Beworraic aid
INK SLINGS.
—The more we read of Teapot
Dome the more we are convinced that
his name ought to be spelled Dough-
eny.
—When it comes down to spice in
the political life of Mrs. Barclay War-
burton she will probably declare that
already she has had about as much
Pepper and Sinnamon as she relishes.
—A few more riots like that in the
western penitentiary on Tuesday may
dispel Dr. Ellie Potter of the notion
that food ought to be pushed into the
inmates of our penal institutions on
tea wagons.
—Just because our friend W. P. A.
is worried lest we forget let us remind
you that spring can’t get here until
we have had the “saplin bender,” the
“poor man’s manure,” the “onion” and
the “robin” snows.
—Today is the anniversary of the
date on which the Maine went down
in Havana harbor. The Lord willing,
two months from today we'll be going
down—Fishing creek or to some other
stream when the lure of trout beck-
ons.
—In the good old hymn December’s
as Pleasant as May, butin the recent
matrimonial adventure of old man
Candler, the cocoa-cola king, it’s dif-
ferent. His bride of thirty has been
caught straying from the fireside of
her groom of seventy and there is
great gossip in Atlanta, Georgia.
—We think that President Coolidge
is entirely right in telling the Senate
to mind its own business. It is to
laugh, however. The very crowd of
inconsistents who are now trying to
protect the prerogatives of the execu-
tive department of our government
are the ones who fought so malicious-
ly to deny them to Wilson.
— Philipsburg has a Ku Klux Klan.
Seventy strong, draped in sheets and
white hooded, they marched to church
over there last Sunday night. What
a sight for sore eyes. Except for
when the Odd Fellows or the P. O. S.
of A. or the K. of C. marches in a
body to its annual sermon we'll bet
Philipsburg never beheld seventy men
going into church at once before.
—Between those who are reported
as having their ears to the ground and
those who have already tuned in and
gotten the call we are inclined to
think there are so many of Centre
county’s lawyers going to be candi-
dates for Judge that we would advise
all those having any lawin’ business
to do to do it now. If reports be true
the bar will be too busy buildin’ fences
a year from now to bother about
trifling retainers.
—We would be inclined to pass up
the expressions of a Pittsburgh gen-
tleman who has written to say that he
regards the “Watchman’s” story of
the life and last illness of former
President Wilson as the most compre-
hensive of any that he read were it
not for two facts. First we have a
great respect for the competency of
the gentleman as a judge of such mat-
ters and, second, because we know it
was the best any one could have read.
—The worst has happened. Anoth-
er of our idols has been shattered.
‘The general factotum of State Col-
lege borough, John Laird Holmes, he
of the intention to run for the Legis-
ture on a “trust me,” “no pledge to
any one” platform has met the ene-
my and is theirs. We note from an an-
nouncement published elsewhere in
this issue that a committee has visit-
ed Mr. Holmes and that he graceful-
ly came across with all the promises
it desired him to make.
—The “Watchman” isn’t for Mr.
McAdoo, or Mr. Davis, or Mr. Under-
wood, or Mr. Murphree, or Mr. Pome-
rine, or Mr. Walsh for President. It
is for that one of them, or some one
else, who may later prove to be the
best bet as a winner. But if we were
Mr. McAdoo we’d not withdraw from
the race. The attempt to link his
name with the Teapot Dome scandal
is only a political man hunt and if he
is clean, as we believe him to be, none
but such as were only his friends for
what they hoped to get out of him will
desert his banner.
—The young man who left State
College because he couldn’t stand for
military drill has our sympathy. We
had the same inclination once, though
not inspired by the same motives.
Our obsession was dispelled by a stern
note from home and a few hours pol-
ishing an old brass cannon that stood
out on the front campus, and a few
more trying vainly to shovel mud out
of the bottom of a rifle pit. Them
were the moments when we could
have gotten the D. S. O. from any of
the rebellious Central American
States. Also, them were the days
when we learned that discipline had
as great a part to play in peaceful
pursuits as it does in warfare.
