Beworraic Wap INK SLINGS. —The moonshine of today takes all of the sunshine out of tomorrow. —Mr. Mussolini may not think he is riding for a fall, but they all get it, some time. 2 —President Coolidge has really ar- rived. The ladies are wearing some- thing that is called “Coolidge brown.” —Really if the Grangers hadn’t had that deluge on Wednesday they might have thought old Jupe Pluvius was “holdin’ out” on them. —As the late, lamented Francis Speer would have said: Yes, Pinchot settled the coal strike. “He did, like the old woman kept tavern out west.” —Well, Altoona has had her big day and it was marred, as we hoped it would not be, by an accident that snuffed out the life of one of the rac- ing motorists. —If Senator La Follette had hap- pened to be in Japan instead of in Russia there would have been a pos- sibility that we would have fewer earthquakes about Washington next winter. —Italy evidently isn’t in the dire straits that we have been led to be- lieve her to be. No thoroughly ex- hausted nation could be flourishing a “big stick” as she has been doing late- ly. —As a rule “climbers” meet with poor success. Not so with Mexico. She has been “climbing” for years with a persistence that has finally brought recognition from the U. S. A., and France. —Since the burning cross of the Ku Klux Klan was seen on Halfmoon hill, Saturday night, there are said to be a lot of men and women both, in Bellefonte, who are watching their step like they’ve never done before. —We are wondering. Wondering just why the good Lord permits such horrors as have befallen Japan. No satisfactory explanation comes to mind unless it be a Providential means of reducing an overcrowded country. —France and Germany are getting so close together that all that is need- ed, so the Paris and Berlin dispatches say, is the payment of the reparations and then they’ll live happy ever after. Let us think. Wasn’t it the payment of the reparations that caused the squabble in the first place? —We could name the Republican county ticket right here, but we're not going to do it, because all the fun your'e having guessing as to who is going to win would be over. We'll “you into the secret this far, how- rel oy Wilkinson is going to be the nominee for Prothonotary. =~ —The Philadelphia Ledger, Mon- day’s edition, tells the world, in a big headline, that an “Auto Falls in the River.” What we are curious to know is what was this particular “auto” do- ing wading around in the river before it fell. We don’t believe an auto ever fell in a river. Thousands have fallen into rivers, however. —The school directors of Butler, having decided that all circus days in that place shall be holidays in the schools, probably have contributed much to the happiness of the good lit- tle boys and girls but taken all the joy out of life for the ones who loved to play hookey and then sneak in un- der the canvas. —With five aspirants for the Re- publican nomination for Register most any one of them is likely to slip in. It’s their fight, of course, but we're interested in what is going to happen to Eaton. Rumor has it that he has the favor of several of the leaders of his party, while several others do not look so helpfully on his aspirations. If this be so the result would reveal to us who’s who in Republican circles in Centre county. —We agree with those who think most of our state highways are too narrow, but we are convinced that there would be just as much dangér in having them too wide. To our mind a clear right of way on either side with enough room in the middle for safety in passing a slow moving ve- . hicle ahead when another is approach- ing from the opposite direction is all that is necessary. Four track roads would be veritable speedways and bring on far more collisions than we now have. —The gentleman who wrote from Lynchburg, Virginia, to know how we noticed a consignment of “Four Roses,” that stood on an express truck in this place for several hours one day last week, is respectfully inform- ed that the things we can’t have are the ones we notice most. Since ar- riving at the age when we can’t “pick up” the best looking skirt on the Dia- mond we find solace cultivating roses in the back yard. We have crimson ramblers, Dorothy Perkins, La France, American Beauties and all—but “Four Roses.” Ah, the bouquet of that va- riety! That’s what we want most. —When the Legislature in 1897, passed the law making it impossible for any person not holding a certifi- cate of proficiency to mine anthracite coal little thought of the possible re- sults entered the public mind. Today it is unlawful for any one to mine coal who is not a certified miner and all the certified miners are out on strike. Till they get good and ready to go back to work the public can freeze stiff, if it wants to, because it gave the miners a monopoly. in the coal mining business, There was some reason in the law, at that, but in the present dilemma few are disposed to : see it. i dans lat ‘Nations. And if ~ Demo yy TH STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. VOL. 