alley the moment his constituents call upon him to do something. Now a lot of them think that cold storage is the cause of the high cost of living and want to make the packers and cold storage houses disgorge. It is a doubtful panacea. The records of the meat packers prove beyond question that they are carrying in cold storage only the normal supply of meat pro- ducts against the regular season when consumption exceeds produc- tion. And as to eggs. Everybody with a grain of sense knows that eggs are stored in the spring when hens are laying well to be brought out in the fall and winter months when the old hens are moulting and before the pullets have begun to lay. All the far sighted housewives in Bellefonte have from ten to thirty dozen of eggs down in water glass now and big re- frigerating plants are only doing for city folks what country people are able to do for themselves in this way. If all these eggs had been consumed when produced eggs would be a dol- lar a dozen in December and possibly more. To our minds cold and other storage stabilizes prices and never in- flates them unless a “corner” is at: tempted in some commodity. The high cost of living is due much to the fact that luxuries of yesterday are regarded as necessities teday in most American families and to our grow- ing disposition to be all dressed up and looking for some place to go. In other words we would all be better off if we were to. relaunch.that.old.cam- “paign of “back to simple life for me.” STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION, SOL. 41 BELLEFONTE. PA., AUGUST 22, 1919. Government Control or Ownership. The question of government owner- ship of railroads in this country is be- coming so acute that it would seem to be impossible to evade or side-step it. The approach of the time fixed by law for the restoration of the properties to their private owners admonishes railroad employees of an impending danger. To avert what they appre- hend will result in a return of low wages and a renewal of the irrepres- sible fight against organized labor, they are insisting on government ownership of the properties. With a force of upwards of two million men, mostly voters, behind them, their de- mands command attention from the politicians. Whether the movement will result in what they ask remains to be seen. ; Government ownership of the rail- roads of the country is a serious prop- osition. It is true that government control has materially improved both the properties and the interests of the employees. But the good has been achieved at great expense to the pub- lic treasury and the burden of replen- ishing the treasury is upon the peo- ple and mostly on the wage earners. Besides government ownership would involve an immense outlay of public money in the beginning and a vast expense in ultimately taking over all other enterprises of a semi-public character, for it is a step in the direc- tion of socialism which could not be stopped, if once begun, until it is completed. In other words it is a grave experiment. To return to the old methods which prevailed under private ownership is hardly to be thought of. But dread of that ought not to confuse the minds of railroad employees into the mis- taken notion that government control is the same as government ownership. Since sometime during the winter of 1917-718, the railroads have been un- der government control but in private ownership. To our mind it would be better and safer for railroad em- ployees to strive for a continuance of the existing condition rather than to demand the more radical measure of government ownership. Probably too much consideration to rewards of cap- ital was given in taking over the properties, but that could be changed in the new deal. Gi © Shortly before he retired from the office of Director. General Mr. Me- Adoo suggested an extension of the iod of five years under the belief that within that time the efficiency of gov- ernment control could be demonstrat- ed. But the railroads had taken pre- cautions against such an extension by electing a Congress adverse to the policies of the present administration. Railroad managers rather than rail- road owners want absolute control of the properties for the purpose of ma- nipulating markets instead of helping stock holders. Yet with the full force of the railroad employees behind the movement the present Congress might be forced to continue the present ar- rangement. That would serve the purposes of the railroad employees quite as well as government ownership and it wouldn’t be as expensive or nearly as dangerous to our system of govern- ment. Government ownership of railroads followed by the inevitable government ownership of all utilities, public and private, would destroy in- dividual initiative and take away every incentive to effort and desire for improvement. That would be a public misfortune greater than can be imagined by right minded men. But it is the dernier resort and unless rea- son prevails and compromise is effect- ed it may come and with it the calam- ities of present Russian demoraliza- tion. —————— —— The various political dates in Centre county will be kept on the go tomorrow if they cover all the big gatherings. Up Bald Eagle will be the Williams’ family reunion and Centre county veteran club picnic in the John Q. Miles grove at Martha. Down Bald Eagle will be the big wel- come home celebration at Howard and arrangements have been made there for a big crowd. In addition to the Howard band the Middle division P. R. R. band, of Altoona, will be present and help along with the music for the