Boca Yim INK SLINGS. —Anyway, Philadelphia may be corrupt, but since Smed Butler took up his residence in that burg it can’t be said that she is contented. Mr. Strassburger’s petition has been filed in the State Department at Harrisburg, which is about the only remaining evidence of his boom. —If, as we hear, Kiwanis is going to get behind the drive for one hun- dred thousand dollars for the hospi- tal we're ready to put the last white chip in to say that the hospital will get the money it needs to put it in shape. —We get the news from the Clear- field section that Edward R. Benson is asking the Democrats of this Dis- trict for the nomination for Congress in order to enter the lists with the Hon. William I. Swoope who seems to have the Republican opportunity sewed up. —We are doing our dangdest to write a column without mentioning the three gentlemen who are most in the limelight today. Inferentially, therefor, any person about whom a paragraph might be woven today will know that he isn’t charged with the responsibility of governing a great Commonwealth, or suspicioned of dabbling in Teapots. —Years ago they told us that a phrenologist “is one who examines heads.” The real meaning escaped the most of us little fellows and be- cause of our mothers’ frequent exam- inations with the aid of a fine tooth comb we thought them phrenologists. Recently startling revelations in the lower grades of the public schools of Bellefonte reveal that the modern mother hasn’t been carrying on in phrenology. —There are practically no worth while bids being made on horses, cat- tle or pigs at the farm sales now be- ing held in the county, but there are hundreds of prospects crowding the annual automobile show and many of them will pay more for one car than would buy the entire stock and equip- ment for a farm. An anomalous sit- uation, isn’t it? in a county so depend- ent on agricultural development as is Centre. Of course it is far more to the liking of most people to roll over the country in a high powered ma- chine than to have their ribs kicked by the handles of a plow. —And now it has come to pass that the various broad casting stations are going to law to determine who con- trols the air. If WEAF wins its con- tention WHN will be in contempt of court every time it comes up for air. Isn’t it awful? It used to be we said: | “Free as the air we breathe” when we wanted to express in the nth degree something that no one else could de- ny us. Now the destruction of that liberty is apparently in the making. The pure food' commission controls our eats, Mr. Volstead controls our drinks and, before long, some radio- fanatic will be permitting us breath only in short pants. —There would be no joy in life at all for us if it were not for the stimu- lating thought that there are one or two people still permitted to ramble about who know less than we do. One of them is the friend who is always seeking knowledge as to “what snow is this?” In this instance the other member of our limited society of Ivory Domes raised the question as to Tuesdays’ downfall of the beautiful. He wanted us to tell him that it was the “saplin bender,” but caution for- bade positive commission to such a statement. We might have another “saplin bender” before spring really gets here so we played safe by declar- ing it to be “Nature’s pruning hook.” Never heard of “Nature’s pruning hook?” Well, it’s the snow that hangs so heavy on the trees that it snaps off all the dead and useless limbs so that they are all shaped up for their new spring clothes. —Up to this minute—and it is only 2 short time until the papers will have to be filed—there seems to be no as- pirant for either county chairman or State committeeman of our party. We learned, on Monday, that Robert F. Hunter is a possibility for county chairman and that the present chair- man, Mr. Gray, may file papers for State committeeman. If there should be any such plans in the making we want to ask the question as to why there should be a division or separa- tion of the two positions. Always the “Watchman” has been of the opinion that the county chairman and State Committeeman should be one and the same person. The county chair- man is held responsible for the fail- ures of the organization, should have the most intimate knowledge of con- ditions in the county and is, therefor, the proper person to sit intelligently in the councils of the State organiza- tion. He ought to, better than any one else, be equipped to tell his fel- lows from other parts of the Com- monwealth, in State conference, just what may be expected from Centre county and he ought to be the man who, in the event of victory, either State or national, to say where its spoils should be placed. It is our opinion that we can have no effective organization in the county until one man is supremely at its head. So su- premely that he is given every oppor- tunity to build it into militancy and so supremely that if he fails in this he will have no chance to “pass the buck.” In other words the leader of the Centre county Democracy should be the leader, both in the county