68. BELLEFONTE, PA. SEPTEMBER Blame Will be Upon Us. If the United States Senate had ratified the covenant of the League of Nations when that great question was pending there would have been no in- vasion of Germany by French troops now in possession of the Ruhr valley, and the present trouble between Italy and Greece would be a problem easily solved. The League of Nations has gone on and accomplished much good without the moral and material sup- port of the government of the United States. But with that support its ac- tions and mandates would have been accepted without question by the en- tire civilized world. All internation- al troubles that have occurred since are ascribable to our delinquency in that matter. : That President Harding had come to realize the vital mistake of the past is shown in his efforts immediately before his untimely death, to get in- to relations with the League of Na- tions by entering the world court. Even in that movement he was de- ceiving himself in the pretense that there is no connection between the two tribunals and that membership in the League of Nations involved a sur- render of sovereignty. The League of Nations created no super govern- ment or supreme power. That was a figment of the vicious mind of Henry Cabot Lodge and could have held no permanent place in any rational brain. But it served the purpose of an ex- cuse for continued refukal to enter the League and still favor the purposes for which the League was created. The failure of the United States to enter the League of Nations natural- ly weakened that beneficent organiza- tien. It was because of that weak- ness that France, in conformity with provisions of the League but against the protest of other members, invad- ed the Ruhr. It was incidentally be- cause of that that Italy, in violation of the provisions of the League, com- mitted an act of war against Greece which may ultimately result in anoth- er world war more horrible and de- structive than that which devastated Europe between 1914 and 1918. Such a calamity may be averted by the wisdom and energy of the League of ‘it comes the blame will be on our failure to join the League. ——We are again reminded by news from Europe that the ratification of the League of Nations at the proper time would have prevented the war clouds now hovering over Italy and Greece. Roadbuilding and Costs. One of the important questions to be decided at the coming election is that of an increase of the State debt to the extent of fifty million dollars for road construction and mainte- nance. A proposed amendment to the constitution authorizing such increase for that purpose has successively passed two sessions of the Legislature and in conformity with the decision of the Supreme court will be on the bal- lot for approval or rejection in No- vember. Thus far little, if any, op- position has been developed. Every- body favors good roads and most men and women are willing to bear a just share of the expense of building and maintaining them. Good roads are valuable assets in every community. But public opinion in Pennsylvania is not unanimous in approval of the methods employed by the Highway Department. It has been charged, and practically proved, that highway construction is and has been vastly more expensive in Pennsylvania than in neighboring States. For example, the cost of construction per mile in Ohio has: been little more than half that in Pennsylvania, and New York roads have cost nearly one-third less than ours, If our roads were corres- pondingly better than those of Ohio and New York the difference in cost might be overlooked. ‘But as a mat- ter of fact any difference in merit is on the side of the neighboring States. Their roads are better and more en- during. The voters of .Pennsylvania will probably decide in favor of the bond issue. But they will insist on better and cheaper service of the Highway Department. For years it has been used as an asylum for party “lame ducks” and political recruiting sta- tions. The great army of employees has been used as “party pickets” in campaigns for local and general of- fices and if a new supply of funds is provided for the Department a new system of disbursement should be adopted. If properly used the fifty million dollars which it is proposed to appropriate for constructing and maintaining highways will give Penn- sylvania the best roads in the world and Pennsylvania is entitled to that distinction. ——Whatever else happens in poli- tics and legislation it is a safe bet |. that farmers of the middle west will never again be fooled with a tariff on wheat. | Governor Pinchot “Kids” Himself. When Governor Pinchot stated, in setting forth his plan for the solution of the anthracite coal problem, that an increase of ten per cent. in the wages of miners would enhance the cost of coal production sixty cents a ton and that this might be taken out of the profits of the operators and distributors, he was obviously “kid- ding” himself. He may have imagin- ed that he