EB ES Sia, ——General Andrews professes to be satisfied with his achievements as prohibition chief, and everybody else might be if he would tell what he ac- complished. —Maurice Rostand is poet-laureate of France. After having read his ef- fusion, in thirteen verses, to Lind- bergh, we have come to the conclusion that Sheriff Shearer has a chance of ‘becoming poet-laureate of Centre county. —And the citizens of Montgomery, Alabama, sent Captain Lindbergh’s ‘mother a thousand dollar silver chest, filled with candy. How much more sensible an empty candy box filled with a thousand silver dollars would ‘have been. —Say men, don’t rail about the wet weather. Don’t you know that as long as the ground is too wet you have a perfect alibi for the nagging lady who is eternally asking you when you are going to finish digging the garden. —Beacause we have always felt that there is more in anticipation than in realization we are not at all unhappy because the streams are muddy. Too muddy for the other fellows to get all the fish before we can get our work caught up enough to get out and get them ourself. —Dr. Abbot, secretary of Smithson- jan Institute at Washington, esti- ;mates that there are thirty billion stars in the heavens. Of course he knows more about such things than - we do, but it seems to us that every time we get a good crack on the “crazy bone” or a tumble on the ice we see far more than that. —According to the dope the rich man has to squeeze through the eye of a needle before he has much chance of getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s some job, but not so hard as that of the poor man who is trying to keep square with the ‘butcher, the baker and the candle- stick maker in order to squeeze through on earth. . —Its’ all right with us if Mrs. Snyder wants to use cosmetics in Sing : Sing. But if she gets painter’s colic and dies before the law has a chance to exact its “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” the warden of that in- stitution is going to have some un- comfortable moments explaining his consent to converting a death house cell into a beauty parlor. —The million dollars or more that will be Lindbergh’s, in consequence of his flight to Paris, looks like easy money; and it will be when measured with tle yardstick of labor that others have to perform to amass even ten thousand dollars. But Gene Tun- ney will get a million dollars for his next fight, that can’t possibly last " more than thirty minutes and might be over in thirty seconds and Red Grange got nearly as much for play- ing a few games of foot-ball. —An old friend from “out where the tall grass grows” has invited us to visit him this summer. As an in- ducement he suggests that when the _ President has set up his summer White House and fishing parapherna- lia at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, we will drive up and visit him “and, maybe, catch a sucker.” That would be a fine trip and we can imagine nothing much more delightful than a visit with the old Centre countian, D. M. Kerlin, who has lived in Rudd for so many years; especially since it in- cludes a fishing orgy. Orgy it would be, for Iowa must be alive with suck- ers else Cal. wouldn’t be planning to spend the summer there. He knows a good fishing ’ole when he sees one. The announcement that London papers have refused to support a campaign in that city to raise funds for our Mississippi sufferers startles the sleeping cells in the old been to wakefulness. They carry us back to . the wet spring of 1889 when Johns- town was almost washed from the map of Cambria county, and our ‘famous - War Governor, the late Andrew Gregg Curtin, was making his last public. appearance as the commencement orator at the Pennsyl- vania State College. All. of the nations of the world, except England, had sent substantial succor to the Johnstown sufferers and the notable old statesman, commenting on the rel- ative value of words and deeds, said: In this time of unprecendented disas- ter “the Sultan of Turkey sends a * thousand dollars and the Queen of ‘England sends her sympathy.” —Young Captain Lindbergh has thrilled the world by his solitary flight from New York to Paris. It was a feat that might never be dupli- cated. From his viewpoint it proba- bly wasn’t such a wonderful thing, for his plane functioned perfectly and at- mospheric conditions were fairly ‘favorable. The world looks at it from another angle. Veteran flyers, in the mechanics of aeroplanes and the science of hydrography, prepare and train for years for such an under- taking and while they are working out a prevention for every possible cause of disaster this youth comes out of the west and does the trick with no other aids than ‘a cool, steady nerve and a machine that held out. Had Lindbergh fallen‘into the sea and never been heard of again many would have said: What a fool he was. He didn’t fall into the sea and he is a world idol today. A wise boy, too, - gince he has decided not ‘to attempt to fly back. VOL. 