Doonan | INK SLINGS. —Let us hope that the old adage about a green Christmas making a fat graveyard fails of verification this year. ——It may be all right to keep up prices but when wages go down below the line that makes purchases at high prices possible there will be serious trouble. — Fither the New Year brought in too much booze or the Old Year didn’t take enough out according to the police records of the leading cities. —The New Year has started off very nicely, so far as weather is con- cerned, and if it has nothing worse in store for us all the cheery greetings we received on its first day will sure- ly come true. —1It is reported that there are five thousand unemployed actors roaming about the streets of New York. Goodness only knows how many more thousands there are doing one night stands who ought to be on the unem- ployed lists also. —From the “cut and dried” manner in which the Pennsylvania Legislature started off it begins to look like all the distinguished gentlemen whom the country counties certified to Harris- burg last fall are to appear in roles very much like that of “dummy” di- rectors on a corporation board. —One hundred and sixty-five gal- lons of whiskey were taken in a raid on two places in Altoona on Tuesday. How happy the director of the over- taxed water department of the Moun- tain city should be. Think of the sav- ing in water by the elimination of all the chasers that would have been re- quired for that amount of hard likker. — The revelations that are now be- ing made as to the way the public got it in the neck from the collar manu- facturers of the country during the war are startling, to say the least. After boosting the price of a shilling collar so that the retailers had to sell it at thirty-five cents they took the last bit of linen from it reducing the cost of its material content to three cents. The pirates. —Pittsburgh seems to be doing the sensible thing by jailing the crooks that are rounded up in that city. The police of all the large cities in the country have heen trying to check the crime waves but have been doing it merely by chasing crooks out of the limits in which they have authority. In other words they have been shift- ing the trouble to other cities, where the same costly and dangerous process has to be gone through with. If all would do what Pittsburgh has resolv- ed to do the bandits would soon be in places-of -safety -and order would be restored everywhere. —The Legislature of Pennsylvania has caucused and soon will be in reg- ular session. Democrats in it are al- " most as rare as hen’s teeth. In fact so few are there that there is talk that the party’s Members will not pro- pose a candidate for speaker. While Mr. Spangler will be chosen as the unopposed candidate of the House Re- publicans and the naming of a Demo- crat in opposition would be nothing more than a formality we are of the opinion that the formality should be gone through with. The Democratic party in Pennsylvania is about as near dead as it can be, but it is not so ut- terly gone that it can’t be resuscitated and it is with a hopeful look to that day that the “Watchman” suggests that the party’s Members in the pres- ent session of the Legislature do noth- ing that might savor of complete dis- integration. —Long ago the high brows of the Republican party got out from under the tottering tariff panacea. It has been a year or more since the Phila- delphia Public Ledger astounded its “protective tariff” readers by editor- ially commenting on an interview with no less a personage than the presi- dent of the Baldwin locomotive works, in which he had said that the tariff could never be a political issue again, for high tariffs are no longer needed. The Ledger gave the interview sym- pathetic enlargement. It is not to be wondered at, therefor, that Congress- man Fordney is meeting many stum- bling blocks in his efforts to get an emergency tariff bill started in this Congress. The wise know that what Mr. Vauclain said was true and they will be very wary about having their party flaunt the tariff fetish any longer before intei- ligent people. —The decisive defeat of the Ohio State football team by California, on New Year’s day, has set eastern grid sharps to wondering just how strong the “mystery team,” that big Andy Smith has built up on the Coast, is. While we never relied much on com- parative scores as a measure of a team’s strength, nearly all the east- ern critics use them when they hap- pen to help prove the right of a favor- ite to the claim of championship hon- ors. Since others whose dope carries greater conviction in the football world than any we might advance do not hesitate to use compar- ative scores when convenient why may we not figure out that Penn State is a much superior team to California. She was the only east- ern team to play a team that had met California last season. State defeat- ed Nebraska much more decisively than did California, therefor, if com- parative scores do count for anything State is about one touchdown strong- er than the conquerers of Ohio State. Republicans | Teme VOL. 66. Democracy’s Low Estate. The Pennsylvania Legislature or- ganized at noon on Tuesday with a to- tal of seventeen Democrats out of two hundred and fifty-seven Senators and Representatives, the smallest number in the minority party in the history of the State. No Democratic caucus was held, so