—On Tuesday night, in New York,
President Coolidge cut the apron
strings that have bound him to his in-
herited position and fared boldly forth
into the political arena with all the
hope and ‘confidence that stimulate
the youth who opens his eyes on the
dawn of his twenty-first birthday. It
was the President’s first speech out-
side of Washington. It was his can-
didatial salutatory. It was not great.
One thought interested us, however.
When he said: “To me the greatness
of Lincoln consisted very largely of a
vision by which he saw more clearly
than the men of his time the moral
relationship of things” we got to
wondering whether the President re-
ally thought that of Lincoln or wheth-
er the more recent memory of Wilson
inspired it.
Den
VOL. 69.
Pinchot Opposition Organized.
At a meeting of Republican lead-
ers, held in Philadelphia on Monday
evening of last week, a movement
was organized to oppose the election
of Governor Pinchot as delegate-at-
large to the Cleveland convention.
There were no very great leaders
present and not a great number. But
Dave Lane, Frank McClain, Bill
Campbell, Jim Connelly, Charlie Sny-
der, Horace Shantz and Ralph Strass-
burger were on hand and to quote
from a statement issued, “in common
with hundreds of thousands of Repub-
licans of Pennsylvania,” they pro-
claimed opposition to, and declared
war upon, Gifford Pinchot as a can-
didate for the honor which chairman
Baker, Senator Pepper and Secretary
Mellon have sold, bargained and con-
veyed unto Gifford Pinchot.
Ex-Lieutenant Governor McClain, as
spokesman for the insurrectos, justi-
fies himself and his associates on the
ground that they “believe that seven
stalwart Republicans should be sent
to the Cleveland convention as dele-
gate-at-large,” and that “Governor
Pinchot’s record, past and present,
does not entitle him to be included in
such a list.” It is “none of our af-
fair,” probably, but the proposition
may easily be refuted. In the first
place there is no legal right to chal-
lenge the Governor’s record previous
to 1922. His cordial and enthusiastic
support by all the complainants for
Governor condoned previous offences
and since his election he has devel-
oped a capacity for political dicker-
ing that equals the most stalwart.
But we hold no brief for Pinchot
and have little inclination to enter the
lists in his defense. It does seem to
us, however, that the impending fight
is quixotic, in that under the agree-
ment with Baker and Pepper, Pinchot
will appear in the convention, if he
gets there at all, “hog-tied” and
harmless, and defeating him may of-
fer an excuse for repudiating his
agreement to keep four or five hun-
dred of Baker's faithful followers in
the good jobs they are now enjoying.
Besides Mr. Strassberger, upon whom
the favor of the insurrectos is to be
bestowed, has not always been stal-
wart. While serving as the “angel”
of Hi Johnson and the guide of Pin-
chot in 1923 he was not in the line of
orthodoxy.
——Just a tip! If the Teapot
Dome scandal is to be a major issue
in the campaign wouldn’t it be con-
sistent and logical to give Senator
Walsh a place on the ticket?
Plenty of Capital for Business.
An esteemed Philadelphia contem-
porary, in its issue of Monday last,
gives considerable space to impending
industrial expansion in that city. It
states that the Gulf Refining compa-
ny has acquired land at Girard Point
at a cost of $180,000 upon which it
proposes to construct storage tanks
to cast $1,500,000, and that the Ford
Motor company has purchased land
near Sixty-first street at the price of
$490,000 upon which to build “a du-
plicate of the Detroit plant” which
will cost $5,000,000. The General
Electric company has acquired a
tract on Mingo creek upon which it
proposes to erect an addition to its
plant and the Porter-Gildersleeve cor-
poration has purchased ninety-two
acres for expansion purposes.
These developments in the indus-
trial life of Philadelphia go a consid-
erable distance toward proving the
contention of Senator Couzens, of
Michigan, that there is plenty of mon-
ey available for business enterprises
when and where there are opportuni-
ties for profitable investments. Phil-
adelphia is not an exceptionally pro-
gressive community and yet there ap-
pears to be ample capital and an
abundance of courage to employ it in
that city. Other cities may be less
favored, but the chances are that con- |
ditions are alike all over the country,
and wherever there is promise of fair
return on the investment there will be
funds to keep the wheels of industry
in motion. It is a feature of the law
of supply and demand.
