Bemorraic atin se INK SLINGS. —DMerry Christmas. ‘ —Wednesday was the shortest day of the year. —1If it were ours to give this Christ- mas season would be the most joyous | you have ever known. —Let your own Christmas be what it will, but make that of your little ones a season of good cheer. —On the calendar Wednesday was the shortest day of the year but in re- ality yesterday was the shortest. —The one thing you can give and give without ever exhausting the store of it is your good will. It is the real Christmas gift. —Discarding Beidleman and tak- ing up Highway Commissioner Sad- ler would be like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. ——We have heard of no recent feast but the hand writing on some wall somewhere appears to have caus- ed the usual consternation. —What a wonderful Christmas it would be for our Allies in the late war if Uncle Sam were to put a receipted bill for all they owe us in each one of their stockings. —That “Golden Wedding” moon- shine made in 1921 and “bottled in 1902” is of very superior quality. We | have only the word of some one else for that, however. —We have so much live local news to give you in this issue that we haven't space to express all the bright and cheerful thoughts that we have of you at this season. —Here’s hoping that both the Lo- gans and the Undines will be very happy with the bright red and blue water pumpers that the borough dropped into their socks on Wednes- day. —The capture of a still and the stillers was one of our sensations on Tuesday morning. For a long time we have been hearing that the moun- tains of Kentucky and Tennessee have nothing on the Alleghenies when it comes to moonshine. —Anyway it will be admitted that Cash and Carry are not bad nom-de- plumes for the proprietors of a still. They carried the moonshine and got the cash up to the time the state po- lice located their place of business and now the whole community is agog 4s to who they are. Senator T. Larry Eyre may and ‘may not know what he is talking about, but every one will give him the credit of naming gubernatorial pos- sibilities who are in a class by themselves when measured with the others who are spoken of as seeking the Republican nomination. —The child is the whole of the Christ- mas theme, It embodies all that is dear, “The innocent, sinless, beautiful life: It is the real message, Good Cheer. May there be something for every one And may not one of them say On Christmas night, when the day is done That “Santa wasn't ‘round our way.” —May the spirit of peace on earth and good will to men so fill the hearts and minds of the men who are in Washington making world’s history today that they wille rise above all sordid, selfish ambitions and give to all nations the most hopeful Christ- mas since that one in the little town of Bethlehem centuries ago. —The hold up of the bank at Karth- aus has started us to wondering whether we would enjoy looking down the barrel of an automatic in the: ‘hands of a desperado, who wants mon- | ey, more than staring at the menac- ing fist of an outraged individual about whom the “Watchman” published an unpleasant truth. —1It doesn’t make a particle of dif- ference what the arms limitations conference is leading up to so long as its aims are lessening the burden of ‘taxation and permanent peace, Let President Harding go in at the front or sneak in at the back door of ‘the League of Nations the result will be the same and results are what our ‘boys fought for and what we who love peace are praying for. —Davy Chambers will resign the chairmanship of the Republican coun- ty committee, effective January 1st and L. Frank Mayes will probably be his successor. While Frank will be just as capable as an executive head as Davy we fancy “the boys” will hear ‘the news of Davy’s retirement with profound sorrow for once out of the chairmanship that “bar’l” of his won’t be so easily tapped as it has been in the past. —The great day is approaching. The day of the miracle in the lowly stable of Bethlehem. It is the irresisti- ble day and—please God—may it al- ways be so, and it will, for the inex- haustible grace flowing from the birth of the Child in the manger somehow touches even the callowest hearts at this season. If yours is touched, keep it so. Let it go out in love for others and blessings such as you have never known will be yours, for that is why God gave us Christ and Christmas. —This is the last call in the old year. We need money. And if a lot of it doesn’t come along by next Jan- uary 6th we are likely to greet you with the same old song. Honestly if we have to keep this up much longer youll get as tired of our eternal dun- has ning as we used to get of the Meth- | odist church, before it adopted a bud- get system, That budget system is a great thing and we’d have one, too, if we could only budge all those who are not paid up to some date in 1922 to put something more than a December look into our hope chest. v —E STATE RIGH TS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL. 66. BELLEFONTE, PA., DECEMBER 23, 1921. NO. 50. Larry Eyre