it may be said that the party under the selfish management of the Palmer-Donnelly-McCormick machine is no longer strong enough to cast a shadow. And this at the close of a period of eight years of Democratic control of the National government | with the disposition of public patron- age of great value. It is a sad result of either imebcile or corrupt control. It is the logical result of a manage- ment by and for selfish interests. During all the period of Republican control of the government, from the close of the Civil war until the inau- guration of President Wilson, with the exception of the two administra- tions of Grover Cleveland, the Demo- crats of Pennsylvania maintained a militant and hopeful organization. There were no spoils to distribute or : rewards to offer. But year after year earnest battles were waged against the Republican machine and now and then a State victory was achieved, while the morale of the county organiza- tions was kept at a high point. But the organization of those days was managed by Democrats for Democra- cy, not manipulated to foster the ab- surd ambitions of selfish politicians. We enter upon the political calen- dar of 1921 with one Representative Senators in the General Assembly out and seven. The single Congressman chosen as a Democrat had the Repub- lican nomination as well and until re- and may return to his first faith be- fore the new administration has divid- ed the spoils of the late victory. These facts may serve a good purpose, however, if they will admonish the Democratic people of the State to drive the selfish and sordid bosses who are responsible for the present condi- tion of the party out of power and control..." =. : ~— — It is not probable that William Jennings Bryan wants to be postmas- ter of his home town under the Hard- ing administration. Mr. Bryan’s vis- it to the Marion front porch was more likely for some other purpose. Principal Cause of Irish Troubles. | The workingmen’s committee which | has been investigating the Irish | question for the information of the people of Eengland makes report that the principal cause of trouble in Ire- land is Premier Lloyd George. This conclusion arrived at after a patient and painstaking inquiry confirms an impression which has been in our mind for some time. If the accident or calamity of war had not brought Mr. George into control of the Brit- ish government it may be safely said a satisfactory solution of the Irish problem would have been reached long ago. But from the start he set him- self against any settlement of the dif- ferences that would be even fair to Ireland and in the end has converted the country into a shambles. Lloyd George is a Scotchman and not only retains but cherishes all the traditional bigotry of his countrymen in past years against Ireland and the Roman Catholic church. Just before the outbreak of the great war the matter was apparently settled by an act of parliament which was to some extent satisfactory to both sides. But the beginning of the war postponed the execution of the act. Soon after- ward Lloyd George succeeded to the Premiership. He insulted every red- blooded Irishman by calling the per- fidious Sir Edward Carson into the Cabinet and put the settlement of the question on a just basis back a quar- | ter of a century. Every step taken | since has made matters worse instead | of better. { It may safely be assumed, there- | fore, as the London Workingmen’s | committee has declared that the prin- | cipal cause of the Irish troubles is | Lloyd George. He has kept his place | in power since the close of the war by false pretense and hopes even if he | doesn’t believe that the cruelties of | the Spanish inquisition may work re- | sults now that they failed to achieve | when the world was ina state of | semi-civilization. With the wiles of | an opportunist he has worked evil not | only upon Ireland but upon England | and with the doubtful morals which | would compromise the butcheries of | the Turks and the iniquities of Soviet | Russia, he hopes to deceive the whole | world. ——The closing of Henry Ford's plant at Detroit is the surprising re- cent event. | billionaire philanthropist would pro- | vide work for his employees even at a sacrifice of profits. BELLEFONTE, PA in Congress out of thirty-six, three | of fifty and fourteen Representatives in the Legislature out of two hundred cently had been an active Republican | One would think that a STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. | Legislative Innovations. | The session of the Pennsylvania Legislature which opened at noon Tuesday has set new precedents and established innovations which make the old members “sit up and take no- tice.” memory of man runneth not to the contrary,” the Governor’s has been submitted as soon as the bodies were organized. This year the | message is withheld until after the two weeks’ recess to complete the or- ganization. There may be really good reasons for this change in pro- cess but it is not perceptible to the naked eye. As a matter of fact we have never been able to justify the | two weeks’ recess to complete the or- ganization. It seems to be only a trading proposition. But admitting the expediency of the long recess, for it enables the party bossess to reconcile disappointments, it might have been used to some pur- ‘pose by Senators and Representatives in studying the recommendations