72. BELLEFONTE, STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. Another White House Rule. | Sinelair’s Sentence and Cunningham. A new rule has been issued from the White House governing the twice- a-week conferences between the Pres- ident and the newspaper correspond- ents. Some time ago a condition was laid down that in reporting these conferences, though they were with the President, Mr. Coolidge’s name should be kept out of the record and a mythical person to be known as “the official spokesman,” substituted. The result of this strategem was dis- appointing. The discerning public mind soon visualized the President in the cautious and sometimes blunder- ing official spokesman. It is hoped that the new rule will work better, and there are good reasons for this expectation, for it will not only sup- press embarrassing questions but un- fortunate replies. It has been asserted upon the au- thority of some prominent Massachu- setts politicians that in 1912, when the late Theodore Roosevelt under- took to smash the tradition against a third term in the office of President, Calvin Coolidge, then a Senator in the Massachusetts Legislature, joined with other supporters of Mr. Taft in an address to the public protesting that there would be infinite danger in electing Mr. Roosevelt or any other man to a third term. This assertion aroused a good deal of public com- ment and some of the correspondents at one of the conferences asked the question directly of the President. He flatly refused to answer it, and most of the correspondents published the fact that the query had been put and the answer denied. Of course the public interpreted the refusal to answer as an acknowl- edgment of the truth of the state- ment and the supporters of the third term for Coolidge were greatly dis- turbed. They realize that if a third term for Roosevelt was a menace to the perpetuity of the government, as the Coolidge manifesto declared it was, the election of Coolidge to a third term would be even more dan- gerous, for the Taft term had inter- vened since Roosevelt retired, and the dynastic element was less in evidence. But they could conjure up no argu- ment in rebuttal except to muzzlé the press, which seems to be a favorite method of the President in dealing with such subjects. He evidently | imagines that if he can silence oppo- sition of the press he will have easy sailing. ——While Commander Byrd’s monoplane “America” was going through elaborate christening cere- monies in New York, Captain Lind- bergh’s unchristened air craft was scooping up the prize in Paris. Menacing Attack on Volstead Law. The most formidable attack upon the Volstead law thus far organized is that of the American Medical Asso- ciation declared by the convention of that society held in Washington last week. Its strength lies in the fact that its proponents protest that their aim is not to “break down prohibi- tion” but to “prove that no body of law makers is qualified to take over the functions of a physician, and that the curative value of anything is a matter of scientific finding.” The attack is upon that provision of the Volstead law which sets a limit on the amount of alcoholic prescriptions which a practising physician may is- sue ‘within a given period of time. Naturally the Anti-Saloon League interprets this gesture as an effort to nullify the Eighteenth amendment to | the constitution and restore the saloons, with all the attaining. evils of the pre-war period. The physicians stoutly deny this aspersion upon them and allege that the constitution- al amendment is not the object of their attack. They have no quar- rel with it at all, for it doesn’t attempt to interfere with their prac- tice. It is the Volstead law that puts a limit on the prescriptions with al- coholic content and that that provi- sion of the law might be eliminated without impairing its value as a moral agent. The saloons and public sale of alcoholic beverages are ended. Of course the Anti-Saloon League is justified in its opposition to even this modification of the Volstead law, if it is justified in anything. That law is largely responsible for keeping the league in existence and providing the generous salaries for its officials, and if it is amended once it is likely to be shot to pieces later. The only safe- ty for it lies in maintenance intact, and if the physicians of the country set their faces and forces to the task of eliminating a provision that re- strains their professional rights and impairs their usefulness in their com- munities they will make a strong im- pression on the public mind. The family doctor is a potent influence. ——Captain Lindbergh is a Mis- sourian willing to show as well as anxious to be shown. The jail sentence of Harry F. Sin- clair, multi-millionaire oil operator, who was convicted in the Supreme court of Washington, D. C., accused of contempt because he refused to answer pertinent questions in the Teapot Dome investigation, will in- spire confidence in the courts of the country. For some years an impres- sion