Demonic INK SLINGS. ——Albert Ladner declares he didn’t ask for appointment as Regis- tration Commissioner. He didn’t have to. Mr. Vare attended to that. —From the office window we ob- serve that Spring creek is red with mud from many corn fields. So red, in fact, that the season of 1927 for the fly-caster on that stream is practical- ly over. —Council has adopted a zoning or- dinance for Bellefonte and none too soon, though the desirability of such action might never have appealed to some of its members had their proper- ties not been threatened with depre- ciation by proposed cheap adjacent construction. —Since Henry Ford has discovered that the Jews are not as bad as his Dearborn Independent tried to make the world believe them to be, and has made retraction of and apology for his accusations, we would suggest that he name his new fliv. model “The Israelite.” —Only four parties will have a place on the ballot to be voted at the primaries in September. They are the Democratic, Republican, Labor and Prohibition. The last day on which you can register for the elec- tion is September 17 and you must pay your tax by October 8 in order to qualify. —All of his many friends in Centre county will be interested to know that the Hon. John Francies has been se- lected by the warring factions of Pitts- burgh as the one candidate upon whom they can unite for the office of city treasurer. It is a very much more desirable position than his pres- ent one as clerk of the courts of Alle- gheny county. —Lindbergh and Byrd are sitting a top of the world these days. There seems to be no honor too exalted, no gift too lavish, to confer upon these valiant pioneers in aviation. Over in New York twelve year old Joseph Bode nursed a mother stricken with a fatal malady and cared for the hum- ble home and a three year old brother for months without a whimper. When Gotham found that out the streets were not knee deep with confetti and ticker tape, but the courageous little boy had done quite as fine a thing as either of the nation’s present idols. —The Coolidge bally-hoo announc- ed, on Tuesday, that the “Black Hills natives praise famous neighbors for simple hospitality and friendliness.” We commend the President and Mrs. Coolidge for attempting to be nothing more than they are—just folks—and condemn their press agents for trying to make political capital out of some- thing that the Coolidges would make themselves ridiculous for if they were to attempt to be anything else but. “High hatting” isn’t indulged in by those who have earned their hon- ors or wealth. That nauseous gesture is the sole asset of the accidents in public life and society. —Hastings H. Hart, who is consult- ant in penology fer the Russell Sage Foundation, has taken a crack at those who were responsible for as well as those who are continuing the work of building the new Western penitentiary in this county. Mr. Hart says there has been woeful waste, needless delay and bad plan- ning at the big institution and that it probably won’t be completed for forty years and then the total cost will be twenty million dollars. We accord every man the right to his own opin- ion and reserve the same to ourselves. ‘Therefor we express ours to the effect that Mr. Hart probably doesn’t know as much about penology or more about prison planning than the gentlemen who had to do with the beginnings of Rockview. Like as not he is a second Ellie Potter. The best evidence of his superficiality is seen in his failure ‘to even hint at the real cause of any waste or delay there might be in this great enterprise of the State. Had the successive Legislatures since 1916, when the work was started, ap- propriated the necesssary funds with which to carry out the plans the in- stitution would have been completed by this time. —Democrats of Centre county are in nowise discouraged by what the reg- istration shows. The records reveal that there are many more Republi- cans in Centre county than there are Democrats, but the Democrats who know don’t believe the records. In every precinct in the county there are dozens of voters who are actually Democrats whom Republican assessors ‘have either wilfully or carelessly registered as Republicans. This prac- tice has been going on for years. We have known of it, but have been con- tent with the opposition’s desire to build paper castles that are so often blown down by November's storm of ballots. Everywhere in the county the Furst and Fleming force have been busy persuading Democrats to register as Republicans so that they might vote at the primaries for one or the other of these gentlemen. In one precinct we know of fifty-two who have complied with whatever of persuasion or pressure was brought to bear on them and of the fifty-two only three will vote part of the Re- publican ticket in November. No, the Democrats, and the Republicans who have no sympathy with such manipu- lation of the franchise, know all about ‘this registration “build up” and are ‘not at all discouraged. Demat VOL. 72. STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. BELLEFONTE. PA. JULY 22. 