INK SLINGS.
—The bit of zero weather we have
had this week has brought joy to the
hearts of the ice men and the young
folks are happy, as well, because of
the fine coasting.
—And Senator Penrose, who said
he was opposed to any tariff legisla-
tion at this session, now moves to
make the Fordney emergency tariff
the unfinished business of the Senate.
—Bellefonte is to stay on the aerial
: map. The appropriation for the con-
tinuation of the aerial mail service,
which we last week stated had been
cut out of the budget granted by Con-
gress, was reinstated by the Senate
and passed.
—They tried mighty hard to get the
Legislature off to a peaceful start but
with those two Allegheny county fac-
tions trying to put two pegs into one
hole it just couldn’t be done. Let us
hope that they get their differences
* jroned out so that we get results and
not merely a washing of dirty party
linen from the present session.
—Anyway the disaster of “Pap’s”
_ being out of a job is not wholly with-
out its good results. A lot of daugh-
ters who were spénding his war pay
.on cosmetics and silk and vampin
round the streets are back at the
work they knocked off while “Pap”
was carryin’ home an envelope with
too much in it for the family’s good.
—The Superior court has ruled that
© it is not mandatory that the names of
women be put in the jury wheel, so
that until this ruling is revised or a
law passed defining the obligations of
women under the Nineteenth amend-
ment the matter of placing names of
women in the jury wheel will be dis-
. cretionary with the jury commission-
ers of the counties.
—Bishop Berry has called on Pres-
ident-elect Harding and during an in-
terview that followed.the Methodist
prelate declared that the next Presi-
- dent did not impress him as a man
who could be dictated to. The Bish-
op being a Bishop and not a politician
"we fear his judgment in this matter
may not be as sound as it is on things
with which he has been more in touch.
We shall see what we'll see.
—The decrease in the cost of neces-
sities during the month of December
. has been figured out to have been
. eight per cent. There has been a con-
. tinual drop in prices since early in the
fall and as it is likely to continue for
some time labor must gracefully ac-
cept corresponding wage reductions.
Wages were advanced to meet the
~ high cost of living and economic laws
require that they recede with it.
—Governor Sproul’s message to the
Legislature is to the effect that if)
. Pennsylvania wants to go along as
she has been going the State’s reve-
nues will be sufficient to carry her
"through, but if she wants to do big
. things new sources of revenue must
. be found. In other words, if we want
to sit at home of an evening and twid-
dle our thumbs, all right, but if we
prefer to spend the evening dancing in
- the town hall we've got to pay the
gymnasts who masquerade as musi-
cians.
—Samuel Vauclain, president of the
Baldwin locomotive works, has spok-
en again. He is the gentleman who,
some time ago, declared that the in-
* dustries of this country no longer
need a protective tariff. Now he says:
“The worst is over. By April first we
will have all the money we need.” Mr.
Vauclain is a great business man and
he might know what he is talking
about, but as for us: We don’t like
the date he has set for the reinflation
of our flattened pocket-book. We've
been fooled too often on April 1st.
—Of all our contemporaries the
Philadelphia Public Ledger appears
the most consistently inconsistent.
Prior to November last it would have
had the world believe that the control
of the railroads and the coal supply
of the country by the present admin-
istration was utterly incompetent and
disastrous to the public welfare. Last
Sunday the Ledger openly advocated
federal control of the coal industry
and in justification of its equivocal
position declared that governmental
control of the railroads and mines had
actually justified itself.
