Democratic watchman. (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1855-1940, April 22, 1927, Image 1
INK SLINGS. ~—Who said that Earth is gradually ‘cooling off. : .—We recall a great many Aprils but none that have been as warm and spring like as this one has been ‘thus far. —Up to this time there has been nothing to indicate that we'll have to smoke or pickle our excess trout for use next winter. —Won’t somebody please start ‘throwing a few bricks. We're not having near the fun out of the local political campaign that we expected to be enjoying by this time. —What China needs is more auto- mobiles. Give all the Reds a high powered car and a barrel of gasoline and they’ll never stop going until they get so far away that they can’t get back. —The terribly disastrous floods on the Mississippi are furnishing ammu- nition for the negative side of the much debated question: “Resolved that fire is more destructive than water.” —What some women are prone to look on as merely “affairs” are prob- ably just what Ruth Snyder thought she was starting when she met Judd ‘Gray and started for the cell of a ‘murderess. —This is certainly fine growing weather. It affects vegetable and "human life in directly opposite ways. The one is fairly jumping from the ‘ground. And the other is suffering ‘with that tired feeling that just drags iitself from one leaning post to the ‘other. —Now that the Legislature is ad- journed it might be supposed that a few appointive plums might be falling ‘in Centre county. Some are due. Pos- sibiy they are being held up until it is discovered just how auch the ap- plicants can deliver in the Repuhlican judicial fight in the coua'y. —Tuesday evening, for a moment or so, we thought the millennium had come. In reading over the story of the council proceedings of the night ‘before our eye fastened on the order ‘to pay bills. They amounted to only ‘$352.36. They were so unusually low that we had visions of reduced millage some where in the offing, but the town’s emeritus councilman dis- pelled that illusion by explaining that someone had forgotten to present the most of the bills. —TUnited States Steel cut a whale of a “melon” when it declared a forty per cent stock dividend on Tuesday. It seems only a few years ago that a ‘tariff was said to be absolutely neces- sary to the fostering of this particular ~ infant industry. Judged from Tues- day’s action we must conclude the tariff is a wonderful nostrum— for them that get its benefits—but how about the fellows who have to pay it? Where does their slice of melon come from? —Well, our fishing trip turned out nearly as predicted last week. Instead of getting up at four “numbed by the night in a cold camp” we crawled out at twelve-fifteen to put more logs on the fire and got up at two—and staid up because even the logs and four blankets couldn’t keep us warm enough to sleep. And at twelve we weren't sitting on the porch paring potatees for dinner.” It just happen- ed that for once we had a couple of guests in camp who act on suggestion. They pared the potatoes. —Elsewhere is a letter of apprecia- tion of service received at the Centre County hospital by one who signs him or herself “Patient.” It is a grat- ifying acknowledgement of pleasing treatment received at the local insti- tution, but the part that interests us, especially, is the reference to its admirable location. That interests us because it is witness to the fact that we were right, many years ago, when we stood alone and finally frustrated the purchase both of the small J. A. Beaver Miller property on east Curtin street and the Cruse property on east Linn street for the hospital. Putting it as suscinctly as we have ever heard it expressed Gov. Al Smith, of New York, answering Charles C. Marshall's inquiry, published in a re- cent number of the Atlantic Monthly, says: “You imply that there is con- flict between religious loyalty to the Catholic faith and patriotic loyalty to the United States.” And after saying that he does not believe there is any the Governor makes this striking statement: “I believe that no tri- bunal of any church has any power to make any decree of any force in the law of the land other than to es- tablish the status of its own com- municants within its own church.” —The eternal disposition to make mountains out of mole hills is proba- bly accountable for the supposed break between President Coolidge ¢nd Herbert Hoover, his Secretary of Com- merce. The President said he would _ not appoint Mr. Hoover Secretary of State even if Secretary Kellogg should resign that port-folio, The statement was jumped on by political gossips and friction was seen between the Presi- dent and Mr. Hoover. Why should that be a necessary resultant? There is no reason whatever. Mr. Hoover was not an applicant for any other post than the one he fills and he would be a poor sport, indeed, to resent the President’s right to select his own Cabinet officers. CT % =X) ZO Demaeratic VOL. 72. STATE RIGHTS AN BELLEFONTE, PA.. D