Spills the Beans. State Senator T. Larry Eyre has apparently changed the political map of Pennsylvania by an interview made public the other day. Senator Eyre has not hitherto been regarded as a political oracle. His principal dis- tinction in the past has rested upon the correctness of his clothes rather than the keenness of his discernment. The importance of his recent decla- ration with respect to future party plans, therefore, may be attributed to | the instability of the plans rather than | to the perspicacity of the Senator. As 'a rule his preference or prejudices as ‘to candidates or policies made little | impression on the minds of the party ‘leaders. But his recent declaration ‘seems to have crushed Beidleman’s boom. Three weeks ago it looked as if the ‘campaign for Beidleman’s nomination | for Governor was running over the State like a tidal wave. With the skill 'of W. Harry Baker earnestly behind {him and the force of the Sproul ad- | ministration professing fidelity the in- | dications were exceedingly flattering { to his hopes. But a single blast from | the throat of an inconspicuous figure lin the ranks of the party seems to | have swept him out of the race en- ‘tirely. It may be only a temporary | reverse which may be overcome by a | skillful turn of the elements in the equation, but it looks serious and (final. The Eyre sentiment has met | with surprising approval in all sec- ‘tions of the Commonwealth. It has . run like wild fire in a prairie. | But while Senator Eyre’s blast was destructive enough, so far as it re- ‘lated to the ambitions of Lieutenant { Governor Beidleman, it fails complete- ‘ly in a constructive sense with re- spect to the pretences of the candi- dates he names as available. His first guess is Highway Commissioner Sad- ler, his second Banking Commissioner ‘Fisher and his third Attorney Gener- ‘al Alter, while his platform is econo- ‘my and opposition to the profligacy of the Sproul administration. Each of the candidates is a member of the Sproul cabinet and by some will be charged with Sproul with the respon- sibility for the profligacy of which he complains. - Naturally there is a fail- ‘ure of popular approval of his offers to the party and maybe he will help ‘rather than hurt Beidleman, unless ‘the public later reacts to the fact | that all three of the gentlemen are of entirely different calibre than Beidle- ‘man. This being notably so in the case of General Alter, who would be the one man whose candidacy would ‘encourage the public to hope for something more than mere politics at | Harrisburg. 1 Mr. Beidleman hasn’t changed 'in principle, purpose or methods. The | change is in the minds of the bosses | who have been overtaken by a whole- I some fear. | False Pretense of Economy. President Harding is a real humor- “ist. That is he is striving with all the ‘energy of an ample mouth to please ‘the people of the country by making | promises of economy. His latest ven- | ture along these lines is to suggest to | Congress that it is desirable to save a ! million dollars a day, beginning about 11923. The saving of a million dollars ‘a day is certainly an enticing propo- sition. But reduced to actual facts, 'as contemplated by the President, it {means nothing. The saving he pro- ! poses is in the expenditures for 1923 jas compared with those of the last {year of the Wilson administration. During the last year of the Wilson ‘administration the government of the United States was struggling with the ‘task of demobilizing an army of more ' than four million men, more than half ‘of whom were three thousand miles from home. In addition to that her- 'culean task the greatest navy the , country had ever had was in process ‘of dissolution to the extent of reduc- {ing it to a peace level. The war equip- ment was being disposed of as rapidly | as possible and the expenses of these | operations were as great if not great- | er than those of actual war activities. | An estimate of five or six million dol- "lars a day would be reasonable and | possibly under the actual figures. | But in 1923, the time fixed by Pres- ident Harding for cutting the expen- ditures a million dollars a day all these expensive operations will be ended and the expenses of government might easily be reduced two or three | million dollars a day. Of course, Pres- !ident Harding knows this quite as | well as any one else, but he imagines {the people are not informed on such | matters and he may impose upon them ' the false pretense of economy. Thus | far no decrease in the expenses of the | government has been made, though he has been in office for nearly ten ‘months and before the election he ! promised an immediate decrease. ——The profligacy of the Sproul { administration is all that keeps Pen- rose in his position as boss of the Re- I publican party. ‘for a period of ten years. Funding Bill Gone Over. The bill to fund the $11,000,000,- 000 debt due to the United States from foreign governments has gone over until after the holiday recess. This measure has been a source of trouble to the administration ever