Pewoceaiic, atom
A =
INK SLINGS.
——The mere mention of a third
party scares Senator Pepper stiff.
——Coolidge may be cool as a rule
but he gets hot when inquisition gets
too close to his friend Mellon.
——If there is no fraud to be dis-
covered what is the use of wasting
energy to prevent investigation?
—Having failed utterly on Tuesday
our annual trout supper came out of
a can that was marked “kippered her-
ring.”
—So far as Kiwanis has had to do
with the hospital drive there is not
one who can say that the work has not
been wonderfully done.
As a keynoter Senator Pepper
has proved a failure and his expecta-
tion of presiding over the Cleveland
convention has been ditched.
—The hospital drive isn’t over the
top yet, but when State College and
Snow Shoe complete their campaigns
the goal will likely be reached.
—Anyway the few big catches of
trout that have been reported up to
this time encourage the hope that luck
will be better as the waters get some-
thing more like normal.
—We presume it was because Sen-
ator Pepper used the wrong key up
in Maine that Secretary Hughes had
to go over to New York and deliver
another keynote speech on Tuesday
night.
—If the Prohibition enforcement
bureau is as rotten as Senator Wat-
son would have the world believe it is
why an investigation at all. Why
don’t they dump the whole thing and
start it all over again.
—The Westfield, N. J., ex-service
man who has willed Secretary Mellon
his wooden leg evidently wants to pro-
vide Andy with something to stand on
after the soldier boys get through
with him for his opposition to a bonus
for them.
—Of course it’s perfectly all right
for Pepper and Pinchot and Watson
and Mellon to be fighting, but Cool-
idge evidently thinks it’s all wrong
for the Democrats to undertake the
Job of showing the people what they
are fighting about.
‘—As for Bellefonte and Spring
township Mr. Roy, the campaign man-
ager told us that their gifts to the
hospital drive were the largest per
capita contributions that he has rec-
ord of in twenty-five years’ experience
in this kind of work.
evolution of the kid is some-
to conjure with. Twenty-five
0 a calico egg made him hap-
the Easter breakfast table.
‘morning he’ll turn up his nose
rabbit has laid anything less
0s ty than Mah Jong or. a radio set.
—If forty per cent. of the farmers
of the country are against Coolidge,
as the poll being made by the Farm
Journal, of Philadelphia and Chicago,
reveals, the Cleveland convention will
have to trot out a dark horse if it has
any hope of naming a man with a
chance to win.
—Don’t forget, Democrats, when
you go out to the primaries next Tues-
day, to vote for Mrs. Allen for dele-
gate to the National convention. She
has been very gracious in coming here
to speak whenever her services have
been commanded and Centre should
return the compliment by giving her
a nice vote.
—Surely there must be something
wrong with the Dawes committee re-
port. With Germany, Belgium,
France, England, Italy and all the rest
concluding that it is a very fair basis
on which to make settlement there is
reason for suspicion. It is the first
oroposal since 1918 that has been met
with any accord at all.
—President Coolidge seems to have
seen as unfortunate in his message to
Congress as was Senator Pepper in
1is keynote speech at Portland, Maine.
Yepper tried to make the country be-
ieve that black is white and now the
President wants to head off any more
nvestigating for fear it will be dis-
:overed that it really is black.
—The attempt of the McCormick
'rowd to get back into the saddle in
he Democratic party in Pennsylvania
s positive proof that they think the
iext President will be a Democrat.
"hey want the honors and the plums
ind when there isn’t a chance for such
rerquisites they don’t care a hang
vhat becomes of the Pennsylvania
Jemocracy.
—Without going into details about
he new Japanese crisis we merely
vant to suggest the idea that if
\merica doesn’t want Japs they
hould be content to stay at home.
‘heir dignity wouldn’t be half so out-
aged if they adopted the policy that
as long governed a lot of us: Never
o want to go where you know you’re
ot wanted.
