INK SLINGS. —The recurrent thunder showers this week have taken all the joy out of life for those hay-makers who didn’t | get it all done during the propitious weather of last week. —The curiosity of a child differs from that of grown-ups. The former merely seeks knowledge while the lat- ter is usually hunting something he has no business to know. —Gradually the country is coming to fear that President Harding has no developed foreign policy; that he is only stalling until some plan that will command popular approval is evolved for him to appropriate. —So far as knocking old Earth into smithereens, last Sunday night, was concerned the Pons-comet turned out to be as poor a wizard in the astronom- ical world as was Ponzi, of Boston, in the financial a few moons ago. —In this column, on April 15th last, it was stated that John L. Knisely will be the next postmaster of Bellefonte. Ordinarily it is said that one guess is as good as another, but in this matter if yours doesn’t coincide with ours you will discover ere long that it is not. —Congress having voted that Mr. Palmer didn’t know what he was talk- ing about when he made the ruling that beer is medicine those who can’t survive without a “tub of suds” or so a day will have to join the rapidly growing, polite, though clandestine so- ciety of home brewers. —The one piece bathing suit for women is said to have made its ap- pearance in and about Bellefonte. The mayor of Somers Point, N. J., being near-sighted, created a sensation by saying it could go down there, but the mayor of Bellefonte has good eyes and we await with interest his pronuncia- mento after he has lamped one of these local dolphins in her one-piece bathing regalia. —A Norwegian rat is accused of having carried off the false teeth of STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL. 66. The esteemed Philadelphia Record declares that it is “opposed to the power given the Governor to name any of the delegates to the proposed convention” to frame a mew constitu- tion. But it favors a convention in the creation of which the Governor will exercise that power to the extent of nearly one-third of the membership, for the reason that the present con- stitution “seems to be so drawn as to | permit the Legislature to confer such | bower of appointment upon the Gov- ernor.”” We never expected to see , such faulty reasoning in the columns of our esteemed Philadelphia contem- | porary. In the first place, power of ‘the Legislature to authorize the ap- ! pointment of delegates is vague. Sec- | tion 1 of Article XII of the. present , constitution states that “all officers ' whose selection is not provided for in ' this constitution, shall be elected or ' appointed as may be directed by law.” But the custom for all time had been ‘to elect delegates to a constitutional i convention in this and in all other States, and presumably the constitu- tional convention of 1873 thought it unnecessary to provide methods for + the election of such delegates in the t future. The Record adds: “The “Watch- man’s” fear that the delegates to be | selected by the Governor will be men and women who are likely to blindly follow any machine is not well found- ed. It is likely that Governor Sproul will name the men and women who McVeytown’s P. M. The postmaster | co veq under his appointment as mem- removed his store grinders on retir-| pos of the commission which recom- ing and when he awoke in the morning y\endeq to the Legislature the calling they were gone and report has it that he is convinced that the unusually large rat that occupies the premises with him is the thief. Surely the times are hard when the poor rats have to resort to false teeth to masti- cate the kind of food they have to sub- sist on. If half the reports heard on the streets these days are correct the re- cent edict issued to tax collector J. Jennedy Johnston by the Bellefonte borough council is resulting in the gathering in of considerable bacon from tax. deli Back taxes in ~~ wads of from five to two thousand dol- lars have been gathered in, according to reports, and the assertion of the Finance committee of borough council that those two triple pumpers in con- templation could be paid out of delin- quent taxes is beginning to look like more of a sure thing every day. —The death of the Rev. Robert E. Johnson, of Philadelphia, was extra- ordinary in that it was caused by over- work in his capacity as a public offi- cial. There is probably no doubt that many were not in sympathy with the work of the “Raiding Parson,” but there can be none who fail to admire and respect the courageous spirit that kept him constantly at his job until his physical powers were broken be- | yond repair. In these days of looking on public office as little else than a ecure it is gratifying to know that there are some men left who keep the public trust. —Next week we will rest from the labor of producing a real newspaper in a field where big things break rare- | ly. The week after that we expect to be very hard up. In fact so complete- ly out of funds that the only thing that will restore our mind to our bus- iness will be a deluge of letters con- taining checks for subscriptions due. When we open up here again