Yet the esteemed Philadelphia con-
temporary, from the columns of
which we have quoted, constantly. it-
erates and reiterates the absurd prop-
osition that the income tax levied up-
on a couple of hundred multi-million-
aires must be cut in half in order to
entice them to invest their capital in
industrial enterprises instead of tax-
free securities. There may be a few
mossbacks who have acquired wealth
by inheritance and have neither brains
to reason nor patriotism to inspire,
willing to thus “bury their talents,”
but happily they are few and far be-
tween. Secretary Mellon knows bet-
ter, but he is anxious to save a mil-
lion or two annually on his personal
taxes, and is fooling innocents like
our contemporary.
—4“0Of all sad words of tongue or
pen, the saddest are these, it might
chot’s opinion at present.
BELLEFONTE, PA.
STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION.
| Gifford’s Great Disappointment.
Our heart bleeds for Gifford Pin-
chot. For years he has been cherish-
ing an ambition to be President of the
United States and just as the oppor-
tunity was about to open in full flow-
er he was beguiled into putting it
aside and completely out of reach, not
only for the present, but for all time.
Of course he didn’t know that a scan-
dal which involved the slated candi-
date for the office was about to be un-
covered when he bound himself body
and soul to chairman Baker and Sena-
tor Pepper for and in consideration of
a seat as delegate-at-large to the Na-
tional convention. Possibly Baker
and Pepper were equally ignorant on
the subject. In that event they stum-
bled into a bargain of great value.
On the Sunday evening when Mr.
Pinchot took himself away from his
customary devotions to frame up pol-
itics for Pennsylvania Republicans,
Calvin Coolidge was almost as good
as nominated for the Presidency and
the only thing our Governor could ask
was a conspicuous place in the con-
vention that is to ratify the choice.
But within a week the scandal devel-
oped and practically took Coolidge
out of the running. If Mr. Pinchot
had been foot-loose at the moment he
might easily have taken the place.
The only other announced candidate is
Senator Johnson, of California, and he
is anathema to the Old Guard lead-
ers. With his big purse and widely
known reputation for liberality Gif-
ford might easily have stepped in.
| But unhappily he has “sold his
birthright for a mess of pottage.” He
has pledged his word to chairman Ba-
ker that he will not be a candidate
himself and that he will not support
any other candidate who is not favor-
ed by the State organization leaders,
and he can’t possibly repudiate his
agreement. An honorable man would
not want to do so and one willing to
make such a sacrifice of manhood
could not be elected even if nominat-
ed. It is a sad situation for Gifford
and even more. disappointing to Cor-
delia, who would love to be “the first
lady of the land.” But as the late
Elbert Hubbard once said, during a
period of despondency, “this life is
just one damn thing after another.”
Incidents like those
marked the close of the mine workers
‘convention do more harm to organiz-
ed labor than the attacks of corpora-
tion lawyers.
i ———
Republican Troubles Multiply.
| ——————
{| The troubles of the Republican ma-
chine leaders multiply. “One woe up-
on another’s heels doth tread.” The
agreement between chairman Baker
and Governor Pinchot has been repu-
diated by hosts of local leaders
throughout the State. Dave Lane,
Frank McClain and Max Leslie pro-
test that they never will allow the
Governor to sit in the Cleveland con-
vention as a delegate-at-large and the
Governor has traded off all his avail-
ablé political assets to buy the covet-
ed honor. His last investment, the
appointment of former Mayor Tom
Smith, may accomplish the result. But
even so the party conditions are not
greatly improved. Mrs. Barclay War-
burton is now in revolt.
Some weeks ago Mrs. Warburton
exacted a promise from chairman
Baker and Senators Pepper and Reed,
not only that the women should have
fair representation on the convention
delegation, but that the vice chairman
of the State committee should select
the women to be thus honored. After
prolonged deliberation Mrs. Warbur-
ton selected the wife of Judge Martin,
of Philadelphia, as the delegate-at-
large and named two or three up-
State women as alternates. Mayor
Kendrick and Congressman Vare had
promised one of these places to a
Mrs. Sinnamon, of Philadelphia, ‘and
appealed from the decision of Mrs.