occasion. In addition to the above two gatherings citizens of Col- lege and Ferguson townships will hold a community picnic at Pine Hall. — Tuesday was the last day for the filing of candidates petitions to have their names appear upon the ballots at the September primaries, but there were no late hour surprises. On the Democratic side of the house John J. Bower filed a petition as a candidate for district attorney, while the other petitions were those of can- didates who have been before the public for weeks.. The same was ‘the case in the Republican ranks. About 570 different petitions were filed by those: who are candidates for nomina- tion fo the various borough and town- ship offices in the county. ——For high ciass_ job work come Hi the Watchman” of.” time of government control for a per-, candi- | { | In his conference with the Senate | committee on Foreign Relations on Tuesday President Wilson added lit- tle, if anything, concerning the peace President and Senate Committee. | Wholesome Advice to Republicans. | treaty, not already in possession of : the intelligent public. dent was one of great interest. It | was the first time in the history of | the country that a President was | catechized by a Congressional com- { mittee. It was upon his own sugges- | tion, to be sure, and after he had ex- : pressed a readiness to respond to a subpoena to appear as a witness. It | was likewise the first time in the his- tory of the government that any group of citizens, with an unfriendly purpose in mind, assembled to inter- rogate the President on any subject. In his preliminary statement to the committee President Wilson covered every point that could be made. He justified himself in the beginning in the statement, obvious to all thought- ful minds, that “action of the Senate be taken at the earliest practicable moment because the problems with which we are face to face in the re- adjustment of our national life are of the most pressing and critical charac- ter, will require for their proper so- lution the most intimate and disinter- ested co-operation of all parties and all interests, and cannot be postponed without manifest peril to our people and to all the national advantages we hold dear.” Of course that was lost on the bigoted bone heads who came to quarrel. The President then pointed out some of the interests that are suffer- ing through the delay in coming to a peace basis and then reverted to the absurd objections which have been set up against the ratification of the instrument. The Monroe Doctrine, he said, is expressly protected in the covenant of the League of Nations. Other domestic questions are equally well taken care of. The right to with- draw from the League after fair no- | tice is fully expressed and the exclu- | sive right of Congress to declare war is recognized. In fact it is shown that every objection is based on falla- cy and influenced by prejudice and because of this fact the extraordinary event in Washington was worth while. who endorsed Colonel Roosevelt’s Shantung affair. Bill Vare for Senator. of Philadelphia factional politics the people of Pennsylvania are to fish a Senator in Congress. In his resent- ment against Senator Penrose’s activ- ity in the interest of decent munici- pal government, Mr. Dave Lane who is variously termed “the sage” and “the seer” has determined to nominate and elect William S. Vare to the office of United States Senator for Pennsylva- nia. Brother Bill is the business partner of Brother Ed. in the contract- ing business and was given a seat in the House of Representatives in Washington several years ago, to con- sole him for a disappointment of his ambition to be Mayor. Now the sage proposes to advance him to a higher plane. Nearly a quarter of a century ago Mr. Boies Penrose was seized with an ambition to be mayor of Philadelphia and because he was defeated for the nomination through what the late Senator Quay denounced as the perfi- dy of Dave Martin, Quay consoled him with the nomination of his party and subsequent election to the great office of Senator in Congress. Dave Lane, who like the Bourbons of Spain neither learns nor forgets anything, ! now proposes to follow the same | course and transfer the Senatorial to- | ga from the shoulders of Penrose to | those of Brother Bill Vare. It would | be an insult to the intelligence and an | outrage upon the conscience of the | State but that would make no differ- ence to Mr. Lane. o | ‘But a disappointment will come in | this case to Dave Lane. The sugges- | tion is absurd but the people are like- ily to take it seriously and will see | that no such thing ever happens. The | Vares have grown rich by looting the treasury of Philadelphia through con- tracts and have increased in arro- | gance as their wealth has been multi- ' plied. But they have reached the lim- | it of power and the moment either of them presume to go outside of the | city for favors, political or otherwise, he will get a rebuke that will adhere | for a long time. Moreover the peo- | ple of Pennsylvania are not likely to | vest in Dave Lane the power of se- lecting their important officers. ! A little sober reflection would | show that under-supply is the basic | cause of high prices and that labor strikes are among the leading causes { of under-supply. Ee rei | ——Henry Ford didn't get a very | big verdict but any verdict that car- seizure of the Panama Canal Zone. going into conniption’ fits over the. It seems that out of the dirty pool | Yet the inci- There is no occasion for a man. | ries the costs in his million dollar li- | | bel suit