—We have no candidate for Assem-
lyman. The Democratic primary
allot will have no name printed in
ne space reserved for nominations for
rat office. « If you know a Democrat
'ho would make a good member of
1¢ Legislature write his name in.
he ticket should be complete. There
; no reason why we should let the of-
ce go by default.
—By the time those indicted Ku
luxers get out of the scrape they
ot themselves into up at Lilly they
ill probably realize that hooded and
1eeted forays may be harmless
1ugh in their incipiency, but when
:ass psychology gets to working they
ay become very dangerous indeed,
specially when firearms are toted
ong in concealment.
xR
7H
Sa 3
A emaeratic
STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION.
VOL. 69.
Pinchot Will Not be Forced OR.
The tirade which Senator Watson,
of Indiana, delivered against Gover-
nor Pinchot, on Saturday, unquestion-
ably caused a great deal of surprise,
considerable amazement and even
some “consternation among Republi-
can leaders,” as an esteemed contem-
porary observes, but it will not result
in Governor Pinchot’s name being
stricken from the “slate” of candi-
dates for delegate-at-large. Senator
Watson declared that Governor Pin-
chot induced Senator Couzens to en-
gage Francis J. Heney to conduct the
investigation of the Treasury, for the
purpose of “injuring Secretary Mel-
lon and undermining President Cool-
idge.” That may be true. Governor
Pinchot “owns the soft impeachment,”
in part. But he will not be so pun-
ished.
If the leaders of the Republican ma-
chine in Pennsylvania should remove
Mr. Pinchot’s name from the slate
the assigned reason for his recom-
mendation of Heney, the injury of
Secretary Mellon and the undermin-
ing of President Coolidge, would not
only be accomplished but the chances
are that Pinchot would be nominated
for President by the Cleveland con-
vention. The ostensible reason Pin-
chot gives for encouraging the inves-
tigation of Mellon is that the Secre-
tary of the Treasury has deliberately
hampered the enforcement of the Vol-
stead law, and presumably with the
assent of Coolidge. Forcing Pinchot
from the slate as a penalty for his ac-
tivity in this matter would be confir-
mation of his charge and cause such
a tumult among Prohibitionists as
would submerge Coolidge.
Thus far there is actually only one
candidate for the principal favor of
the Cleveland convention. Senator
Johnson, of California, imagines that
he is a candidate but it is only a “day-
dréam” of an absurd ambition. The
office-holders will control the conven-
tion absolutely and they will nomi-
nate Coolidge unless something is de-
veloped between now and the conven-
tion that would render his election
impossible. The only thing that could
possibly achieve this result would be
the forcing of Pinchot off the slate
and thus giving” him opportunity to
go out and enlist the Prohibitionists
into a solid army in support of his
candidacy for President. Probably
this enticing picture influenced him
to suggest Heney.
——If this country had promptly
taken its place in the League of Na-
tions the question of Germany’s abil-
ity to pay the reparations would nev-
er have arisen.
Pepper Influenced by Disappointment.
Senator George Wharton Pepper
tried a long time to break into official
life and frequently vilified the late
Senator Boies Penrose because his am-
bition was disappointed. It now ap-
pears that his enmity toward Attor-
ney General Daugherty is ascribable
to the same cause. Soon after the in-
auguration of the late President
Harding Mr. Pepper applied for ap-
pointment to the office of solicitor
general in the Department of Justice.
In obedience to custom the matter
was referred to Daugherty, head of
the department. Daugherty consult-
ed Senators Penrose and Knox, then
in commission and since dead, who
“refused their endorsement on the
ground that he was not qualified by
legal experience or temperament.”
Senator Penrose enjoyed a keen
faculty of reading human character.
Senator Knox was a great lawyer.
They agreed in their estimate of Pep-
per. He was unfit for the office to
which he aspired because of lack of
legal experience and for the addition-
al reason that “he had no claim on
the party for political honors.” But
he blamed Daugherty for his failure
and has been pursuing him ever since.
So long as he remained in private life
this wouldn’t have mattered much.