has been growing on the public mind that “malefactors of great wealth” were immune from punish- ment for such offences as that! charged against Mr. Sinclair. The! action of the Washington court in the early proceedings in this case con- tributed to this unfortunate suspicion. Sending the defendant to jail will tend | to allay if it doesn’t entirely remove it. : > It has been several years since the complaint against Sinclair was made and irritating delays have followed each other until expectation of justice | had about vanished. The conspiracy case against former Secretary of the Interior Fall was defeated, though the evidence in support of it was; strong enough to convince the public that all the accused were guilty. This was bad enough, but the delays in this particular case encouraged others to believe that the United : States Senate had no power to en-! force its mandates. This impression, now refuted, helped to prevent a com- ' plete investigation of the slush fund iniquities perpetrated in the Senator- | ial contest in this State last year. : In the slush fund investigation Thomas Cunningham, of Philadelphia, refused to answer relevant questions and thus postponed for a time the ex- posure of the wickedness in this State which enabled William S. Vare to temporarily enjoy the fruits of an election obtained “partly by purchase and partly by fraud.” But the jail sentence of Sinclair will nullify this palpable miscarriage of justice for it will bring to proper punishment a contemptuous scoffer of law. Sinclair will exhaust every expedient avail- able, at any price, to escape the pen- : alty pronounced, but he will fail in this purpose and Cunningham will complains that the City of Brotherly ! Love is becoming a safe retreat for | gunmen and other crooks driven from |! other cities. Probably the success of official grafters entices them to so alluring a field of operations. The Question of Time in Office. plaint, in a published interview, ‘that the voters of Pennsylvania are not sufficiently appreciative of efficiency | and fidelity of public servants. “I! know men who, during the period they held office, were continuously on ! the job in behalf of the taxpayers, | who were as conscientious as though | they were operating their own private | business. But,” he continued “when these men came up for re-election they were defeated by opportunists. | In time, of course, the electorate learned heir mistake, but it was too late.” There is an inclination on the part of public officials to shirk or shift their duties and therefore some ground for the complaint. , But there is no single thing con- | tributes as much to “loafing on the ! job” on the part of public officials as | long continued tenure incident to re- | peated re-elections. The official who | is conscientious and industrious in the beginning too frequently grows care- less after a few years experience and the electorate may be influenced to its attitude on the subject by this fact. Besides there is a deep seated aver- sion in the public mind to bestowing all favors on a few who soon develop into “professional office holders” and come to imagine that they are masters rather than servants of the people. The thought of a “dynasty of office holders” is repugnant to the average mind. From the beginning there has been a decided inclination among the voters to favor rotation in office and short terms in public employment. It is possible that some evil has come out of this, but infinitely greater harm might result from long tenure and frequent re-elections. Public officials become as adept in “covering up” malfeasances as in growing care- less or neglectful of their obligations. At all events, Mr. Lewis has little cause for complaint. He has been in office a good while, probably a just reward of merit, and has been ad- vanced from unimportant place to high office with considerable rapidity, while his place on the pay roll has been made certain in the future by special legislation. ——There are 30,000,000,000 stars, according to scientists, but during the past several weeks most of them have been too modest to show them- I selves. | demanded their removal. learn that the Vare machine is im- | Stptes S potent to save him from prison. Ei Rs PA.. MAY 27. 1927. ET ——— am Governor Fisher Not a Bouncer. The pressure of the spoils-mongers for eligible places at the public crib has been exceedingly burdensome to the Governor, since his consideration of legislation left on his hands at the adjournment of the General Assem- bly. Importunate office-seekers, dur- ing the session, were assured that after adjournment the business of weeding out the Pinchot followers would be attended to. When that time arrived they were told that as soon as the Governor disposed of the legislation the work would be prompt- ly undertaken. About the middle of the month the bills were all signed or vetoed and at once the crush set in. It was a formidable force of hungry and hopeful aspirants for party favor. Usually when one Republican