INK SLINGS. —In ten days the shortest day of the year will be here. Then, oh then, as the days lengthen the cold strength- | ens. —As yet no sign of any of the many deer that have been shot in Centre county has been discovered in |.- this office. —For goodness sake, if you haven't done that Christmas shopping, get busy while there is a chance to get what you want. —Some miners must be content ith the wages they are taking down. Fifty cars of coal arrived in Belle- _ fonte Tuesday. Thank the Lord, the President was well enough to sit down on Sen- ator Fall’s attempt to plunge the country into war with Mexico. —It was forty-four degrees below zero at White River, Ontario, on Tuesday, and they say we're to get a taste of it. Me for a place behind the kitchen stove. —That Snow Shoe hunter who held his wounded deer by the tail until help came and put it hors du combat sure- ly would have been out of luck if the tail hold had slipped, as it most al- ways does. —The nicest Christmas present you could send a friend would be the “Watchman” for a year and your or- der to have it done would be a nice present for us too. What a fine way to kill two birds with one stone. —The coal strike is off temporari- ly. The miners have accepted the President’s proposal of a fourteen per cent. advance with a commission to investigate and report within sixty days on the practicability of a further incraese in the pay. . —Slacking at your work is one of the causes of under production . and higher cost of living. Unless a work- er is really producing what he is be- ing paid for the value of his product must be watered to cover the loss oc- casioned by his slacking. . —The comb of the little red hen is growing redder and redder. She is beginning to sing a bit, as she scratches and pecks around the yard and her new feathers are maturing fast. Unless we miss our guess it won't be long until there is a drop in eggs, | |. . —Eleven dollar suits are quite the fad in Paris as a means of overcom- ing the old H. C. L. We would be glad to take a chance in one, even in: a rain storm and without the protec- tion of an umbrella, but of eleven dol- lar suits in this country: Well, there ain’t no_such animal. ! ~—A lot of the boys were getti ready to wet their whistles last Mon- day night when it was thought the Supreme court would hand down a de- cision declaring war-time prohibition unconstitutional. But who ever heard of the Supreme court handing down a decision when it was expected. —The time is drawing near when George Harter will occupy the unique position of being the only Democrat who has a continuous job in the court house of Centre county. It’s pretty tough, isn’t it; the way they've pried us out of everything except what the law wouldn’t allow them to do. —Assuming that the miners have lost an average of twenty-five days since they went out on strike and as- suming that they will go back to work soon at an increase of fourteen per cent. it will take one hundred and seventy-five full working days before the advance will have squared the Joss they have suffered through idle- ness. —Governor Sproul declares that people want relief from governmental meddling in their private and person- ‘al affairs. He might have been talk- ‘ing about any one of the half dozen or ‘more departments over which he pre- sides here in Pennsylvania, but he wasn’t. He was sounding the key- note of the Republican campaign for 1920 and was referring to the federal government. We Pennsylvanians are living in such a fragile glass house of our own that it seems very dangerous for us to be throwing stones. —Ole Hanson says that while the country is deluged with red literature designed to accomplish the overthrow of our government we have nothing to combat it but the press. In other print he finds mothing but the consti- tution and the Bible and, as he says, “few people read either of those.” How lamentably true is'this state- ment of the strike-breaking Mayor of Seattle, and how little need would “there be for the fearless service he is rendering the country if more people did read the Bible and particularly that part of it recorded in the ninth chapter of 1st Corinthians. —Some of our readers may look upon our request for a little of that money due us on subscription as a joke, but we wish to impress upon them the fact that it is no joking matter. While very busily engaged in getting out the last issue of the “Watchman” so that all its readers might have it on time we made the horrifying discovery that the rear bo- som was out of the only pair of trous- ers we own. For years past we have been going around without any of na- ture’s covering for our head and have always been able to put up a. good front to the ladies and public at large, but we don’t relish the aspect of not being able to turn around without lay- ing ourself open to the charge of be- ing double-faced and trying to work the public from both ends. So please pay up. 1 i i i STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL. 64. BELLEFONTE. PA., DECEMBER 12, 1919. NO. 49. Perturbed Republican Leaders. “A guilty conscience needs no ac- cuser.,” Since