But after the death of Penrose Gov-
ernor Sproul yielded to the persua-
sion of General Atterbury, of the
Pennsylvania railroad, and put Pep-
per in position to do much harm or
good. He seems to have chosen to
use his power for evil.
We have no inclination to defend
Daugherty. The exposures made by
the Senate committee prove his unfit-
ness for the office he held because of
lack of legal ability as well as exper-
ience. We are not disposed to offer
apologies for the late President Hard-
ing’s blunders, but all the evils of the
last three years in Washington are
not ascribable to his faults. The Re-
publican party stands indicted before
the court of public opinion for the
malfeasances and crimes that are now
being exposed. Senator Pepper is not
blameless in the matter, either. His
vote in favor of Senator Newberry, in
the face of a court record of his guilt,
marks Senator Pepper as a party
slave and political maverick.
——The trouble with the Prince of
Wales is that he has made horse-back
riding a “hobby.”
BELL
Shifting Blame to Harding’s Grave. Coolidge Wants to Stop Investigations
1
The obvious purpose of the Repub-| The concerted and insidious effort
lican leaders is to fasten all the blame | to stop the exposure of corruption in
of the corruption recently revealed | governmerit which has been in prog-
and still being exposed in Washing- | ress for some weeks culminated the
other day in a protest against the in-
ton, upon the late President Harding.
Only a few days ago the Democratic vestigation of the Treasury Depart-
members of the Senate committee in- i ment made by President Coolidge to
vestigating the Department of Justice | the Senate. Protesting that the De-
had to clamp the lid down on a wit- | partment “has nothing to conceal” the
ness who was being led on by the Re- | uncalled for message to the Senate is
publican investigators to say that the substantial evidence to the contrary.
late President was one of the five or ! If there were nothing to conceal there
six men who had made a “graft” of ' could be no reason to object to an in-
some thirty millions of dollars out of vestigation which in that event would
the oil leases. In his keynote speech help rather than harm the public of-
delivered at Portland, Maine, last ficial concerned. But the Secretary
week, Senator Pepper boldly declared , objects, in a letter to the President, in
the proposition and since has reiter- | which is embodied a veiled threat to
EFONTE, PA.. APRIL 18. 1924.
ated and defended it. Manifestly the
hope is to bury the scandals in the
Harding coffin.
“The appointment of Forbes as the
head of the Veterans’ bureau and of
Fall as Secretary of the Interior have
proved to be terrible mistakes; while
the selection of Mr. Daugherty as At-
torney General seems to me to have
been a grave error in judgment,” Sen-
ator Pepper declared, and added,
“when I say this I am speaking of the
dead.” Forbes, Fall and Daugherty
are the authors of all the evils and
perpetrators of the crimes now under
investigation and the late President
was responsible for their opportuni-
ties to loot and plunder as they did.
But Mr. Harding was not alone in re-
sponsibility. Only Daugherty was a
personal appointment. The others
were favored under agreement of the
party leaders and in pursuance of
contracts made at the convention to
secure his nomination.
Admitting that Fall and Daugher-
ty were appointed to membership in
the Harding cabinet by Mr. Harding
they were not continued in Mr. Cool-
idge’s cabinet by Mr. Harding. Pres-
ident Coolidge selected his own cabi-
net and when he determined to retain
| Fall and Daugherty he knew all about
them, for the question of their fitness
had been publicly discussed before
the death of Mr. Harding. The reso-
lution to investigate the Teapot Dome
lease was adopted. by the Senate more
than a year before Harding died and
the scandal involved in that lease was
the party leaders, kept Fall and
Daugherty in office and assumed re-
sponsibility for them. He is quite as
much to blame as Harding for their
crimes.
——After all, Magnus Johnson isn’t
so far afield in wanting to be Presi-
dent. The constitution forbids, of
course, but every other Senator in
Congress violates the constitution
every day.
ern em———— A tpe—
Perversion of Power of Court.