—The Centre County Conservation
Association has gone on record as fa-
‘voring the licensing of those who
would fish in the streams of Pennsyl-
vania; the fees to be expended in the
better conservation and propagation
.of fish. The “Watchman” has always
been opposed to a law of this sort,
principally for the reason that it could
never see the justice of imposing a
tax on everybody, for the benefit of
the sportsman and the market fisher-
man. On rare occasions family par-
ties go to the woods for a day’s picnic
and usually they select a pleasant spot
along one of our clear mountain
streams. The little folks have rods
and lines and much of the day’s pleas-
ure is derived from fishing and—we
might add—rarely catching. We
were opposed to a system that would
throw them into the hands of fish
wardens if they had not paid a license
before starting out. Our local Asso-
ciation has suggested a plan that
would satisfactorily meet our objec-
tion. It would exempt women and
children from the necessity of procur-
ing a license and if the law should be
so framed we would favor it with the
further proviso that the fees go to
propagation of real fish rather than
‘to making a larger departmental pond
in Harrisburg for political suckers to
swim in.
STATE RIGHTS AN
D FEDERAL UNION.
VOL. 66.
BELLEFONTE, PA. JANUARY 21, 1920.
NO. 3.
Governor Sproul’s Message. |
In his message to the Legislature, |
delivered in person after the custom '
of Washington and - Jefferson, on |
Tuesday, Governor Sproul is true to
form. It is essentially a business
statement. Without the least attempt
at ornate rhetoric or idealism he re-
cites the fiscal conditions of the State
and suggests such legislation as will
give promise of improvement from his
point of view. He finds the revenue
inadequate to meet the expenditures
and proposes. to increase the revenue.
It never occurred to him that the re-
sult might be achieved by decreasing
the expenditures. Republican states-
men never take that side of the prop-
osition. ' It wouldn’t provide oil for
the machine. ot 4%
His principal recommendation for
increasing the revenues of the State.
is a tax on coal. Governor Penny-
packer made a similar suggestion dur-
ing his term of. office which ‘resulted
in the considerable -increaserof the
price of coal to the consumers but
failed to contribute ‘even a nickel to
the public treasury. Of course this
was for the reason that the courts de-
clared the tax unconstitutional. It
discriminated against one kind of coal
and the constitution requires equality
in levies. The Governor would avoid
this by taxing all kinds of coal though
making the levy heavier on one than
on the other. But that would not pre-
vent the increase of the price to the
consumer, and might not produce rev-
enue. : : :
What the Governor says about the
educational and charitable - activities
of the State is probably true. The
deficit of $1,500,000 in the school fund
for last year is the best evidence in
the world of a needed increase in
school appropriations. But it is hard-.
ly necessary to create a new: depart-
ment of government, thus largely in-
creasing the expense of rendering the
| needed service, in order to remedy the
evil. The principal trouble with the
administration of government is that
economy is entirely lost sight of and
the most profligate methods are invar-
iably employed. We are in favor of
raising our educational system to the
highest standard ‘but at the lowest
cost consistent with efficiency.
to be investigated by the Pennsylva-
nia Legislature it is up to the coal
‘profiteers to get busy. If they don’t
act promptly there is likely to be
something said about them.
Reducing Armies and Navies.
In view of past events it is not easy
to figure out the cause of the present
anxiety of Republicans, in and out of
Congress, for reducing armaments.
Senator Borah, who was the most
active and vociferous of the opponents
of the League of Nations, has already
introduced a resolution and is now
pressing it for consideration, to “in-
vite negotiations with the principal
naval powers for reducing naval build-
ing programs.” Other steps are be-
ing taken to reduce the army to a
strength far below that considered ad-
visable by the military authorities of
the country. The policy of our gov-
ernment for many years has been in
favor of a big navy and the recent war
made converts of the idea of a big ar-
my.
The covenant of the League of Na-
tions provided for a gradual and uni-
form reduction of the armaments of
the member nations. It was largely
this purpose that suggested the en-
terprise. A mutual agreement and |
complete understanding to practical-
ly abolish war made big armies and
big navies useless but expensive lux-
uries. Hence it was believed by the
distinguished statesmen who sat in
the peace conference at Versailles
that the formation of such a League
would make armies and navies beyond |
the requirements of domestic service
unnecessary. But Senator Borah and
his bitter-ender colleagues in the Sen-
ate refused to join in the League and
left the country exposed to attack
from any source or for any reason.