the day of Senator Lodge’s victory and the German tri- umph in the defeat of the peace treaty the wiser Republican leaders have ‘been in a state of consternation. All | sorts of fears have sprung up before i them and every imaginary evil haunts | them. National chairman Hays im- | mediately fssued orders to sound pub- lic sentiment and organize defences. Finally the bulky form of former President Taft loomed up as an | avenger. ‘Republican National committee held on Wednesday and make formal pro- test against the un-American action of the Senate in serving the cause of German autocracy. : But this was only an imaginary danger superinduced by the conscious- ness of wrong done. Mr. Taft ex- pressed regret that the leaders of his party were obtuse and perverse enough to perpetrate so grave a crime against the country and human- ity. But his indignation never takes the form of action. He is a fine gentleman, who abhors evil and is willing to make mild protest against it if he can do so without offending any one. : But the idea of him appear- ing in the open and vigorously pro- testing against: anything is repug- nant. He would hardly trust him- self to dream anything that might disturb the equanimity of his bitter- est enemy. William Howard Taft is simply about two hundred and seven- ty pounds of amiability. : “The wicked flee when no man pur sueth.” Strangely enough the fears of these guilty Republican leaders as- sociated the person and whiskers of former . Justice Hughes with Mr. Taft in an imaginary crusade against the unrighteousness of Lodge and Knox and Sherman. In the recent ex- altation of Hungry Hi Johnson to the supreme leadership of the party Jus- complaint. But for Johnson’s perfidy Hughes might have been elected Pres- ident in 1916 and the trend of affairs litical pacifist like Taft and neither “of them.is. likely to.lead a revolution There are others, however, and the future is threatening. ——Probably Senator Newberry, of Michigan, has arranged a “pair” for the period required for his trial on a charge of fraud. But he must have induced Jim Read, of Missouri, or Gore, of Oklahoma, to oblige him. No Hope of Improvement. The promise of “greatly improved political conditions” in Schuylkill county, will be taken with a grain of allowance by close observers of poli- tics in Pennsylvania. It will be ad- mitted that there are plenty of rea- sons why political conditions should be improved in that county. Only the other day the Republican leader and one of the foremost citizens of the county was convicted of forgery in Philadelphia, and stuffing the ballot box has been a favorite diversion of ‘the voters in that county for years. But such crimes have been profitable to those concerned in them and as no- body else appears to take any inter- est in the matter, there is not likely to be any change in the program. A few weeks ago the election board of one ‘of the voting precincts in Pottsville was brought into court charged with a fraudulent return of the vote. Twice as many voters tes- tified that they voted for a certain candidate as there were votes return- ed for him.. The ballot box was open- ed and found empty and other evi- dences of fraud were presented. But the jury acquitted the defendants and the judges allowed the verdict to stand. The plain inference is that the jury as well as the court was in full sympathy with the criminals. It must have been agreed that the law shall not be permitted to interfere with the principal industry of the county. It is not an infant industry but needs nursing. Political = conditions in Schuylkill county will improve when the pres- ent leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties in that county are safely lodged in the penitentiary. In some sections where party vice pre- vails the death of the leaders might work reform. But that is not the case in Schuylkill county. There, when one crook dies another trained to the iniquity takes his place and the sin- ister progress of corruption goes on as if nothing had happened. The leader who escaped on a legal tech- nicality last week will continue to serve in the public office into - which ago and will ‘enjoy. uninterrupted con- trol of the party and the county as long as he wants to. ——The withdrawal of many trains from railway service may accomplish two worthy ® purposes.” It may con- serve - fuel and “create the habit of staying at home. tice Hughes had ample reason for | vastly changed. But Hughes is a po- | or create even a teapot tempest. he was pitched by fraud some time | It was thought that he! would appear at the meeting of the ‘mines. resolution a couple of weeks ago pro- ‘with Germany is over. ‘to indicate his desire with regard to ‘was courteous as well as complete. “I -he said, and added, “it would consti- said sufficient to satisfy any rational to the Executive and to the Executive | End of Miners’ Strike. To all intents and purposes the coal strike ended when the miners in ses- sion in Indianapolis, on Wednesday accepted President Wilson’s proposal for a settlement. President Wilson revealed a deep feeling of sympathy for labor interests