is a burden to the other side. ——Subscribe for the “Watchman.” der hearted people. Mr. George W. Wickersham, of New York, who was Attorney General of | the United States in the cabinet of President Taft and is now actively | participating in the work of the League to enforce peace gave the Republican Senators some wholesome advice the other day. “Critics of the constitution,” he said, “opposed it be- cause it did not contain a bill of rights protecting the liberties of the States and the people and the con-: currence of some States, notably’ New York and Massachusetts, was secured only by promises that steps’ would be taken for early amendments to remove the objections most strong- ly urged. The first Congress redeem- | ed these promises by submitting the! first ten amendments.” Mr. Wickersham urges that the | same course be pursued with respect | to the covenant of the League of Na-. tions. “Let the Senate ratify the | treaty,” he says, ) i “and thus avert from America the reproach of depriv- ing the world of the great hope, the radiant promise of a world allied for the preservation of peace. Then let those measures for the improvement of the instrument, for the better safe- | guarding of the national traditions and institutions of America, be for- mulated by the Senate or by both houses of Congress and transmitted | to the American representatives in| the Assembly and in the council of | the League of Nations with instruc- | tions to present them for adoption as amendments to the covenant.” That is the advice of a great law-- yer and experienced statesman, a Re- publican who is influenced by patrio ism rather than partisanship. If adopted it will guarantee the ratifica- | tion of the peace treaty within a few | days and within a. fortnight start the : country on” a career of commercial . and industrial prosperity unparallel- | led in the history of the country. ! Everything is ripe and ready for such an era and enterprise is impatiently | waiting for the word that peace is re- | stored. The Republican Senators who | are holding up the treaty are stand- | ing in the way of this great hope of the future. Possibly they are doing ! it under a mistaken notion of duty | but it looks more like pernicious par- tisanship. i ——1If the Republican leaders were both honest irate .~they * would ! confess regrets that they forced an. extra session of Congress by filibus- tering at the close of the last session. Charles A. Ambler Arrested. The arrest of Charles A. Ambler for his share in the looting of the North Penn bank of Philadelphia, is a rather tardy but entirely just expres- sion of outraged public sentiment. The bank was closed more than a month ago and from the first it was known = that Ambler was impli- cated in its failure. - But those concerned in the work of adjustment of its affairs refrained from taking | the important step necessary to vin- | dicate justice as long as the public | would stand for it. Finally a warrant | was sworn out and the culprit was politely requested to appear for a hearing. It is believed that he will af- ford considerable assistance in fast- ening responsibility for the wrecking of the bank. Charles A. Ambler is a Republican leader in Montgomery county and has served several terms in the Legisla- ture, having been speaker during the session of 1915. Subsequently he as- sumed to participate in State leader- ship and became the Brumbaugh fac- tion candidate for Auditor General. After his defeat for that office he was appointed Insurance Commissioner and given control of the considerable revenues which come to the State through that medium. According to | the published statements he at Ser began “farming” the office for his! personal benefit and deposited a large sum of State money in the North Penn bank in return for accommoda- tions for himself and business associ- ates. The North Penn bank may have been rotten enough before Ambler got into relationship with it, for evi- dence since obtained shows that it was conducted in a slovenly manner for some time. But it is certain that Mr. Ambler entered into its affairs at a critical time and made it possible to entice a good many depositors after its insolvency was known to those on the inside. This was a grave offense against those who were thus victim- ized as well as a crime against the laws of the State and all those re- sponsible should have been appre- hended promptly. Former Banking Commissioner Lafean also improper- ly .favored the concern and drew fa- vors from it and he ought to he the next to be taken. en ecaieie — Lloyd George declares that he has a plan to settle the Irish question which is gratifying information for if it isn’t settled soon the Irish are like- ly to appeal to the black thorn stick. ——Londoners shout “prisons for profiteers” which proves them a ten- _NO. 33. | The one thing that Congress has the Anti-Saloon is paying the penalty for permitting Where the Blame Lies. From the New York World. Three months ago the Republican leaders in Congress were calling up- on heaven and earth to witness that nothing stood in the way of the im- mediate enactment of all necessary reconstruction legislation except the obstinate refusal of President Wil- son to convene Congress in special session. Thereupon the President convened Congress. It met May 19, and has been in session ever since. The coun- try has practically nothing to show in the way of reconstruction except the return of the telephone and tele- graph systems, which was forced by the President himself. : Nothing has been done to meet the critical situation created