Democratic watchman. (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1855-1940, March 10, 1922, Image 1
Demorralic; ald INK SLINGS. —Four days of grip have made us more languid than forty years of hard work. : : : —1In eleven days spring will be here. The robins have beaten the calendar “to it, but our first bluebird is yet to | be seen. —England had better hold onto Mr. Lloyd George until the imperial house is set in order. Swappin’ horses in mid-stream is risky business. ; _Colonel Harvey wore knee breeches at the royal wedding the other day, but the administration is given to flattering the English. —St. Patrick might do his beloved Ireland a good turn by coming back on the 17th and driving the few snakes that have gotten back onto the Island off again. —Well, they’re nearly all back from “Florida now and soon we'll know whether Beidleman, Fisher, Snyder, Mackey, McKendrick, Bell or Alter is to try to make impossible possible. — The two and three dollar chick- ens of the farm sales of two years ago are conspicuously absent at those now being conducted in the county. There are a few, however, roaming the streets of the towns. —Mr. Bryan’s dope on possible campaign issues is good. It is what the Republican Congress promised to do and hasn’t done that the American voter is sorest about and that’s the spot that we want to keep pickin’ at. —A Cleveland Judge has ruled that the hip pocket is part of a man’s home “and he can carry what he likes in it without violation of law. It should not be necessary to tell you that the ruling was not in consequence of the arrest of persons for carrying Eskimo pie on the hip. : —The S. P. C. A. ought to get after the burgess, council and all concerned with the revival of our traffic ordi- nance. It is dead. Has been dead almost since the day of its enactment, so why revive it when nearly every- body believes that the poor thing will just have to die all over again. —Of course we are all shocked at the reported statement of Margot As- quith to the effect that there is drunk- enness among the young women of America. We don’t like to hear such things, even if we must force our- selves to the lamentable admission that there may be grounds for the story. —President Harding has gone south for a brief rest. What from, we'd like to know? We think we state a fact when we say that he has been the most “photographed President ‘We have had in years, yet in not one of the many, many likenesses of him that have been shown have we seen him near a desk or any other place that looked like a work shop. —The Democratic committee of seventy-two was in session in Harris- burg yesterday. The purpose of the meeting was to complete its work of proposing a state ticket for the Dem- ocrats to ratify at the Primaries. We could get no report of the meeting in time for this issue, but we feel certain that very satisfactory and very hope- ful results were accomplished. —Our Presbyterian friends are to have a new minister on Sunday. His first discourse to them will be “on organization for world conquest.” So far as the male members of the flock are concerned this will be a distinct novelty, for during the long inter- regnum in their church we fear many of them have conceived their para- mount duty to be organization for the conquest of brotherhood suppers. —The French dog specialist who has declared that fleas are necessary to canine health predicates his rather startling statement on the theory that were it not necessary for the dog to persistently fight the myriad epizoons , that have his hide on their at home cards he would become a victim of dark and dangerous melancholy. We believe there is something to this. Many a soldier boy has told us that the “cooties” left him no time to brood over the awfulness of the carnage to which he was contributing. —There may be those disposed to «question the sincerity of chairman Sterling’s motives in calling the har- mony conference, as well as those who doubt the wisdom of the choice of a standard bearer made by the subse- quent committee of seventy-two. However, these phases of the situa- tion impress others they do not, in the least, draw the attention of the “Watchman” from the really vital, hopeful fact that for the first time in many years the Democracy of Penn- sylvania has had a chance to speak for itself. In its composition and con- duct the conference was Democratic enough. The committee of seventy- two was representative enough to have neither offended nor favored any faction, so what more could have been desired. It accomplished the work it was set to do and it seems to us that no Democrat who holds the welfare of his or her party above personal spleen or ambition can now decline to sup- port the candidacy of Mr. McSparran. In a great many ways he will make an aggressive, hopeful standard bear- er. We shall have more to say as to his qualifications later. For the pres- ent we heartily endorse his candidacy because it is an unbridled expression «of the Democracy of the State. VOL. 67. BE STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. Chairman Hull Accepts the Challenge. Chairman Hull, of the Democratic National committee, promptly accepts the challenge of Congressman Fess, chairman of the Republican Congres- sional committee, to make the year's record of the Harding administration one of the issues of the impending campaign for the election of Congress- men. Mr. Fess said in a speech on the floor of the House of Representa- tives, the other day, that the achieve- ments of the administration during its first year amply justified a claim for continued public confidence. support of this statement he pointed to the work accomplished by the Washington conference, the improve- ment in industrial conditions and the decrease in the tax burdens of the people. : Chairman Hull says: “Republican accomplishments must inevitably be weighed and their merits determined in the light of Republican pre-elec- tion promises, and also in connection with the unusual opportunities for greater service than in strictly nor- mal times.” With respect to the promises made before the election of 1920 it is no exaggeration to say that not one has been literally or even ma- terially fulfilled. Some relief has been afforded to those in the enjoyment of big incomes but the incidental de- crease in revenues must be met by increasing burdens on the poor at present and by deficiency bills which will have to be enacted by the next Congress after the coming election is over. So far as the work of the Washing- ton conference is concerned any praise is an insult to the intelligence of the people. With the reservations which the President says he is willing to ac- cept in order to secure ratification, the treaties adopted are absolutely worthless. They bind neither of the signatories to anything and the only value of the conference to the world is that it put some life into the social system of Washington during the per- iod of its session. The League of Na- tions, defeated by the malice of Lodge, would have worked the de- cease in armament, not only in the four with greater certainty and in better form. — The revenue decreases cause little worry in Washington now but when the deficiency bills are being considered during the next session of Congress there will be “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.” One of Harding’s Achievements. While our friends, the Republican prints and spokesmen, are enumerat- ing the achievements of the Harding administration during its first year, the differences in commercial opera- tions should not be overlooked. The differences in the industrial life is ap- parent to all. Instead of humming machinery in shops and factories there is silence and about the only things working are rust and decay. But the general public is not so fa- miliar with the commercial life. In the cities and towns a perceptible falling off in sales is noted by the merchants and commented upon more or less by the people. But it is only when statistics are appealed to that the real facts are revealed. As shown by the books of the Treasury in Washington the exports to Europe during January this year amounted to $148,939,240 while in the same month last year the total was $325,218,637. ‘For the seven months ending with January this year the ex- ports to Europe aggregated $1,219, 687,511, while for the same period last year the total was $2,440,5697,216, a falling off of more than one hundred per cent. The same difference is shown in the trade with South Ameri- ca and Asia. The éxports to South America during January this year were $13,863,869 and in January last year they amounted to $61,430,289, or nearly five fold greater. At this ratio of decline our commerce will soon reach the vanishing point. A study of these figures will re- veal one of the principal causes of the idle factories and industrial paraly- sis in this country. The fear of a tariff wall has caused European con- sumers to stop buying American pro- ducts with the result that the supply is in excess of the domestic demand and factories are compelled to close for want of markets for their pro- ducts. If the Republicans had not carried Congress in 1918 and elected a President in 1920 these unfortunate conditions would not be present now. The remedy is in electing a Demo- cratic Congress this year and a gen- eral Democratic victory will help along vastly. en pee. ——1It doesn’t seem altogether po- lite to urge Congress to grovide unin- flammable gas for the air service. It sounds personal. In} at. powers, but in all: nations | Mellon in Fight Against Ford. | During the world war, under the ‘spur of necessity of supplying the army with explosives, the government spent eighty millions of dollars in the construction of a. plant at Muscle Shoals, in Alabama. When the war ended the plant was incomplete and it was estimated that many millions more would be necessary to prepare it for operation. There