but pointed out that the public interests are of para- mount importance. He would cheer- fully give assent to any scheme that might conserve the interests of the miners if it did not work impairment of the interests of the people. The miners’ strike was threatening all branches of industrial life. Every industrial activity is dependent, di- | rectly or indirectly, upon it. Without fuel shops and factories employing millions of men will be forced to shut down and the sources of supply of food will be closed. At this season of | the year, moreover, the public health | is imperiled by the closing of the | But the government cannot ! afford to intervene in a way that would increase rather than diminish the distress. To increase the price of | fuel to the consumers at this time | would aggravate instead of mitigate | the evil of scarcity. The remedy had to be found in another direction | and that is what the President plead | for. With this purpose in mind and | with * sympathy for suffering in his | heart President Wilson appealed to the miners. “I ask every individual miner” he wrote, “to give his person- al thought to what I say. I hope he understands fully that he will be hurting his own interest and the in- terest of his family and will be throw- ing: countless other laboring men out of employment if he shall continue the present strike.” That was a solemn as well as a melancholy truth. It is equally certain that “he will create an unnecessary and unfortunate prej- udice ' against -organized labor.” We need the conserving influence of or- ganization in the industrial world and to sacrifice it would be calamitous. ‘After .considering . the President's proposal during a two day’s session’ the mine chiefs voted, with only one dissenting, to go back to .werk at the ‘fourteen per cent. increase proposed , But whether the workers remains to be seen, Because, in some fields, the advance allowed is actual- lyly less. than they were getting when they. quit. This may seem inexpli- cable to some, but can be explained in this way: The miners do not al- ways work for the scale they have agreed to. In some fields they are paid more than their scale and the government increase, being based on the agreed scale, in many cases will not be as much as the premium they were receiving before. _ This is likely to cause trouble in adjustment and may keep some mines closed indefinitely. Some Senators Snubbed. Senator Fall, of New Mexico, will probably concur in the opinion that there is no symptom of mental weak- ness in President Wilson’s letter con- cerning a resolution introduced into the Senate by Mr. Fall, the other day, “requesting the President to sever diplomatic relations with the Carran- za government of Mexico.” The let- ter also conveys a tip to Senator Lodge and other constitutional quack doctors which they might well consid- er carefully. The suggestion express- ed in the Fall resolution was of pre- cisely the same tenor as the Lodge posing that Congress declare that war Senator Fall asked the President the Mexican resolution. The reply would ‘be gravely concerned to see such a resolution pass the Congress,” tute a reversal of our constitutional practice . which might lead to very grave confusion in regard to the guidance of our foreign affairs.” If he had stopped there he would have mind. But he went a step further and added, “I am confident that I am supported by every constitutional au- thority in the statement that the ini- tiative in directing the relations of | our: government with foreign govern- ments is assigned by the constitution | only.” . Senator Lodge proposed in his res- olution that the war with Germany ' be daclared at an end. Senator Fall proposed that Congress instruct. the | President to sever diplomatic rela- tions with the Carranza government. | The propositions are equally imperti- nent and absurd. The President has taken an- oath. of obedience. to the con- | stitution. and the constitution specif- | ically fixes the President as the agent to. initiate all movements in relation to affairs with foreign governments. Senator Lodge called. Senator Fall | and Senator Brandigee into confer- | ence upon the receipt of the letter to Fall. They probably decided: that the Presidential mind is unimpaired. Germany Getting Gay. One effect of the refusal of the Senate to ratify the peace treaty is revealed in the refusal of Germany to sign the protocol and fulfill her oblh- gations to pay indemnity for the ships sunk by her submarines during the war. The German autocrats in- terpret the action of the Senate as ev- idence that the government of the United States declines to aid Europe in “struggling back to consciousness and order.” Without the help of { America Germany could not have been “stricken to her knees.” Now that the aid and support of the govern- ment of the United States has been ; withdrawn Germany feels that she can flout the European Allies of the ; United States and refuse to fulfill her pledges. This attitude, though alarming is not surprising. Early in the Senate discussion of the subject Senator Knox, of Pennsylvania, expressed an