Warburton. At a meeting held in
, Washington, on Saturday, Baker, Pep-
which
lowing his firm was retained by the
|
per and Reed decided in favor of Mrs.
Sinnamon.
Now Mrs. Warburton is real angry
with chairman Baker and we don’t
blame her. Of course she blames Sen-
ator Pepper, too, but realizes that the
chairman is the boss and could have
forced the fulfillment of his pledge if
he had wanted to. “If this be true,”
she declared, “it means that Senator
Pepper and chairman Baker have
broken their pledge to me that I
would have the sole authority to name
all the women candidates.” It is easy
: to imagine how she felt about it. Sen-
ator Pepper and chairman Baker are
"such nice men that their perfidy is
like shattering a cherished idol. But
Mrs. Warburton will have to get used
. to disapointments if she intends to
| continue in political activity.
tends to move his office to Europe.
{It’s a safer place for his kind of bus-
'iness.
i
An memory now that he is dead. May-
Lloyd George and Woodrow Wilson.
Of all the men in public life who
have published appraisements of
Woodrow Wilson since his death that
of Lloyd George, Prime Minister of
Great Britain during the world war,
is easily the most accurate. This is
not surprising for no other man liv-
ing enjoyed the same opportunities
to take the measurements. They
were intimately associated though
separated by the sea during the field
operations in France and Flanders
and more closely, because nearer in
touch, during the sessions of the
Peace Congress at Versailles. They
were not always in agreement in the
matter of detail but they worked for
the same results, Wilson the more
sincere and earnest and Mr. George
the more diplomatic.
“Woodrow Wilson will become one
of the great figures in history. He
was a man and therefore had his
weaknesses but he was the first to
embody the ideal of fraternity of na-
tions into a concrete plan,” said the
former Premier, and added: “Like
the founder of Christianity, the cen-
tral figure of history, and like Lin-
coln before him, he prosecuted his
ideal to his tragic death.” Thus
coupling mild but candid criticism
with superlative praise, the British
statesman reveals the sincerity of his
purpose. Mr. Wilson had the weak-
nesses of humanity but they were of
the amiable type. He misjudged men
in the dispensing of his favors and
adhered too long to his friendships or
favorites.
Mr. Wilson may have cherished his
animosities too well as Lloyd George
states as well as his friendships but
it was because of his sincerity. He
could not compromise with what he
conceived to be wrong any more than
he could tolerate crime. “After all,”
says the Premier, “Mr. Wilson was a
tenderfoot in politics.” Otherwise he
might “have realized his ideals dur-
ing his life time,” but such subtlety
would not have added to his stature
as a statesman or increased the pro-
found affection which the right mind-
ed men and women of America held
hime. 2 while he lived and cherish him
be he “trampled on little men” but
they occupied places of the big.
——Former Lieutenant Governor
Frank McClain declares that the op-
position to Governor Pinchot will be
“a merry war.” Maybe so, but if Cor-
delia gets warmed up in the scrim-
mage it will not be all fun.
McAdoo Vindicates Himself.
The evidence given by Mr. William
G. McAdoo, before the Senate com-
mittee investigating the oil scandals,
will absolve him from blame or taint
in the minds of all unprejudiced men.
As he stated, there was no reason for
dragging his name into the matter.
It was clearly a feature of ‘the fight
against Wilson,” which is to be contin-
ued though the lamented former
President lies in an honored grave.
Mr. McAdoo left the public service on
January 11th, 1919. After a vacation
of three months he organized a firm
to practice law, and in November fol-
Doheny interests to protect their
property in Mexico. He rendered no
service outside of the Mexican mat-
ter. . ¥ :
The manifest purpose of trying to
mix him up with the oil scandals was
to impair his chances of nomination
as the Democratic candidate for Pres-
ident. How far the sinister purpose
will succeed remains to be seen. The
friends of other candidates will make |
the most of it, beyond doubt. But Mr.