being no fur- ther need for the product and the pri- vate producers of explosives having | no desire for competition, it was pro- posed to scrap the plant, charge the eighty millions to loss and forget the incident. Thereupon Henry Ford came forward with an offer to pay five millions in cash and a million dollars a year as rental until the full amount was discharged. Mr. Ford, it was said, imagined that by the sale of electrical power and the manufacture and sale of ex- plosives, fertilizers and other by- products he could earn a profit on the proposed investment. He made as part of his offer an agreement to pro- duce large quantities of fertilizer and sell it at prices vastly lower than those charged by other dealers in that necessary commodity and the farmers of the entire country were encouraged with the prospect of a considerable decrease in their expenses. But the DuPonts and other makers of explo- sives, and the other dealers in fertil- izers and makers of electricity, inter- vened to defeat his purpose. It threatened to reduce their incomes materially. ; It now appears that the head and front of the opposition to the Ford enterprise is Mr. Andrew Mellon, Sec- retary of the Treasury, and one of the principal owners of a concern which would come into rivalry with the Ford operation. The Aluminum company of America Trust, of which Mellon is the largest individual stockholder, has in view the creation of a similar plant on the St. Lawrence river. This Trust has acquired large tracts of lands both in this country and Cana- da and is asking for government aid in the development of its plans. Pres-. ident Harding is in sympathy with ‘this enterprise and it is generally be- lieved among those on the inside that it is responsible for the fight on the Ford project. tener eee ——Mrs. Barclay Warburton does not care much whether the Republican managers throw bricks at or hand bouquets to the rest of the Republi- can women of Pennsylvania so long as they give her a place in the sun and her husband a good job. Bonus Bill a Bogus Measure. Speaking of the soldiers’ : bonus, “the plot thickens,” as the dime novel writers used to say. The President and Congress seem to have come to an agreement at last. The President had declared with more or less positive- ness that he wouldn’t have a bill that didn’t provide for revenue to pay the bonus and suggested a sales tax at- tachment. Congress = refused, with equal emphasis, to accept a sales tax. Then an agreement was arrived at on a measure which would be called a soldier’s bonus but would pay the bo- nus to the loan sharks. That appeal- ed to both sides and it may be expect- ed that within a few weeks, or at least well before the election, such a bill will he passed. - The scheme is to give the soldiers certificates of indebtedness instead of money in satisfaction of their claims for adjustment. If the soldier doesn’t happen to need money for a period of three years these certificates will be admirable. They will draw interest at a low rate and will be paid by the government at maturity just as bonds and other government obligations are paid. But if he needs money now he is assured that he can go to the bank and borrow some proportion of the face value of his certificate, or to a loan shark and sell it for whatever he can get. In either event it will be the other fellow who gets the greater ad- vantage of the bonus law. : The New York Herald, probably the most ardent Republican newspaper in New York, denounces the measure as an infamous piece of legislation which will bring confusion if not ruin to the country when at the expiration of three years the certificates mature. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the most zealous Republican organ in Penn- sylvania, condemns it with equal em- phasis. But the Congressional elec- tions are coming on and Congressmen feel that it is necessary to satisfy or fool the Legionaires and probably the President doesn’t know any better. It’s “every fellow for himself and the devil take the hindmost” in Washing- ton, and the bonus bill agreed upon is the result. ——Secretary Mellon is trying to hand Henry Ford a green lemon and the indications are that he will ac- complish his purpose. LLEFONTE, PA.. MARCH 10, 192 ~ Vare is the Party Boss. “That Senator Edwin H. Vare, of Philadelphia, exercises absolute con- trol of the Republican party of Penn- sylvania is completely proved by re- cent events. During the life of Sena- tor Penrose the aspirations of Mr. Vare to control was held in check by the force of that individual’s opposi- tion. Immediately after the death of Penrose, Vare "attempted to assert himself by demanding that his broth- er, William, be appointed to the va- cancy. Governor Sproul refused to comply and a war was declared. The result remained in doubt only for a short time. Vare formed alliances with the Mayor of Pittsburgh and oth- ers and laid his lines for the final bat- tle. It has not been fought but