opinion that the treaty imposed un- just conditions upon Germany and for that reason ought to be rejected. His colleagues lacked the courage to adopt his suggestion by defeating the ratification but accomplished the re- sult by attaching reservations that nullified it. Naturally this action en- | couraged Germany to resist the en- forcement of the conditions to which she had agreed in the peace cenfer- ence. The cunning but not too con- scientious Germans discerned in the situation an opportunity to repudiate the treaty and insolently declared so to the Council. The latest information indicates that the Allies in Europe contemplate coercive measures to enforce the pro- visions of the treaty. This means, if it means anything, a resumption of hostilities and a renewal of the hor- rors of war. But probably that is what Lodge and Knox want. Their Leaving the Treaty. | From the Philadelphia Record. The determination of the President not to withdraw the treaty, but to leave it where it is for the present, is obviously proper. In the exercise of his constitutional authority he has ne- gotiated a treaty; the Senate has not consented to it, and there ‘it is; there is nothing at present to do with it. There is no use in withdrawing the treaty and re-submitting it, or of con- tinuing the debate on the treaty until it has been ascertained that 64 Sena- tors will vote for it. Amendments or reservations may be made to it, but they must be of such a character that after they are agreed to 64 Senators will vote for the treaty. Aa It is better that the treaty should fail than that it should be ratified and repudiated by the same vote. The treaty with the present réservations has no more effect than no treaty at all, but it makes the United States ridiculous; it invites contempt for us by making certain promises and then reserving the right to keep them or not, as we shall please when the oc- casion shall arise. ——] SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —The killing of two bandits at Orwell, Ohio, Tuesday morning was the result of information as to the attempted bank rob- bery that was given the Ohio sheriff by the Pennsylvania state police. —After walking fourteen squares out of his way to save a few cents on a peck of apples he purchased, Jacob Lucziewicz, 38 years old, of Mount Carmel, who has only one eye, was hit by an automobile at & street crossing and sustained two brokea ' legs. . | —Elias Cawley, of Washington town- i ship, Snyder county, who mysteriously disappeared about eight years ago, hss been declared legally dead. His will lefg in the custody of William Moyer, of Free~ burg, has been probated in the registers office and letters testamentary issued thereon. —While members of the family of Mrs. John Fortner, of Centralia, were in the kitchen, a few days ago, the waterback im the kitchen stove exploded, blowing parts of the stove and hot coal all over the kitchen. Miss Edith Fortner was burned by hot water. The women saved the home from being consumed by fire. 3 -—Fire destroyed the large tipple of the Pennsylvania Coal and Coke company af Winburne, Clearfield county, on Thursday evening of last week, the loss being esti- mated at $6,000. The blaze is thought te have criginated in a short circuit in the electric wires. The tipple is located at mines which have been closed during the , strike. —Some time during Wednesday night of last week robbers entered the stationery istore of J. H. Styers, in Selinsgrove, and carried off a case of fountain pens valued at $60. Strange to say, nothing else in the store was disturbed. It is believed that am entrance was gained through a cellar win- dow which offered easy egress to the store, The robbers operated without leaving a single clue that might aid in establishing | their identity. If the Republicans had honestly de- | —In his effort to slaughter a pig,” Rob sired certain changes in-the treaty they would have voted for them as amendments. They did not do this because their purpose of defeating the treaty would have been too evi- dent; they pursued what they deemed . the more cunning method of adopting the reservations, which have the ef- fect of destroying all the agreements. attached to the treaty reservations which nullified the agreements. They ‘may remain under the guilt .of sacri- | ficing the treaty in an effort to score ‘on their political opponents, or they can agree on such reservations as will not nullify the treaty. That is entire- ly possible, and the President has al- ready indicated his willingness to ac- | | cept reservations which wo not de- feat the treaty itself. or If the Republicans do nothing wiih ! will go into next year’s campaign wi {| The responsibility for: the failure is ; on the Republicans. It was they who | friends in New England and Pitts- | the sole responsibility for’ defeating burgh may thus hope to get new con- tracts for munitions and materials of war out of which they can spare lib- eral contributions to debauch the | the peace treaty ‘and arraying . the | United States against i of | Nations, and by the side of Germany ‘and the militarists. If ert A. McMeans, .