Probably the most dastardly and
dangerous prostitution of power in
the history of this country was that
expressed in the indictment of Sena-
tor Wheeler, of Montana, in one of
the Federal courts of that State last
week. Senator Wheeler is responsi-
ble for, and the prosecutor in, the in-
vestigation of the Attorney General’s
office which forced President Coolidge
to ask the resignation of Harry M.
Daugherty. Ever since the beginning
of the investigation secret service
agents of the Department of Justice
have been combing the State of Mon-
[tana in search of something on
{| Wheeler and finally a judge appointed
by Daugherty brought a charge that
Wheeler had accepted a fee for legal
services contrary to law.
The charge is that after Mr.
Wheeler was elected Senator, but be-
fore he had been inducted into the of-
fice, he attended to some business for
a client who had a claim against the
government. Upon the testimony of
one of the government secret service
men in the Postoffice Department this
charge was made and a true bill found
by the grand jury. To fully appreci-
ate this action it should be known
that only one side is heard before a
grand jury and upon the evidence of
one witness the charge was affirmed.
Senator Wheeler declares that the
charge is false and his associates in
the Senate have such faith in his in-
tegrity that a resolution to investi-
i gate the proceedings was unanimous-
ly adopted.
This is one, but the worst of sev-
eral strange perversions of the courts
which has been perpetrated since the
investigations begun in Washington.
It is a settled principle of law that a
witness must testify unless the evi-
dence he should give would incrimin-
ate himself. When Harry Sinclair
was examined as a witness before the
committee investigating the Teapot
Dome scandal he refused to testify
and more recently when Mr. Daugh-
erty’s brother was asked to give evi-
dence in the investigation of the At-
torney General he simply defied the
committee, and by obtaining process
from a local court presided over by
Daugherty’s former partner refused
to produce the evidence needed.
mistakes, not of the living, but of the
already “smelling to high heaven.” :
But Coolidge, with the approval of all
resign if the inquiry is not stopped.
{| In his ambiguous letter asking for-
mer Attorney General Daugherty to
resign President Coolidge alleged as
his principal cause of action that Mr.
Daugherty had refused to give anoth-
er investigating committee certain in-
| formation required for the prosecu-
tion of its work. In his extraordinary
message to the Senate in reference to
the investigation of the Treasury he
rebukes the Senate for asking for in-
formation essential to the perform-
ance of its mission. The cause of this
inconsistency is left to conjecture but
the fact arouses the suspicion that
realize the danger of revelations
which will involve both of them and
the leaders of the party in scandalous
conduct.
The Democrats of the Senate and
the few Republicans who have great-
er interest in the honest administra-
tion of the government than in the
spoils of office wisely determined to
continue the investigation, and with
increased energy, notwithstanding the
protest of the President and the
Chance of restoring Secretary Mellon
i to the direction of his distillery and
; his gasoline business. As Senator
Robinson said, “there exist conditions
-in the Bureau of Internal Revenue
. which the Senate unanimously decid-
ed should be investigated,” and they
| will be thoroughly searched and ex-
posed; President Coolidge’s interven- |
ld
tion: Bffords the most convincing
son for the investigation that has thus
far been presented.
In trying to do something for
the farmers without doing something
‘against the corporations President
Coolidge is traveling in circles.
1
| The Indictment of Sinclair.
© The indictment of Harry F. Sinclair
by the grand jury of the District of
Columbia on the charge of contempt
in that he refused to answer questions
i “pertinent to the matter and ques-
| tion then under inquiry” before a com-
| mittee of the Senate is encouraging.
The penalty is a “fine of from $100 to
: $1000 and imprisonment of from one
to twelve months” in the jail of the
| District. Mr. Sinclair will probably
exhaust all the provisions of the law
to avert the penalty. If convicted in
: the district court he will appeal to the
+ higher courts. If the validity of the
| proceedings is affirmed finally, Mr.
| Sinclair will probably come down from
| the pedestal and avoid the penalty by
giving his testimony.
| The importance of this incident is
i that it will settle for all time the
{ question of the right of Congress to
| compel witnesses to testify in inves-
| tigations. Several times in the past
witnesses have refused to testify and
jon one or two occasions the recalci-
| trants were summarily committed un-
i til a change in their frame of mind
induced them to yield. But in the
pending investigations a spirit of re-
sistance to the authority of the com-
{ mittee has been shown several times.