indi- cations point to a Vare victory. These indications are expressed in the actions of other so-called leaders of the machine. When Vare settled himself for a vacation in Florida, W. Harry Baker, manager of the Beidle- man campaign for Governor, journey- ed to that southern retreat to enlist Vare to support his man. Harry Mackey, another candidate for Gover- nor, had already appealed to him and it is now publicly declared that Bank- ing Commissioner Fisher is withhold- ing the announcement of his candida- cy until Vare returns that he may en- dorse or repudiate the Indiana county candidate. Thus the three leading candidates for the Gubernatorial nom- ination acknowledge the potency of Vare in the matter of determining the choice of the party. No other evidence is required to prove that Vare is boss, but addition- al testimony can be produced. Gov- _ernor Sproul returned from his south- ern vacation trip on Monday last but received little attention. Vare is ex- pected home in a day or two and the political life is stirred from centre to circumference in anticipation of the event. Thus the public is enabled to accurately analyze the situation. Gov- ernor Sproul, retiring from a position of power, is easily overshadowed by the coming boss, and what a commen- tary it affords for the people! Vare, who is known only as the head of a ‘eorrupt contracting firm, holds the destinies of a great Commonwealth and a million and a half voters in his hand. ——The powers that be in Belle- fonte have again decided to enforce the traffic ordinance. This ordinance was passed several years ago with the view of regulating and controlling au- tomobile traffic within the limits of the borough. It contains all the “whereofs,” “provisos” and “ultima- tums,” usually found in such ordinan- ces and is a perfectly safe and sane instrument if properly observed or en- forced. But unfortunately there is always a certain per cent of drivers who persist in non-observance, and while there has frequently been ample talk there has never been any real ac- tive measures taken to enforce the provisions of the ordinance. It has simply been. a question of “passing the buck” back and forth between the borough council, the Fire and Police committee, the burgess and the police, with ‘the result that nobody got any- where and nothing was done in the way ‘of enforcement. If wilfull and persistent violators were hauled in and fined the limit a few times they would lose a lot of their persistence, and that is about the only sure way of breaking up a practice .that has be- .come not only a nuisance but a men- ace to the life and limb of every man, woman and child who walks on the streets of Bellefonte. ——A meeting of the Republican county committee at the Nittany Country club, last Friday evening and a meeting of the Democratic county. committee in the opera house on Sat- urday afternoon is evidence that the political pot will soon be boiling in Centre county. Let us all hope that in the scramble of aspiring candidates the men most fit for the various of- fices will come out on top. nme fp es ———— ——The bootleggers seem to be unanimous ‘in their support of the prohibition amendment and are giving Mr. Bryan all the encouragement they can in his crusade. . ——The friends of State Treasurer Charlie Snyder are talking of getting out a search warrant for his Guber- natorial boom. It has mysteriously disappeared. ———— A ———— —The uncertainty of a miner’s strike on April first should be a warn- ing to everybody to lay in a supply of coal against a possible shortage in supply. ; an) pe ——March has already favored us with two snows, but we are thankful that neither one was very deep and Phat they did not lay any length of ime, 2. NO. 10. Reed and Harvey Dissolve Partner- ship. From the New York World. ’ Reed and Harvey, Inc., which did a bonanza business during 1920 in the casting of suspicion on all foreign na- tions, was formally dissolved on Washington’s birthday. Reed is still doing business at the old stand, hav- ing kept his grip on the liabilities and the bad-will of the firm. But Harvey is at the Court of St. James, praising the English until they squirm with embarrassment. All this was in the nature of things bound to happen. The moment it was settled that George Harvey had to go abroad to protect Mr. Harding from the consequences either of persistent affection or of unrequited love, it was also settled that George Harvey would take on, in the most garish hue possi- ble, the color of smart society in the capital to which he was accredited. He is now more English than the English. But had he gone to France, who can doubt that he would have made M. Poincaire’s patriotism seem pale? Or if to Italy, that the Roman eagle would have flapped its wings exuber- antly ? But just as George Harvey was bound to overwhelm the English with his love, so Jim Reed was bound to stay right here and hate all foreign- ers without votes. Harvey could not go abroad without