since the opening of the extra session of Congress eight months ago. It is gravely suspected that there is con- cealed somewhere in the verbiage a large sized and exceedingly venomous serpent. Wall Street interests are urging its passage and the impression is growing that it was one of the promises made to the slush contribu- tors during the campaign. For that reason the opposition is not only de- termined but vigilant. The snake is in danger of decapitation. There are several clubs poised for it. It has been universally agreed from the beginning that some understand- ing should be arrived at concerning this vast debt. The people of this country are being heavily taxed to pay expenses incurred in the prosecution of the war and Germany is being pressed to pay indemnities to the gov- ernments which owe us. But not a dollar of the money due us, not even a penny on interest account, has been paid, though England, France and It- aly ought to be as able to pay as Germany. But the difference and de- lay in the matter is not on this ac- count, though that is a just cause of complaint. The delay is caused by the fact that the President and Sec- retary of the Treasury ask for blanket authority to settle on any terms they desire. This fact has led to the belief that the campaign agreement was to can- cel the foreign debt, including inter- est, and that a group of favored poli- ticians are to get an immense com- mission for this generous favor to the foreign governments concerned. This impression is greatly strength- ened by events since the election. Congress has been ready and willing to fund the debt on a liberal basis and legislation authorizing such action might easily have been enacted dur- ing the special session. But Secreta- ry Mellon insists upon authority to transact the business in his own way and upon his own terms without either the consent or supervision of Congress and the President supports his extra- ordinary demand. Dr. Haynes thinks the whis- key traffic has been completely wiped out in Pennsylvania but closer observ- ers are convinced that Haynes is only dreaming. Disturbing the Machinery. It seems that France has sort of ; thrown a monkey-wrench into the machinery of the Limitations Confer- ence at Washington by setting up a claim to an increased navy under the agreement as among Great Britain, ‘Japan and the United States to scrap warships and take a building holiday Secretary Hughes fixed a standard with sur- prising self-complacency to regulate the naval strength of the three big naval powers and, as it left each on the ratio as before and saved money for all, it was cheerfully accepted. But France with an eye to her own safety has made a demand for a na- val force in proportion to the others. England objects and throws the whole machinery out of order. This scrapping of navies by the three great naval powers in equal ra- tio under pretense of promoting peace was about as absurd a proposi- tion as ever was seriously offered to a thinking public. It couldn’t possi- bly exert any influence in the direc- tion of permanent peace. Each coun- try had the same power as against the other after as before the agree- ment and the militant spirit was in no respect diminished. Moreover the proposition to destroy good ships and build air fleets and submarine boats took away from the proposition most of the virtue of economy. But Secre- tary Hughes and President Harding imagined they were “fooling all the people all the time,” until France in- terposed its demand. We sincerely hope, however, that the unexpected difficulty will be over- come, as it may be by acceding to the French demand, for the naval holiday and the decrease of the naval force will cut expenses some and maybe after awhile the building of air ships and submarines will be cut down, by mutual agreement, by all the govern- ments in the civilized world. That would work real economy in the serv- ice of government and might help some in creating a spirit of peace and righteousness which will make for permanent peace. But Harding and Hughes are fooling only the very credulous by their schemes to post- pone the entrance of the United States into the League of Nations, which is inevitable ultimately. ——1In searching for a reform can- didate for Governor the Republican leaders might give Senator Vare at least “the once over.” Begin Preparations Now. Senator Capper, of Kansas, reputed to be the leading spirit in the so-call- ed Agricultural bloc, operating in tration as well as the Republican ma- chine, made a vigorous attack on Sec- retary of War Weeks, the other day. In a speech recently delivered in New York the Secretary of War denounced the agricultural bloc and other fac- tions which are making trouble for the Republican leaders and Capper’s speech was in the way of reply to this arraignment which the Kansan de- clared was an indirect attack upon the President who has approved var- ious measures supported by the Mid- dle western Senators. He forgot that the President in his message had pro- tested against factions. We haye already referred to the