Men of the Sinclair type sometimes
{ come to the belief that wealth gives
{ immunity, and the action against Sin-
clair is intended to break up such no-
| tions as they are developed. Secre-
| tary Fall gave a valid reason for re-
fusing to testify.
In the last analysis Harry Sinclair
Iis an unimportant figure in the af-
i fairs of the country. His evidence, if
i he had testified, would likely have
| been of little value. But another wit-
‘ness has defied the
| Senate committee and the action
i against Sinclair will determine wheth-
er he can be compelled to testify. |
i Harry Daugherty’s brother could no
| doubt give the committee and the
. country a vast amount of information
; concerning the operations of the Col-
umbus crowd which operated so ex-
tensively in various ways during the
past two years. He has refused to
submit his evidence and the Sinclair
case will justify him or send him to
jail, for it is a safe bet that he will
not speak. :
——There is a bare possibility that
the government at Washington would
function even if Andy Mellon should
resign.
————— a ————
——Probably cautious Cal is afraid
the investigations in progress may
shake loose his grip on the nomina-
tion.
both the President and the Secretary |
authority of the
NO. 16.
Centre County Bank Case Held Up in
the Supreme Court.
Below we publish the full text of
the opinion of Mr. Justice Sanford on
the Centre County Bank case pending
in the United States Supreme court.
As will be discovered from reading
it the opinion does not cover the inain
questions that were before the Court
for determination. It is merely on a
question that was raised because of
the death of John M. Shugert after
the argument on the writs of certior-
ari had been printed.
In accordance with the concluding
paragraph of the opinion Geo. H. Shu-
gert is expected to take out letters of
administration on his father’s estate
and will appear in court as his substi-
‘tute. It is also possible that a peti-
tion will be presented requesting per-
mission to have three creditors of the
Banking company admitted as parties
to the litigation. These papers will
1 all be presented before the expiration
of the thirty day time limit, which
will be May 7, 1924, and then it is
| hoped the Supreme Court will hand
down its opinion on the original ques-
tions raised.
Of course one guess is as good as
another, but local lawyers would not
i be surprised if the ruling were to be
| to the effect that the company, as an
| entity, and those who have admitted
| partnership in it be permitted to go
| into bankruptcy while those who deny
partnership will be dismissed.
The creditors’ committee met last
Tuesday evening to discuss the opin-
ion, as well as a plan of settlement,
but feeling that they have no authori-
ty from the creditors to attempt a
settlement of the muddle nothing was
done.
The Supreme court will adjourn for
| its summer vacation in May and un-
{less its decision is handed down be-
i fore that time it may not be filed un-
, til it reconvenes early in the fall.
| Mr. Justice Sanford delivered the
| opinion of the Court.