192 7 NO. 28. Senator Dave Reed’s Smoke Screen. Senator Dave Reed, of Pittsburgh, attorney in fact if not at law for William S. Vare, has erected another smoke screen to deceive the public in relation to the Senatorial contest in which Mr. Vare is concerned. Mr.Reed announced in Washington, the other day, that he is preparing to have the Senate committee on Privileges and Elections impound all the ballot boxes used in the general election of 1926 in Pennsylvania and recount the votes. He knows that such a pro- ceeding would be a physical impossi- bility within the period of time to make the result available as evidence in the pending contest. But he im- agines that other persons less famil- iar with the tricks of politicians may be deceived by such a gesture. Polit- ical crooks are proverbially optimis- tic. There has been no change, there has not been even a suspicion, of cor- ruption in the vote or the returns of the elections in the several interior counties of the State where safe and substantial Republican majorities were reversed in the vote for Senator in Congress last year. The change which gave William B. Wilson a ma- jority of more than 50,000 in the State, outside of Philadelphia, was the natural and proper revolt of thousands of conscientious Republicans against the methods by which Mr. Vare had acquired the nomination of his party, and the aversion of other thousands to the thought of putting a man of Vare’s reputation and equip- ment in high office as the representa- tive of the moral and mental stand- ards of Pennsylvania. Senator Dave Reed believes, or at least hopes, that because of the effect, in a partisan sense, of rejecting Vare and admitting Wilson to a seat in the Senate at the opening of the Seven- tieth Congress enough members of the Senate Standing committee might be enticed or dragooned into pervert- ing the evidence, as was done in the case of Newberry, of Michigan, a few years ago. That shameful prostitu- tion of power and opportunity sent several Senators into a rather dis- graceful oblivion, but the memory of it fails to deter Senator Dave Reed from striving for a repetition of it in order to secure for his party control of the Senate for another brief period of time. But he will be no more suc- cessful in his enterprises than Vare was in fooling the people. ——— {ttt eet. The Boston man who left his wife stranded in a distant city and ran away with her clothes and money may not be the meanest individual in the world but he is trying to quali- fy for that title. Has the Governor Violated the Law? In creating a new registration com- mission for Philadelphia Governor Fisher has not only sadly disappoint- ed the friends and supporters of hon- est elections but he seems to have violated the law under which he act- ed. The law authorizes the Gover- nor to appoint a registration com- mission consisting of “five duly qual- ified electors, not more than three of whom shall belong to the same polit- ical party.” In pursuance of this mandate he named George J. Bren- nan, Sarah McNeil and William Walsh, Republicans, and Benjamin H. Renshaw and Albert H. Ladner as | Democrats. But the records show that for several years past Mr. Lad- ner has been registering as a Repub- lican and voting that ticket. As a matter of fact during the past several years Mr. Ladner has been a willing and servile instrument in the hands of William S. Vares to betray the Democrats of Philadelphia. At the instance of Vare he was appointed chairman of the registration com- mission by Governor Brumbaugh and was largely responsible for the fraud- ulent registrations during the period of his incumbency of the office. When Governor Sproul reorganized the com- mission in 1919 he dropped Ladner in order to give the Democrats of Phila- delphia just and legal representation. In the Republican primary campaign of 1926 Ladner not only spoke but voted for Vare and was among his most active campaigners. In reply to criticism of the appoint- ment of Ladner Governor Fisher de- clares that he might have named one commissioner from each of five par- ties and remained within the law. That is true. But he cannot, within the law, appoint four men of the same political party. If Ladner had been registerd as a Prohibitionist, or socialist, his appointment would be within the law. But the records show that he is quite as fullfledged a Re- publican as Vare or Harry Mackey, and it is generally understood that he was appointed at the request of Vare. A movement has been started to have the appointment revoked but whether that result will be achieved remains to be seen. Technicalities of the Law. In quashing fourteen indictments against a group of officers and em- ployees who had robbed one of the Harrisburg banks of nearly a million dollars Judge William M. Hargest, president