McAdoo’s frank statement of the facts
before the committee will go a long
way toward vindicating him. If he
had advised the leasing of the naval |
reserve oil fields; even as counsel for !
Doheny, or had recommended the ac-
tion of the government officials, in
any capacity, there would be just
cause of complaint against him. But
| as a matter of fact he had no part in
=H
Probably Harry Sinclair in- nounces such methods.
the matter, direct or indirect.
Mr. McAdoo, with a vast earning
capacity as a lawyer or engineer,
gave seven years of his time at mea-
ger compensation to the service of
the country. After the close of the
war he withdrew from the public serv-
ice for the declared purpose of in-
creasing his revenues in the interest
of his family. In pursuit of this laud-
able purpose he accepted Doheny as a
client in a perfectly proper matter.
But the enemies of Woodrow Wilson
imagined they might distort this ac-
tion in such a way as to harm him in
his ambition. It is a dastardly enter-
prise, a sneaking, cowardly effort at
character assassination, which will
fail because an intelligent public dis-
cerns and a courageous public de-
——The Anti-Saloon organization
proposed to stand by Anderson, not-
withstanding his conviction for for-
d ) : —It is in the air that former sheriff gery, which indicates that the organ-
have been,” is probably Gifford Pin- John Condo is going to be a candidate ization is not opposed to all kinds of
for nomination for the Legislature.
crime.
, FEBRUARY 15, 1924.
NO. 7.
Dead Sea Fruit.
From the Philadelphia Record.
It was to be expected that our Re-
publican friends would roll under
their tongues as a delicious morsel
the naming by Doheny of Messrs. Mc-
Adoo, Gregory, Garrison and Lane as
recipients of oil money in their eapac-
ity as attorneys at law. Here is in-
centive for them to redouble their ef-
forts, based on a cue from President
Coolidge, to represent the official cor-
ruption lately revealed as implicating
both political parties. So we may an-
ticipate their labored attempts—al-
ready, indeed, begun—to deceive their
readers.
Oil money has legitimate and ille-
gitimate uses. It is needless to point
out to fair-minded men that even so
slippery a gentleman as Mr. Doheny
may with perfect propriety employ
attorneys to represent his lawful bus-
iness interests, and that it is quite
‘another thing to employ oil as a lu-
| bricant for the actions and services of
public officials.
None of the prominent Democrats
above named is accused by any one of
having accepted money from the oil
interests, or from any other interests
doing business with the government,
while holding a government office.
None of them is alleged to have been
paid money for any improper actions
or services in private life. These men
were all free to accept and earn re-
tainers from oil or any other compa-
nies as practicing attorneys, and it is
not even hinted that they failed to
perform the services for which they
were employed, or that those services
were in any way discreditable.
It is perfectly true that Mr. Greg-
ory is disqualified from acting as spe-
cial prosecutor against Doheny and
others by his connection, however
trifling, with the Doheny interests as
a lawyer. It is equally true that Mr.
McAdoo’s Presidential boom will not
be Pronioted by the knowledge that he
had, and has, important professional
relations with Doheny, because Mr.
Doheny is in bad odor, and his breath
just now has a withering effect. But
it is not true that the honor or integ-
rity of either of these gentlemen, or
of the others above named, is in ques-
tion, and no effort to represent them
as tarred with the same stick that has
smirched Fall, Doheny, Sinclair and
their fellow-conspirators can pessibly
succeed. :
As to Gootpe Creel, that is another
matter. Creel seems to have been
paid $5000, not for services, but for
the “influence” he was supposed to
possess with Secretary of the Navy
Daniels. The event proved that he
didn’t have any influence, and if he
sold any, the purchasers were cheated.
We do not say that Creel received this
money for this purpose, as we have
not heard his side of the story, but we
do say that the matter is of no im-
portance. If the Republican organs
wish to rest their case of Democratic
involvement on Creel, they are wel-
come to. Nobody cares.