We have always entertained an
aversion to large armies and navies.
They are causes of poverty and
nurseries of war, But experience has
shown that unpreparedness for war,
so long as war is possible or proba-
ble, is even a greater evil. With all
the strong nations of the world band-
ed together for the security of each
and pledged to the support of either
against an isolated power, this coun-
try must either join or hold itself
ready for war against all of them.
We are emphatically and everlasting-
ly for the reduction of armaments.
But before the reduction we want as-
surances of safety and that can only
come through joining the League of
Nations. That is the way to begin
and the only way.
——If Congress fools much longer
about it the cost of living will get
down considerably in spite of the Re-
publican leaders,
Now that the coal guestion is .
‘Surprising News from Washington.
The surprising information comes
from Washington that after the inau-
guration of Senator Harding as Pres-
ident Senator Knox will assert his
right to participate in the distribu-
tion of party patronage. Heretofore
Mr. Knox has taken no part in this
essentially political “function of his
Senatorial office. His colleague, Sen-
ator Penrose, has ‘been the sole dis-
penser of spoils in Pennsylvania and
Knox has been contented or appeared
“to be satisfied to pose as the states-
man whose. thoughts. ran on higher
levels. It is believed that this is the
main reason why Penrose discouraged : certain. - The change was too sudden:
“to be real. Demand seemed to be |
the appointment of Knox to the office
of Premier of the Harding cabinet.
He might not get so acquiescent a col-
league, © i oH GAGE ha
By the same token it is.not al-
‘together improbable that Penrose’s
anxiety to keep Knox out of the cab-
inet may be the principal reason why
Knox has’ changed’ his point “of view
on the question of patronage. Mr.
‘Knox has never expressed an unwil-
lingness to resume his old job at the
head of the cabinet. The dollar diplo-
. macy was an enticing problem both
to him and his wealthy friends, and
an opportunity to revive it might have
given him great enjoyment. But Pen-
rose nipped the expectation in the
bud, if it was ever formed, by the
blunt declaration that he preferred
that Knox should remain in the Sen-
ate. May be the changed attitude on
the patronage subject is in the: nature
of an expression of resentment. :
Stripping the subject of all conjec-
ture, however, it may be wise party
policy for Knox to assert his prerog-
ative to control the party patronage
for the western end of. the State.
Penrose has enjoyed the franchise for
a long time and the cat-and-dog con-
dition of the party in Pittsburgh at
this time justifies the impression that
he has not made the best use of it.
An irrepressible conflict between the
Oliver and the Leslie factions almost
defeated the harmony program ar-
ranged for the organization of the
General Assembly and it is not 'cer-
tain even now that it will not in the
end cause a ruinous war. Knox may
"prevent a lot of trouble in the future
by taking charge of the spoils.
—Speaking in New York, on Tues-
day, Samuel Untermyer, the eminent
attorney, hinted at the “most morti-
fying scandal that has ever befallen
our country,” He says if half he has
heard is true our Attorney General
and alien property custodian is in for
"a hot time, explaining the conduct of
his departments.
Of course we think
Mr. Palmer could do no wrong.
Lessons Lost on Congress.
A merry war on the declining prices
of the necessaries of life is progress-
ing finely in Washington. A discord-
ant note is heard now and then, as
when Congressman Young, of South
Dakota, admonished his party asso-
ciates, the other day, to “put on the
brakes.” But as a rule the chorus is
in complete harmony and the demand
is for higher tariff on everything that
is included in the necessaries of life. On
motion of Senator McComber the tax
forty cents a bushel and levies are
provided for on butter and cheese on
motion of another Senator. If any
product of the farm or factory has
escaped it may be set down as an ac-
cident, for the purpose is to keep tronage in order to convince Senator
prices up.