and in the State councils. Ka CHE en A euncr VOL. 69. New Trouble for Pinchot. One of Governor Pinchot’s absurd rules has got him into a peck of new trouble. For a great many years Mr. John M. Phillips, of Pittsburgh, has been a member of the State Game Commission. Mr. Phillips is a wealthy gentleman devoted to out- door sports. He has been free with money and generous in attention to the interests of game propagation and preservation and has won the confi- dence of all hunters and fishermen. His term of office having recently ex- pired the Governor tendered him a re- appointment but attached a “string” to his commission. That is, he ex- acted a written pledge that the ap- pointee would not “touch, taste or handle” liquor as a beverage during his tenure in office. Mr. Philips is a man of exemplary life and unimpeachable habits. His numerous friends among the hunters of the State as well as in the business life of the community in which he lives have the most profound confi- dence in his integrity and honor. The oath he is required to take in qualify- ing for the service is that he will “support, obey and defend the consti- tution of the United States and the constitution and laws of Pennsylva- nia.” He interpreted that obligation as sufficient guarantee of fidelity to duty and obedience to the law. For that reason he declined to “take the personal pledge,” and for the reason that an absurd rule required it the Governor refused to issue the com- mission. There was a good deal of feeling against the Governor in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania for other reasons and this surprising action has greatly intensified it there and widely extended it in other sections of the State. The revenues which support and maintain the Game Commission are drawn entirely from the sports- men under special laws and they just- ly hold. that the commission should be made up of men who are familiar with the subject. John M. Phillips has ac- quired this knowledge in a measure that peculiarly fits him for the work and has the confidence of the hunt- ers so eompletely that the: refusal to reappoint him on a question so palpa- bly irrelevant, has greatly outraged them. ——If Highway Commissioner Wright gets the results his declared policies promise he will find the pub- lic more ready to praise than blame. Mr. McLean and His Hired Hands. The examination of Mr. numerous hired hands by the Senate committee investigating the oil scan- dals was more or less interesting in the beginning but has grown stale. The testimony of these witnesses has revealed what a consummate ass a very rich fool may make of himself when his ambitions take the form of a desire to pose as an important figure in public affairs. McLean probably got nothing in the shape of pecuniary profit out of his relationship with the Secretary of the Interior, the Attor- ney General and intimacy with the do- mestic servants in the White House. But he assumed an air of importance and that was about all he cared for and paid for. : The testimony of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Major, employees of McLean, and Mr. Rochester, handy man of the At- torney General, their purpose in the beginning was to curry favor with a rich man who was as free with his money as he was careless with his morals. It is equal- ly clear that in the end their interest al facts and shield some “higher up” from culpability. In this enterprise they were as careless of the reputa- tion of others as Mr. McLean was with his money. There may have been good reasons for concealing the iden- tity of the person called “principal” in the cypher dispatches but none for fastening it upon Senator Curtis, of Kansas. Of course Senator Walsh knows what he is about and no intelligent observer of the proceedings will ques- tion his method of conducting the in- quiry. But there is a good deal of anxiety to hear the evidence of Mr. McLean. He may adopt the course taken by Mr. Fall and refuse to testi- fy on the ground that his evidence would incriminate him. But even that would be an interesting develop- ment. It is widely hoped, therefore, that McLean will be put on the wit- ness stand in the near future. He might tell whether his frequent vis- its to the White House were to see the chauffeur or the President. Thus far the matter is left to conjecture and conjecture leads to confusion. ——Denby is out and Daugherty is only hanging on by sufferance. It begins to look like a house cleaning. “Oil is well.” el ——The bonus bill is now before Congress but the machine will try shows plainly that. was to divert attention from the actu- | McLean’s | | STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. Machine Slate Rewritten. The slate for delegates-at-large to the Republican convention has been rewritten and Mayor Kendrick, of Philadelphia, has been shunted off. The reason given to the public for this unexpected action is that some pro- vision in the charter of Philadelphia makes the Mayor ineligible to such service in politics. A cursory exam- ination of the charter fails to show any such provision and