of the Dauphin courts, ex- pressed regret at the technicalities of the law compelling such action. | “The reason for technicalities have dis- appeared,” he said, “but the tech- nicalities themselves remain imbedded in the law. The day of the special pleader is past. The courts no longer look with favor on technical objec- tions. Lawyers and courts are the constant subjects of criticism for the delays of criminal justice. The courts are bound to decide according to the law, antiquated though it is. The remedy is with the Legislature.” The technicality which temporarily at least released these bank robbers from just punishment was in the fact that the information made before the committing magistrate and the indict- ment presented by the grand jury were not literally in accord. The in- formation was in the form and lan- guage of a charge of embezzlement under the common law and the indict- ment in the form and language of an Act of Assembly. “A defendant,” the judge said, has a right “to de- mand the nature and cause of the ac- cusation against him,” and that must be expressed in the information. “Be- fore the trial,” he continued, “he should know what action he is to meet in order that he may prepare for it.” His source of knowledge is the trans- cript. Probably not more than two out of ten committing magistrates are “learned in the law” or sufficiently versed in the language of the law to discriminate between a common law and statutory offence. In the case in point the Alderman before whom the information was made knew that a crime had been perpetrated in the na- ture of an embezzlement and clearly expressed that fact in his transcrint. But the District Attorney who framed the indictment understood the dif- ference and realized the distinction and made the presentment conform to the requirements of the law he “ims [tended to proceed under. Probably the court had no alternative in the found to punish palpable guilt. ——Grundy seems to have failed in | his effort to put a horse doctor in ‘control of a State institution for feeble minded children. Decision Will Not Stop Inquiry. i The decision of the federal court ; in Philadelphia that it had no jurisdie- { tion in the case brought before it to i impound the ballot boxes of Delaware ‘county for use in a contest for a seat !in the United States Senate delays ut it does not defeat a compiete ex- | posure of the frauds perpetrated, in i the interest of Mr. Vare, at the elec- !tion last fall. On the announcement { of the decision Senator King, of Utah, a member of the Slush Fund commit- i tee, promptly directed counsel for the | committee to enter an appeal and | steps were immediately taken to pre- { vent the destruction of the ballots be- fore they become available as evi- ‘dence in the contest. This was the i real purpose of the action. | In view of these facts the adverse “decision of the court is of no impor- tance so far as interference with the ‘investigation is concerned. The mem- {bers of the committee will probably : postpone their work until the sultry season has passed and the proposed : injunction against destroying the ballots will guarantee presence of the evidence when wanted. Viewed from another angle, however the decision of . the court is regrettable. It indicates that all the machinery of government in Pennsylvania, at least, is employed to protect rather than punish ballot crimes. Every expression of this la- 'mentable fact gives encouragement to those who commit or are benefited by fraudulent votes. The gist of Judge Thompson’s de- cision is that the question of the ‘rights of the Slush Fund committee is for the Senate to decide and not | for the courts to determine. But the : Senate had already expressed its opin- !ion on the question. When the Slush Fund committee, an official and fully ! credited organ of the Senate, asked ; the court to direct the surrender of the ballot boxes, it inferentially de- 'clared its right to impound and take | possession of the boxes. Mr. Vare’s at- | torneys claim that with the adjourn- ment of the Sixty-ninth Congress the committee created during that Con- gress, died. While there has been no | direct ruling on that point the cus- {tom of the Senate in the past refutes i the claim, ——1If Mussolini is not “spoiling for a fight” he must be heading for a | “bug house.” Fair Field for Tax Slashing. Our esteemed contemporary, Labor, published in Washington and dedi- cated to the interests of wage earn- ers, says “if Congress wants to slash taxes there is a fair field for such action. Customs receipts for the fiscal year just ended were $605,- 500,000, as compared to $2,225,000,- 000 from income and corporation taxes. At the most conservative es- timate the tariff, as it stands now, adds $5 to the cost of living for every dollar that it puts into the public treasury. If Congress can pare the tariff enough to reduce revenue re- ceipts from that source, say $200,000,- 000, it will