PREACHMENT THE TEXT Death may come with a crawl pounce But, whether it be slow or Spry, It isn’t the fact that you're dead that counts: Only, how did you die? or a Years and years ago; it seems centuries now that the urge has come to unlock another little cell in mem- ory’s library, we happened to be one of a party of five sitting about a plain wood table in the grille of the Inside Inn in St. Louis. Bottles of Lemp’s beer, were on the table. Pale anemic looking beverage with an odor that reminded us of the skunk cabbage of the Bear Meadows. Not that we recall had anybody touched it when one of the gentlemen of the party, who held the unique distinction of possessing a pass over every railroad in the United States—a pass graven on a solid gold plate, called attention to the couplet we have chosen as the text for this preachment. - Edwin Vance Cook had talked to the National Editorial Association, in .convention in St. Louis, that after- noon, and quoting some of his own verse had focused Mr. Page’s thoughts on “How did you die ?” Homer Davenport, the country band boy of Eugene, Oregon, who came to be the greatest cartoonist of his day, whose creative mind and deft fingers put the $ on Mark Hanna’s clothes ‘and whose wordless story “Lest We Forget” saved Admiral Dewey from dying of a broken heart in foreign lands, was one of the party. Col. Henry Watterson, than whom journal- ism knows none other like, was an- other. Col. Steele, of Ashland, Penna., whose son Will was then on the Seattle Post Intelligencer and had just engaged us to go to Nome with the Argonauts and become editor of the first daily newspaper of the Klon- dyke country, was of the party and— as we have said—we happened to be the fifth member. Davenport was in the midst of tell- ing the story of the genesis of “Lest We Forget.” to Washington to stem, if possible, the tide of opprobrium that was crushing the hero of Manilla bay be- cause he had in a moment of thought- ‘ less gallantry ceded to his wife the house that a Nation had given him. We fancy that Col. Watterson had - locked with disgust at the Lemp’s and was in a mood for something real, when Page broke in with the Cook couplet. We have never heard a preacher do it, but lots of public speakers resort to “On the one. har : fingers and a thumb. “On the other’— “we have a thumb and four fingers. Generally, that is about all their con- trasts amount to. We revive the old quip here because at the moment we have at the left hand something that is in striking contrast with the thing that lies at our right. The one onthe left is Bruce Barton’s story of “The Man Nobody Knows,” and at our right is the morning paper announcing the death of Luther Burbank. Few of you have read Barton’s story—do it by all means. Most of you have planted Burbank’s seeds. At seventy-seven he died—an infidel. He was the plant wizard of the world, but what does that mean? By graft- ing, budding, marrying pollen to strange brides, he produced hybrid vegetables and flowers of new color combinations, but with all his inten- sive concentration on plant life he couldn’t make the sap that is surging up the trees now, nor could he sub- stitute the chlorophyl that gives the leaves and the grass their verdant, restful green. In the animal world the mule repre- sents the result of miscegenation, just as Burbank’s accomplishments do in the vegetable and floral spheres. He experimented with the material at hand and it seems strange to us that he was content with the thought that it just grew. Burbank created noth- ing. He developed much, but it was only by crossing what had already been created. When the plants he experimented with drooped and died under the abortions he was attempt- ing he couldn’t bring them back to life, nor could he have replaced them had there not been seed at hand. “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth * * * gpd every plant of the field " * * and every herb of the field, before it grew” and Burbank worked with these crea- tions and died denying that they had had a Creator. What a paradox! It seems impossible that so great a genius should yet be so ingenuous as to admit that he didn’t know Bar- ton’s “Man that Nobody Knows.” Bur- bank was closer to Him all the time than most of us and that is why we wonder and preach and quote Cook’s “Only, how did you die?" and ask the shade of Burbank if it will tarry at the grave of Joyce Kil- mer, who lies mid the poppies in Flander’s Field, long enough to deny that “only God can make ‘a tree.” I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast. "A tree that looks at God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray. A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair. Upon whose bosom snow has lain; ‘Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. How he had been sent" "we have four cians never survive a thorough