if it exists it is surprising that some of the pro- verbially alert Philadelphia lawyers didn’t discover it earlier. The ma- chine was sorely troubled a few weeks ago in finding a place for Governor Pinchot on the slate and the ineligi- bility of Kendrick would have given an easy solution to that problem. ‘In view of these facts the reasons given for taking Kendrick out of the fight may not be entirely accurate or altogether candid. There have been grave differences among the machine leaders in Philadelphia recently with respect to the policies of the adminis- tration in the conduct of the Depart- ment of Public Safety. The director of that department has been rather uncivil in his language and drastic in his ‘actions in his contacts with more or less powerful party leaders and an appeal to Mayor Kendrick has not brought the expected solace to the wounded feelings of the men who have been accustomed to different treatment. It is suspected that the shunting of Kendrick from the slate is ascribable to this fact rather than: to any provision of the city charter. ~: Having made up its mind to cut Kendrick out, however, it must be ad- mitted that the machine managers wisely selected his successor. Of course Mr. W. Harry Baker, chairman of the State committee, could and would have gone to the convention whether elected a delegate or not. But he can be vastly more serviceable as a delegate and the amateur poli- ticians who are in control when he is absent might have made some serious blunders. - Senators Pepper and Reed and Secretary of the Treasury Mel- lon are fine party ornaments but of little practical value in an emergency, and the air is full of indications of" emergencies during the sessions of the coming Cleveland convention. DO — ——A confidential tip to anxious Republican managers: - There will be no serious quarrel among the Demo- crats of Pennsylvania this year on the question of membership in the Na- tional committee or anything else. President Coolidge’s Faults. The high officials of Massachusetts are greatly concerned in preserving the reputation of Calvin Coolidge. A few days ago Senator Lodge, who was the most vicious assailant of the late President Wilson while in office, made a most earnest protest against infer- ential aspersions of President Cool- idge and more recently Governor Cox, of Massachusetts, has entered a blan- ket protest against any intimations against Coolidge, which was address- ed to Senator Walsh, of Montana. As a matter of fact no effort has been made to inculpate the President in the charges under investigation by the Senate committee, though as Senator Heflin, of Alabama, declared in a speech, there are just reasons for sus- picion. President Coolidge inherited the of- ficial family of the late President Harding and adopted the policies of his predecessor. There were neither harm nor cause of censure in this fact and in doing so the practice of all its predecessors who had come to the of- fice in the same way, was followed. But there was no obligation upon Mr. Coolidge to retain the officials after they had proved unfit or to continue the policies after they had ceased to be worthy. In defending Denby and Daugherty in the face of the record of official delinquencies and the pro- test of leaders of both parties Mr. Coolidge revealed a lack of judgment and an indifference to public opinion which was highly reprehensible. It may be said, moreover, that President Coolidge inherited the re- lationship which his predecessor held with Mr. McLean, but that doesn’t justify the intimacy which was open- ly or clandestinely maintained after it was shown that McLean was head- over-heels involved in the oil scandals. Yet the evidence brought out in the investigation shows that such intimate relations were maintained and that the offending millionaire had ‘easy access to the White House” as well as unimpaired influence on the mind of the President up until the moment the exposures were made. There can be no just complaint against the censure of his conduct in this matter. In fact the condemnation might have been made stronger. rr————— ener Senator Owen, of Oklahoma, wants to investigate the cause of the world war. It would be a futile en- deavor. The late Kaiser would refuse to testify on the ground that he might every available expedient to cripple it. incriminate himself. BELLEFONTE, PA., MARCH 14. 