FEDERAL UNION. APRIL 22, 1927. ER gig £4 NO. 167 Committed to Ballot Fraud. The hearing of the petition of the Slush Fund committee of the United State Senate for possession of the ballot boxes used in Delaware county, last fall, which was held in the United States District court at Phila- delphia on Monday, clearly revealed the fact that the leaders of the Re- publican party of Pennsylvania are committed to the evil policy of con- tinuing ballot frauds. The result of the effort to open the boxes and ex- pose the corruption perpetrated for the purpose of electing William S. Vare to the Senate will not be known for ten days. Judge Thompson promptly and properly refused Secre- tary Woodward’s attempt to “butt in” but allowed each side five days to file briefs. There can be no possible result of the opening of these ballot boxes other than the exposure of frauds, if any were committed. If no illegal ballots are found in them the charge of fraud will be completely refuted and the Republican organization vindicated. But the Republican leaders know that an honest recount of the votes in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill and Delaware counties will show that William B. Wilson was elected Senator in Con- gress in Pennsylvania last fall, and that the certificate of election given to William S. Vare by the then Gov- ernor Pinchot was not only correct but appropriate. It declared that his majority was half purchased and half stolen. The effort to prevent the investi- gation was begun in the Senate by Senator Reed, of Pittsburgh, immedi- ately after the Mellon-Vare partner- ship was made to enlist the Vare sup- port in next year’s Senatorial contest for Mr. Reed, who now represents the Steel trust and the Mellon interests in the Senate. The conspirators in this sinister enterprise imagined that if the Senate refused to renew the life of the Slush Fund committee it would go out of existence with the end of the Sixty-ninth Congress and the Vare title to the bought and stolen seat made secure. But they “reckoned without their host.” ~The Missouri Reed is of a different type. sa The Socialists of Glasgow re- fuse to dine with the King. Some of us here are thinking of adopting the same resolution. \Great Scramble Impending. great scramble for the “spoils” of the administration will set in. Compara- tively few changes have been made in the offices on “The Hill” and through- out the State, though the pressure in that direction has been great. Only the big offices have been disposed of and it is said that Governor Fisher has been holding the seekers back with the promise that as soon as the Leg- islature adjourned he would turn his appointees. The time has arrived for action and probably as soon as Mel- lon and Grundy have made the selec- tions the roster will be written. There are a good many offices to be filled in the capitol building and else- where throughout the State, and the Mellon-Vare partnership will have a “haleyon and vociferous” time in ap- portioning the favors. Mellon is new at such work and Vare a glutton for spoils, so that the small ruction started over the old age pension question during the closing days of the session may develop into a real quarrel. Of course Mr. Grundy will be with Mel- lon and the Governor; well, Mellon and Grundy were good to him both in May and November last year. Vare has the reputation of being a fighter, though his unconditional surrender on the age pension question rather tar- nishes it. In any event there is certain to be some lively doings on “The Hill” in the near future. Grundy got the bulk of the favors so far as they have been distributed and Mellon has been learn- ing the ropes and cultivating an ap- petite for patronage with consider- able success. But Vare has the votes which will be needed to put Dave Reed over next year and that fact makes a strong appeal to Mellon, who takes much delight in the ownership of a Senator in Congress. All in all the promise is for an unusually interesting period between this time and the completion of the work of “turning the Pinchot rascals out” and putting their own servile tools in. —————— ——When they turn out airplanes capable of carrying 125 passengers it is time for the railroads to “sit up and take notice.” mt ii ——A device to prevent airplane accidents has been found. If one to | brevent automobile accidents could be discovered it would be worth while. cohen nF Now that the General Assembly has adjourned it may be expected that a attention to “weeding out” the Pinchot | Making it Easy for the Governor. | The esteemed Philadelphia Record, (in an appraisement of the work of the Legislature says: “Governor Fish- jer championed the cause honestly and i decently, but the forces that controlled the law-makers succeeded largely in | thwarting his efforts and in emascu- i lating the bills prepared for their con- | sideration. The result is discouraging | but not surprising.” This is an ex- | ceedingly friendly and certainly a | partial estimate of the