was fooling the miners or deceiving the public but he was doing neither. The operators, carriers and distributors never assume burdens that they cannot shift, and the exper- ience of all time teaches that every form of taxation is paid by the con- sumer, and the additional cost of pro- duction is a tax which the consumers must pay. When the coal strike of 1902 was settled by an increase of the wages of miners the price of coal was imme- diately increased about double the amount of the increased wages. A few years later the Legislature lev- ied a tax on anthracite coal which was subsequently declared unconstitution- al by the Supreme court of the State. But the price of coal was increased at once and has never been reduced since. Moreover the increase was qual to more than twice the amount of the tax. Following the tax created by the Legislature of 1921 the price of coal was increased vastly more than the tax and though the consum- ers complained and have continued to complain ever since there has been no decrease. Of course the coal operators under- stand that the consumers pay for all increases in wages and all taxes and the miners are equally wise. The only reason that either side objects is that neither is willing to assume responsi- bility for another increase in the price of coal and is not certain which the public will blame. In any event the Governor has contributed little toward settlement of the dispute and absolutely nothing toward the protec- tion of the public from extortion. In fact he sort of pointed the way by which both sides together might fleece the consumers by increasing the oe ae amount to the cost of the pro- uct. ——The American Bar Association favors our entrance into the world court. But in that they are acting as lawyers, not as politicians. Advice of Doubtful Value. In a letter recently addressed to the Southern Publishers’ Association Pres- ident Coolidge offered some advice of doubtful value. The theme of his communication was “How newspapers could best serve the federal govern- ment.” His first suggestion is that “they always uphold the constitution and the legislative acts in accordance with the constitution.” He may have had in mind the prohibition amend- ment and the Volstead act and most newspapers, north and south, have an- ticipated him in that matter. As a rule newspaper editors and publishers are law-abiding and even in case they question the wisdom of the legislation they believe in enforcement as a me- dium of hastening repeal. But we can see no moral obligation or legal reason for supporting bad laws. There is a wide difference of opinion as to the value of the Vol- stead law. It has not fulfilled the promise of its sponsor and the expec- tation of its friends that it would eliminate intoxication and empty the jails. A great many intelligent peo- ple sincerely believe that it has in- creased a greater evil, that of using pernicious drugs, more than it has de- creased the evil of drunkenness. Nev- ertheless it is a public duty to enforce it so long as it is a law and newspa- pers as a rule have urged enforce- ment. The suggestion of President Coolidge to the southern publishers was not needed in that particular case. The President’s second suggestion to the southern publishers is equally faulty. He tells them to “never crit- icise adversely without pointing out constructively how the faults may be rectified.” In other words, unless you have a remedy for an evil you should let it run wild in a community in- creasing in volume as it goes until the neighborhood is polluted. The late Boss Tweed had the same idea in mind when he asked the authorities in New York to “let us alone” while he was successfully looting the treas- ury. Corrupt public officials could have a “halcyon and vociferous” time of it if all the newspapers followed the advice to withhold all criticism until a remedy were provided. ——The Free Staters won in the Irish elections but their majority is not great enough to guarantee perma- nency. I —— Rp ———————— ——President Coolidge, having tak- en a jaunt in the Mayflower, it may be said that he is now really installed in office. _the miners and adding dou, Fifty Years Ago Col. Spangler Was a Journalist. A paragraph in the Williamsport Gazette and Bulletin’s “Fifty Years Ago Today” column, appearing in its issue of September 4th, started a lit- tle reminiscence in this office. It an- nounced that on September 4th, 1872, Jack L. Spangler, then a law student in the office of the late John H. Orvis had become associate editor of the “Watchman.” Reference to our files revealed that our issue of December 20th, 1872, was the first one in which Col. Spangler’s name was carried as associate editor. He remained on the paper until Au- gust 22, 1873, when he was compelled to retire because of inability to carry the burden of newspaper work and do justice to his law studies. In his vale- dictory as a journalist Col. Spangler admitted having been kicked around by his contemporaries very much like a houn’ dawg, but withal