-of near Dayton, Arm strong county, shot his nine-year-old som, who is now in the hospital at Punxsutaw- ney with a bullet through his spleen. The father was just about to shoot the pig ‘with a 22-caliber rifle, when a dog chased the pig. Mr. McMeans, in running after the porker, shot while it was on the “wing,” and instead of hitting it, sent the bullet into his son’s body. —Pennsylvania Railroad employees must ‘cease ‘‘cussing” during the time they are on duty, is the edict of a new order thag has come down the line. The use of pro- fane language is being frowned on by rail- road officials. On the middle division there has already been a number of em- ployees suspended for the use of profane language. Violators of the anti-cursing edict will be harshly dealt with on the first offense, and if repeated will be dis- missed from the service. Sp © The seventh annual meeting of the Pennsylvania State Educational associa~ tion will be held in Philadelphia Decems ber 20th to. January 1st. Arrangements have been .made with the United States Railroad administration for one and one- third fare on the certificate plan. The vote and elect a Republican President ¢&08 care to go into the campaign headquarters of the association will be at ‘next year. In any event a renewal of the war would discredit the present administration and help Lodge in his ght against President Wilson. And that . is'nourishing - food te. Lodge’s vanity. = . ——It would seem to.the average mind unnecessary for a court man- date to prove that “strike breaking” is “an extra hazardous employment.” i But some people imagine that they must be shown everything. ——On the sixth page of today’s paper will be found the President’s proclamation calling attention to the fact that work on taking the 1920 census will be begun on January 2nd, which is just three weeks away. Fol- lowing the President’s proclamation is given a list of questions which the enumerators will ask - and which it will be up to the head of every house- hold to answer, or every person over eighteen years of age. In order to have the answers to all the questions ready it would be well for every adult person to read the list very carefully, and it will greatly facilitate the work of the enumerator if the answers to all questions are prepared in advance. But please remember, that every answer given must be absolutely cor- rect and truthful and no attempt must be made at evasion of any question. No information given the enumerator will be made public so far as individ- uals are concerned, so that there will be no reason for refusing to answer. But there is another reason why you should not refuse, and that is that any one doing so, or giving evasive or un- truthful answers is'liable to a fine of one hundred dollars. Just who the enumerators for Bellefonte or Centre county will be is not known at this writing. is BSE 2 —Cut the first ice that forms thick enough for housing. Our experience during the last summer was sufficient- ly trying to make the ice question one worth careful attention. It behooves everyone who has an ice house to fill it and the earlier it is filled the better Lit will keep. — Every treaty entered into by the government involved the surren- der of some sovereignty and every citizen yields some part of his person- al liberty when he attaches himself to a community. ——1It may be possible to make a Presidential candidate out of General Wood but nobody will ever succeed in making a military hero of a man who never fought a battle. ——Senator Fall’'s Mexican mare’s nest hasn’t stampeded the country to a great extent. But it probably raised the hopes of munition makers. ——Free ‘speech is -a great asset but licentious mouthing is a danger- ous liability frequently mistaken for free speech. ’ 2 ; —Don’t guess in your business deal- ings. Try to know it. . with such a handicap, we admire their | | daring more than their sense dy The country wants e . thro | ouf thie. world, » ad to join other nations in’; “world assurance of this. ' If the Rept choose to “go into the next national = i | the champions of big armies and na- vies, and as the champions -of force represented by military power, rather the Susquehanna river at Lock Haven since than the champions of right, pledged to prevent any. nation from attacking i another till all the resources of a “: Normal school. po ope 0° 1 | campaign as’ the allies’ of Germany, as | | peaceful settlement have been ex- hausted, they have a right to commit i suicide. country. Why Worry? i From the Lancaster Intelligencer. | Verily these are the days of hope triumphant. - All sorts of alarms are ‘sounded in But they will not carty the scores of persons are being put to great the Hotel Adelphia and the general ses- | sions will be held in the Central High school auditorium. The department and "round table meetings will be held in the { William Penn High school and the Girls’ —A petty dispute between the commis- | sioners of Clinton county and the ferry- man in charge of the scow which has been hauling men, beasts and vehicles across the old covered brodge was burned down, oyer whom shall assume