1 to form the opinion that a teapot is dangerous if it has a dome. Shall the Red Cross Community Nurs- ing Service be Abandoned? It’s Up to You! A survey of the town is being made in an effort to get a general opinion on the advisability of continuing or discontinuing the Red Cross nursing service. The public has been inform- ed through the newspapers that the ; money received from the annual Red | Cross enrollment of members is not ! sufficient to keep the nursing service operating and that it will have to be discontinued shortly unless sufficient pledges from annual contributors can be secured. The questionnaire now being put to the community is, (1) “Do you ap- prove of the Red Cross community nursing service?” (2) “If so, how much will you contribute annually.” (8) “If you do not approve, what are your objections?” If one of these questionnaires is not brought to your door, will you not express your opin- ion either to a member of the Red Cross committee, of which Rev. M. DePui ‘Maynard is chairman, or Uitongh 12 communication to any of the local newspapers. The Red Cross nurse has been in continual service for four years, quiet- : ly accomplishing service of inestima- | ble value and a medium of carrying to a finish cases of the district attorney, | children’s aid, and juvenile court as well as many hundreds of follow-up visits in the interest of the beard of education not only in the borough but in surrounding townships. Just one illustratior of how she functions: This week a teacher in one of the grade schools was suspicious of pe- | diculosis among her pupils and called | in the nurse. Mrs. Hagan examined ' the heads of all pupils in the school ! and found, to her amazement, lice on the heads of several pupils heretofore | beyond suspicion since they were clean and well-cared for at home. She | finally located the source of infesta- | tion as a pupil, filthy always and who has been a spreader of pediculosis in every grade he goes into. The nurse, of course, by the State law, debarred these infested pupils from school, fol- move lice and nits and goes every morning into the school room to ex- ! amine heads before pupils are re-ad- ! mitted to school. " Now who will perform these un-. pleasant yet necessary duties if the nursing service is dropped? The nurse is the only agent we have to protect our children sent from clean homes from infection and infestation carried to school by the dirty, indif- : ferent and careless. What effort are you, parents, going to make to help your children, their teachers and the school superintendent? | Pleasant Words Make Light Work. The workers in this office have many gratifying expressions reach their ears. It is not often that harsh or caustic criticism of their part in mak- ing a real newspaper comes to spoil the day for them. Always the nice things are -encour- aging. Coming as frequently as they do each one of them is appreciated just as greatly as if it were the only ray of sunshine in a drab and dreary day. Two letters that have reached this desk within the week are outstanding because they express so earnestly the value of the “Watchman” to its read- ers. Somerset, Pa., March 3, 1924. Dear “Watchman:” I enclose $1.50 for another year of my big letter from home. Long live the dear friends who make it. With much love and good wishes Mrs. MARY M. SWARTZ. Gettysburg, Pa., March 10, 1924. To my dear Old “Watchman” and all its Staff: Enclosed find check for which cred- it me for your good paper, which I have read, I think, for sixty-eight years. I cannot do without such a friend in my old days. Wishing you abundant success, financially and politically, I am ever a true friend of all the workers and editors connected with my dear, old paper. Very truly yours JACOB B. SOLT. We are hoping that Mr. Solt will send us his photograph and a bit of biography. While not quite as long a reader of the “Watchman” as George W. Rumberger has been he is certain- ly entitled to a place in our gallery of pioneers and we want to have the honor of hanging his picture there. ——————— ——An appropriate doxology at the dissolution of a cabinet meeting would be “There is a time for disappearing. Take a header, down you go.” : ——There seems to be a way to dis- cipline even a Mayor of a first class city. Only the Governor is immune. ——A good many people are likely 924. TS R——— NO. 11. A Disloyal Sentry. From the Philadelphia Record. The Senate investigating committee is laying bare, day by day, the details of a conspiracy to thwart justice. The national resources have been plunder- ed through the use of bribery of at least one man intrusted with their protection. It is in evidence that powerful interests have been at work to conceal the facts and prevent, if possible, the punishment of the guil- ty. In this situation the people should have the aid of the Department of Justice, the agency designated by law for the prosecution of criminals, whether looters or bribe-takers. They " should be able to rely upon the activi- ty of the Secret Service Bureau in fer- reting out the evidence which is be- ing concealed, and on the energetic employment of the powers of the At- torney General of the United States for the direction of vigorous investi- gation and prosecution. The evidence amply shows, how- ever, that the powers of the Depart- ment of Justice have been employed not to protect the public property, but to protect those who have pillaged it and those who are aiding and abetting the pillagers. The head of the Secret Service Bureau offers, it is true, to in- ' vestigate this conspiracy, but it has been shown by witnesses under oath that he is, or has been, hand in glove with the conspirators. The Attorney General of the Uuited States, who should be hot on the trail of the crim- i inals, is exposed as conniving with those