Governor's : part in the legislation. Obviously The i Record has reference to the ballot re- | form measures which were enacted and defeated. The Governor favored some improvements in the existing (laws, but not much, and he failed ; absolutely to exert the power he has ‘ to secure them. | Everybody knows, and the esteemed i Record has frequently declared, that | if Governor Fisher had been sincerely and militantly in favor of genuine bal- lot reform legislation, with scarcely a | dissenting voice, it would have been i enacted. He promised in his inaugur- al address to pursue that course. But when the Legislature assembled he | seemed to have forgotten the pledge. | After being prodded more or less he 1 had prepared a series of measures that l indicated a half-hearted, rather than earnest, desire for honest elections | which have been so emasculated as to i be practically worthless. The com- pulsory opening law may only be en- forced where no fraud has been com- mitted, in rural communities. That Governor Fisher might have controlled the action of the Legisla- ture on ballot reform is revealed in the result of his effort to defeat the old age pension amendment resolution. practically “tied up” until the Gover- nor intervened and completely revers- ed the conditions. But on the ballot re- form measures he assented to almost , every change suggested by Mr. Mel- |lon and protested that he could not {control the Legislature. It wasn’t the Legislature he was unable to manage. It was Mellon, Vare, Grundy cians don’t want ballot reform laws to bother them and they are equally corporations. ——That foolish and now some- what famous town in Tennessee has little, if anything, on West Chester, Pennsylvania. Reasons for the Declination of Fess, It is not surprising that Senator Fess, of Ohio, declined the appoint- ' ment to a seat on the Slush Fund com- mittee tendered to him a few days ago by Vice President Dawes. Senator ; Fess is a man of considerable ability ; and clean life and would probably pre- fer a decent to a doubtful environ- ment. But he represents Ohio in the Senate and continued affiliation with the leading politicians of that State . has probably corrupted his manners in 3 measure, and in political affairs he is guided less by conscience than by prej- udice. The “Columbus crowd” organ- ized by Attorney General Daugherty was a corrupting force. The Slush Fund committee as orig- inally organized was composed cof two Republicans, two Democrats and one Independent, but it was unani- mously against fraudulent voting, Some time ago Senator Goff, of West Virginia, one of the Republicans, re- signed though protesting that he was in full accord with his associates. The pressure of the administration and the leaders of his party to “stick to party and let conscience go to the devil,” if we may borrow the language of the late Thad Stevens, was too strong for him and he dodged out. No doubt in selecting Mr. Fess to succeed him the Vice President hoped to get one dissenter in the body. But Fess could not bring himself to agree to so mortgaging his manhood. He lacked courage to either obey his conscience or the party bosses. Senator Fess knows as every other man capable of reasoning knows that the completion of the investigation will show that William 8. Vare, of Pennsylvania, and Frank Smith, of Illinois, should be punished rather than rewarded for the frauds which gave them a claim to seats in the Senate. He also knows that his party organization has set itself to reward them and that exposure will not only destroy the party and politically bury Vare and Smith but will change the political complexion of the Senate when it reassembles. He could not contribute to what must have seemed to him a crime and was not willing to become a party to the destruction of the Republican organization as an element in public life, ——————————— Governor Fisher will win wide- spread praise for vetoing the bill re- quiring that the flag be carried at the head of all processions. In that case Mr. Vare had the goods and Max Leslie. Those crafty. politi- | averse to pensioning anybody except, Hig polls victory is certain. Fight for Voting Machines. The resolution proposing a constitu- tional amendment giving the voters the option to adopt voting machines passed both branches of the iegisla- ture with little opposition, and as it does not require executive approval, | will be ratified or rejected by the peo- ple at the general election in 1927. It is a matter of much merit and ought to receive a big majority. It will guarantee an honest vote and fair count and that will remove all cause of complaint, no matter which party wins. It will also secure a prompt re- turn of the vote, thus depriving the Philadelphia “neck” and the Pitts- burgh “strip” of the power to con- trol State-wide elections which they have exercised for many years. But the adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly and the submission of the question to the peo- ple does not guarantee this