made by the Governor in his message and appraising the value of his sugges- tions upon which they are expected to act. en them this year. They may spend the time log-rolling with the party managers for coveted committee as- signments, but what the Governor has up his sleeve with respect to legisla- tion is left to conjecture. The states- ' men will return to their service at the , expiration of the recess just as wise as when they went away. So far as we have been able to dis- cover the Governor has given no rea- | son for his innovation on the practic- es of his predecessors. Gossip is more free with its tongue, however, and the reason it assigns is that the purpose is to delay as long as possi- ble a break in the harmony that at- tended the organization. In other | words it is intimated that the Gover- nor intends to recommend legislation that will be obnoxious to so many of the bosses that it was feared it might i wreck the party at the start. Just what sort of legislation he will recom- mend, that could work such disastrous results, has not been revealed. But the fact shows how feeble are the bonds that bind the party leaders to- gether.’ ——Former President Taft is sur- prisingly quiet these days but possi- bly he got a tip while in Marion that silence is golden when it is desirable ' to forget past records. | Hard Work for a Sick Man. Resuming his duties as head of the Senatorial oligarchy at Washington and directing the operations of the | Pennsylvania Legislature at Harris- burg, Senator Penrose on Monday en- tered upon a busy life. It may be hoped that the burden of his labor will not be beyond the strength of a convalescent for his Washington work will be mainly to prevent legislation and his legislative machinery in Har- risburg has been so perfected as to require little personal supervision. Just who will be his spokesman at the State capital has not been revealed but it is a safe guess that Mr. Joseph Grundy will be on hand and that he will speak through Mr. W. Harry Ba- ker, secretary of the State committee. But conditions are neither so placid nor as promising in Washington. Representative Fordney, of Michigan, who has long been afflicted with acute tariffphobia, is chairman of the House committee on Ways and Means, and determined to enact some sort of tar- iff legislation. With no understanding of the subject and little brain power, such a figure in such a position, like “a bull in a china shop,” is likely to make trouble and we predict that the hardest job for Penrose will be that of repressing this wild woodsman. Senator Penrose declares that “his views on high tariff have changed somewhat with the times and he is not prepared to endorse any particular program at this time.” From an interview given out by the Senator from his palatial apartment in Washington, the other day, it may be inferred that other important du- ties will devolve upon him when the new administration begins to function. “I do not think it makes any differ- ence who is Secretary of State,” he said, “Congress will blaze the way and will not merely sit up and take a program from the Secretary of State.” This means of course a rever- sal of the policies and the destruction of the traditions of the government from the beginning, and will involve | a vast amount of labor. But the Sen- | ator may be right in his purposes. The incoming President may need a | guide if not “a philosopher and | friend.” i 1 | ——1If current reports are accurate | Senator Harding is perfectly willing to let all other countries in civiliza- | tion disarm. | ——1Is your New Year resolution on straight and entirely comfortable? For a time so long that “the . message | But no such opportunity is giv- Sound Economic Ground. In vetoing the resolution of Con- ' gress to revive the war finance cor- poration President Wilson places him- self on sound economic ground. That corporation was created by Congress as an emergency measure for use in promoting export trade. Its method of procedure was to loan money to foreign importers with which to pur- chase products in this country. Sev- | eral months ago on the recommenda- ! tion of the Secretary of the Treasury | the President suspended the organiza- ‘tion. Actually it had expired by lim- | itation as it was to end within a year | after the restoration of peace. The failure of the United States to join | the League of Nations continued the state of war and kept the organization in life. In his veto message President Wil- son expresses warm sympathy for any proper effort to stimulate export trade. But he feels that it would be unjust to the people of the United States to tax them in order to loan money to foreign bankrupts even though the money should ultimately find its way back into the hands of American exporters. In other words he objects to levying tribute upon the public in order to bestow bounties on a few individuals in this country en- gaged in export trade and some spec- ulators in Europe operating with oth- er people’s money. That is entirely too much like the methods employed by Mr. Ponzi, lately of Boston and now in the Massachusetts penitenti- ary. In his veto message President Wil- son said “there is no question that the borrowing of the government should be limited to the minimum require- ments and that the government should not be called upon further to finance private business at public expense.” That is