who are endeavoring to save , them. He is not only self-confessedly an improper person to represent the interests of the United States in this | grave crisis, but he is sending reas-’ suring messages to the head of the projective conspiracy, informing the latter that he (the Attorney General) is “standing at the guns;” that the conspirators “know what to depend on;” that “all that is possible to be done by us will be done, so you should worry.” When President Coolidge found it necessary to employ special counsel to prosecute the oil gkafters:because of the known affiliations of the Attorney General with them, it was time for him to dismiss Harry M. Daugherty in disgrace from his Cabinet. Now he has evidence, furnished by one of the | horde of spies who was working lowed them into their homes, gave di- against the government that Duugh-- ! rections for treatment of scalp to re- erty was sending comforting messag- es to a protector of the guilty, which can be construed only as a promise of such protection as his ability and powers could afford. Senators have declared in debate that confidence in the probity of the government is being shaken by the oil disclosures. Nothing is doing more to threaten the upsetting of the boat which “principal” declared would not be rocked than the retention of Daugherty in a post where he com- mands extraordinary resources for the protection and concealment of crime. The President’s duty is imperative. A sentry disloyal to the cause of jus- tice is stationed at the post which is the key to the whole position of hon- est government. Out with him! “Put none but Americans on guard to- night!” Mexicans Want Six Year Term for Presidents. From the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Intelligent Mexicans in search of a panacea have fallen upon the six-year term for Presidents. The complaint is that the time is too short between revolutions. A President takes his first year in office to learn the ins and cuts of his task, and his last year is consumed in efforts to make the situa- tion as stable as possible for his suc- cessor; under the four-year term, that leaves him but two years to accustom the Mexican people to orderly govern- ment and to educate them to appreci- ate its advantages. Twice as long might help considerably; revolutions every six years instead of every four would certainly be an improvement. But it is to be doubted whether the six-year term for Presidents would, in the long run, have any appreciable effect in changing the customs and traditions of Mexico. And a longer term would bring the risk of a well- intrenched dictatorship. There is no panacea. When revolutions do not pay successful revolutionists, we may look for a change; but that will not be until there is a change in the Mex- ican character and outlook on life, A ————— rr e——————— The Hearings Should be Public. From the Scranton Republic. While there should be no shielding of any transgressor against the law, it will strike all fair-minded persons that thé Senate’s investigation of the charges preferred against govern- ment officials should be as open as the allegations, to the end that full jus- tice may be done. The public has a right to know all the facts, and for this reason the meetings of the inves- tigating committee should be open to press and public. Probable Solution of Mystery. From the Detroit Free Press. A Purdue University scientist has demonstrated that heart-beats may be amplified and broadcast by radio. The strange sounds that often come in over the receiving sets may be the heart-beats of the politicians who have been dabbling in oil. A ——————— A ———— —If it really happened you will find it in the “Watchman.” SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —Rev. William H. Russell, pastor of St. John's Protestant Methodist church, of Hazleton, for 23 years, was unanimously re-elected by the congregation for another year. —When Andrew Augestine, of Auden- ried, returned home from work in the mines, he found his wife gone with their two children and all their household fur- niture. —Pleading guilty to the theft of a sack of flour valued at $1.65, Wm. Glenn, a Un- iontown negro, was sentenced by Judge Work to serve 214 to 3 years in the west- ern penitentiary. —Sanderson Rohrbach, 32 years old, was found dead Monday morning sitting on a couch in the lobby of the Morton hotel at Berwick. Rohrbach lived at the hotel and was believed to have been asleep. A doc- tor said he had been dead at least eight hours. —Tired of waiting for a trolley car to take him to his home, James Cully, of Gi- rardville, sat on the rail and fell asleep. Later a car knocked him from the track. Cully received a probable fracture of the skull, deep lacerations of the head and a fracture of the left shoulder blade. —The executive board at Harrisburg no- tified the board of trustees of the western penitentiary that the guards are not en- titled to extra pay for over-time as a State law prohibits them from being on duty longer than eight hours. The de- cision had been requested by the trustees. —The Snyder county