great im- provement in the electoral system of the Commonwealth. It is not unlikely that the absence of opposition in the Legislature is ascribable to the con- fidence of the Machine leaders that they can defeat it at the polls. In the campaign which will ensue for and against it all sorts of arguments will be brought out, the main hope of those opposed being that the rural district voters “will be afraid of the expense.” Now as a matter of fact the testimony of those who have used it is that the saving in other election expenses will recompense for the expenditure ‘eight years. The vote on the question of adoption will not be registered by voting ma- . chines and it may be predicted that ithe “neck” and the “strip” “will do | their level best” to defeat it. But the Senatorial contest in Pennsylvania last fall demonstrated beyond a doubt that if the voters of the smaller cities and rural districts put energy and vigilance into the fight the forces of “vice and crime will not prevail. The ' opening of a campaign of education should be attended to at once and "continued with unabated zeal and de- ‘termination until the question is de- cided. The vast majority of the people of Pennsylvania want honest elections, land if they will express that fact at —Rumor has been current for some | time to the effect that Ford is going i to launch a new four speed model with | lines more nearly approaching those of a regular automobile. Due to the low prices and more striking types of other makes of cars Ford sales have fallen off amazingly. The most | recent statement of the Ford business i shows inventories lower than they | have been in many years. This would {indicate that Henry is getting ready i for a change of some sort and the only change that would meet the serious competition he has now in the low priced car field is one of models. terference with Traffic, Stuart has directed that the 2700 foot stretch of road to complete the con- crete highway over the Seven Moun- tains be built without necessitating the use of a detour by motorists. Sec- retary of Forests and Waters, Charles E. Dorworth, enlisted Mr. Stuart’s in- terest in the matter, impressing upon him that closing the highway while building approximately one-half mile would subject all traffic to the incon- venience of a sixteen mile detour. If the arrangement of a temporary road along the stretch to be concreted is [ found to be possible this will be the plan followed. Otherwise, Mr. Stuart announces, the highway will be built with the half-width plan; that is, one- half will be finished and thrown open to traffic before the other half is un- dertaken. ——Of course it’s sad to be with- out a new dress on Easter Sunday but committing suicide is a poor remedy as Helen Duvany, rescued from the Delaware river on that day, probably realizes now. —— ra ——The Cramp shipyard, which has turned out more warships than any other concern in the country, is about to give up that work. Like the saloon, warship building is becoming un- popular, ——The American students who in- tend to visit Russia this summer to study Soviet life may be influenced more by curiosity than a desire to im- prove public conditions. A ——————— lp ————————— ——The late Senator Quay worked fifty years to acquire ownership of a Governor. Joe Grundy adopted the “cash-and-carry” plan. ——There seems to be a great de- mand for the summer capitol. Uncle Sam pays the rent-and he is a fairly reliable lessee. ? : in | | inguiry..should be New Highway to Be Built Without In- ' Secretary of Highways James L. Bad News for Vare. From the Philadelphia Record. By one stroke of a pen Vice Presi- dent Dawes has settled, so far as such a question can be settled out of Court, the status of the special Senate com- mittee appointed to inquire into the elections. It had been claimed that the life of this committee expired with the life of the Congress whose Senate created it. To meet such a claim Sen- ator Reed; of Missouri, vigorously fought in the closing days of the Con- gress to obtain a specific extension of its authority. His efforts were frus- trated by Senator Reed, of Pennsyi- vania, whose filibuster, conducted to prevent the committee from continu- ing its inquiry into the validity of William S. Vare’s election to the Sen- ate, killed all the legislation scheduled for eleventh-hour action in the Sen- ate. Now Vice President Dawes, by appointing Senator Fess to fill a va- cancy on the Senatorial Investigating Committee, recognizes its eontinued existence. More than that, he issues a statement explanatory of his action, and points out that his authority for regarding the Reed committee as a going concern rests upon a recent de- cision of the United States Sur+eme Court. This appointment by the Vice Presi- dent must be ill news both to Senator David A. Reed and to Congressman Vare. To the former it is notice that the enmities he incurred by playing a stellar role in the slaughter of leg- islation urgently desired by many of his constitutents were