drub- “WOOL. 71. Vare Openly Insults Democrats. Last. Sunday one of the Scranton | newspapers carried a page advertise- ment in the interest of William S. Vare, which openly solicited Demo- cratic voters to register as Republi- cans in order that they may vote for Vare at the primary election in May. This form of political juggling was one of the reasons given for the uni- form primary election law. It had been employed in Philadelphia and other populous centers to such an ex- tent it became a menace. Since the primary law became effective it has been practiced covertly by political crooks. This attempt by Vare to debauch the Democrats of Scranton is the first open effort in that direction for years. . If there is an human being who is abhorrent to the Democratic mind and I STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. BELLEFONTE, PA.. APRIL 1 — Grundy’s Fight Against Baker. As the factional lines are being ex- i posed it becomes certain that State Mellon, nephew of the Secretary of Chairman W. Harry Baker is quite as much a target of the Mellon activities as Vare and Pinchot. This fact may be attributed to the influence of Joseph R. Grundy on the operations ; of the Pepper-Fisher combine. Here- ogy of business. tofore the Mellon mind was inclined to a friendly feeling for Baker. Sena- | tor Pepper has likewise felt kindly toward the State Chairman. But Grundy has long cherished an enmity toward him. Grundy is a sort of a “moss-back.” He is opposed to all reforms and improvements in labor conditions. Some years ago when the support of the bills. The late Senator Crow was Chair- « Mellon Establishes a Trading Post. The announcement that Mr. W. L. | the Treasury, will sit in Philadelphia f , during the Primary campaign may be | interpreted as public notice that the “bar’l” has been tapped. Mr. Mellon thoroughly understands the psychol- | When he wants to buy anything he goes to the market in which it is most abundant. The ; crooks who make up the phantom | votes in Philadelphia offer an enticing {objective for the activities of an { adroit and courageous political trader. | Mr. Mellon’s headquarters will be an ! alluring and convenient trading post ‘for these political mercenaries and it _child-labor legislation was pending may be predicted that Mr. Vare will ‘Baker was active and influential in have a hard time to hold his forces in { line, I Mr. Mellon’s purpose in establish- offensive to the Democratic con- man of the Republican State Com- ing a trading post in Philadelphia is science, it is William S. Vare. He stands for everything that is vicious ! in public life. He not only shelters but encourages crime in polities. Fraudulent voting is and always has : been the source of his power. By the | process: which he now. hopes to gain | votes in Scranton he has destroyed the Democratic organization in Phila- | delphia. He tells those whom he ex- i pects to victimize that they may be | free to vote for the candidates of their own party at the general election. In | other words he invites them to deceive their associates in order to promote his selfish interests and absurd am- bition. No honest Democrat in Pennsylva- nia can have common cause with Wil- liam S. Vare. He is the antithesis of everything that is Democratic. He never has supported a Democratic measure nor favored an honest Dem- ocrat. His impudent appeal to the Democrats of Scranton to betray their party associates and principles should be denounced with all the vigor that the English language affords. No Democrat, whether he be for or | against the Volstead law, will vote for this ignorant pretender, and it is the duty of all Democrats to resent this corrupt proposition by putting addi- tional vigor: in the fight against Wil- Ham S. Vara: 7 er -——One subject for cheerful con- templation is that when Bill Vare is defeated at the primary this year he will be “down and out.” Such politi- bing. | Iowa Senatorial Contest Settled. The seating of Daniel F. Steck, Democrat, as Senator in Congress for Towa, marks the end of a long drawn out and somewhat complex contest. In the campaign of 1924 Mr. Steck was the Democratic candidate for Senator and Smith Brookhart the Republican nominee. Mr. Brookhart repudiated his party’s Presidential ticket and supported LaFollette. In resentment the Republican organization of the State repudiated Brookhart and sup- ported Steck. The result was a close vote, which on the face of the returns, gave Brookhart a small plurality. Charges of irregularities in the vote and returns were made by both par- ties and a recount was ordered by the local courts. j Upon the assembling of the Senate in December, 1925, the contest was transplanted from the Iowa courts to the Senate. Brookhart qualified for membership on the certificate of election given him by the State re- turning board and Mr. Steck became the contestant. The