During the recent campaign the
Republican managers were as free in
| promising to decrease the cost of liv- | at present for a while it will not be
ing as they were severe in denuncia-
tion of the Wilson administration be-
cause they had not been reduced. But
personal and direct promises had been
made to certain interests that high |
prices would be maintained in the
event of the election of Harding, and
strangely enough private pledges are
more sacred among politicians than
public promises. Hence the anxiety
to rush tariff legislation as expressed
in the Fordney emergency measure.
It will cause hardships to millions who
are facing diminished incomes but it
will prolong the period of profiteering
for thousands who contributed to the
campaign fund.
There is no more necessity for a tar-
iff tax of six cents a pound on butter
and cheese than there is for two tails
on a dog. The effect will simply be to
add that much to the current price of
the commodity, which is already soar-
ing in the clouds. If the farmers who
produce butter were to get the money,
or if it would go into the treasury to
meet the expenses of the government,
there might be excuse for such a tax.
But tariff tax on wheat and butter
neither benefits the producers nor
. adds to the revenues. It is simply
grabbed up by the trusts which not
only control pricés but manipulate
transportation for their own advan-
tage. The lessons of the Payne-Al-
drich tariff are lost on Congressional
stupids.
Industrial Conditions Menacing.
The industrial situation is natural-
ly causing grave fears in the minds of
the labor leaders. The closing of
plants in all. lines of production and
in all sections of the country, indicates
a settled purpose to accomplish two
(results. The first is to impair the in-
fluence of labor organizations on the
: industrial life and the other to force
, down the rate of wages. The closing’
i of the plants was the first actual skir-
mish in this industrial war. This step
i was taken, the employers alleged, be-
, cause. of a surfeit of = commodities.
That may have been true, but it is not
. present even at excessive prices, up to’
{ the moment the shut down movement
Lhegamitsl JL CEE ean
1. Following this, part of the program
“and in quick succession came the dec-
| laration of the president:of the Beth-
.lehem Steel company. that under
agreement his corporation ‘and ' the
"Steel trust would refuse to sell struc-
‘tural steel to builders who employed
union labor. Later the manager of
| the Cramp ship yard in Philadelphia,
cancelled an agreement between his
: corporation and the ‘Labor “unions.
i These incidents taken 'in connection
with the Supreme court decision re:
moving the protection of the Clayton
| av from labor activities “illegal un-
der the Sherman anti-trust law.” Men
must eat and wear clothes and ‘idle
! men who ‘are laborers can do neither.
With the menace of the law staring
them in the face they are helpless.
But this crusade was not begun with
the closing of plants after the elec-
tion. It was planned long before the
i election and the first. .as well as the
| most important feature of the pro-
gram was the defeat of the Democrat-
ic party and the election of a Repub-
lican President and Congress. It was
in accordance with this plan that the
, vast fund, amounting to millions of
“dollars, was subscribed by -corpora-
. tions and capitalists for use in the
purchase of the votes of the very men
who are likely to suffer most in con-
sequence. If the working men of the
country had been true to
dition ‘would have been averted and
_ the industrial life of the country made
safe.
' ——During the past week reports
"have been current of a big whiskey
: shipment having been received in
Bellefonte—a full carload, to be exact.
{ All efforts to trace the rumors down
! to facts have proven futile and there
‘is every reason to believe that there
‘is not a word of truth in it. A whole
' carload of whiskey these times would
! naturally create some commotion, es:
pecialy when it began to circulate,
and we are very sure there has been
no unusual commotion this week, and
so far as we have been able to ascer-
tain no evidence of circulation, so
' there certainly wasn’t any carload of
whiskey. :
| ——George Reber Wieland, Ph. D.,
lecturer of paleobotany in Yale Uni- :
| versity, has been appointed a research
| assistant in paleobotany with the
i rank of assistant professor. Dr. Wie-
land is a native of Centre county and
. on wheat is increased from thirty to |2 graduate of Penn State, of the class
of "93.
| "
| ——Probably it was necessary for
Senator Knox to assert his right to
: participate in the distribution of pa-
| Penrose that “the worm will turn.”