by the steadily increased cost of living. Nothing has been done in the way of legislation to return the railroads. Nothing has been done in the way of army reorganization, and the avia- tion service has been wrecked. The Shipping bill is still in committee. Every problem that has come out of the war is still unsolved, and only the insistence of the President him- self has kept the House in session to deal with the demands of the rail rond brotherhoods that they must lave new wage increases in the fall unless the cost of living is reduced. been eager to do and the only thing, is to pass the legislation framed by League lobby for the enforcement of Prohibition. Yet the blame does not rest pri- marily upon the Republican leaders of the House but upon the Republi- can leaders of the Senate, who have blocked everything in the way of re- construction while they tried to play 1920 politics with the treaty of peace. The Senate has had the treaty since June 10, and the committee on Foreign Relations is still dawdling along with “hearings.” Nobody knows when the treaty will be re- ported out; nobody knows how it will be reported out; nobody knows when the debate will end. : The first thing: to be done in the way of Heuideting the war and be- ginning the wor of reconstruction is to ratify this treaty. That is ele- mental. 0 away from war conditions while the Senate persists in keeping it in a state of war. There can be neither stability nor certainty anywhere while Senators are threatening so to mutilate the treaty that new nego- tiations may be necessary Or «the United States compelled. to a separate treaty with Germany. alli In the crisis that has developed over the cost of living, the country a little band of partisan Senators to play politics with the question of peace. These men have been allow- ed to make a football of the legiti- mate interests of 100,000,000 Ameri- cans while they were seeking a politi- cal issue that they hoped to capital- ize in the Presidential campaign nex? year. : That is the origin of the trouble and that is where the responsibility lies. The sooner the American peo- ple realize it and demand the ratifi- cation of the treaty the sooner they may hope for such adequate relief as Congress is capable of giving. When Thieves Fall Out. From the Williamsport Sun. The honest men remaining in Rus- sia seem to be on the point of getting their just dues, as the thieves aré falling out. Realizing that Bolshe- vism is a. failure, Lenine, the high and mighty apostle of that form of government, is calling a council of Russian business men to advise him how to lift Russia out of its desperate situation with commerce and trade murdered, social life demoralized, moral life choked to death and polit- ical life prostrated. It is indeed a sorry and revolting state of affairs and now, having degraded this once great and rich country, Lenine is con- sidering the advisibility of retiring. He is, according to more or less au- thentic reports, willing to agree to “denationalizing” of industry and calling of a constituent assembly. This is the first evidence of sanity the world has seen in the Bolshevik vre- mier. His ally, Trotsky, however, is hopelessly lost in his crazy dreams of Bolshevist hegemony throughout the world and continues to spread his di- abolical propaganda as he travels wherever Russian railroad lines are operating in a private car of the for- mer imperial train. The situation gives ample opportunity for the use The country cannot get | SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE —Prohibition has reduced the number of prisoners in the Berks county jail to 57. —A weasel killed thirteen hens, valued at §10 each, belonging to John Musselman an ‘East Allentown farmer, and was in turn slain by the owner of the chickens. The County Commissioners paid $2 for the weasel’s pelt. —Fenwick McCloud, of Clearfield, has received a check for $15 from the govern= ment, and an accompanying letter explain- ing that the amount was due his father for services rendered 53 years ago while a chaplain in the army. The father has been dead 47 years. —By the will of John E. Ker n, Wyn- Lote, probated at Norristown on Saturday, $2000 is bequeathed to Ellen Dreisbach, housekeeper, and she is to have $100 a year bonus for every year she continues 20 esp house for Kern's wife or his three sisters. s relatives share i 5 Siyters in his $115,000 —Quentin, Lebanon county, which changed its name from Bismarck, in hon- or of Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, who lost his life while serving as an aviator with the American forces in France, is to be remembered by Lieutenant Roosevelt's mother with a silver loving cup, which is to be placed in a prominent place in the Quentin High school building, where all public meetings are held. —A score of persons narrowly escaped death or serious injury when a bull, es- caped from a field, charged a Harmony route inter-urban car at Eckert stop be- tween Ellwood City and Zelienople, Bea- ver county, last week, derailing the ear which was brought to a stop on the edge of a 60 foot embankment. None of the persons aboard the car were injured but the bull was killed by the collision. —In addition to returning with a large mess of fish, James Schildt Sr., of Read- ing, who spent several days along the Per- kiomen creek, is the proud possessor of a $20 gold piece which he found in the stom- ach of a frog he captured. The frog made an unusual noise when caught and this at- tracted the angler. Schildt is sixty, is a veteran angler and says the finding of the gold piece