save a billion dollars to the country. If the reductions are made witha view to relieving agri- culture of the tribute which the farm now pays to the factory, better yet.” We see no just cause of complaint against the income tax in its present form. Single men or wemen who earn less than $1500 are exempt from payment and married persons with in- comes of less than $3500 are equally favored. Those in either class whose incomes are above those figures can easily pay the small amounts assess- ed against them if their incomes are less than $10,000. Where the income reaches the level that involves a high rate of per centage and sur tax the victim will have plenty left after pay- ment to recompense him for his la- bor and “keep the wolf from the door.” During the World war in- come taxes in England ran as high as eighty per cent, and there was lit- tle complaint. Government must be maintained and it costs money to keep the machinery in order. But there is no such measure of equality in the levy of tariff taxes. The laborer who earns $3 a day is required to pay the same tax on a given article as the milionaire who gathers i amount. | tariff tax are not as justly distribut- !ed. Out of every hundred dollars col- | lected through the custom houses { probably ten dollars goes into the | treasury and ninety dollars goes as unearned bounties to the corporation yor monopoly that produces and mar- kets ‘similar and frequently inferior ! merchandise. | that Congress has a fair field for tax ! slashing. The present tariff is a crime | 2gainst the people. —It was a short lived strike, that of the miners of the American Lime i and Stone Co., but it was long enough {to prove our cft repeated belief that it is much easier to push wages up than to pull them down. ——Anybody who has the price may get a view of the magnificence of Judy Gray’s mansion before it is de- molished. A good many people would prefer a view of the processes of “how "he got it.” ——It may be unimportant but the Geneva naval conference has proved that the Washington conference was not the perfect piece of diplomacy it was “cracked up” to be. ——The Ku Kux Klan cantributed , $10,000 to the Republican campaign fund in Indiana, last year, which ac- counts for Senator Watson’s tender feeling for the Klan. ——Henry Ford may have saved a good deal of money and vastly in- creased his business by apologizing to he Sows. But it was the right thing o do. ——The man who objects to Gov- ernor Smith and Mr. McAdoo on the ground that they are politicians must have a curious idea of Mr. Coolidge. ———The death of John Drew re- moves from the stage an attractive figure. He represented the highest ideals of the amusement world. ——— ee m— ——The Irish gunmen also seek i “shining marks.” The assassination of Kevin O'Higgins, on Sunday, in- flicted a great loss on Ireland. ——The most difficult task the State administration has encountered thus far is finding a congenial job for Eric Fisher Wood. ——The number of aerial heroes is multiplying but there is no abate- ment in the enthusiasm with which they are applauded. ms m—— meena ———— ——The Soviet government of Rus- sia is preparing for war. It may also be said that pernicious conspiracy is “riding for a fall.” mr —— A r—————— ——Maybe if Mr. Coolidge would appear in a clown’s costume he might win the support of a few very credu- lous people. in a hundred times that! Besides the proceeds of the | Value of Education in Farming. From the Pittsburgh Post. That “book learning” pays, even in farming, has been strikingly demon- strated by surveys just completed by the United States Department of Ag- riculture. Comparing the incomes of tillers of the woil in various States, the department’s investigators have proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that education brings a handsome pecuniary return. Thus there has been added another vocation to the already long list of those in which profits will be larger if one has gone to school. Numerous examples may be cited of successful men who did not go to college. Some of our multi-million- aires had only the most rudimentary schooling. But it cannot be too strongly emphasized that their cases are extremely unusual. So far as the generality of mankind is concerned lack of education is a severe handicap. Uneducated men who have succeeded in spite of their want of instruction are the first to admit that “book learning” is an advantage. If there were any important occu- pation in which it would seem that there was no imperious demand for high school or college instruction it would appear to the uninitiated to be farming. The cultivation of the soil cne might suppose, could be learned without recourse to books. But an examination of farming problems shows otherwise. f The man who hopes to win success in farming must be fairly well ac- quainted with half a dozen sciences. He must understand something about the chemistry of the soil, so as to know how to use