——1If labor conditions continue as
i necessary to legislate to keep jmmi-
| grants out. They will stay out to
; avoid starvation.
——The cruel manner in which the
Republican machine treated Mayor
Moore, of Philadelphia, in the organ-
ization of the Legislature arouses our
sympathies.
——The late Crown Prince of Ger-
many is worrying over the future of
his children. Being still on the pay
roll he has no occasion to worry about
himself.
i —Harding’s cabinet is said to be
already made up, but nothing short of
| a positive announcement from Marion
will relieve the fellows on the anxious
bench.
——Nobody mentions Mr. Taft for
| a cabinet place, but his eyes are focus-
sed on the Supreme court bench and
he usually gets what he wants.
——The Republican politicians of
the North are determined to make the
colored voters of the South dissatis-
fied at any expense of truth.
——The great minds which have
been gathering at Marion for some
time will soon be assembling at Wash-
ington begging favors.
COUuntr ae to Lhemselyes,
%an& their families the impending con- |
Good Work of the League.
From the Philadelphia’ Record.
Every day the League of Nations is
alive," and everything it does, even if
relatively small, the “posse comitatus
of nations,” in the phrase of Theodore
Roosevelt, becomes more potent for
-good. It is an absolutely new thing,
‘not like anything that ever existed be-
fore, and of course faith in its practi-
| cability is yet: to be-established. In
ithe peace ‘conference England was
tonly half-hearted in -its support;
| France was openly opposed; Italy was
-indifferent, and Japan kept silence and
| watched: the Christian nations try to
{legislate a little Christianity, or civil-
ization into international relation-
ships. 2 Ge > ML
Nothing but the extraordinary in-
fluence of President Wilson, based al-
most entirely on his lofty moral: aims
| enabled ‘him to secure the covenant of
the League and its incorporation in
the peace treaty. There never was a
more striking demonstration of the
power of a single man animated by a
great moral purpose.
For incomprehensible reasons, or
under party -passions which: the his-
torian will have difficulty in explain-
ing, the ‘country: which was. enobled
and glorified by Woodrow Wilson’s
superb struggle for great moral ends
repudiated his work. But the League
exists; it works; it has accomplished
many important things. pI
If it had done nothing more than to
restrain the lust of conquest, as it has
done by the adoption of Mr. Wilson’s
project for the administration of ter-
ritory conquered from Germany and
Turkey by trustees for the population
concerned and for the civilized ‘world,
it would have accomplished a wonder-
ful task in moralizing the relations of
nations, and in establishing the su-
premacy of right over might. ~~
‘But the League has done much more
than that, as the official report on the
first year of its existence shows. It
has secured publicity for treaties, and
this is a great factor in the effort to
maintain peace. Sixty treaties have
League has accepted responsibility for
the protection. of minorities, : which
| means that if Rumania or Poland per-
| secutes the Jews it is the concern of
all the rest of the world—except the
United States; we hold , aloof: from
Christendom and from civilization.
{ex Abe. ormer ae [TOE os
been created, and :it has -Termu
its instructions to the nations - which
are to act as trustees and not as con-
querors. . - : :
Saare Valley, by which the rights’ of
France to coal are recognized, while
the rights of the population to deter-
mine their sovereignty are safeguard-
ed. The League is directing the af-
fairs of. the free city of Danzig, by
which means the national rights of
the: population are harmonized with
the sea. The districts of Eupen and
Malmedy have been transferred in
spite of the efforts of Germany to get
another. plebiscite in the hope of re-
taining ‘these naturally Belgian dis-
tricts. 3 3 r
~The League of Nations. is: perpetu-
ating peace by disposing of the causes
of international friction. .