insisting on play- ing the courtier, and Reed could not go abroad because he long ago decided that he was too good for any foreign-« er. The two men are a .sort of Scylla and Charybdis of American foreign policy. For between the people who lose all common sense when they min- gle with the eminent in European cap- itals and the people who think all Eu- rope is damnable and corrupt it is very difficult for a patriotic Administration to combine the protection of American interests with a policy of decent co- operation abroad. Prospects of Redemption. From the Philadelphia Record. The Democratic situation in Penn- sylvania may not be as bad as some Republican machinists hope it will be long enough to insure the election of another machine Governor. It may be even better than they have any idea of, right now. This at least should be said for the encouragement of all good citizens who are Democrats, and all of the good citizens who, though Republicans, know there is no hope of reforming the Pennsylvania govern- ment through men selected by the ma- chinists who control the Republican organization. An honest effort is being made— and with good chances of success—to harmonize the Democratic factional- ists of Pennsylvania and present a State ticket that will not only merit and receive enthusiastic support from all Democrats who desire honest gov- ernment, but will be reasonably cer- tain to attract the necessary number of independent votes to insure its election in November. j No good citizen, Democrat or Re- publican, or of no party ties, ought to do anything calculated to prevent the success of such an effort; for only through its success can the govern- ment of Pennsylvania be immediately restored to the people under agents who will halt the looting of the State Treasury and seek, through such legal channels as are open to them, to force restitution from those who have been engaged in such looting as has gone on up to date, or may be continued up to the time the officers elected next November take charge. Ar ——— ee Royalty, Inc. From the Philadelphia Public Ledger. The royal family of Saxony appears to have put one over on the republic. It has incorporated, and provided each of the members with definitely gradu- ated responsibilities in its feudal or- ganization. : : Ex-King Frederick is the chairman, and although he can’t sign death war- rants, he puts his once exalted mon- icker on the marriage licenses. To marry outside his close corporation and mutual-admiration society of monarchy is to bring a taint to the “sang azure” of the House of Wie- nerwurst, or whatever it is. Something had to be done toward rehabilitating the king-business. Too many of the royal curb brokers had become bucket-shoppers. They were | pedddling their aegali and - insignia with few takers. The idea of becoming Princess Henry XXV of Reuss or the morganatic wife of the lord of a two by-four archduchy had lost its lure for the American heiress. She began to believe that the rank of captain of in- dustry was superior to that of much nonpareil type in the Almanach. de Gotha. That, of course, is an econom- ic menace and must be countered. me pp eet Colonel Harvey and Mr. Lodge. From the New York Times. The prize, however, must be award- ed to Colonel Harvey's characteriza- tion of Senator Lodge as “the Nestor of the Senate, erudite in cloistered aloofness.” It would be hard for a country journalist to beat that. And the emotions which it will arouse in the aloof breast of Senator Lodge himself, as he goes forth to be a “good mixer” with the Irish in Bos- ton, must be left for the erudite to imagine. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —The public schools at Milroy have been closed owing to a scarlet fever epi- demic. : : —Punxsutawney has two new ordinanc- es, one to the effect that public dances must be licensed and the other allowing a fine of $100 for getting drunk. —Mr. and Mrs. William J. Daughen- baugh, of Philipsburg, welcomed their nineteenth child, a healthy son, on March 1st. Fourteen of the children are living. Mr. Daughenbaugh is 52 and his wife 48. He is a laborer. —Ira Stroh, of Sunbury, is in jail in de- fault of $5,000 bail, awaiting trial on a charge of using bogus revenue stamps in illicit liquor traffic. It is believed that Stroh was only a cat's paw and that the men higher up are within reach. — Frank Grifosky, who displayed a roll of bills when he went to pay a bill he owed, was followed, beaten and robbed by sons of the woman to whom he paid the money. He was barely able to stagger in- to the Latrobe police station. His assailants were arrested and he was given medical attention. — Mrs. Patrick Hughes, aged 78 years, of Punxsutawney, stood with her back to a gas grate until her clothing was so badly on fire that she could not escape being fa- tally burned before she knew it. Her hus- band, almost 80 years old, managed to ex- tinguish the flames, but she died in ter- rible agony. —Frances Wanski, aged 