If any of the Republican headliners
in this scandal could demonstrate that
their connection with the defrauding
of the government went no further
than that of the Democrats so far
named, there wouldn’t be any scandal
or any investigation or prosecution,
and probably a great many Republi-
can officials so far unnamed who are
spending sleepless nights would rest
easy.
The Loan to Japan.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
The Japanese government has turned
to the United States for the reeon-
struction loan necessitated by the
garihuake disaster of last Septem-
er. :
An international syndicate has been
formed to insure a wide distribution of
the Japanese bonds, which will total
between $250,000,000 and $300,000,-
000. More than half of the amount
will be floated in the United States.
The Japanese are asking no favors
of the United States or of any other
country. American citizens generous-
ly aided the victims of the earth-
quake. .That was charity. «The re-
building will be upon a strictly busi-
ness basis.
The bonds to be issued this week
will run for thirty-three years and
carry interest at. 63 per cent., being
offered at a price to: yield “better than
7 per cent.” The credits thus estab-
lished in this country will be employ-
ed for the purchase of steel, lumber
and other materials here, to the bene-
fit of American business.
The general soundness of Japanese
‘government credit is well recognized.
The government is stable from a po-
litical point of view. It has always in
the past been able to meet its obliga-
tions. Its foreign relations, especial-
ly since the Washington conference,
have been smooth. Moreover, it is
customary for American financiers
before including a loan of this charac-
ter to obtain the sanction of the State
Department. y : y
The only political difference be-
tween Japan and the United States is
over the immigration question, a thor-
ny domestic problem that has imping-
ed upon international relations.
Sound business relations should, in
the long run, help to smooth out dif-
ferences that .are already being ap-
proached from both sides in a friend-
ly and conciliatory manner.
If a large block of these bonds
| could be placed in the anti-Japanese
sections of this country and anti-
Americans in Japan could have a part
in the business negotiations with
American concerns that will follow
the flotation of this loan, it is like-
ly that better understanding would be
promoted on both sides.
SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE.
—Michael Dicello, of Kane, 17 years old,
has received notice that his claim against
the Pennsylvania Railroad for the loss of
an arm has been settled by the payment
of the railroad company of $12,000.
—George Whary, of Shamokin, walked
out of the Northumberland coupty jail last
week a free man after the grand jury had
ignored a bill charging him with the mur-
der of his brother, John, in a saloon fight
last summer.
—While Samuel B. Mickel, 50 years old,
of Frankstown, Blair county, a farmer,
was operating a corn shredder on Friday,
the machine exploded from some unknown
cause, and he suffered a fracture of sev-
eral ribs and right leg and lacerations.
—The county of Montgomery is no long-
er liable for the salary of the late Dr.
John N. Jacobs, who, as controller years
sgo, refused to accept his pay to the ex-
tent of $16,000. After five years had elaps-
ed, according to Controller Irvin, all claims
were outlawed.
—At a meeting of the trustees of the J.
C. Blair Memorial hospital, at Huntingdon,
on Saturday, it was announced that Mrs.
Kate F. Blair had presented the institu-
tion with 60 miligrammes of radium and
the Huntingdon Presbyterian church had
given $500 to endow a perpetual member-
ship in the name of Alexander Elliott, in
accordance with his will.
—Under a ruling of the workmen’s com=
pensation board, announced last Thursday
hospitals will be permitted to charge more
than the $100 maximum established by a
former ruling for care of certain compen-
sation cases. The modified ruling pro-
vides for extra charges, other than the
$100, in extraordinary cases, when proof
of such extra charges is approved by the
board.
—Bequests of $10,000 to the Lutheran
ministerium of Pennsylvania, $2000 to the
Germantown Orphans’ home, $10,000 to
Trinity Lutheran church, Lancaster, and a
similar amount to Trinity Lutheran
church, New Holland, and $2500 to the
Lancaster General hospital are included
in the will of Miss Anna M. Kinser, of
Lancaster, which has been admitted to
probate. Her estate was valued at $100,-
000.