fertilizers to best advantage; he must know something about botany, so as to get the biggest possible yield of grains, fruits, and vegetables; he must know something about dietetics and veterinary science, so as to get the best results from his chickens and livestock. All these things and kindred subjects of inter- est to the farmer are now taught at colleges. How valuable such instruction may be to the agriculturist is indicated by the government figures. It has been found that every day at school in- creases a farmer’s earnings. The soil tiller who has gone through high school earns more than the one who has not advanced above the grade school. The college graduate has a larger. income from his farm than his neighbor who went no farther than For this reason our | the high school. The Department of circumstances but to the laymen it esteemed Washington contemporary | Agriculture has found that each day looks as if a way might have been | is everlastingly right in its statement | of Schooling is worth $9.25 to the farmer. If it were out of the question for any large proportion of the farm boys and girls to obtain an education, it would be cause for regret that they ‘should be so handicapped. But as it happens there is opportunity for all to receive the instruction which has heen shown to be so valuable. Every youth of intelligence and grit can go through college if he will. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Further Liberty Restriction. From the Pittsburgh Times. The leisurely driver has no secure place on modern highways. He may not want to drive fast, he may pre- fer to go a moderate pace and look over the country. It he does so, pretty soon a line forms behind him and he is made aware of his slow speed by persistent honking behind him, unless the road be wide enough and the traffic in the opposite direc- tion be slight enough to permit those in a hurry to run around. In practice it seems to be the demand that every- body shall drive as fast as anybody wishes to go. The situation is such that the slow driver obstructs traffic on crowded thoroughfares. There- fore personal predilection must yield to those who want to go as fast as the law allows, perrhaps even faster if there be no traffic officer in sight, and in this traffic officers are siding with the cause of the fast driver. Where the traffic is light the situa- tion is not so acute but since even the slow driver prefers the best roads and the best roads attract the most drivers there are not many places where leisurely driving may be in- dulged without causing somebody in a hurry to berate the driver ahead for his failure to speed up or to give road room for passing. It is sa condi- tion which has come with the motor car. Formerly one’s speed on the highway could be regulated by one’s own desire but that privilege is pass- ing rapidly and we are at the thresh- old of punishing drivers for going too slowly as well as too fast. An- other restriction of personal liberty is in the making. ie at gig wise ——The third term enterprise is not prospering as well as might be expected. Republicans of one corn- belt State have formally asked Gov- ernor Lowden to enter the fight and a convention of farmers has demand- ed the repassage of the McNary bill. The naval parley at Geneva is not making much progress in the di- rection of decreasing navies. Great Britain appears to want to increase rather than decrease naval strength. It is said that the ultra dry politicians are not satisfied with Pres- ident Coolidge’s attitude on the ques- tion. Wonder how they found out how Cautious Cal. feels on the subject. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYTSONE. —With his left hand almost severed from his arm as a result of being caught in a circular saw while working on his farm near Lewistown Saturday morning. John Lindsay, 21, is a patient in Lewis- town hospital. "—Joseph Naughton, 25, a Pennsylvania Railroad brakeman, died in the hospital at Berwick, on Monday, from a broken back and severed foot suffered when he fell under his train at the Pond Hill water tank while looking for a hot box on one of the cars. —The burned body of George Vohl, of Williamsport, aged 40, known to the police as “Jiddy”’ Vohl, was found in the ruins of a burned shack on Sunday, by a fireman who loaned him a knife on Saturday to repair a pair of shoes. The origin of the fire is not known. —Albert E. Daugherty, aged 36, of Clear Run, until two months ago head machin- ist of the Milliron Construction company on the State road west of Renovo, died at DuBois of internal injuries sustained a week ago when the motorcycle he was rid- ing collided with a sedan. —Leopola Curti, of Mount Union, is in the Huntingdon county jail charged with the killing of his wife and the wounding of George Prevo, a former boarder in their home. According to the police au- thorities, Curti, who is 46, signed a con- fession that jealousy caused the shooting Five