on Mon- day, July 11th, we want to tackle a mountain of mail. We want to have something on old Mahomet. We want the mountain to come right up to us. It’s up to you to push it along, if you are in arrears at all. —Some months ago an Italian whipped out a big knife and stabbed another frightfully on the streets of Bellefonte. Last Friday evening an sin- | of a constitutional convention.” This | confidence in the Governor’s unself- i ishness reveals a greater measure of credulity than wisdom. In the entire history of the State we have never had a Governor more partisan in the exercise of the appointing power. ‘Even in the selection of members of _ the commission referred to the minor- ity members with one or two excep- , tions were men whe had betrayed their party in the interest of Governor , Sproul in the campaign of 1918. There were no women members of that com- mission and we.recall no body of men more unanimously: obedient to the mandates of an unseen authority than , that commission. Except Judge Gor- , don, of Philadelphia, they seemed to be of one mind upon all questions un- , der consideration, with Mr. Pepper as the “bell-wether.” As we have said, the present con- stitution is a pretty good charter. In | its creation the greatest minds of the State were employed and the best ef- forts of an illustrious group of men ' were given to the work. It has weak ' spots, among them that provision un- der which the Legislature undertook 'to feed the abnormal ambition of a ' partisan. tions have been remedied by amend- ment and that medium is still open to the people of Pennsylvania. We ‘ suggest, therefore, and cordially in- | vite the esteemed Philadelphia Record i to join in the movement, that before a constitutional convention is called the | present instrument be so amended as i to forbid a servile Legislature from surrendering a fundamental right of i the people to the caprices of an ambi- i tious politician. It would delay the final action a few years but that will ‘cause no great danger to public in- | terests. Besides public sentiment might then be in fitter form to tackle | the problems that will necessarily 1 arise in such a convention. | nothing pressing in the matter. From i time to eternity is a long period. ——1In writing from Nelson, Neb., | renewing his subscription to the | “Watchman” for another year E. W. {Kline says: “Hope this reaches you i before the issue of another paper as I , would about as soon miss my dinner ' Governor who is as selfish as he is But many of its imperfec- There is Italian pulled a gun and shot another ,o ico on issue of the “Watchman.” to deatnonihe Hrsg vol brlwrs , Mr. Kline is an old Centre countian 1 centage of foreign born residents in our country carry concealed deadly weapons. Certainly developments have proven that they make a prac- tice of doing what the average native son never thinks of. For the most part they are of volatile tempera- ment and have a low estimate of the value of human life. Is it safe to longer permit this menace to contin- | ue unrestrained in peaceful communi- ties? True, we have laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed deadly weap- ons, but does any one know that the other fellow doesn’t have a gun or knife in his clothes? Usually not un- and is only one of the many readers of this paper who take it as a means of keeping fully informed on every- , thing that is going on “back at home.” i It is more to them than a dozen letters would be, because it gives them news , that they would not get from any cor- respondence, no matter how versatile it might be. ——Mayor Hoan, of Milwaukee, has a permanent peace plan worth while. He would have all railroad and coal | mine employees stop work the moment | war is declared and thus cut off all ar- i my supplies. Hoan is a hero or hoax. til after an assault has been made. | Until our aliens learn that regular Secretary of the Treasury Mel- . : : (lon is not too modest. He simply asks Jeop lo Sg, 32 She] rst.viih dhol | Congress to give him control of the have officers of the law authorized to | finances of the whole world. stop them occasionally and search TT them for weapons. Such a procedure | ——1It is a comforting fact that in would soon break up what has been a i the international event to. be pulled most dangerous practice for years, | off in Jersey City tomorrow nobody and while it might deprive the electric | ares much which wins. «chair of a few whose occupancy of it The Constitutional Convention. Penrose Plainly Misrepresented. The esteemed New York World wil- fully or carelessly misrepresents the attitude of Senator Penrose with re- spect to the proceedings of Congress in the immediate future. Our New York contemporary, in last Sunday’s issue, says: “Steering committees in the House and Senate are superfluous. Party caucusses can be dispensed with. Senator Penrose has announced the program of business for the session. It saves wasting time in consulting the best minds.” The inference to be drawn from this statement is that Senator Penrose has been usurping power and undertaking to boss Con- gress. Nothing could be further from the fact, as those who know Senator Penrose fully understand. It may be true that