the responsibility for purchasing poles wherewith to propel the craft, has resulted in a cessation of the traffic. While the disputants squabble . inconvenience daily and are forced te make an extensive detour to get to Lock Haven from across the river or vice versa, —Five thousand dollars’ worth of furs , and high-grade women’s apparel was gtol- ‘en Saturday night from the store-room ‘of the daily news, but nobody bothers. The placid serenity of the public, ia the face of the successive develop- ment of all sorts of: strikes, the sugar shortage, the failure of the Senate to ratify the peace treaty, the prospect of a coal famine, and last and decid- edly least—the appearance of another of those pesky Mexican war clouds, remains undisturbed. There are lots of croakers, of course, and calamity howls continuously fill the air; but nobody really minds. Nobody appears to care a continental what threatens, or even what happens. The: stock’ market may show considerable nerv- ousness of speculator investors in ad- dition to its chronic depression, but even speculation goes merrily on—ifor money is scandalously cheap and quite a few people have more of it than is good for them while most of ‘us are too merrily busy gathering fifty-cent dollars to pay the H. C. L. to bother about anything else of merely human importance. The most startling news provokes only the most casual com- ment—ever placid and philesophical. Why worry? Pegvis The cause of this apparent indif- ference is distinctly evident in the bed rock conviction that all troubles and disturbances are merely a part of the after-the-war readjustment and will fade away in good time. It is a war- ranted conviction. What if the world is turned upside down.. It will ail come right with patience and when it does those who best mind their own business—and best understand what it is—have the best chance of finding themselves on top; or at least right side up. Inn? denfpas So let us, in the words of the war song, “Pack up our troubles in our old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.” Warnin g to Bachelors. From the Columbus Dispatch. With the greatly increased dispar- ity between the sexes that the war has caused there may be more than the or- dinary: danger to bachelors in the leap year that is only a month away now. Is There a Connection? From the Knoxville Journal and Tribune. P. Deisroth’s Sons, of Hazleton. Entrance was gained by the transom over the main entrance, and at their leisure the thieves looted racks and display cases. Shirtwaists of high grade, valued at about $1000 were taken, some of the more expensive being removed from the show cases. Three val- uable fur coats, forty-one neck pieces and eight muffs, together with silk garments, were also included in the loot. Police are working on the theory that a gang of thieves from outside the city robbed the store. —Bears have become such a nuisance in parts of Potter and McKean counties that Seth E. Gordon, acting secretary of the State Game Commission, issued a state- ment in which he expressed the hope that hunters will go into that section. “I have just beer investigating reports that bears have become so numerous that they are destroying sheep and raiding farms in Potter and McKean counties,” said he, “I have found such reports well founded and there is good bear hunting to be had. This is the last week of the season for such hunting and I hope sportsmen can help re- lieve a local situation in that part of the State.” ' . —Ground has been broken for the first of a group of orphanage buildings at the Evangelical home, located just north of Lewisburg. The structure will be erected at a cost of $40,000. It is the plan of the board of trustees to erect a building =a . year during the next ten years. Plans are now under way for the first wing of a hospital building. The Rev. A. A. Win- ter, superintendent of the home, went there from the western conference of the Evangelical church. He has asked the church for $100,000, to be used in exten- give improvements during the next four years, and an active campaign is now on throughout the denomination to raise: the amount. t —The Lewistown housing and Develop- ing company, with a capital stock of $300,~ 000, became a fact last week when the di- rectors of the local chamber of commerce decided upon a name. At the regular meeting of the organization Friday night $55,000 of the stock was subscribed and the balance assured. This will give the or- ganization a borrowing capacity of $400,- 000 with which it is proposed to erect 200 houses to cost from $3000 to $3500 each when completed. The organization has al- It is. claimed there is ‘more money ' qv secured options on the O'Meara in the United States than ever before, , sor once ur A t hE | r ¥ gently considered in the and it has been said, that the love 0 i building of the Masonic home now located | at Elizabethtown, and the Fleming tracts, money is the root of all'evil.. nn a er So a They are all good enough, but 3 F 1 both located to the east of Lewistown, and at the head of the Lewistown Nar- the “Watchman” is. always the best. . rows. . RV