schism in the Republican ranks in Pennsylvania as expressed in the re- cent interview of Senator Larry Eyre and the reflections cast by various Re- publican newspapers upon certain prominent candidates for the Repub- lican nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania. Both the North Amer- ican and the Inquirer, of Philadelphia, have issued admonitions against the nomination of Lieutenant Governor Beidleman for Governor and State Senator Crow for United States Sen- ator and even Penrose himself has set up cautionary signals of party dis- tress in the State. The profligacy of the present State administration has aroused an opposition among the peo- ple that threatens disaster for the party. These are unmistakable signs of popular discontent with the work of the Republican party since its resto- ration to power in Washington and indicate a revolt against the excesses and abuses of the party in Pennsylva- nia. But they mean nothing unless the opposition is in shape to take advan- tage of its opportunities. In other words, Republican dissensions will work no important benefits to the peo- ple of the State unless the Democrat- ic party is so organized as to be able to offer a remedy. It will not do to defer this preparation until political excitethent has created prejudices that will impair the work. We ought to begin now to put our house in order for the battle of next year. Secretary Hughes thinks the demand of France for consideration in naval apportionment is preposter- ous and probably France imagines that Mr. Hughes’ assumption of the power “to apportion is absurd. New First National Bank for Centre * Hall, There is a very well defined rumor that Centre Hall is to have a new First National bank. It will not de- velop in time for a Christmas offer- ing but may be an institution of the near future. According to the rumor a number of well known Centre coun- ty men have taken an option on the S. W. Smith building and are now en- gaged in selling stock in the proposed bank. According to one story reach- ing this office the bulk of the stock has already been sold and preliminary steps will be taken in the near future towards complete organization. Rumor also has it that included in the purchase of the Smith building will be the plant of the Centre Repor- ter, and that the purpose is to change the complexion of that paper into a Republican organ. Of course, if the paper changes hands and its future owners should prove to be Republi- cans, it will not be a difficult matter to change the politics of the paper, but if in doing so they anticipate mak- ing any impression on the rock-rib- bed Democrats of the South side we feel sure they will fall short of their reckoning. Sr ————— A ——1Tt took Governor Sproul a long time to overtake that fleeting phan- tom economy but having accomplish- ed that result he is very eager. No “Watchman” Next Week. For twenty-five weeks, with unre- lenting regularity, the “Watchman” force has toiled and struggled that you, dear reader, might have your fa- vorite paper on time. Getting out a newspaper with clock-like regularity is not entirely a “labor of love,” but a continual grind from one week’s end to the other and notwithstanding the fact that there is a world of satisfac- tion in the many letters of apprecia- tion that come to this office every week there is always a tendency to grow weary physically and that is the reason why no paper will be issued from this office next week. The entire force is going to take a week’s respite and enjoy the pleasures of the holiday season. The next issue of the “Watchman” will go out on January 6th, 1922. In the meantime we bespeak for every reader of this paper and mankind in general a Christmas teeming with happiness and a New Year brightened with wonderful success. ! From the Philadelphia Record. : : . | said that the future of the world de- Congress and confusing the adminis- | jo) ded on the Washington conference. will not ask the United States to ' plausibility in the suggestion that we The Allied Debts. On a recent occasion Lord Birken- head, Lord Chancellor of England, if that were a success the world might ! survive its present economic ills, but if that failed the world would go to the demnition bow-wows, and it wouldn’t be long about it. To Americans the connection is not exactly obvious. The Outlook, of London, helps us a little to understand by saying that Washington is a clin- ic where the serum of international good-will and co-operation is being tried on the bodies of two important, and yet secondary, issues. If the se- rum cures the naval cat and the Chi- nese rabbit there will be hope that it will cure the far greater disease from which the world is suffering, but if it fails on the cat and the rabbit of the international laboratory the world may as well sit in the dust and await a general wreck that will not be quick or merciful. The Lord Chancellor and the Prime Minister have probably been confer- ling on the laboratory experiments in the Washington clinic. Evidently Lloyd George sees excellent results from the