incurred in vain. He had no objections to this legislation, but he prevented its enact- ment in order to accomplish, as he hoped, the destruction of the Reed committee. To Congressman and Sen- ator-elect Vare it meams an investi- gation into the methods by which he attained his majority in November at the hands of an inquisitorial body not of his own preference. That must be a matter of considerable moment to him, else his friends would not have t exerted themselves so vigorously to avert it, : ; It is possible, of course, that the Vare forces will not be content to ac- cept the view of Vice President Dawes as final. The authority of the Reed committee is already an issue in a Fed- oral Court, and the i there inavgu- rated will presumably proceed to a conclusion. But the Vice President has given X Proponents of the idea that the ,} be as. thew “ar searching as possible, and” his filling of the committee vacancy leaves little ‘room for doubt that eventually Vare’s title will be examined by experts in ‘whom the country has entire confi- { dence. Vare ; eel eee— i . . : Pennsylvania Apples Grow in Favor. From the Pittsburgh Post. The report of the State Department ‘of Agriculture showing that after Pennsylvania apples appeared in the { home markets last year there was a (sharp falling off in shipments from , other States, as compared with those in the corresponding months of 1925, suggests that Pennsylvanians are tak- ing more kindly to the home grown fruit, Total receipts of appies were 560 carloads less than the average for the period since 1920, which may be taken as another indication that the local orchardists are more and more supplying the home demand. Bat there is ample room for expan- sion of the Pennsylvunia apple grow- ing industry. We received last year | 1,894 cars of apples “rom the State of | Washington and 2,232 cars from New York. Since appies just as goed as those raised on the Pacific coast can be grown at home «und there is plenty of 1aid on which they can be praoduc- ed, it seems wasteful to pay freight charges for bringing them all the way across the continent. The money paid for them could be kept at home. A survey made by the State Bureau of Markets elicited some information that should be profitable to Pennsyl- vania apple growers. Inquiries at 291 retail stores in ten cities disclosed that the best sellers among the home- grown varieties were the Stayman, Jonathan, Delicious, Baldwin and Rome. : EE —— te ee——— More Than Meets the Eye. From the Philadelphia Public Ledger. It is reported that Great Britain at the coming three-Power naval confer- ence will propose reducing the tonnage limit for cruisers from 10,000, as set at Washington, to 7500, or even lower. It is scarcely questionable that, for use in ordinary defense and for com- merce protection, the smaller type would serve all three nations as ade- quately as the larger and would prob- ably prove less expensive. Under battle conditions, the case might be different. Comparative figures for the British and American navies may in this connection be interesting. Great Britain has eleven of these 10,000-ton cruisers under construction; the Unit- ed States has two under construction and three more appropriated for. This eleven-to-five ratio in 10,000-tonners may not be important, but there is usually something more in such pro- posals than meets the naked eye. —— ia ——The _ 14-year old Philadelphia boy who held up a grown man on the street and got away with it would probably make more money in the end by joining “the gang.” great encouragement to the | SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —Dr. Joseph 8. Illick, of New Cumber- land, on Monday assumed his duties as State Forester in the Department of Forests and Waters. The promotion was announced by Charles E. Dorworth, secre« tary. Dr. Illick has been with the de- partment for about twenty years. —While patrolman Michael Driscoll, of Eddystone, was on his beat hunting for chicken thieves, who had been active in that borough, his own yard was robbed of 10 chickens. The same gang of thieves, it is believed, broke into the Methedist church and robbed the children’s collection Lox of 65 cents. —Charles Knudsen, of Mt. Wolf, Pa., was seriously burned about the head and face when a galvanized tank containing a tree spraying solution expleded, aftcr lighting a match to ascertain the contents of the container. His entire face was blistered, while the hair was burned from his head and his eye brows scorched. —Milton B. QGarling, superintendent of the Bostwick Lyons Bronze company, of Waynesboro, has purchased the interests of the Smith Fence and Iron Company, in that town, from the heirs of the late George W. Smith. The plant, which manu- factures fire escapes, lawn swings and other iron and steel produces, changed hands on Monday. —John McClain, 72, of Burnham, died on Sunday, a few moments after being admic- ted to the Lewistown hospital, from in- juries sustained when struck by a train on the Milroy braneh of