recount showed that Steck had a very small majority of the undisputed ballots but Brook- hart had the seat. Several hundred ballots were held out of the equation largely on technical grounds and the Senate committee which conducted the investigation declared that the Steck vote “expressed the will of the voters,” and reported that he is en- titled to the seat. The vote on Monday was upon the adoption of the commit- tee report. Party lines were somewhat broken in the vote. Sixteen Republicans voted in favor of Steck and nine Democrats in favor of Brookhart. But the significance of the result is not in the numerical division with respect to party. Among the Republicans who voted for Steck are Senator But- ler, of Massachusetts, chairman of the Republican National committee, and his colleague, Senator Gillet. Butler is supposed to be the ‘Senatorial mouthpiece of President Coolidge and his attitude may be interpreted as ex- pressing the will of the President. On the other hand Senator Pepper, who professes to be a 100 per cent. Cool- idge supporter, voted in favor of Brookhart, who refused to vote for Coolidge for President. EE —————— ——DMexico has agreed to not en- force obnoxious laws against Ameri- cans, but it may be assumed that this does not apply to the Volstead law. mittee at that time and the floor lead- er of the Republican majority in the State Senate. Like Penrose he re- lied much on Baker and Grundy ima- gined that Crow’s support of that type of labor legislation was influenced by Baker. As a result he declared unre- lenting war against both. When Crow died Baker was chosen to succeed him and Grundy concentrated his hatred against him. Penrose held friendly relations with Grundy because of his success in collecting campaign funds, i but the bitterness against Baker con- tived. It was because of this enmity that Grundy supported Pinchot against Alter for Governor four years ago and carried Fisher with him. Four years ago Mellon was for Alter and was greatly disappointed because Fisher affiliated with the Pin- chot forces. When the lines were forming for this year’s fight the Mel- lons were inclined to oppose Fisher but willing to join a combination that would help Pepper. After consider- able jockeying Grundy offered to sup- port Pepper if the Mellons would take Fisher as the candidate for Governor, Grundy, because of his relations with the manufacturing industry of the State is a valuable asset and the bar- gain was signed, sealed and delivered. Since the Grundy energies have been | directed toward creating opposition | Baker in the combination and the in- dications are that he has scored. ——1If, as many believe, money is the most potent element in politics. Senator Pepper will be the winner. There are millions behind him. Pichot Exposes Gross Frauds. The exposure of forgery, perjury and fraud in the petitions of W. S. Vare for registry as a candidate for Senator in Congress is not surprising. The cause of wonder is that this form of electoral crinie was not ex- posed long ago. It has been in prac- tice not only in Philadelphia but in all populous centres for many years and all the leaders of the Republican party have not only been aware of it but have given it sanction and encourage- ment. In many cases petitions have been made out and signed for one can- didate and filed for another. As fre- quently the petitions are signed in blank and the name of the candidate inserted after the signing. This is a clear violation of the law . Nevertheless Governor Pinchot has performed a valuable public service in bringing this form of electoral fraud into public notice. He knew, of course, that it would not disqualify Mr. Vare as a candidate for out of the vast number of petitions there are sufficient ‘legally signed to place his name on the ballot. But the Governor reasoned that the exposure would alienate some of the supporters of Vare, whom he regards as his most dangerous antagonist for the nomina- tion, and that a majority of votes thus diverted might come to him as a re- ward for his fidelity to civic obliga- tions. Mr. Pepper knew as well as Vare that the frauds had been com- mitted but he discreetly remained silent. Section 74 of Chapter V of the election laws of Pennsylvania pro- vides that “if any person shall know- ingly make a false statement in any affidavit required by the provisions of this act to be appended to or io accompany a nomination petition, ” ” ” * he shall be guilty of a misde- meanor and upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine of five hundred dollars or to undergo impris- onment for not more than one year, or either or both.” It will be seen that the Governor has started something which ought to be finished in the in- terest of good government. He has properly referred it to the Depart- ment of Justice and the public will await developments for