commissioners have offered a reward of $1000 for the ar- rest and conviction of the slayer or slay- ers of Harvey C. Willow, Penns Creek far- mer, who was found shot to death more than two months ago. The top of his head was blown off with a charge of shot. —Mrs. Catherine Hepburn Thompson celebrated her one hundredth birthday at her home in Curwensville, in which the town joined in obedience to a proclama- tion of the burgess. She is well preserved, possessess all her faculties and keeps abreast of the times by reading and young associates. —For the loss of a part of his left ear which he alleges was chewed off during a fight several months ago, Charles Plaseok, of Plainsville, near Wilkes-Barre, was awarded $500 by a jury in the Luzerne county court last week. The verdict was against John Nizolek, poolroom proprie« tor, also of Plainsville, —J. Guy Stewart, a retired merchant of Huntingdon, has brought an action of di- vorce against his wife, Isaphine, on the ground of cruel and barbarous treatment and personal indignities. Stewart says they were married December 28, 1914, and lived together until recently, and that his wife tried to poison him several times. —Martin Carlson, of Smethport, Mec- Kean county, was badly burned about the hands and arms last Friday in extinguish- ing the fire which was burning the cloth- ing from bis wife's body. Mrs, Carlson was preparing breakfast when her dress caught fire from a gas range. She scream- ed and her husband rushed to her aid and succeeded in saving her from injury. —Although Homer Zeigler, a Northum- berland county undertaker, resides direct- ly across the Susquehanna river from un- dertaker Jerre G. Snyder, at Port Trever- ton, a distance of three-fourths of a mile, he found it necessary to travel a distance of twenty-seven miles to borrow undertak- er Snyder's hearse for use at a funeral re- cently. The trip was made by the way of Sunbury. —George Schlegal, 14 years old, of Sun< bury, sent to jail by his father, was re- leased last Thursday by the court. War- den Reitz refused to put him in a cell, but kept him in his home during the month he was there. State Welfare Department offi- cers investigated and urged his release. The father accused the boy of theft, but the boy said it was because he wouldn't “keep house’ after his mother died. —In the Bridge street Presbyterian Sun- day school at Catasauqua, where he had been superintendent for fifty-three years, William Weisley dropped dedd on Sunday. He was 75 years old. Death was due to heart failure. Mr. Weisley was a veteran Catasauqua and Allentown merchant and was one of the most prominent laymen in the Presbytery of Lehigh, which he had served as a delegate to the general assem- bly. —JFor the reported price of $25,000 Mrs. Ada M. Haggerty, of Altoona, has sold to A. L. Baker, of State College, the famous Arch Spring property, in Sinking Valley, fifteen miles east of Altoona. The place gets its name from a large spring, which flows under a stone arch, one of nature's wonders, which hundreds of people visit every year. Some distance away the water disappears among the rocks and forms an underground river. —A. A. Drake, owner of a garage at Fac- toryville, Lackawanna county, fell an easy victim to two highwaymen in an automo- bile one night last week. The pair drove to Drake's place, invited him to take a ride and test the transmission of their ma- chine. When Drake entered the car the men took him for a 15 mile ride, poked a revolver under his nose, took $100 and a watch from him and made the garage man get out and walk home. —Prosperity has struck the coal region to such an extent that no one wants to be- come a policeman in Allentown at a sal- ary of $125 a month. Only an easy civil service examination is required. City council authorized the civil service board to examine applicants for three new posi- tions on the force, but after prolonged waiting not enough men presented them- selves of the eligible age to add the re- quired number to the force even If all passed the examination, — Besides furnishing certificates of com- petency to inmates of the State's penal in- stitutions who have attended prison trades schools, the State Department of Welfare is planning to find positions for all dis- charged convicts. Under the proposed plan the prisoners, especially long term- ers, are to fill out employment application blanks three weeks prior to their release and the bureau of restoration will endeav- or to have positions awaiting the convicts when they are liberated. —The courage of Louise Snyder, cashier, saved $500 of the Acme chain store receipts late Saturday night, at Reading, when two youths, masked and brandishing revol- vers, ordered her to “fork over the money.” With quick presence of mind she jerked out a coin drawer, covering the open draw- er beneath in which greenbacks were piled high, and replied, “help yourself.” When one bandit reached for the coin the girl started to scream for Kintzer, store man- ager, who was in the rear room. When the latter entered the store, both baudits, empty-handed, turned and fled. TE ——,