evident- ly regarded it as a very pleasant and profitable experience. He came to this paper to succeed Joe. W. Furey, who had left it to take editorial charge and part ownership of the Williamsport Standard. Mr. Furey remained in Williamsport until September 5th, 1873, when he return- ed to the “Watchman” and remained many years before finally leaving again to take charge of the Clinton Democrat at Lock Haven, in which city he died. Anent the high prices at hotels these days it is interesting to know that when Col. Spangler was writing for the “Watchman” and studying law the late Gov. Hastings was also a law student here. He was boarding at the Bush house, paying seven dol- lars a week for room and board while the Colonel was boarding out opposite the Big - Spring, with the family of ’Squire Sammy Foster and paying on- ly four dollars. Hastings left the Bush house and went to Foster’s, be- coming a bedfellow of Spangler and they remained bedfellows in every other respect from that day until Hastings died. ~—Had the United States been in the | League of Nations Mr.. Mussolini would never have openly flouted its authority and we fancy there are enough powers now in it to make the gentleman sit up and take notice that Europe is already done to death with wars. On the other hand, if the League, even as at present constitut- ed, can’t settle the trouble between Italy and Greece without further bloodshed it had better close the doors at Geneva, nail up the shutters and go home. Friends Approve Court of Interna- tional Justice. Friends quarterly meeting was held in their meeting house near Storms- town September 1st to 3rd, inclusive. This meeting consists of representa- tives from Centre, Clearfield and Bed- ford counties, and holds regular quatr- terly sessions on established dates at Unionville and Stormstown, in Centre county; at Fishertown, in Bedford county, and at Grampian, in Clearfield county. In addition to-the regular quarterly meeting business routine there was a community conference called for Sun- day afternoon as a union service in which representatives of the meeting were joined by two hundred or more people from the community surround- ing the church. The subject for con- sideration was the best method, or any method, for promoting peace among nations. The impracticability as well as im- possibility of the United States, or any nation, isolating itself in this age of progress and enlightenment, as well as moral obligations due other nations by the United States for past favors, was forcibly presented by Dr. 0. Edward Janney, of Baltimore, and others, and a resolution was unani- mously adopted by a rising vote (not the usual method of deciding ques- tions in Friends meetings) that the United States should unite with other nations in establishing a permanent court of international justice, and the chairman was directed to report this action in a fraternal letter to Presi- dent Coolidge and our United States Senators. ——~ Senator Magnus Johnson de- clares that he believes in books, but it may be said that he learned most of his lessons in the school of hard knocks. ——Strangely enough, of all the Senators and Representatives in Con- gress now sojourning abroad not one happened to be in Japan last Satur- ay. ———Maybe one of the reasons Pres- ident Coolidge doesn’t play golf is that he is not proficient in that kind of language. : ——Even the most exaggerated of overworked Presidents fail to de- crease the number of aspirants for the office. 7. 1923. right to Fiume, NO. 35. The Balkans Again. From the Philadelphia Record. The assassination, the ultimatum, the terms that invite war because it is almost impossible to accept them, all reproduce the events of midsum- mer 1914. The resemblance, however, goes deeper than these. The object of Austria’s demands upon Servia was to secure a pretext for establishing Aus- trian primacy in the Balkans. The first Balkan war resulted in the de- feat of Germany’s friend, Turkey, and the success of Russia’s friend, Servia. The necessity of reversing this posi- tion was stated with little disguise in a speech to the Reichstag by the Ger- man Minister of War explaining why it was necessary to add 136,000 men to the army. Italy has long been an aspirant for the position in the Balkans claimed in rivalry by Russia and Austria. These two are now hors du combat, and Ita- ly sees its opportunity. It has long been jealous of Greece, and while the latter’s extensive ambitions have been punctured by the Turkish defeat and the treaty of Lausanne, the murder by Greeks of five Italian boundary com- missioners affords Italy an opportuni- ty which it is not disposed to throw away. A rival in the Eastern Med- iterranean and primacy in the Balkans might be attained by a swift stroke. In 1914 Germany and Austria were aching for war, or for results that could hardly be obtained without it. France and Russia were scarcely less ready; whatever England’s army might amount to, everybody knew what its navy was, and how essential to its safety were the