Senator Penrose has indicated that there will be no general legislation during this session of Congress. He may have suggested that “recesses will be taken until the permanent tariff bill is ready.” But he didn’t say that in the language or even the spirit of the boss. He simply ex- pressed an obvious fact. His party is well nigh hopelessly divided on the provisions of the permanent tariff bill. What Penrose meant is that there will be no forcing things and that the par- ty managers will dilly-dally until an agreement is reached with respect to the matters in dispute. When this is accomplished the “House will devote two weeks to it and the Senate Fi- nance committee will perfect the bill.” Now if Senator Penrose had said he will control the actions of the Presi- dent in relation to the legislation pending or contemplated it would be different. He would have some right to lay such claims. He discovered Mr. Warren Gamaliel Harding. He groomed him for the Presidential race and nominated him. This is the rea- son for his statement made some time ago that “no matter who is Sec- retary of State tbe Senate would man- age the foreign relations of the Unit- ed States.” No doubt there was an agreement, expressed. or implied, to that effect. But we don’t believe that Sénator Penrose imagines he controls the actions of Congress. He is too: good a machine man to make stch boasts. : ——Lord Grey must be losing his head as well -as his eyes. He says “the American government and peo- ple were as anxious te maintain the peace of the world as the English gov- | ernment and people.” The English government and people adopted the only available means of achieving the result by promptly joining the League of Nations and the American govern- ment didn’t. Samuel Gompers Re-elected. The re-election of Samuel Gompers, as president of the American Federa- tion of Labor, is a sign that safety and sanity continues in organized la- bor. portant office with great ability for ‘many years. He has had much to do with the development of labor organ- ization and his judicial mind and con- servative methods have contributed ' quite as much as any other element to ' the usefulness of the organization of ' which he will continue to be the offi- cial head. He has worked hard and wrought wisely for the betterment of ‘working conditions and adequate wages, and his appeal has always been to reason rather than passion. "work for the improvement of labor ; there was not only a constant but bit- ter strife between the employers and employees of the country. Each seem- ed to think the other was a mortal en- emy and the hatred that grew out of this misconception was intensified by conscienceless agitators on one side and ignorant bosses on the other. Mr. Gompers realized the futility of such strife and set himself to establish another system of adjustments. He appealed to the intelligence of both the employer and employee and soon created such a feeling of confidence on both sides that arbitration became the instrument adjusting differences. Of course Mr. Gompers sometimes failed in his benevolent purposes. The mouthy agitator continued to make trouble on one side and the selfish em- ployer on the other, so that strikes were not always avoidable. But even in such emergencies Mr. Gompers counseled = moderation and lawful methods. He opposed violence in all cases. It was on this account that the radical element in the several labor movements has been trying for years to defeat him for President. This year they tackled the work with more than usual confidence and energy and their defeat was more than usually pronounced. By a vote of nearly two to one Mr. Gompers has been re- elected. | ——Attorney General Daugherty is Mr. Gompers has filled this im- When Mr. Gompers began his life ~ BELLEFONTE, PA., JULY 1, 1921. Sims Mildly Rebuked. Admiral Sims has been reprimanded but not much damaged. “Having spilt the beans,” he remarked, “I got what was coming to me.” A good many people think he got less than was coming to him. But that was to be expected. Admiral Sims is one of the traducers of former President Woodrow Wilson, and they stand high in administration circles. Still some officers would think “the punishment fits the crime.” Sims was reminded that he had been reprimanded before for a similar offense. In 1911 he was officially warned against the too free use of his tongue. But the admoni- tion seems to have had no effect. He took it smilingly then. He laughed over it the other day. Admirals of the navy are supposed to be educated gentlemen. At the Academy, where they get their in- structions at public expense, they are taught, to paraphrase the language of Secretary of the Navy Denby, that “servants of the government, in his class, are not to discuss political questions when abroad on leave or for pleasure.” Sims said in his London speech that sympathizers in this country with the Sinn Feiners in Ire- land, are asses. Men in high office who violate the orders of their gov- ernment the second time are not far removed from asses. They reveal the stubborn propensities of the mule. A well-behaved jackass will obey orders. Secretary Denby states that “the incident is closed.” The culprit seems to be