| These three cases—which were
| heard together in the Circuit Court
of Appeals and are included here in
one record—arose out of a petition in
Shugert in a Federal District Court
in Pennsylvania. In this petition he
{ alleged that he and the present pe-
{ titioners, Meek, Dale and Breeze—
hereafter called the defendants—were
members of a partnership styled the
. Centre County Banking Company;
i that the partnership and each of the
{ defendants were insolvent; and that
| he and the partnership desired to ob-
‘tain the benefits of the bankruptcy
law. He prayed that the partnership
rand he and the defendants individual-
were issued for the defendants. All
appeared and resisted the petition in
so far as it sought to have the part-
nership and themselves adjudged
bankrupt; and each made a motion to
dismiss the petition to that extent up-
on the grounds, among others, that it
was not authorized by the Bankruptcy
Act and the court had no jurisdiction
under it to adjudge either the part-
nership or a non-consenting member
bankrupt. These motions were denied
by the District Court. On petitions
by the defendants to revise the orders
of the District Court denying their
motion, the Circuit Court of Appeals,
beirig of opinion that the petition in
bankruptcy was maintainable under
Section 5 of the Bankruptcy Act and
. General Order in Bankruptcy No. 8,
“affirmed the orders of the District
Court. 292 Fed. 116. These writs of
certiorari were then granted the de-
fendants. 263 U. S.—
Shugert thereafter died. And the
defendants have moved that the pro-
ceeding in bankruptcy be dismissed as
to them, both individually and as
members of the partnership, on the
ground that to that extent it should
abate. This motion has been answer-
ed by the attorney who formerly rep-
resented Shugert, as now representing
his “interests,” and by an attorney
representing a “Creditors’ Commit-
tee,” who insist that under section 8
of the Bankruptcy Act the proceeding
in bankruptcy was not abated by Shu-
gert’s death and may be continued
without making Shugert’s personal
representative a party. While neither
of these attorneys represents any par-
ty now before the court, we treat their
answer as the suggestion of amici
curiae,
Section 8 of the Bankruptcy Act
i provides that: “The death * * * of
a bankrupt shall not abate the pro-
ceedings, but the same shall be con-
ducted and concluded in the same
manner, so far as possible, as though
he had not died.” It is clear, how-
ever, that, whatever may be the ef-
fect of this provision, when construed
in the light of Section la (3) of the
Act defining the term “bankrupt,” it
can have no application except to that
part of the petition in bankruptcy in
' which Shugert sought to have himself
adjudged a voluntary bankrupt—a
matter not in issue under the motions
to dismiss and not now before us.
i Even if one partner may maintain a
petition such as this to have the part-
| (Continued on page 4, Col. 1.)
ly be adjudged bankrupt. Subpoenas |
SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE
—Stockholders of the Sunbury, Miltom
and Lewisburg electric street railway vote
ed on Monday to abandon its line above
Northumberland. Good roads and auto-
mobiles have cut patronage.
—The State Highway Department has is-
sued orders for contractors to get to work
on recently awardded contracts as soon as
weather conditions are favorable and they
get forces and plants assembled.
—The annual distribution of funds pro-
vided by the will of the late Mrs. Hannah
Ulman Rosenbaum, to needy widows in
Williamsport was made Saturday, the an-
niversary of Mrs. Rosenbaum’s birth.
About $2,000 were distributed.
—=Shot in the abdomen by the accidental
discharge of a small rifle in the hands of
a companion, while they were playing at
the game of “shooting Indians,” Kasmir
Sockoloski, 14 years old, of Shamokin,
was fatally wounded. He died while be-
ing removed to the hospital.
—Robert T. Garman celebrated his twen-
ty-fifth year in the jewelry business in Ty-
rone last week. Starting with a small
store his business increased to such an ex-
tent that eighteen years ago he purchased
the large brick building now known as the
Garman block, which he occupies.
—What is believed to have been an at-
tempt to rifle the vaults of the Lewisburg
National bank was uncovered Sunday
morning with the findiag of three sticks of
dynamite, to which was attached a dualin
cap and a haif-burned fuse, at the rear of
the bank building about a foot from the
wall,
—Extracting $510 from the pocket of his
father, who was asleep on a chair in the
kitchen of their home at Connerton, near
Shenandoah, on Saturday night, Joseph
Zelinsky, 15 years old, and two compan-
ions, were apprehended as they were about
to board an early morning train for Phil
adelphia. The money was recovered.
—Percy Young disappeared from his
boarding house in Clearfield last Thurs-
day and on Monday his dead body was
found in the river near the railroad bridge.
He was subject to epileptic fits and is sup-
posed to have suffered an attack while
crossing the railroad bridge on his way to
work and falling into the river lost his
life.
—Several fractured ribs, a cracked
breast bone and several injuries about the
head were suffered by H. 8S. Fague, aged
fifty-four years, of Picture Rocks, Lycom-
ing county, when he fell from a manure
spreader and was dragged beneath it. The
accident occurred on the highway and
he was discovered by passing motorists
and taken to the Muncy Valley hospital.