the Pennsylvania railroad. MeClain was found unconscious along the tracks near the Burnham freight station and taken to the hospital, where it was found his left leg had been splintered, his right knee disloeated and other injuries inflicted. —Isaae Rumberger, 76, deputy sheriff of Clinton county, died last Wednesday night at his home in Lock Haven. He had been in bad health for several years but had been confined to bed for less than a week. He served as deputy prothonotary, after- ward serving two terms as prothonotary, and again as deputy in the same office. At the time of his death he was a deputy sheriff. He was a member of the Evangel- ical church and the P. 0. S. of A. —Plans have been completed for the en- tertainment of approximately 6000 Odd Fellows from Central Pennsylvania at Ber- wick on April 26, when the anniversary celebration of the organization will be held. The observance will be larger than usual because of the proximity of the lodges of! Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, which have been invited to join in the celebration although outside the district. . Several of them have accepted and sent word they will have bands. —Beliaved to have been aided by a rope concealed in a suit case filled with “clean clothes,” two prisoners escaped from the Mifflin county jail at Lewistown Thursday night and are at liberty. The suit case, which is now thought to have contained a rope and plans for the jail break, was taken to the prison by a woman whose identity is withheld. The escaped men both of whom were held in default of bail for court on charges of stealing automo- biles, are John Ehrenzellers, 27, and Ar- thur I'ultz, 22, both of Burnham. —George Dolas, 7 years old, gave big life last Friday trying to rescuse his toy drum “and | that had due’ into MeMichaels creek’ at Stroudsburg. The lad was playing along ‘the water's edge. His drum fell from his hands and roiled into the stream. He at- tempted to reach it, toppled in and was carried into the swift current before a fish- erman who saw the accident could get to the place to save him. His body was re- covered two hours later. Mrs. Theodore Dolas, the lad's mother, became hysterical when told of his death and attempted to jump into the water. —DMiles Tord, 32, is lodged in the Ridg- way jail, following his capture by a posse of fifteen men he had held up and robbed of pay checks. The lone, unmasked bandit approached the crew of men employed by the Central Pennsylvania Lumber company, at Bear Creek, fifteen miles from Ridgway. After engaging the men in conversation, he, whipped out a revolver and demanded, money and valuables. The men had just received their pay checks and turned these over. The highwayman held them ofl with his gun and made his getaway through the woods, but the men took his trail, made the capture and recovered their checks. —Rev. Father Ferdinand Kittel, aged 0, rector of St. Michael's Catholic church, and the oldest priest in the Altoona diocese, died at Loretto on Saturday. Death was caused by a complication of diseases. He was taekn suddenly ill during mass in his church the Sunday previous. Father Kit- tell was an intimate friend of Charles M. Schawb, who was a member of his chureh, He had been a priest for nearly 56 years. Father Kittell was a professor in St. Mich- ael’'s seminary, Pittsburgh, for three years. He had been stationed at Loretto since 1891. His funeral was held Tuesday morn- ing and Bishop John J. McCort of Altoona officiated. —Mike Valentine of Ralphton, Somerset county, azed 38, jumped to his death Mon- day night from a fourth floor window of Memorial hospital, Johnstown. During the day he settled his account at the hospital for a week’s service resulting from a pre- vious attempt at suicide by slashing his throat with a razor, and was waiting for friends to take him back to Ralphton. However, Sheriff H. IL. Markle, of Somer- set county, was on his way to the hospital for Valentine and it is thought he became aware of this. April 10, Valentine stabbed Alphonse Zanderie twice in the chest and then went to his home where he placed a dozen sticks of dynamite in the kitchen stove and slashed his throat. + —Hidden in the bushes along the Wil- liam Penn highway, after being missing since Tuesday, the body of William Mec- Corkle, 45, of Mapleton, ten miles cast of Huntingdon, was found last Thursday with a bullet through the heart. McCorkle was a poolroom proprietor at Mapleton and was known to be supplied with money, which he usually carried upon his person. As no weapon was found near the scene and as the victim's personal possessions had been taken, leaving his pockets turn- ed outward, Coroner F. L. Schum p2o- nounced the case one of murder, on his examination of the body. Whether Me- Corkle was killed at the spot where his body was found, or whether it had been thrown among the bushes after his killing elsewhere,” has not been determined. He was. ‘unmarried, having gone to Mapleton from Clearfield, where his parents live.