of the same opinion. Immedi- ately after the event he visited the White House and had a pleasant chat with the President. Then he left ' Washington to resume his office as head of the Naval College at Ports- mouth, New Hampshire. He may make it a point there to teach the young men under his direction to be more courteous and discreet in their speeches, and he may not. His ex- ample is not encouraging. They may come to think that such infractions of propriety are not serious. But as a matter of fact they are. If it had been Benson instead of Sims the peacock feather would have been taken away front dim. ———One "thing is certain. High rents and lower wages will slash the income returns next year and there is no prospect of reducing government expenses in sight. : A Lame and Impotent Conclusion. The conference committee which has been wrangling over the differenc- es between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the language of a resolution making a separate peace with Germany and Austria-Hungary, has finally come to an. agreement. ' Part of the Knox resolution adopted in the Senate some months ago and part of the Porter resolution adopted by the House more recently have been dove-tailed together and passed. .The difference between these resolutions is about the, same as that between twedledum and twedledee, and the only value of either of them or both lies in the fact that they express pre- cisely what the German military co- terie wanted to say. The irrevokable law of custom has fixed the method of making peace. Since time out of mind warring na- tions have ended their differences by treaty. The constitution of the Unit- ed States lodges the treaty-making power in the President exclusively. That being true it makes no difference whether Congress repeals the resolu- tion of 1917 declaring “a state of war with Germany,” as Knox wanted to do "or declares “the state of war at an end,” as Porter phrased it. Either form of expression must be entirely ‘ satisfactory to the Kaiser and both ‘are repugnant to the constitution of ‘the United States, the customs of all time since the dawn of civilization and the common sense of every right thinking citizen. ; So far as actual war between this ' country and Germany goes the armis- tice ended it. So far as fixing the fu- ture relations between the contending forces is concerned a treaty is necessa- ry. All those concerned in the matter with the exception of the government of the United States, joined in such a treaty more than two years ago. But the munition makers and profiteers in this country who want the chances of ' plunder which future wars will pro- vide, influenced the Congress of the , United States to withhold consent to the treaty and have now given us this lame and impotent substitute which means nothing, and can aceomplish less. But it satisfies malice. ——Postmaster General Hays’ statement that “our future is up in the | air” forecasts an enlargement of the ' aerial mail ‘service. { ——Residents of State College are advocating a celebration some time no longer the chief patronage broker this summer of the twenty-fifth an- for a minute or three wouldn't be a ——An added horror of hot weath- great loss it would save the lives of a er is the numerous “dont’s” issued by lot of others who have a right to be protected. ' everywhere. of the administration. If President Wilson had applied the penalty to his have been greatly modified. niversary of that town’s incorporation as a borough. Just what manner of self-appointed conservators of health Attorney General our defeat might blowout will be held has not yet been determined. Harding Vagueness. From the Chicago Evening Post. We have no wish to criticise the head of the nation at this early date in his term, especially when the bal- ance of his acts are heavily in his fa- vor. But his high public position makes it permissible to comment on the peculiarities of his technique, the most striking feature of which is the vagueness of his public utterances. In his speech in New York President Harding spoke of his desire that this nation should be “so powerful in righteousness that none will provoke her wrath.” The casual reader para- phrased that expression quite justifi- ably as meaning “so sure she is right that nobody can make her angry.” One such reader paused, and then gasped out: “By jove, President Harding al- . so thinks that a nation can be too , This time the phrase seemed to mean i : proud to fight, but he used ten words to say what Wilson said in four— takes the sharpness out of it in a mist of words, God bless him!” ii | This thought being too incredible to pass muster, the reader tried again. no “so powerful in righteousness that 0 one will dare to provoke her wrath. That was more plausible, in view of the sworn hostility of the present Ad- ministration to every tenet held by its predecessor. But what did the speaker visualize as “righteousness?” Did "he mean that combination of honesty and mus- =. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —=Samuel Stine, postmaster at McVey- town, is short one lower set of store teeth which he laid aside Saturday night upon retiring only to have them carried away during‘the night by a large Norwegian rat, —After the first of July the Lock Haven postoffice will be rated as a first-class of- fice. The reason for. this is an increase in the amount of business done which is the city’s industries. : —The Gearhart knitting machine factory, a new plant. ing 36x100 feet in size and three stories high with an L 30x30 feet in size. ) cat of Joseph Matelechy, of Highland, Pa., quite nervous, and-it lodged between the legs of Thomas Gibbons, a neighbor, as Matelechy fired. The bullet penetrated Gibbons’ right foot. The cat was finally killed after Gibbons had been taken to the doctor: —The Rev. Father Zachary Girlami, as- sistant rector at Our Lady of Mount Car- ly by the elevator in the Altoona Trust company block last Friday that he died while en route to the hospital. stepping into thé elevator, when ‘it started to descend and could not be controlled. ! tle, Washington, now visiting in Latrobe, {declare that there is no scemery to com- pare with Pennsylvania's. | miles traveled it remained for Pennsylva- | nia to provide the most picturesque scen- .ery of all. Mr. Stemson is particularly loud in his praises of the Lincoln high- i way. . | —Thomas Beegle, of Everett, an employe of the State Highway Department, died a ‘| logical development of the growth of th : of Clearfield, has outgrown its present quarters and ground has been broken for The new factory will be of brick and cencrete, the main building be- —The prospect of being shot made the mel Catholic church, was crushed so bad- : He was —Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stemson, of Seat- In all the 7,000 last Thursday afternoon, from a fractured : skull sustained while working at the stone ; quarry at Mt. Dallas, near Everett. { Young man was drilling when the air com- pressor. blew out, striking him on the head. | He was aged about 33 years and leaves a + widow and three children. |. —The will of the late E. L. Orwig, of Lansford, Pa., admitted to probate last "week in the Register of Wills’ office at ‘Mauch Chunk, bequeathes $10,000 to the cular love of justice and hatred of all Lutheran Ministerium for the education of wrong which Theodore Roosevelt ! young men for the ministry, the fund to preached to us in the days of the be known as “Elwood L. Orwig fund.” strenuous life? Because that funda- | Trinity Lutheran church, of Lansford, al- mental rightness alone does. .not SO receives a legacy of $10,000. awe nations from hostile designs, un-, Several hundred employees of the less it is backed up by united public American Manganese company, of Dunbar, opinion and by respectable resources. ' Fayette county, asked the firm to cut their Roosevelt knew this, and coupled 1./ith wages 40 per cent. so that the plant, which his creed of righteousness the doctrine “was to be closed July 1st, might continue .half of them are disappointed. of the “big stick.” Little Belgium proved it; for she was righteous: enough in 1914, but she lacked mater-: ial power. Power, in a national sense, does not come from righteousness; the two must go hand in hand. We suspect that this is what the President meant. But he did not say it. We do not believe that this is a cap- tious criticism. And it applies to many of the President’s utterances. His words are so vague that epposing groups of men are able to read into them what they wish. Later these groups look for the fulfillment of what they believe he has advocated ‘and n way the seeds of disruption are being sown. . ; For the peace of his party and the nation, President Harding should adopt the Rooseveltian practice of sub- mitting his speeches to his friends for editing before he delivers them. Cost of a Political Machine. From the Pittsburgh Post. : it ! While Governor Sproul has been cutting a few million dollars from the lists of extravagant appropriations made in a number of instances, the payroll still will be left padded to an unusual degree even for Pennsylvania, burdened for years by the toll-taking of the Republican machine. It -has come to such a pass that whenever the public makes a demand for an in- crease for some vital activity, such as’ the schools, an attempt is made to use that as an excuse for adding extra jobs to the payroll in other depart- ments for the benefit of the machine politicians. Thus the people are pun- ished as if it were audacious for them to claim a voice as to how the public money they produce shall be expended. a to operate. The company accepted the of- fer and reduced rents 40 per cent. on the 150 houses - it leases to employees. The Dunbar store also -lowered prices. . ‘—Wolf Charison and A. E. Edelstein, owners. of the motion picture theatre at The . Barnesboro which collapsed and caused seven deaths last Thursday, together with two contractors who were engaged in ex- cavation work about the place, have been held techmically responsible by a coro- ner's jury. No recommendation was made as to what procedure, if any, should be taken against the four men. —Claiming that wedding presents are not subject to levy, Mrs. Annie Freder- ick, of Allentown, has started a suit in re- plevin against Sheriff William F. Claussito recover a large number of costly article that she says she received from friends