Gov- jernor of Pennsylvania succeeds an- ‘other equally orthodox Republican few changes in the personnel of the public service is expected. But this time it is different. The adherents of Governor Pinchot are anathema to the supporters of Governor Fisher and a State-wide demand was made for a “clean sweep.” Another dis- turbing element forced itself into the equation. The Vare-Beidleman-Baker contingent had a large number of followers on the pay roll and Grundy In the case of Beidleman and Baker this seemed easy enough, but Vare continues a! potential force in the party organiza- tion and it is important to go into the next campaign unencumbered by strong factions. The result of this mixture of malice {and cupidity is that Governor Fisher is greatly troubled. He would like to meet Grundy’s wishes and probably feels obliged to obey orders from Mellon ‘who is much more interested in next year’s Senatorship contest than in the crumbs which fall from the patronage pie counter. To ful- fill his hopes it is necessary to pre- serve harmony, and scuttling the Vare-Beidleman-Baker ship might i Senator Dave Reed to private life and deprive the Steel trust of an attorney on the floor of the Unite s Senate after the expiration of hig" present’ term. To avert this re- sult ‘Governor Fisher has announced to act the part of a bouncer.” ——The Bell Telephone company announces that on and after May 23rd telephone calls to London and the rest This is an extension of four hours to the daily period during which calls across the Atlantic may be made. When trans-oceanic telephone service was originally opened the service was available only between the hours of 8:30 a. m. and one o’clock. ——-One of the hardest rain storms of the year occurred on Sunday even- ing. It was accompanied with thun- der and lightning and considerable wind. Two big limbs were broken from one of the old trees in front of {the Zeller property, on Allegheny street, and dead limbs were broken from a number of trees. Ploughed fields and gardens were badly washed and Spring Creek looked like a big mud puddle. .——One lone one-horse wagon, with. rhubarb, radishes and onions for sale, was the opener at the Bellefonte curb market last Saturday morning. As no one had any notice of his com- ing the huckster was not overrun with customers for his produce. e—————— re e————— —Sanitation is a wonderful thing. In fact it is becoming so wonderful that it is taking all the joy out of life. Our homes are so darned clean that we can’t enjoy them for fear of “messing them up.” ——Latin America has appealed to the League of Nations to “free them from America.” Recent events in Nicaragua and Mexico have spread alarm throughout Central and South America. ——A careful analysis of the sub- ject compels the opinion that though Captain Lindbergh’s adventure was successful it was a fool-hardy enter- prise. ——The jail sentence of Harry Sin- clair has met with wide popular favor and when Big Tom Cunningham “gets his” there will be few regrets. ——Mrs. Snyder is taking exercise in her Sing Sing cell to reduce weight. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” —-“Well, here we are,” is a simple salutation but it means a lot in certain circumstances. NO. 21. Common Sense for Crime Commis- sion. Irom the Pittsburgh Post. Pennsylvania, by a resolution of the Legislature just approved by Gov- ernor Fisher, is to join the States hav- ing commissions studying the in- crease in crime and seeking more ef- fective methods of combating it. The Pennsylvania commission will have eight members, two of whom shall be prosecuting attorneys, two judges of common pleas courts, one a member of the Senate and another of the House, and two others, at least one of whom shall have had experience in social welfare work. The spirit of this seems to aim at obtaining prac- tical results, with four of the mem- bers experienced in criminal prosecu- tion and with the defects in the lay or court procedure that favor the criminal. Judges and prosecuting at- torneys alike have complained that their hands have been tied byathe law in respect of certain points where common: sense and the interests of justice demand that they be free. Yet ' the State but recently had a commis- i sion created by the Legislature to re- vise the Penal Code. Created by a resolution of the session of 1917 and continued by other sessions, its final report was submitted in 1925, but with practically no action taken on it. This makes clear that if results are to be obtained by the crime com- mission, the public will have to be aroused to effective support of it. The way to arouse that support is i to get the facts of what is wrong with law enforcement in the State and lay ‘them fearlessly before the public. Let the public recognize that its own ! attitude of indifference in. many in- stances is, as always in a democratic government, .the main defect. Where the citizenship is alert. and bearing fully its part of the responsibility of government the criminal laws are not allowed to become full of loopholes for violators or courts and prosecu- “tors to neglect their duties or betray : their trusts. 