serum of international good- will and co-operation, for he is now reported to be nearly ready to pre- sume so far on the world’s good-will and co-operation as to propose a wip- ing-off of the financial slates of the Allied and Associated Nations. It is understood that Mr. George sponge off the score which we hold against his country, amounting to about $4,250,000,000, and we have claims against our other associates in the war amounting to more than that sum. The aggregate amounts to a lit- tle less than ten billion dollars with- out interest, and more than eleven bil- lions with interest. But Mr. Gecrge would not have the bad taste to ask the United States to give receipted bills to its debtors; he would simpiy, and munificently, give receipted bills to all the debtors to England. That would force our hands. If England forgave its debtors we could hardly be less generous. England's credits are about double its debt to the United States. By a general clear- ing of slates Great Britain would lose more than it would gain, with this rather important qualification, that’ England never can collect from sev- eral of its debtors, while most of our debtors, notably England and France, and probably Italy and some of the smaller nations, can pay in the course of time. However, let us take a broad view of the matter. Our entrance into the war made the conflict ours. The Al- lies had been fighting for three years in what we subsequently declared to be our war. We did not furnish as many men as England and France, and our casualties were trifling com- pared with theirs. There is some should carry a part of the financial load which they assumed. England had to let France have a good deal of money; it helped Italy, and it sup- ported the Belgian, Servian and Por- tuguese armies, while its financial contributions to Russia were enor- mous. The suggestion that all the war loans between governments be wiped out is not preposterous. We may have to think seriously about it. Undoubt- edly we were profoundly interested in stopping Germany, and while we ren- dered important, and perhaps decisive, aid to the Allies they had fought for our interests for three years before we got into it. And furthermore, the economic condition of the world is pretty bad and is not getting better. It might possibly be better for us, on our own account, to help our debtors than to have several of them go bank- api; and perhaps drag the others own. Bellefonte’s $20,000 Fire Fighting Apparatus Here. Bellefonte’s twenty thousand dollar motorized fire fighting apparatus, two of the best triple pumpers manufac- tured by the White Motor company, of Hamilton, Ohio, arrived in Belle- fonte on Tuesday morning. The White company was promptly notified by telegraph and the pumpers were al. | lowed to remain in a sealed car until the arrival of a mechanic on Wednes- day morning when they were unload- ed and run up to the Emerick garage. The pumper for the Logan company is painted red while that for the Un- dines is blue, almost the color of the uniforms of the members of that com- pany. According to the contract both pumpers will have to pass the under- writer's test for efficiency before their acceptance by the borough. In the meantime an experienced mechanician will instruct the firemen how to han- dle them. tems seers fA —————— Japan isn’t half as generous as she pretended to be. It turns out that there was a strong string attached to the offer to restore Shantung to Chi- na. Ud Sal — Let us hope that our friend Santa Claus will have the busiest and best season of his beneficent life. — Tt looks asif De Valera would rather be President of an Irish Re- public than be right. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —Dr. Bertha Caldwell, Miss Mabel Jacques and Miss Winifred Postlewaite, are rivals for the appointment as proba- tion officer in Cambria county. —One year in the work house and $145 fine was the sentence imposed by Judge George S. Criswell on Joseph Mason, of - Oil City, convicted of involuntary man- slaughter in connection with the running down and killing of a boy and injuring two others with an auto. —John Ditzler, aged 28 years, who was shot by mistake for a bear by J. E. Ar- nold, of Shamokin, died Friday night in the Williamsport hospital. Arnold waiv- ed a hearing and was held for court. This is the second fatality of the hunting sea- son in Lycoming county. —Old woolen underwear and blankets might as well be put back in the moth ball stage for a farmer near Huntingdon, Pa., found one of his hens, which had been missing for some time, sitting on a nest of ten eggs and one chick at the foot of a tree in the woods near his home. —Mrs. William Baker has offered her 1 month old son, Robert Eugene Baker, as a Chirstmas gift to any one who will adopt him. Mrs. Baker has been desert- ed by her husband and is in ill health. The mother has inserted an advertisement in the local papers, offering to give the child away on Christmas. — Professor George L. Swank, of Sun- bury, has been appointed superintendent of public schools for Northumberland