coast of Bel- gium and the northern coast of France. Now England is extremely pacific; France has everything it can attend to on the Rhine; Germany, Austria and probably Russia are out of the list of combatants. It does not seem as if there were any one to ob- ject, no matter what Italy might do. And yet there are nations that may resist the subjection of Greece to Ita- ly. Rumania has dynastic ties with Greece, and it aspires to primacy in the Balkans. It lost much during the war because it was betrayed in cold blood by Russia. It recovered some- thing in the peace. But it wants no Italian domination in the Balkans. Jugo-Slavia contains Servia, an ally of Greece in both the Balkan wars. It contains Croatia, which Italy in the pact of London, 1915, conceded had a stance appropriated Fiume; Jugo- Slav rights there are shadowy. On the Dalmatian coast, too, Italy has by force taken territory it did not claim in the pact of London. The purpose of Italy to dominate both sides of the Adriatic is obvious enough. England is not likely to undertake military operations, but the Mediter- ranean is an important highway for Great Britain, and the scene is favor- able for naval operations. If Italy will not submit the controversy with Greece to the League of Nations the British fleet in the Mediterranean may bcome active. Of course, the assassination of the boundary commissioners was a great outrage, and Greece has got to pay a heavy penalty. But the Italian de- mands are excessive. They seem like the Austrian demands upon Servia, framed to make compliance impossi- De ard thereby afford Italy a free and. . State’s Power Resources. From the Wilkes-Barre Record. In the organization of the board created by the recent Legislature to make a survey of Pennsylvania’s pow- er resources the first step has been taken in what should develop into a gigantic enterprise. It is necessary to know what we have before we can proceed along intelligent lines. The survey may extend over a long period of time, but if two years or even three or four years are required to place be- fore the people a definite idea as to how the production of power can be ad- vanced and cheapened the time will not be too long. What the people have particularly in mind is a wider use of electricity at a cost that will compare favorably with the use of coal. Electricity can be produced by water power, by coal at the mines, and by numerous indi- vidual plants located close by the in- dustries. The latter ‘plan is now in use. Industries requiring power se- cure it from electricity generated close at hand. A few generating plants serve a wider territory. Elec- tricity generated in power plants at the mines would serve a much wider territory than is now served by the individual plants. The third plan means electricity generated from wa- ter power and transmitted over wide sections of territory. The use of water power would do away with the cost of coal and with the cost of distributing coal. Heavy railroad charges would be eliminated. But for some regions coal miners may be more advantageously located than the available water power sites, thus cheapening the cost of transmitting electricity. rtm ————— po ———————— That Eight-Hour Day. From the Chester Times. With less pay and more leisure in which to spend it, of course those twelve-hour steel workers will be dis- satisfied, and then people will call them ungrateful. Still, as a philoso- pher once remarked, it’s “divine dis- content” that makes human progress. A——— A ——————— ——1It is plain to be seen that Mus- solini is trying to drive Lenine off the front page. 1 . SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —The Lutheran Synod of Central Penn- sylvania and the Susquehanna Synod of the Lutheran church will unite as one syn- od at Sunbury next Wednesday. —After 54 years of continuous service with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Harry T. Glasgow, aged 66 years, machinist at the East Altoona roundhouse, was retired o a pension. : —C(Col. Henry W. Shoemaker, member of the State Forestry Commission, publisher, author and historian, has just been re-ap- pointed a member of the State Historical Commission by Governor Pinchot. —H. E. Henry, residing on the “Jim” Taylor farm in the Kishacoquillas valley, sowed No. 44 State College wheat and reaped 80 bushels from one and three- quarter acres. Twenty bushels to the acre is the average yield in that section. —Mrs. George Povlosky, 45 years old, of Mahanoy City, went to a christening at Girardville, early on Monday, taking a large sum of money with her, her hus- band said. He reports she has not been seen since and that she had indulged in considerable liquor. State police are searching for her. —Nelson Hoch, a Honey Hole farmer, has demanded $600 damages from . the State Game Commission because a herd of deer invaded his land and trampled down an entire field of onions, which he values at the above sum. The State will send a warden to inspect the scene and deter- mine if Hoch should be compensated. —The