appraisement of the act. Ee ——— ye e——— ——The vote on the Brookhart con- test indicates that the President is not greatly concerned. about the safety of Senator Cummins, either. to promote the interests of Senator ~ Pepper, candidate for re-election, and John 8. Fisher, candidate for the Re- publican nomination for Governor. These gentlemen have been appointed by Secretary Andrew Mellon as the candidates of the predatory corpora- tions and big banking interests of the State. For obvious reasons ‘these ele- ments in the industrial and’ commer- cial life of the country have set about “to control the politics not only of ‘ Pennsylvania but of the entire coun- try. President Coolidge has already ‘completely surrendered to them and they are now trying to acquire control ‘of Congress and the State govern- ‘ments. i We have little interest in, and no favorites among the Republican can- ,didates for Governor and Senator. | Vare, the promotor of ballot corrup- tion is impossible, of course, and Pep- per and Pinchot have grave faults. But we cannot refrain from express- ling abhorrence at the prospe¢t: of yielding, without protest, the oppor- tunities of the average citizen to prop- ti ‘erty and liberty, to the control of a “dangerous if not actually destructive ‘element. Goldsmith said: “Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, “where wealth accumulates and men vy.” ‘That is the peril which is y-expressed in this combination ed “of millionaires to get control: of the. | government of Pennsylvania. ——DBranch stations of the United States weather bureau report the ‘past winter as being the longest on’ I record, and we candidly agree with | {them. Here it is, the 16th day of | April, and the weather has been so l cold and disagreeable since the offi- ; cial opening of spring that very lit- tle, if any, gardening has been done, ! ' And even at this late date the earliest fruit trees have not yet put forth a showing of buds, which is taken as a favorable omen for a big fruit crop. ! —————— py. 5 i ——Announcement that Dr. Arthur Holmes, of the University of Penn- sylvania faculty, will be the speaker for the annual spring scholarship day at the Pennsylvania State College, has just been made by Penn State officials. Dr. Holmes was formerly | dean of the general faculty at Penn State. The exercises will be held ‘April 29th, when students will re-' ceive recognition for their excellence ——Just because we preached the column where this paragraph might have been expected to appear clear full we are grabbing space here to tell you that we didn’t go fishing yester- day.. Preaching is exhausting work and—besides, we forgot to dig any! bait. ny ——— er ————— If it be true that there are no what do motorists do when engine trouble developes far from a repair shop. i | ————— re ————— ——The public hearing on the prop. osition to change the Volstead law. may have been interesting to many but it won’t change the law. ——Some of these adventurous scientists who are searching for the North Pole wouldn’t know what to do with it if they found it. ——There may be such a thing as synthetic beef steaks but it will be hard to wean healthy appetites away from the juicy sirloin. ——W. D. Zerby, of Bellefonte, and Charles Freeman of Philipsburg, have filed petitions for Democratic county chairman, ——Anyway Bill Vare has an ad- vantage of some of his associates in the political game. He can “milk the cow.” ; YESS ORIES 56.4 8 Bn | ——The, fittest do not always sur-. vive. . Some times money makes the unfit prime favorites. 6. 1926. in classroom work. | & cuss words in the Japanese language ; NO. 16. A ——m— An Incentive to Register. From the Philadelphia Record, It was an act of astounding im- pudence for Vare henchmen to write upon the nomination papers of their boss the names of hundreds, and prob- ably thousands, of voters who ney- er even saw the petitions. And now, with unblushing effrontery, these zealous servitars of the great man, admitting that they did much of the writing which purported to have been done by the voters, declare that there was no harm in it—that everything was perfectly legal. It is truly difficult for an honest citizen to get the gang point view. But it should be remembered that for years the very same sort of people who prepared nominating petitions containing large numbers of false signatures have been saving the vot- ers in their division all trouble ordinarily connected with the cast- ing of ballots. They thi nothing of inserting the voter’s name for him, together with all the information re- quired by law, on the - registration book if he fails person to appear to attend to that duty. On election day, in case of.his absence, they duly mark his ballot for him and insert it in, die bor ; And if he does turn up at the polls and vote, and the bal- lot is marked for busi dh disap- proved by the gang, the marking