when she was married, and which have now been seized. The question will be + taken to court for decision on the point” ——A wagon load of trout and . suckers were found dead in the river at Couders- port, Tuesday evening, above the tannery. Many of the trout picked up by boys, were 20 inches long and better. brought indignation to the lips and tears to the eyes of some of the real sportsmen. The dead fish, it is said, were found below the outlet of the Rose condensary dam drain. The condensary manager, it is said. admits that soda in solution is used for cleaning receptacles, but not in sufficient quantities usually, to kill fish. —A score or more of members and friends of the Pennsylvania Alpine club made the ascent of Paddy mountain, in Centre county, on Sunday. There were al- ‘so large delegations from Williamsport, Lock Haven and other places. The ascent of ‘Paddy mountain * was originally plan- that Mrs. Frederick makes the legal issue.:” The disaster ; ‘ned for May 28th, but owing to .adverse | weather’ conditions, the trip was postpen= ‘ed at that time. In addition to visiting ' the mountain, the climbers inspected Joyce benefit of the machine are seen re- Kilmer park, at its foot and the beaver peatedly; as, for instance, the dismis- 'dam nearby, which was one of the most sal of competent employees and re- interesting points visited. : placing of them with men who know | _A piece of iron an inch square, was re- nothing about the work for the sup- moved from the hip of Miss Olive Hellein, posed performance for which they 23 years of age, of Mt. Pleasant, last Fri- draw salary. Instances of men placed | day. The operation, performed at the Mt. as heads of bureaus at big salaries, ' Pleasant Memorial hospital, will be suc- when they know.scarcely more than 'cessful. Fifteen years ago George Bruner Flagrant examples of the use of pub- lic positions—public money—for the the office boys about the duties to be "placed dynamite in the kitchen stove at performed. the Hellein home, to dry. The dynamite "It is in that way, of course, that exploded, shattered the room and drove the public is made to bear the expense parts of the stove and dirt into Miss Hel- of the machine; of the very system lein’s body. Although she complained of that is making war on the best inter- pains in her hip, physicians were never ests of citizenship. Talk about col- aware that the piece of iron had not been lecting war indemnities. The theory "removed until an X-ray revealed it. of the political machine is to make the | public stand for everything from the of the Altoona shops of the Pennsylvania outset; to make the people provide a ' railroad, recently chosen to formulate a war chest against themselves, in the new agreement to replace the national —Representatives of the various crafts shape of a padded payroll that takes' care of the “political workers” under titles of public employees, and then to submit to renewed toll-taking after the machine victory they financed agreement, abrogated by the railroad. la- bor board, has reached a decision on the eight-hour day, seniority and piece-work, it is announced. Under the agreement, a man must work forty-eight hours a week against themselves. before being entitled to overtime. He can- Not long ago some of the women not work several half days and then claim voters said they were minded to take ‘over time if called upon to work more than a look at the entire public payroll eight hours one day during the week. Rel- throughout the State. If they did the | ative to the seniority rule, a man trans- result undoubtedly would be interest- | ferred will not begin over again as in the ing and profitable to the taxpayers. ! past, but will retain his record at his pre- Many of those ostensibly on the pay- | vious point. The piece work principle will roll as servants of the public would be be carried out along lines to be definitely found to be rendering service only {fo | some political machine or political | clique. urn on the light. Newberry Diagnosed. From the Houston Chronicle. Even if Senator Newberry is honest he is too poor a business man to be permitted to remain in the Senate. A man who will spend more than fifty times the salary the job will bring him, in order to get the job, is not quite right between the auricular ap- named at further conferences. —When a private still in his cellar ex- ploded on Wednesday, Joseph A. Fryer, aged 35 years, of Parsons, Luzerne county, was showered with burning whiskey and died later of his injuries. The accident was kept secret until last Thursday when a physician, who had been called, reported the case to the authorities. - Upon. being questioned Fryer's wife admitted that the accident occurred on Wednesday. She said that her husband was in the cellar engag- ed in operating the still. He had placed a quantity of ingredients and alcohol in the apparatus enly a short time before a heavy pendages. —~——Jt may be said that General Charles G. Dawes literally swore him-. self into a fat office. explosion shook the house, and upon in- vestigation she found her husband uncon- scious in the cellar. His face, shoulders and chest had received the full blast of tha burning liquor as it left the still.