4 By all means point out what de- i fects there are in the law and in court , procedure, but at the same time ex- | pose mercilessly the public author- ities who may not be doing their duty under the laws that are held sound. It is but common sense that the { first thing to do—and performance of tit can and should start right now | without waiting for any word {rom -a ; commission—is to rid the State of the . crime-breeding resorts that have de- ——A Philadelphia contemporary that “this administration is not going | veloped by vice protection through treason on the part of the public au- i thorities whose duty it is to suppress i them. Treason is the only word to ap- i ply to that condition. Officers entrust- i ed with public protection and enforce- ment of the law have entered into "of Great Britain may be made at any partnership with the enemy for a hour of the day between 6:30 a. m. share of the spoils. ‘and 5 p. m., eastern standard time, involves exposure—and should bring corresponding with 12:30 p. m. and 11 Prosecution—of the corrupt politi- St . : . p. m. summer time in Great Britain. | ¢ians who interfere with the police ate Treasurer Lewis mules com. 2 | service or themselves traffic in privi- | This, of course, | leges for law violation. A crime commission that would ig- nore the political grafting that un- dermines law enforcement could scarcely make an effective report. The demand is for the bringing out of the whole truth. With all the facts before it fearlessly, the public would be aroused to support the ac- tion required. Lindbergh’s Victory. From the Philadelphia Record. The astonishing feat of the amaz- ing and youthful Mr. Lindbergh is wonderfully spectacular and soul- thrilling from every point of view. Here is a boy of whom comparative- ly few persons had ever heard a fort- night ago. Like young Lochinvar, he comes out of the West, and, undeter- red by the fate of two far more ex- perienced aviators, he accomplishes that which no man had ever done be- fore—a non-stop flight of 3600 miles across watery wastes of the Altantic in unprecedentedly rapid time. And the youngster did it in such a casual fashion, too. Starting alone, with only a few hours’ sleep to invig- orate him for unknown perils, with five sandwiches to sustain his bodily strength and with insufficient equip- ment in his plane to guide him in his flight and to insure reasonable pre- caution against disaster, he sails through the air at splendid speed and reaches his destination hours before he had been expected. The perform- ance is one that recalls the dashing D’Artagnan and should appeal espec- ially to the imaginative French, who greeted him with wild enthusiasm. It really is one of those achievements that stand out in human history be- cause of their unique interest, and for which the impetuosity and magnifi- cent self-confidence of youth are es- sential. Still we venture to hope that other aviators will not be spurred on to at- tempt trans-atlantic flights in the too foolhardly fashion of Captain Lind- bergh. His supreme audacity has carried him safely through many dan- gers of which he was probably un- aware, but such luck is not likely to repeat itself often. If aviation is to make headway as a reasonably safe method of travel too great precau- tions cannot be taken for the safe- guarding of human lives. Young indbergh has accomplished a mag- nificent stunt, for which he is deserv- ing of the highest praise, but his methods should not find any imitators. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYTSONE. —Accused of beating his 9-year-old step nephew with a metal hose, Francis’ Crow- ley, 53, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to three years in prison by Judge McDevitt. —Windows were shattered in a score of homes, and many persons within a radius of ten miles were hurled from their beds when two mills at the Moosic plant of the E. I. Dupont De Nemours company in Lackawanna county, blew up on Sun- day. The blast was heard within a radius of twenty miles. ’ —Harry E. Keller, of Coatesville, was awarded a verdict of $2750 in his damage suit against the Conestoga Traction com- pany, of Lancaster, by a jury on Saturday. He had sued for $25,000, claiming that a pipe extending from the side of a car fractured a leg as he was walking beside the tracks. He was in the Coatesville hos- pital for 26 weeks. —The wheels of justice in Montour county are becoming rusty. There has been no jury trial in the courts of the county for a year, and jurors who had been summoned for the May term of court, opening on Monday, were notified not. to appear as there were no cases for their consideration. - Montour county officials fear if the condition continues they will forget the usual procedure, for the next term of court is not scheduled until Octo- ber. —-Putting $1600 in a tin box with a package of bills produced by two strang- ers who were “negotiating” for