the truth. It is neither wise nor beneficial to advance money fc profligate use and Europe has already drawn too liberally upon the financial resources of the United States. The financial authorities of Europe fully realize this fact and have expressed discouragement of further emergency loans. Therefore there is little to ain and much to lose by such sloven- "Ty financial legislation in peace times, Just before Christmas a large percentage of the various lime indus- tries around Bellefonte closed down “for lack of orders.” In fact only a few plants were kept in operation. This week, however, some of the clos- ed plants have been put in operation though the industries are still far from capacity output. A reduc- tion in wages has also been made and the men have accepted it. While itis impossible to tell at this time just what the future has in store in a busi- ness way, experienced financiers all over the country are not at all appre- hensive. It is a well known fact that both wages and prices have been ab- normal for several years and a read- justment was as certain as fate. That the readjustment period is now here seems assured and the best way to meet it and have it over with as quick- ly as possible is for both capital and labor to have forebearance for each other. No business can be run at a loss and continue indefinitely. On the other hand labor is entitled to just re- muneration, and the only question will be the proper adjustment. Lower wages will naturally mean the reduc- tion of prices all along the line, and in the end the laborer’s dollar ought to have the same purchasing power. In any event there is no present cause for great alarm, and it is quite probable that it will only be a question of a short time until the lime industries hereabouts will again be in full op- eration. — Jury commissioners John D. Decker and Joseph Emerick have al- most completed their work of filling the jury wheel for 1921. Contrary to the original decision of the board not to put the names of women in the wheel, as announced in this paper, they finally decided to include the women, and in the neighborhood of fif- ty names of well known women throughout the county will be put in the wheel. Bellefonte’s quota is eight, and now we'll wager every woman in the town will be wondering if she is one of the eight. — The conferences of “great minds” at Marion may be diverting and useful but when the rush of anx- ious office seekers sets in at Washing- ton it will be different. ..——D’Annunzio’s New Years was not a happy one but if full and exact justice were meted out to him it might have been worse, but he never would have known about it. p— —— The inaugural ball is to be re- stored upon the advent of the new ad- ministration, but that is a matter of minor importance to the average cit- izen. .. JANUARY 7, 1929. i | | | i NO. 1. Without Fixed Ideas. From the Philadelphia Record. Senator Knox’s remark, after his conference with Mr. Harding at Mar- ion, in regard to the latter’s position on the peace treaty and the League of Nations, that he was “assured that he (Harding) has no set idea in mind,” in all probability represents the facts of the case. The President-elect seems to have no fixed convictions on this subject or any other, unless it be that the Republican party is a divine- ly ordained institution which is al- ways right, and it is altogether likely that today, two months after his elec- tion, his mind is in the same fluid and formless state that it was on Novem- ber 2. His idea of leadership is to hear all sides of a question and then to ask those holding diametrically op- posed views to get together and agree upon a compromise which will be ac- ceptable to all concerned. His own views, if he really has any, are entire- ly subordinated. His chief thought is to secure harmony and avoid party dissension. : There is nothing particularly novel about this revelation of Senator Hard- ing’s mind, which during his six years in the Senate never evolved a single idea of any importance, but it is in- teresting to conjecture how his theo- ries will work out when he plans to put them in operation as President. There is in the Senate a large and powerful group of Republicans headed by Knox and Johnson and including Borah, McCormick, Brandegee, etc., who are all men of greater force and intellectual vigor than the Ohio Sen- ator and who have irretrievably com- mitted themselves against the peace treaty. Through Knox they have just served what is practically an ultima- tum on the President-elect, that they will oppose any effort made to recog- nize the peace treaty in any way. On the other side are such well-meaning men as Elihu Root, ex-President Taft, ex-Attorney General Wickersham, etc., who want the League of Nations preserved in all its essentials with the addition of some reservations. None of these men hold official positions, and it is only by arguments and ap- peals to reason and justice that they | can impress their views on the next President. Placed between such contending forces and unable to effect a worka- ble compromise between them, it is not difficult to see where Mr. Harding is likely to land. He will go-with' the side that is most insistent and un- yielding in its views, that is, the Sen- ators, and particularly those of the ir- reconcilable type. Having no fixed idea of his own, he cannot successful- ly oppose those who