is ignored and the vote counted accord- ing to the wishes and orders of the SS. When one reflects upon these facts it becomes easier to understand the mental processes of men who, know- ing the requirements of the law with regard to the signing of nominating petitions, modify them own notions and brazenl that they had a perfect ri 50. - To the followers of the aspires to a seat in the U: suit their Senate the law is a joke. They know no law. They recognize ne limita- tions the 8 of rolling rn Se prc up predetermined majorities. “The Record” is mot so .epti timistie as to suppose that any of these peti- tion glers be called to account in the Courts—much le unished. But the exposure of th ¢ methods ought to stimulate the of honest citizens that. shall not be disgraced by tion of a ballot-stuffers’ United States Senate; 4 an = ins; i a & hundreds of thousands of assessed voters whose names are not on the registration books to go ‘to the poll- ing places on Wednesday, April 14, and enroll themselves, that those of them who are Republicans may at- tack the menace of the Vare candi- dacy in the primary. ——————la——— Mussolini's Escape. From the Altoona Tribune. Not yet can Mussolini be spared from the dictatorship of Itlay. The worst thing that could happen would be his removal by violence. joicing of loyal! Fascists in his es- cape from serious injury at the hands of an assassin recently is shared by. friends and well-wishers of the Ital- ian nation everywhere. And the fact that his assailant was not a disaffect- ed Italian gives ground for confidence that no serious political results, no untimely social upheaval, will follow upon the Duce’s wounding. : His assailant, according to the news reports at this writing, is an eccentric Englishwoman who, pre- sumably, her own disordered brain. She is not he type that would have been trust- ed by political conspirators nor em- ployed as a tool for the removal of the Premier. Therefore, it is not likely the incident will be utilized to rally opponents of Fascismo in an ef- fort to overthrow Mussolini. Nor to rally Fascismo for further acts of op- pression. Hateful as the Mussolini regime is to millions of Italians, all intelligence lin the Kingdom realizes that the com- pletion of reconstruction depends on its functioning for a while longer, as it has since 1922. Mussolini’s death or overthrow otherwise at this time would usher in a period of chaos such ‘as has not been known in modern Italy. He has a firm grip on affairs of State and he is getting results of immense benefit to the country. There is no one to take his place, either to carry out his policies or to reorganize | the State on governmental lines more smocretie and acceptable to the peo- ple. His dictatorship has been aptly likened to a receivership in a bank- Tuptey. He has exercised arbitrary power because that was the only way by which social order and economic stability could be restored. The judg- ment of history probably will be that Mussolini fulfilled his self-imposed , mission more successfully than any- ‘one else in the public eye could have done. And when the task is finished the present order of affairs will merge almost insensibly into a new and bet- ter order. The new day cannot be hastened by assassination, but may be retarded by a premature change at the head of State. Therefore, it is to be hoped Mussolini will be per- mitted to. carry on till the Italian people are ready to manage for them- selves. ; ——Mellon may be an efficient, but judging from his language he will not be an “easy” boss. ‘home and was placed under arrest. .{ olinskie, acted on the promptings of: SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. , —The body of Clarence E. Henry, of East Slatedale, who disappeared from his home about a week ago, was recovered on Sunday from the bottom of an abandoned slate quarry. —Carrying a heavy bundle of merchan- dise, Mrs. S. Kaplan, of Chester, tripped over a lighted gas stove, starting a fire which caused $2000 damage. The woman was slightly burned and suffered from shock. —XKilled by gas, probably turned on accidentally by an overshoe thrown against a stove, Joseph E. Ward and his wife, Kate M., were found dead in their home at Reading by a son, Howard, who came to visit them. : —Police ‘are investigating an alleged attack on Roy Adams, 12, of Lancaster, who told police that he was assaulted and bound by an unidentified assailant who gained entrance to the house by saying that he was a “gas man.” —DLosing his balance while walking down an ordinary stairway, Walter Haley, of Philadelphia, who is an ironworker, had worked many a day at dizzy heights, turned a somersault, landing below on his shoulders He is in a critical condition. —Reading’s train service is so efficient that air mail service to and from Reading would not improve the service, according to the opinion