Lock Haven Gas company plant was formally transferred this week to Ralph Benton, of Columbus, Ohio, at a meeting of the stockholders of the com- pany. The purchase price was $50,000 at a par value of $30 per share for each of 1,000 shares of stock. Benton is the own- er of similar plants in the Middle West. —His counsel having withdrawn a mo- tion for a new trial, Tony Capello was sen- tenced, at Lock Haven, on Saturday, to serve 14 to 13 months in the western peni- tentiary. At hig first trial for the murder of Elizabeth Harley, Capello was acquitted, after the jury was out five days. He was tried again on the charge of enticing and convicted. —Elmer Newberry, a farmer living near Northumberland, is said to have found a party of automobile spooners along his farm road last Thursday evening, and used a fence rail to break it up. He was held on £300 bail for September term of court on a charge of assault and battery. “Spooning makes marriages,” remarked Squire Teirney, as the bail bond was sign- ed. —Hal Hawk, a young boy, was so ser- iously injured that he lost his sight, while watching a block of twelve houses burn in Rossiter, Jefferson county, early on Tuesday. Firemen fighting the flames turned water on a window. It broke, and the flames darted across the street to where Hawk was standing, enveloping him and burning his eyes. One hundred per- sons were made homeless by the fire. —Thieves operating in Seven Valleys, York county, robbed two homes of $1,050 in Liberty bonds and small amounts in cash on Saturday. The victims were John E. Slyder and Silas Miller. Two $500 bonds were taken from Slyder’'s house while the occupants were away for the .day. . At Miller's home a $30 bond was stolen. This is another argument in fa- vor of keeping your valuables in a bank. —Attempting to rescue a child's kite which had become entangled in some elec- tric wires near their home, Clarence Ri- der, aged 25 years, and Frank Snyder 27, of Enola, Dauphin county, were electro- cuted late last Friday. Rider was killed instantly, and Snyder died on the way to a hospital. Rider was using an iron rod to disentangle the kite, and Snyder was holding his arm when the rod hit the wire. The men were cousins. —Robert ¥F. Klinedinst, of York, Pa. walks about the streets with a broken neck. On Friday he visited the office of Dr. W. 8S. Weakley, to whom he had been taken about three weeks ago after work- ing half a day with his neck broken. The injury was suffered while installing a pressing machine in the tailoring estab- lishment of John E. Sweigert. His neck is now supported in a plaster cast which ‘he will wear for several weeks more. —Governor Pinchot has named Mrs. Ma- bel Virginia Gray sheriff of Lycoming county to succeed her husband, Thomas M. Gray, who died last week. Mrs. Gray is the first woman sheriff in Pennsylvania. She will hold office until January 1, when her successor to be elected in November, will take over the office. Her appointment was made at the suggestion of Republican leaders in that county who desire to have her complete the term of office to which her husband was elected four years ago. —A Duncannon young couple recently enjoyed the romance of being married in a rowboat in the Susquebanna river. Missy | Frances Amelia Hinkle and Merle Duncan Clouser, visiting in Maytown, invited the ° Rev. J. W. Gable, of Maytown, to accom- pany them and two friends on a trip up the river. After being on the river above Accomac a short time the young man pre- sented a marriage license to the minister, asking him to perform the ceremony. This he did while the little craft drifted mid- stream. —Samuel A. Grabbe, 40 years old, of Lewistown, committed suicide Sunday while attending a family reunion along Penn’s creek, near Centreville, Snyder county. Grabbe, who had been ill and melancholy for several weeks, had made threats of dorwning himself on several oc- casions. Sunday he left the dinner table in the grove and sauntered out in the woods, where his father-in-law, Frank Buoy, found him an hour later hanging from a tree. He is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters. —John Banemnes, of Blackwells, Ly- coming county, aged 28 years, was shot and fatally wounded by his brother, Ren, in a petty quarrel on Saturday. The two men lived in a shanty along the New York Central railroad at Blackwells. Both were employed by the railroad company. Sat- urday morning John was engaged in shov- eling cinders along the track, while his brother was operating the pump of a wa- ter tank. In a playful mood John tossed some cinders on his brother. The other resented his action and a quarrel ensued. Ren ran into their shanty and, returning with the shotgun, fired it at his brother. Two bystanders saw the affair, ' Banemnes helped to carry his brother into the shan- ty and remained with him while others hastened to summon a doctor and officers. The wounded man died in a few minutes, but his’ brother was found at his side by the officers when they arrived to arrest him. Ades vm Ca.