county, to succeed Prof. I. H. Mauser, of Sunbury, who died a month ago. The job pays $3500 a year. He will serve until next May, when the school directors of the county elect his successor. —A claim for $6640, alleged to be due on the tax duplicate of former city treasurer Clarence I. Weber, of Harrisburg, has , been made by the city on the Fidelity Deposit company, of Maryland, which bonded Weber. The former treasurer is said to maintain that most of the money due is for taxes not collected. —Wicinty Zerunbe, 55 years old, a Pol- ish miner of Pittsburgh, was run down and instantly killed near Lewistown on Thursday night by a fast freight train on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Coroner W. A. Barr found two dressed chickens in the pockets of his clothing which evidently had been stolen from the roosts of near- by farmers. -—The body of Mike Bucho, a prisoner, was found hanging from his cell door with a chain around his neck in the West- moreland county jail at Greensburg, last Thursday, by warden James Keating. Bucho, convicted of felonious assault and battery with intent to kill, was to have been removed to the western penitentiary within a few days. —Physicians are puzzled by William Hickman, a negro, of Mount Pleasant, shot by Lucy Smith, who is showing no evidences of a bullet lodged in his brain. Although they agree that the bullet is in the centre of the brain the negro is able to eat regularly and sit up in bed. The ball has neither paralyzed the brain nor rendered him unconscious. On account of the position of the bullet no attempt has been made to remove it. —More than a million and a quarter dol- lars has been paid into the State Treas ury ds revenue from applications for 1022 motor vehicle licenses thus far, and it is expected millions more will be received by the end of the year. The revenue from motor vehicle licenses of 1921 is expected to be around $10,000,000, which will break the records. The new license plates are being sent out by the truck-loads and also issued from the windows of the Automo- bile Division offices in Harrisburg. —T. C. Cochran, attorney for the Mercer county commissioners, has revived the old Pennsylvania blue laws, enacted in 1794, in an opinion given at the request of the commissioners. Recently two men were sentenced by Mayor Frank Gilbert, of Sharon, to serve thirty days each in the county jail, for “drunkenness.” Attorney Cochran advised the commissioners to re- fuse the men admission on the ground that the law of 1794 holds that a 67-cent fine and twenty-four hours in jail is the pun- ishment for “drunkenness.” —Adjutant General Beary has approved the first 500 applications for the Pennsyl- vania medal for members of the National Guard who went into the world war and in orders issued regarding them provides that all men who were in the Guard on the day war was declared and who entered the service for war are entitled to the med- al. This will enable Guardsmen who went overseas with the Rainbow Division or to camps separate from the National Guard division camps to get medals, including Pennsylvania Naval Militia members. —Beginning Sunday night the American Sheet and Tinplate company started to op- erate its Farrel and New Castle mills at full capacity for the first time since last March. For the past several weeks the New Castle tin mills have been running at full capacity. It is said that the Amer- ican Sheet and Tinplate company recent- ly secured a considerable portion of an or- der for 85,000 boxes of tinplate from Ja- pan. This in addition to another large order which was awarded last summer. Prospects are good for continuous opera- tion through the winter. —George McDonald, a miner of Cole- mont, Huntingdon county, is dead and his wife, Ollie Long McDonald, is in a serious condition at a Johnstown hospital as the result of a shooting at Cassandra late Thursday evening. According to author- jties who investigated, McDonald went to the home of Charles Long, a brother of his wife, and asked her to return to Cole- mont with him. The wife, it is said, was keeping house for Long during the ab- sence of his wife, who is in a hospital. She refused, according to reports, and he shot her twice, one bullet passing through her lung, after which McDonald killed himself. —A small automobile on peaceful pur- suits survived an attack by two powerful locomotives at Sunbury, last Saturday, and went merrily on its way. Two persons whom police say were Mr, and Mrs, H. TF. Bowersox, of Middleburg, who were in the car, escaped death miraculously, accord- ing to bystanders, when the automobile was struck by one train at a grade cross- ing, thrown over on another track and hammered by a train going in the oppo- site direction. The auto was pushed along the tracks and finally slid off to the side in the street. Then the auto righted itself, drew up along the side of the curb, and there it was found that the woman only had a slight cut on her face and the man was uninjured. The car continued under its own power. The occupants were on a shopping trip to Sunbury.