—The Pennsylvania Glass Sand compa-
ny has awarded a contract to Alexander,
Shumway & Utz, of Rochester, N. Y., to
erect a new pulverizing plant at Mapleton,
Huntingdon county. Work will be started
immediately for the erection of the foun-
dation of the building, which will be of
steel and concrete. The new plant will be
erected on the old Robley estate next to
the present plant.
—In default of $5,000 bail, Clifford H.
Weise, a Shamokin youth arrested on a
technical charge of counterfeiting when
caught trying to pass a $10 Federal re-
serve note for $50, having pasted the fig-
ure five over the first number of the ten,
| was ‘committed “to jail at Sunbury last
Friday to await Federal court, which con-
venes at Harrisburg May 5. Weise plead-
ed guilty to the charges.
—The Mifflinville brick plant, near Ber-
wick, idle for eight years, has been rebuilt
with new kilns, engine, boiler and Boss
dryer system placed, and was opened on
Monday. Thirty-five men will be employ-
ed. The John L. Turner Brick company,
Ine, purchased the plants and the beds of
clay and have been working since Septem-
ber upon repairs and improvements. The
output will be twenty to twenty-five thous
and bricks daily.
—Brownsville turned out en masse on
Saturday to see a band of gypsies that
passed through Shenandoah. The gypsies
halted in the suburb, mixed freely with
the residents, and for a time an impromp-
tu carnival was held. Indignation reign-
ed, however, a short time after the gypsies
departed when it was found several rob-
beries had occurred. One man reported
his pocket had been picked of $100, while
valuable articles were missing from sev
eral homes.
—John Noble, aged 74 years, of Oil City,
one of the oldest prisoners ever confined
in the Franklin county jail, and who waiv-
ed bail that he might enjoy the “comrade-
ry of other prisoners,” hasn't changed his
mind a bit. He isn’t worrying at all if he
ever gets out. He spends his time writing -
poems and reading newspapers. Noble iy"
being sued by his 29 year old wife for de-
sertion and non-support. His only worry,
he told a reperter, is how soon they are
likely to take him away “from these
pleasant surroundings.”
—“I don’t know why I married her, she
has certainly kept me in hot water and
has cost me over $1000 in three months!”
This was the statement made by E. D.
Wenrich, aged 65 years, wealthy resident
of West Brownsville, in asking the Wash-
inbton county court to give him some re-
lief from the alleged escapades of his 16
vear old wife, Mrs. Margaret Wenrich.
Wenrich and his youthful sweetheart were
married on January 7, 1924. “She seemed
to be the finest girl in the world,” said
Wenrich, “and I fell head over heels in
love with her. But I soon found I couldn't
contro: her, never knew where she was and
only saw her when she came to me for
money. I have spent over $1000 on her
since we were married, and I'm tired of
it.” Mrs. Wenrich, on a charge of incor-
rigibility, was committed to the Girls’
Industrial School at Muncy, Pa.
—John MT. Wilson, district attorney of
Mifflin county, will lay an indictment be-
fore the grand jury at Lewistown, on May
5, charging Antonio Apostolico now in Ita-
ly, with first degree murder in connection
with the fatal shooting of Frank Materia,
a Burnham store merchant, August 26,
last. Apostolico is reported to have loved
a young daughter of Materia and request-
ed to marry her and her father refused to
give his consent. He shot Materia through
the heart after the refusal. Materia died
at the Lewistown hospital several days
later, and Apostolico fled over the Seven
mountains into Pennsvalley, thence to
Scranton and then to New York city, from
where he escaped by boat to Italy. A few
days ago he wrote from Italy, to the
Standard Steel works, Burnham, asking
payment for wages which were due him
when he fled. Apostolico in letters to oth-
er friends in Burnham and Yeagertown
declares that he shot Materia and claims
that the United States government has no
power to bring him back to this country
to stand trial for murder.