is his strangest catch of all. —Howard Benchoff, residing on the Ba- ker farm, Franklin county, had to call in a physician as the result of a sting re- ceived from a bumble bee. Mr. Benchoff was ‘at work in the field when the bee struck him a stiff blow on the temple with | its stinger. Shortly afterward his face and body began to swell and his lips reached the bursting point. It was several days before Mr. Benchoff got rid of the poison injected in his system. —A long, hard winter is in store for the people of Pennsylvania, sccording to a number of well-known sharps of the Hicks and Goosebone clans, who have been fore- casting during the past few days. They declare the first four months of the winter will break records for severity. They base their predictions upon the fact that scarce- ly any caterpillars are in evidence this summer, and that mosquitoes and ants haven't appeared in their usual strength. —Oscar Brumbaugh’s distillery at New Enterprise, Bedford county, was entered by burglars several nights ago and all the whiskey Brumbaugh had out ‘of. bond, amounting to about a barrel, was carried away. The whiskey was taken away in smaller vessels and the barrel left there. The bonded wareroom in which all the ‘whiskey upon which the revenue was not paid was also entered, but Brumbaugh is not certain whether or not any of th Tguor in that room was taken. a —Roy L. Miller, of Woolrich, where he is employed in the Rich woolen mills, was badly injured by an explosion of the tire of his automobile, which he was pumping up. The tire burst with such force that he was thrown against a stone wall and sustained a gash above the right eye and several teeth knocked out and cut and bruised on the body by being struck with the pump. He was unconscious for over an hour. This is the second accident of this nature to occur in that immediate vi- cinity within a week, inflicting serious in- juries in both instances. __Title for 3000 acres of mountain land in Lewis and Cogan House townships, Ly- coming county, passing from the Central Pennsylvania Lumber company to the trustees of the Cornwall Mountain Club, last week, makes the second large transfer of property in that section of the county within a single month. A Pittsburgh club of sportsmen recently purchased a tract of nearly 3000 acres, including the head- waters of Gray's run, for a hunting pre- serve. The Cornwall club will use its new holdings for the same purpose. This is in the heart of the famous Trout Rum deer district. __John S. Myers, Huntingdon county's oldest citizen, will be one hundred years old next January. His ancestors came from France. He was born in St. Louis, January 20, 1820. His home is at Birming- ham and his third wife and three daugh- ters to his first wife live with him. He has a war record -probably not equalled by another American citizen. He spent three years in frontier Indian warfare, and is a veteran of the Mexican war, having served five years. He enlisted twice in the Civil war, first at Sunbury in Company F, 11th Pennsylvania Regiment, and served three months after which he re-enlisted in Company C, 131st Regiment. He has visit- ed France and Germany. A burglar entered the home of Joseph Flynn, of East Bradford, Chester county, through a window, stole Mr. Flynn's trousers containing $70 in a pocket, went into the room of a daughter, where he se- cured $4 in cash and some jewelry. In the lower rooms of the house he removed much table linen, dishes, a shotgun, thirty of the expression “I told you so” by those people of the allied countries : who ma ntained from the first that if | not interfered with the Bolshevists | would soon hang enough people and | cut enough throats to endanger their own lives through exhaustion of the supply of those whom they termed enemies to their interpretation of so- ciety. Present day events seem to justify their beliefs. High Rank in Political Machinery. Irom the Charleston Evening Post. Philadelphia is preparing for its quadrennial election, which is to say that the people will once again strug- gle to free themselves from the fet- ters of a machine that has no equal in this country. So —————————— Saw It Coming. From the Albany Journal. One is inclined to think that Mr. McAdoo saw something coming when he resigned from the position of di- rector of railroads. ———————— ——Subscribe for the “Watchman.” pounds of sugar just purchased for pre- serving, two gold watches and other prop- erty. The loot amounted to over $200, in addition to a check for $240, the proceeds of a sale of calves made by Mr. Flynn. As a pleasant reminder of the visit the bur- glar left a blue handkerchief, in which holes had been cut for the eyes of a mask and a new blackjack upon the bed occu- pied by Mr. Flynn and his wife. __According to the Rev. Dr. J. 8. Souser, superintendent of the Sunbury district of the Central Pennsylvania Methodist con- ference, the proposition advanced to buy: the $50,000 C. K. Sober paragon chestnut farm at Irish Valley, near Shamokin, for a home for orphans and aged Methodists has been abandoned. This was considered at the meeting of the yearly conference in Sunbury in March, but owing to inacces- sibility of train and trolley service it will have to be given up. A site near Harris- burg, is said to be regarded very favora- bly by the committee. Dr. Souser also gays that the conference district, which ex- tends from Hazleton to Bellefonte, will goon take up the matter of increasing the old age pension fund for ministers from: $200,000 to $400,600. This will allow a pen~ sion of about $400 a year. wo. . -