8 years, was in- stantly killed and a score of other children of the Doswell school at Johnstown, were more or less seriously injured Monday afternoon, when a 2,000 pound snow slide came thundering down from the roof of the school house while the children were enjoying a recess period. —Announcement was made last week at the State Department of Fisheries that applicants for state fishery special device licenses must also be holders of resident fishermen’s licenses. The special device permits will be issued for use of outlines, fish baskets or eel racks; gigs or spears, loop or snare, burr hooks and fyke and dip nets. The seasons will be the same as for- merly. —Beaver and Allegheny county authori- ties are trying to solve the mystery sur- rounding attacks on blooded calves on the farm of J. M. Young, which lies in two counties. A few weeks ago four calves were found to be so seriously wounded they had to be killed, and last week six other calves met the same fate. In both instances the cattle had been attacked with | a pitchfork. —A special term of court will be held at Ridgway starting Monday, March 27th, to try murder cases. The. cases include the following: Gregoris Monea and sons, Frank and Lorenzo, and John Silipio who are charged with the killing of Arthur In- acre and Edward Dill at Johnsonburg; John Huber, for the killing of his brother at Cardiff, and William Hill for the mur- der of Margaret Warmbrodt, at Johnson- burg. —Rev. G. W. Lee, recently appoinfed pastor of the A. M. E. Bethel church at Lock Haven, who was compelled to return to Smethport to stand trial on a charge of arson, was completely vindicated in the trial. The case was withdrawn by the dis- trict attorney because of flimsy evidence and the jury instructed to render a ver- dict of “not guilty.” Rev. Mr. Lee return- ed to Lock Haven to resume his pastorate, preaching on Sunday. —Suit for $10,000 damages has been en- tered in the Blair county court by. Mrs. Mary Stouffer, of Philadelphia, against the borough of Hollidayscburg., She alleges that March 11th, 1920, while visiting her sisters-in-law in Hollidaysburg she was walking along a street and, owing to ice and snow in ridges on the sidewalk, fell and fractured her right leg. She was in a hospital eleven: weeks and still suffers from the injury. —When David G. Wertzberger, of Blair county, charged with desertion and non- support, was ordered to pay his wife $45 a month alimony, Max A, Kettl became his bondsman in the sum of $500. Wertz- berger is said to have = disappeared, so Kettl appeared before Judge ‘Thomas J. Baldridge and asked perimission to pay the alimony of $45 a month until he reach- es the sum of $500, when the bond will be cancelled. The court agreed. It is the first case of the kind on record in Blair county. —Roy Aikey and Samuel Zimmerman, living near Lewisburg, found it expensive to mistake a rabbit for an opossum. They ran the animal into a hollow tree and dug it out and kept it. Game protector Miles Reeder arrested them. They pleaded guil- ty before Squire Getkin at Lewisburg, and were fined $20 for taking game without a license, and $10 for taking game during the closed season, $10 for . taking game without shooting it with a gun, $10 for taking it out of a den and $8.75 costs each, making a total of $58.75 each, or $117.50 for the rabbit. In addition, their hunting licenses were recalled for two years. —Jefferson Brown Jr. 10 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Brown, of Mil- roy, was completely scalped Sunday even- ing when hit by a spall from a large rock rolled down the mountain side by some boys. Brown, in company - with several little companions, was walking towards ' the Seven mountains along what is known as Potlicker Flats, when a large boulder started on its wild flight by some boys on a high knob of the mountains, came bounding down with great velocity and striking against another rock threw a spall that struck young Brown a glancing blow on the head, tearing away his scalp. It required twenty-five stitches to close the wound. —Norman Penrose, recently freed of the charge of killing his brother, Ralph, dur- ing a fight in a Jenkintown boarding house, where they lived, was one of three beneficiaries named in the will of the lat- ter, filed in the Bucks county register’s of- fice last ‘Friday. The will disposed of property valued at $75,000. Of the amount $30,000 is devised each to Norman and Cyr- il F. Penrose, brothers of the dead man, to be held in trust for their descendants. The third beneficiary is Miss Elizabeth Rose Conrad, of Jenkintown, whose testi- mony was largely responsible for the ac- quittal of Norman by a jury in the Nor- ristown court. Also, her father owned the boarding house where Ralph was shot to death. She will receive $15,000 in the form of a trust. Nuring her life she will receive the interest and at her death it reverts to the estate and is to be divided between the Penrose brothers or their descendants.