—Rev. Dr. John Wagner, first and only
pastor of Trinity Lutheran church of Ha-
zleton, which he organized nearly 50 years
ago has presented his resignation to take
effect June 30, marking his golden jubilee
in the ministry and also that of the con-
gregation. He is 72 years old. Dr. Wag-
ner is a trustee of Gettysburg College, of
which he is a graduate, and is prominent
in the affairs of the Susquehanna Synod
of the Lutheran church.
—The biggest gas well in the Marion
Center field has just been brought in by
the TT. W. Phillips Gas and Oil company,
on the farm of Mrs. S. H. Jones, within
the borough limits. The gas was tapped
at a depth of 900 feet and was so power-
ful that it blew sand high into the air,
while drillers found it impossible to con-
tinue their boring through the Murrays-
ville sand. More than a day was spent
before the well was placed under control.
—Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Silas C. Swallow, of
Harrisburg, have been married 58 years.
Dr. Swallow will be 85 years old March 5.
He was born near Wilkes-Barre. He was
the. Prohibition nominee for President. He
was pastor of the Ridge Avenue Methodist
church, Harrisburg, for five years and for
fourteen years was superintendent of the
Methodist Publishing House in that city.
Mrs. Swallow’s maiden name was Robin
and at the time of their marriage their
friends called them “the two birds.”
—DuBoisetown, a Lycoming county bor-
ough with a population of 750 persons,
claims the distinction of not having a
manufacturing plant or place of business
within its bounds that employs a half doz-
en men. It has no lockup or cemetery,
borough hall, poid police officer or street
commissioner, and no place of amusement
exists within its limits. There is no doc-
tor closer than South Williamsport, and
as a consequence the borough has been
unable to have a physician as a member of
the board of health, as required by law.
It has, however, one church and a volun-
teer fire company.
—Robert Leight, 19 years of age, plead-
ed guilty in Judge Bailey's court at Hunt-
ingdon, last week, to homicide in the kill-
ing of his brother, Frank Leight, 31 years
old, near Alexandria, December 30 last.
The brothers after indulging in moonshine
whiskey quarreled, and Frank knocked his
brother down. Robert procured a gun and
going to Frank's residence shot him,
through a window. He died in a: few
hours. The court sentenced him to sew-
en years minimum, fourteen years maxi-
mum, in the western penitentiary. Both
men lived near Tyrone and worked in a
lumber camp at Alexandria. :
—Brooding over the belief that he had
paid toe much for the oid homestead of
his parents, Pius Andrew Keener, a furni-
ture worker of Red Lion, York county,
committed suicide on Sunday by hanging
himself from a rafter in the garret of his
home. He was 53 year sold. His wife, in-
vestigating the reason for his being so
long on the garret, discovered the dead
body. Last week Keener purchasesd his
parents’ home for the sum of $5,100. This
he afterwards came to regard as ‘too high
a price, but real estate men of the ber-
ough declared that it was reasonable, and
that Keener had no cause for regretting
his bargain.
—E. A. Beshore, Sunbury representativé
of the Swift meat packing company, es-
caped death by mere inches late on Fri
day afternoon when the Pittsburgh-East-
on flyer crashed into the roadster he was
driving, on the East Sunbury crossing of
the Pennsylvania Railroad. He had but a
moment before left home and upon seeing
the approach of the train, stopped and
tried to back off the tracks. He was too
late, however, the engine ploughing into
the front of the machine and hurling it
from the tracks. Beshore clung frantic-
ally to the steering wheel and emerged
from the wreckage without a scratch. The
machine was a complete wreck,
—Despite a widespread search which has
been made by the state police and the po-
lice of a dozen or more Central Pennsylva-
nia towns, no trace has been found of Miss
Verna Rhoades, of McVeytown, Mifflin
county, who disappeared after leaving
Wernersville, enroute to her home, Decem-
ber 22. Miss Rhoades had been receiving
treatment at a Wernersville sanitorium for
several months. Just before Christmas she
decided to spend the holidays with her
sister, Mrs. S. B. Kiner, of McVeytown,
and left for that place on December 22,
The last seen of her by any one knowing
her was when she boarded a Reading com-
pany train at Wernersville. 8he checked
her baggage through to McVeytown.