are fanatical in their opinions and determined to push them, no matter what the cost. We look for stormy days ahead for Wood- row Wilson’s successor. Senator Knox’s frank statements leave little room for doubt that the Senatorial ol- igarchy, having nominated their man, will not be at all backward in demand- ing that, in default of any conviction of his own, he shall follow their lead- ership. PE——— A Great Forward Step. From the Philadelphia Public Ledger. The agreement that has just been entered into between the management and men of the Pennsylvania Railroad company marks a great forward step in the cause of a closer understanding and co-operation in industrial rela- tions. This new arrangement is the result of a full and free conference, in which the subject was approached in a spirit of friendliness and in which the employees were made to feel that they had an equal voice with the offi- cers representing the employers. The latter principle has been incorporated into the new agency that has been cre- ated for the maintenance of amicable relations; and if it is operated as in- tended, the expectation of the man- agement of the Pennsylvania, namely, that it should “not only make future strikes wholly unnecessary but should obviate even the necessity for ever taking a strike vote among the engine and train service employees” of he railroad, will be realized. The Pennsylvania is one of the greatest industrial corporations in the United States, but it is also a public utility, performing a service that is vital to the well-being and very exis- tence, in some emergencies, of the communities which it serves. It is of supreme importance, therefore, that the public should not always be made to suffer when men and management disagree on the conditions of employ- ment. And it is because this mutual working agreement should operate to safeguard the public interest, as well as the interests of the company and its trainmen, and thus set a precedent for imitation elsewhere, that is prop- erly to be regarded as a great forward step in stabilizing industrial relations in a field where there was vast room for better methods, a more humane and mutually advantageous under- standing. Let Us Hope, Tis True. From the DuBois Express. Captains of industry and financial leaders are of one mind in viewing the outlook for 1921 through the op- timistic glasses. From their vantage point of observation, they plainly dis- cern a rift in the clouds of readjust- ment and deflation and confidently af- firm that the most dangerous period of business depression has been safe- ly passed, and that early in the new year slowly reviving activity in all lines of trade will hearten the coun- try back to normal conditions. dst SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —The school house at Tamarack, Clinton county, was destroyed by fire recently, the cause ‘of the fire not being known. The loss is estimated at $2,000, with only $400 insurance. —John Geoelosky, who was deposed as a member of the state police for asking for the $1500 reward offered by the Montgoms= ery county commissioners for the capture of the kidnapper of Blakely Coughlin, has been made a member of the Pottstown force. — Frank Pelone, a stable boss at Union- town, found a stick of dynamite on Satur- day and put it in his hip pocket. Later, while working in the stable he was kicked by a mule. The dynamite exploded, blow= ing Pelone to pieces and destroying the stable. —A balloon carrying a powerful search- light passed over Punxsutawney early one morning last week. The huge gas bag was plainily discernible and caused consid- erable excitement among the early risers. The balloon was headed east and was trav- eling at a fair rate of speed. —Twenty-five head of cattle, four horses, farming implements and all the season’s crops were destroyed in a fire that burned the barn on the farm owned by Clarence Balliet, four miles west of Allenwood, Un- ion county. The. loss will reach $10,000, with half insurance, it is said. —State Game Protector W. C. Kelly, of DuBois, has just completed his report of the hunting season for Clearfield county and it is as follows: 388 deer slain legal- ly, six bucks killed illegally, twenty-two does and one elk killed illegally, while eight bears were also slain in accordance with the law. iH —Two doctors driving through ‘Manito, Westmoreland county, recently noticed a man who was walking in the road some distance ahead of them stagger and fall. The physicians stopped their car ;to: ren- der him some assistance, but found him dead. The man was Emanuel Garney by name but seemed to have no relatives liv- ing. ele —George C. Tompkins, convicted ii “the Cambria county court of the murder of Edmund I. Humphries and wife, but grant- ed a new trial by the Supreme court, and later a change of venue, will be. tried in Blair county next week, the casé being scheduled for January 12th. Mr, and Mrs. Humphries were killed in the summer. of 10 Jadi 1917. piiant — While driving toward home along the state highway early last Thursday jpprn- ing, Elmer Barr, of Kulpmont, was, €pn- fronted by two armed bandits. He, slowed the car until he came to the masked men and then put on a sudden supply of, paw- er and shot past, knocking down ong high- wayman. He had a large sum of, money with him. Cage £559 —Mr. Henry Ernest, chief inspectdn! of the Westmoreland Coal company ati