children survive the slain woman. —Suffering injuries received when he fell from a scaffolding on which he was working in front of the National theatre operations at Lewistown, last Friday morning, Frank Campbell, negro, 51, is a patient in the Dr. ¥. W. Black private hospital. Campbell lost his balance and toppled 25 feet from the scaffold to the brick pavement, landing on his head. Lewis has notified various banks in which state deposits have been made that he will withdraw about $7,000,000 August 1 for the payment of semi-annual appropriations to fourth- class school districts and the semi-annual payments to counties of their share of gasoline tax collections. The amounts are approximately $5,250,000 and $1,750,000 respectively. —Albert Solt, 35, of Williamsport, is be- lieved to have drowned in the Susque- hanna river at Homets Ferry, near To- wanda. He disappeared during the severe storm of Friday night and later frends found his boat overturned and his straw hat floating near shore. Crews have been dragging the river, but no further truce of him has been found. Solt was the father of five children. —Necessary expansion in the facilities at the Clearfield hospital will result in the expenditure of about $80,000 for new buildings and additions to present build- ings at that institution during 1927. This expenditure will include the new power plant and laundry which is complete and in use, the construction of the Cora Arnold Swoope maternity unit, and an addition or annex to the nurses’ home. —Threatened with death at the hands of Thad Hillard, aged 31, following a quar- rel at Allison, near Brownsville, about noon on Saturday, George Taylor, 29, fired the contents of a shotgun into the face of Hillard, killing him... Taylor escaped after throwing the shotgun on the back perch of the house where both he and Hillard boarded. A posse of county officers was rushed to Allison in search of the slayer. —State Treasurer —Lewistown police are searching for a thief from whose shoes emanates the odor of sauer kraut. The Brelinger & Leach grocery was broken into and robbed for the second time this year at the week-end. One hundred pennies and a carton of cigarettes were all that are missing, but the thief in entering the building step- ped into a barrel of sauer kraut made last year and spoiled. He tracked the kraut all over the floor. —Patrick McGarrah, a moulder at the Standard steel works, returned home on Sunday from a visit to the “Owl's Club,” near the Licking Creek game refuge, and reported finding the carcass of a dead beaver. There is a large colony of beavers there and five weeks ago another full-grown one was found dead. The refuge keeper says they die from old age. MecGarrah also reports finding many deer bones in the creek, all of which have been cleaned of flesh, indicating dogs or some other animals are playing havoc with the deer. —Knock-out drops in a glass of wine are alleged to have placed John Kapinski, of Lancaster, and $130 at the mercy of his supposed good friends and John Pritchard. He is in the Mifflin county jail awaiting a hearing. Kapinski was a boarder in the home of John Pritchard. He was offered a drink of wine and when he fell off into a sleep he had $130 in his possession and upon coming to his senses he had only $70, he claims. Police traced Pritchard’s movements and found that he had purchased gas for his car in Yeagertown with a $50 bill which Kapin- ski claims was his property. —~Charges and counter charges of a sen- sational nature bringing into. the spotlight once more the Bradford county ‘divorce mill” which was exposed by the late Judge William Maxwell shortly before his death, were aired in court at Towanda, on Tues- day, when Mrs. Elizabeth Willetts brought action seeking to have set aside her di- vorce from Major Frank Willetts, New York millionaire contractor. Mrs. Wil- letts alleges the proceedings were “faked” throughout and that she never resided in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Willetts declares she married Willetts when he was a brick- layer in 1914 and loaned him $27,000 with which he got his start. His fortune quick- ly turned to millions, the testimony show- ing that in one year alone he made about 279,000. —A rooster that crows sixty-four times an hour at dawn of day in an otherwise quiet suburban community is a public nuisance, according to Bert Herbert of Forty Fort, Luzerne county, who appeal- ed to police of that borough for relief from the alarm clock tactics of a rooster belonging to Adam 4lahn, a neighbor. Herbert produced a tally sheet showing the rooster had crowed sixty-four times an hour each morning for seven days, starting exactly at 3.42 o'clock. Glahn was ordered to appear before Burgess Roselle. He explained that the rooster serves the purpose of an alarm clock and is much more reliable. Herbert was ad- vised to confer with Mr. Glahn, and be- tween them devise a method for silencing the rooster.