of acting Postmaster Gen- eral Warren I. Glover, who declined to consider the erection of an air mail station at Reading. —Mrs. Sarah Creasey, 63, of Catawissa, was killed last Thursady afternoon when she was pitched forward from a second floor balcony on which she was shaking a rug and landed head first en a con- crete driveway. She was dead when bystanders reached her. - —DBelieved to have been dead for twenty- seven years. George Starr, formerly of Unityville, Lycoming County, returned last week to visit his sister, Mrs. M. R. Robbins, of Berwick. He had been pros- pecting in Alaska for a number of years, having gained a considerable fortune. —Leone Massi, 24, a suspect in the hold- up of the R. A. Anderson drug store at ‘North East on the night of March 31, was found secreted in a locked trunk in his He was identified on Friday morning by An- derson as the man who had robbed the store, —Joseph P. Magruder, 52, of Mifflin- town, died last Thursday evening in the Lewistown Hospital from injuries suse tained at noon when crushed between .| freight cars in the Pennsylvania Railroad | yard. Magruder ‘was working as a car inspector between drafts when the gap closed; and crushed his body. —Dislike for. noodle soup by a Burgetts- town man resulted in an application for divorce at Washington, Pa., on Saturday. {| Mrs. Elizabeth Frances Conner charges { that when her husband, Ethelbert Talbot | Conner, came home one evening recently ‘| and’ found that noodle soup was included in the evening meal, he threw the offend- ing food out of the window and then at- tacked her. —The West Penn Cement company has broken ground at West Winfred, Butler county, for the first unit of a $2,500,000 the | manufacturing project on .2,000 acres of . land “recentty” acqiiired” thers Wied" this unit is placed in operation early in Janu- ard, 1927, it is expected to have a capacity of 2,000 barrels of cement daily and when the second unit is added next year, the capacity of the plant will be doubled. —A jury in the Northumberland county court returned with a verdict on Saturday for $1,000 against the Rev. Adelbert Top- head of St. Stanislaus Polish Catholic church of Shamokin, in favor of Mrs. Vietor Shevitskie, a married woman with two grown children for an alleged slander. The woman alleged that he went before a woman's club with two hundred members present after she had been elect- ed an officer, and said she was .not fit to hold office. —At a meeting of the officers and di- rectors of the State-Centre Game, Fish and Forestry association, held at the Moshan- non National bank building, Philipsburg, last Thursday evening, Hon. Harry B. Scott was authorized to proceed with nego- tiating a lease of a tract of land from-the Prentiss estate for the building of a fish dam on Black Moshannon stream. The tract would be three miles long and one- half mile wide. —In search of money, thieves last Fri- day night stole a cornerstone from the Fritz Lutheran church, near Somerset, but their efforts were fruitless, as they tore away the wrong stone. Breaking into the church building, the thieves took two strips of carpet from the floor and stole the Easter collection, about $8. A blood- hound trailed the robbers for about a mile, but the trail was lost when the culprits escaped in an automobile. The main cornerstone contains money and other valuables. —Several Lancaster county ministers have applied for appointments as school teachers in the county, according to Super- intendent Arthur P. Mylin. In the case of the ministers, low pay from the churches may be accountable for their applications, it has been pointed out. Many married women also have made requests. Such ap- plicants are regarded favorably, as the tendency among older persons is to teach for several years, whereas college gradu- ates frequenily seek other occupations after a year or two. —Mrs. H, Norman Byers, of Valley jfown- ship, Montour county, spent several hours at the home of Sheriff Gross and family at the jail in Sunbury on Saturday, when her husband refused to pay her taxes or permit her to pay them. The amount was $7.65. When a constable took the woman to jail the sheriff would not admit her, so Mrs. Byers had a pleasant visit with the sheriff’s wife until neighbor women made up the amount. The husband is a well-to- do farmer and operates a milk route in Danville. —Windows for an entire block were shattered and buildings damaged when a bomb explosion wrecked the Spano-Ameri- can barber shop, in Johnstown, at 2 o'clock Friday morning. Angleo Salva- dor and his wife, asleep in the second floor apartments, escaped injury. Eye- witnesses saw a sheet of flame sweep across the street while citizens for squares around were awakened: by the concussion. Two hundred: chicks in a window incu- bator opposite the wrecked shop were kill- ed. Police have a rival barber under ar- rest.