the pur- chase of his gasoline station near Baums- town, Berks county, Jacob Schostak is minus the $1600. The strangers left the bex, carefully sealed, in his possession, while they went away for a meal. After three hours Schostak began to worry and ripped off the tin cover with a can open- er. He found newspapers, cut to dollar bill size and three dollar bills. —Working together in accordance with well-laid plans, two men stole 12 diamond rings, valied at approximately $2,000 from the Acklin Jewelry company, Tyrone, about noon Thursday, and made a clean getaway before the theft was discovered. Taking advantage of thé noon hour, when only one salesman was in the establish- ment, one of the men took the tray con- taining the rings from a display window while his companion held the salesman’s sttention in another part of the store. —The blonde preference of her gentle- man friend was worth exactly $1265 to Miss Annie Vinceno, New York brunette, in the eyes of a Schuylkill county jury, which last Saturday awarded her that amount in her breach of promise suit against Stanley Domin, of Coaldale. She alleged she was to have been married to Stanley until he met and wed a blonde. The verdict is supposed te reimburse her for mental and heart anguish and the money she expended in her wedding trousseau. —John P. Hoagland, 21, son of former Mayor A. M. Hoagland, of Williamsport, who was shot and seriously wounded by Dr. J. D. Coney early last week when he attempted to attract the attention of Dr. Coney’'s daughter by climbing over a porch roof to her bedroom window, is un- able to make any statement yet owing to his critical condition. He was wounded twice before Dr. Coney or his daughter recognized the young man. Both families are prominent and no action has been tak- en by the police. —Coming into contact with a live wire carrying 2,300 volts while helping to tear down a carnival on the Conemaugh show grounds, at Johnstown, Daniel Brown, aged 40, of Elberta, Ga., a member of the carnival, was almost electrocuted early on Monday. The victim was severely burned and is in a serious condition in the Memo- rial hospital. In an attempted rescue, an- other carnival man was badly burned about the hands.” Brown's life was saved by the means of artificial respiration, ap- plied by two safety experts from the Cambria Steel Works. —Convicted of having robbed George Novak, of Centreville, Washington county. a guest in her home, of $1,500 after he had become intoxicated from wine, Mrs. Annie Casola, aged 38, of Centreville, was sen- tenced to the Industrial School for Women at Muncy on Monday, by Judge James I. Brownson. She was also ordered to re- store Novak’s money to him, but she stub- bornly insisted she had not secured it. Novak carried $1,500 on his person, in- tending to use the money in making a trip ' to his native home in Europe. After he | had “wined and dined” at the Casola home | he discovered that his money was miss- ing. ’ -—John D. Shaffer, Marion Hunter, and Charles E. Forbes, members of the Pon- haus gun club, of Huntingdon, were ma- rooned in their club camp Saturday night, by the playful operations of two black bears, who had gained entrance on the first floor. Fearing to attack the bears without fire-arms, which were on the lower floor, the clubmen were kept im- prisoned for twelve hours, before their forest tormenters withdrew. In apprais- ing their losses on venturing below, the men found that the bears had devoured and destroyed a bucket of maple sugar, three hams, several cartons of breakfast food and a score of jars of preserved fruit. -—A steam shovel engaged in subway construction, in Lancaster, scooped up a sedan motor car last Friday, turning it upside down and spilling out its owaer, Harry Sarn, of Park Terrace West. Sarn fell a little to one side, and when the steam shovel dropped his car from a height of eighteen or twenty feet an in- stant later, it did not strike him. Never- theless, his left shoulder blade and col- lar bone were broken. He was taken to the Columbia hospital. The automobile wasn’t worth taking anywhere. Emil Schuler, who was operating the steam shovel, said that a mistake had been made. His assistant, he said, should have warn- ed Mr. Sarn that the shovel was shoveling. —A. 8. Baumiller, former assistant treasurer of the Commonwealth Trust company, of Harrisburg held for embez- zlement of approximately $700,000 of the bank’s funds will face seventeen charges, the district attormey’s office announced last ¥riday. He will be called to trial at the next session of quarter sessions court which opens on May 31. Six charges will be brought against Charles A. Delone, proprietor of a cut rate store, who is un- der bail of $20,000 on charges of conspir- acy and evading and abetting in embez- zlement. Two indictments of conspiracy and two of forgery will face Edward J. Glancey, former treasurer of the institu- tion. Four other employees of the bank. will be called to trial at the same There must be limits to even his luck. | time.