“Sift Them Out.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
It is clear that we cannot let Amer-
ica become the earthly paradise of an-
archy or any form of social inebriety;
and we have ever before us the tragic
plight of Europe, made the residuary
legatee of centuries of plague, pesti-
lence and famine; of bitter racial an-
tagonisms; of evil autocratic, aristo-
cratic and militaristic traditions. We
give thanks that our fathers made a
cleavage away from all that and es-
tablished our freedom from these
things, and knowing how precious is
| our immunity, we are not minded to
lower the bars and let in a rabble with
their baggage of malodorous and
noisome things that would poison the
air and spoil the peace of our Eden.
But, as Immigration Commissioner
Wallis has just said in an address at
Chicago, we must discriminate. = He
put before the Illinois Manufacturers’
Association the need of some sort of
clearing house to divert the stream of
applicants for labor into areas where
persistent and capable workmen are
wanted. Detroit may have a glut of
applicants and in the labor market of
Peoria there may be a famine. Let
us have an agency that, meeting the
newcomer at the door of the New
World, shall show him where he is
: wanted and where he can sell the pow-
er of his willing hands and his intel-
: ligence.
‘As for those who come to spread
discontent and to embroil the employ-
ed with the employer, they are the
friend of neither and they should be
kept far from our shores. We want
only those settlers whose firm purpose
it is to become the best of Americans.
esr meee mr —
Draft Act Violators.
From the Huntingdon News.
It is claimed the federal govern-
ment has made little progress in deal-
ing with 300,000 men alleged to have
violated the selective service act.
With the war so long over, pursuing
these men is like paying for a dead
horse. Yet if lax treatment is given
to these cases now, it makes a bad
impression for the future.
———y pi —————
—The country doesn’t need more
Congressmen half as badly as it needs
better Congressmen.
been registered in the secretariat. The | |
The League is ‘administering the
the right: of Poland to have access to-
}SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE.
—William E. Graham, Clearfield’s oldest
male citizen, died at his home at that
place at an advanced age. He was just
one month to the day shortiof being 97
xears old. #
|
—The appointment of Frank C. Bower-
sox, of Lewistown, to be associate judge
of Mifflin county, was sent to the State
Senate on Monday and ‘promptly confirm«
ed. He will be commissioned at once. The
Governor also appointed Harry B. Wilson
as coroner of Bedford, who was confirmed.
—PFailing to find money in the cash reg-
ister of the confectionery store of Mrs.
Myrtle Calabraise, of Hays borough, Alle-
gheny county, two negro - highwaymen
threw the woman to the floor, and, discov-
ering a roll of bills in her ‘stocking
bank,” cut it out with a knife, escaping
with $320. :
—The Moravian A Widows’ Society . at
Bethlehem declared a dividend of $25. to
each member on an origingl investment of
$50. This was the second dividend of $25 for
the fiscal year, making the dividend equal
to the principal. The society is in its one
hundred and fiftieth year, and only wid-
ows can be members. x
—William W. Bloom, of Lewistown, has
asked for retirement under the pension
plan of the Pennsylvania Railroad with
forty-six years of service. Mr. Bloom en-
tered the service as a ‘section laborer in
1875 when large gangs of men were em-
ployed to repair the tracks preparatory to
the heavy traffic of the centennial in Phil-
adelphia. 3
—Mrs. Emma Straw, wife of a Heckton,
Dauphin county storekeeper, pleaded guil-
ty to operating a gambling device in the
store and was fined $50 and costs by Judge
Hargest. The woman said an agent for a
tobacco company assured her the chance
game was not gambling. . The court sug-
gested that perhaps the agent would make
good his guarantee and pay the fine and
costs.
—W. G. Kerschner, who shot and killed
Charles Keim, a neighbor boy of 8 on New
Year's eve, pleaded nolle contender to a
charge of involuntary manslaughter be-
fore Judge Moser in the Northumberland
county court at Sunbury, and escaped with
a suspended sentence. Kerschner was di-
rected to pay the costs. A coroner's jury
had previously found that the killing was
due to an accident. Police Chief Jackman,
of “Shamokin, was the prosecutor’ in the
case. et
—Robert Schell, one-time corporal in the
state constabulary, was convicted of extor-
tion in ‘the Blair county court last week.
Daniel Tolan, one-time private, jointly in~
dicted with Schell, pleaded guilty. The
men were charged with accepting a bribe
of ‘$400 to $500 to permit the illegal trans-
portation of liquor. They intercepted two
men carrying five cases of whiskey in an
automobile and, after the money was paid,
let them go. Both were discharged from
the State's service.
—Lgaying a note, “I must die,” pinned
to his lunch box, express messenger An-
drew Brown, of Erie, leaped from a fast-
moving Pennsylvania train east of Lock
Haven on Friday. He escaped death, but
was severely cut and bruised in his plunge.
Brown, who left Williamsport on an ex-
| press’ train at 7 o'clock. Friday morning,
turned his lunch box over to the conduc-
; him to give it to the agent at
Ji9 Foti By a
. ad aven, after which he opened the car
door and leaped out.
—His clothing catching fire when he
slipped and fell while lifting a kettle full
of hot lard off a hook over an oven fire at
a butchering last Friday, Harvey N. Moy-
er, a widely known farmer living near Sha-
mokin, was a pillar of fire in a moment.
With the wind fanning the flames to high-
er intensity, Moyer ran 100 yards to Penn’s
creek and plunged in, The flames were
extinguished, but the flesh hung on his
arms and sides only by slender strings.
Doctors say he will likely recover.
—Reuben H. Hoffman, of Wilkes:Barre,
former - deputy revenue collector, said to
have received $10,000 for an alleged at-
tempt to destroy evidence against a brew-
ery, can keep $5000 of the money, if he re-
ally got it. The other $5000 it is alleged
he gave to a revenue officer for assistance
will be taken by the United States govern-
ment. The $10,000, said to have been paid
by the brewer as a bribe, is contraband
and the brewer could not claim it, neither
could $3000 of it be taken from Hoffman
by the government, it is sald. » -
—Heads of departments, yardmasters;
firemen and brakemen suffered in a re-
trenchment order that went into effect in
the big Pennsylvania classification ‘ yards
at Northumberland on Monday. More than
100 men were affected. Yardmasters were
put back to assistants and assistant yard-
masters were made brakemen, conductors
and clerks. Three shift jobs were reduced
to two, and it is estimated that $5,000 was
cut off the expense. More than fifty lost
their jobs. Many other railroad centres
were also affected by the retrenchment or-
der.
—A dynamite explosion believed to be
the outcome of recent mine labor disputes
in Pittston, Sunday morning wrecked the
front of a store owned and conducted by
James A. Joyce, a merchant of that city,
who has been acting as a volunteer con-
ciliator between the miners and the op-
erators. Mr. Joyce and his family were
sleeping on the second floor. They were
not injured. The sidewalk was filled with
debris and windows were broken in neigh-
boring buildings, including a church. Four
men were arrested by the police, who re-
fuse to divulge their names.
—Almost $1,000,000 deducted from sala-
ries of school employees for the State re
tirement system has been received for the
1920-21 school term alone, according to a
statement at the offices of the Retirement
Fund, which shows a balance of only
about $8000 due from districts on account
of the previous term. The total member-
ship of the school retirement system has
reached 40,911, the deductions in 1919-20
having reached $1,425,008.25. In several dis-
tricts the secretaries neglected to make the
necessary deductions from the salaries of
the teachers last term and the districts will
be called upon to make the payments.
—McEwensville, the smallest incorporat-
ed borough in Pennsylvania, which recent-
ly came into the limelight when it was
found that there were more women in the
village elligible to vote than men, is at-
tracting more attention as a result of this
unusual circumstance. At a recent meet-
ing the women voters, representing the
majority, discarded the old board of health
and organized a new one, composed entire-
ly of women. The new health guardians
of the borough are Mrs. Lewis Buss, Mrs.
John Baylor, Mrs. George Gold and Miss
Ida McWilliams, Doctor Hummell, of
| Watsontown, is their medical advisor.