EE —————————— Fo INK SLINGS. - —It is to be hoped that the Socialist government in Reading - will not be disappointing. Pe —Colonel Lindbergh is now a Mas- ter of Science in Aeronautics and a constantly increasing popular favor- ite. _ —Some Philadelphia doctors have started a movement to reform office chairs and users of the chairs will wish them success. - —Up to this moment we had utter- ly lost sight of the fact that only thirty-seven days intervene until Chrismas. Shop now. —The attempt to assassinate Obre- gon in Mexico City on Sunday failed, fortunately, and the voters still have one candidate for President. —Mayor-elect Mackey of Philadel- phia has gone to Europe on a vaca- tion and Boss Vare will likely form the cabinet in the meantime. —The recent developments in the Fall-Sinclair conspiracy trial may re- sult in some reforms in the methods of detective agencies in the future. —The Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky was defeated because he is opposed to horse racing. Thus political issues are increasing. —The King of Hedjaz has automo- biles built to carry twelve wives. If he drives the car he is likely to have all sorts of trouble from the back seats. . —We of the champagne taste and the beer pocket-book look on the gen- eral reference to next Thursday as: “Turkey Day” with much the same zest as one approaches a dish of “mock turtle” soup. - —The Philippine Islands press and the Pennsylvania newspapers are a unit in favor of General Frank R. McCoy for Governor of the Islands. If President Coolidge will adopt their view it will be unanimous. . —John Curtin, Dr. David Dale and Willis Shuey have returned from their two week’s outing in the Seven Moun- tains, with 14 pheasants, 1 turkey, 5 rabbits and 4 grey squirrel. The small bag can only be accounted for sn one of two ways: Either game was unusually scarce or Willis stayed in camp most of the time. : —Since Senator Borah thinks the prohibition question should be para- mount in the next presidential cam- paign we suggest that the Republi- cans name a wet Protestant and that the Democrats persuade Al Smith to run as a dry Catholic. Such an align- ment, to our mind, would produce more political “strange bed-fellows” than this or any other country ever saw. i iy ata os —Among other things we are go- ing to write about in that ephemeral day that is our refuge in precrastina- tion is the campaign that has just closed in Centre county. We have been in fairly knowing touch with the | political situation in Centre county for forty-one years and we recall only one other contest that might have contributed as many dainty morsels for gossip as that of 1927 has done. —We’ve got dollars to bet against doughnuts that Ruth Elder, who is Lyle Womack’s wife, didn’t really mean what she said when she gave | him that goodbye kiss as he was em- barking for their home on the Canal Zone. Ruth thought she was sincere when she said “I'll come back, dear.” But she doesn’t know humanity like those observers who have seen so many heads turned by less than she has to resist. —The foot-ball season would be an utter failure for us if its close didn’t produce a Philadelphia sports writer to essay the role of conjuring up a better rating for Penn than her per- formance on the gridiron indicates. Ed Pollock, of the Ledger, a very clever writer, is now so busily engag- ed in pushing the Red and Blue into position of runner-up for Yale that he doesn’t hear the rest of the eastern foot-ball world laughing. ~The Hon. Clinton D. Howard, who lectured here Monday night, got him- self into somewhat of a peccadillo and was hoist on his own petard by one of his auditors. Mr. Howard was speaking on the prerogatives of .the American Constitution when a gen- tleman, who possibly had a very good reason for doing so, got up to leave the church. The orator was rather persistent in urging him to remain and must have realized that his chick- ens were coming home to roost when the departing gentleman audibly ex- plained his departure as “exercising my prerogative under the constitu- tion.” —The London Evening Standard, a paper that has always prided it- self on its good English, takes ex- ception to the insistence of American purists that “It’s me” is improper. The Standard bases its argument on the premise that language was; long before grammar undertook to explain it, and changing linguistic facts is quite outside the province of gram- marians. While we don’t propose to inject ourselves into any highbrow discussion we can’t resist the tempta- tion to suggest that the American idea of language ought to be based on the American ideal of majority rule. If such should be the application we win. For millions more here say “It’s me” than “It is 1.” VOL. 72. Anthracite Congress Interesting but Futile. The anthracite co-operative con- gress which sat and presumably de- liberated at Shamokin last week was an interesting enterprise even though it failed somewhat in achievement. Almost everybody east of the Alle- gheny mountains is concerned in the anthracite industry and the purpose of the congress was to promote its pros- perity. Recent regrettable events, such as miners’ strikes and operators’ lockouts, have impaired the success of the buisness to a menacing degree and the congress was called with the hope of devising means to restore it to health and vigor. Herbert Hoover, the necromancer of commerce and in- dustry, was summoned from Washing- ton to lay the lines for its proceed- ings. Governor Fisher was the first speaker after Mr. Hoover and he promised to approve an act to repeal the anthracite tax law and expressed dom represented here will be able to find the way from present depression to a healthy state of business activ- ity,” rather a handsome bouquet but of little practical value. Then Mr. Warriner, head of the operators’ or- ganization, suggested advertising the virtues of the fuel, which secured him a head line in the reports of the pro- ceedings. - Mr. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, created some- thing like a panic on the floor by pro- testing with some vehemence that the mine workers were not responsible for recent strikes. Various methods were suggested to accomplish the purpose for which the congress was assembled. In addition to the obviously wise plan of liberally ing methods, better co-operation be- tween mine workers and operators and better co-operation between pro- ducers and retailers, were suggested. But not a word was sald in favor of the only process which can possibly achieve the purpose of the congress. The supreme reason for the diminish- ing use of anthracite coal is the ex- reach of the average wage earner in the country. I 8 ah) ——Texas Republicans threaten to vote for Coolidge in the coming Na- tional convention whether he “choos- es” to run or not. Texas Republicans want to retain favor as long as pos- sible. ee —— ees — Bitter Fight in Congress. If current newspaper comment is to be taken as a symptom the com- ing Congress will be the theater of an intensely bitter fight over the ques- tion of electric power. More than two years ago Governor Pinchot urged the Legislature of Pennsylvania to enact legislation that would protect this im- of power from the grasping control of monopoly. Since then Senator Norris, of Nebraska, whose championship of edged, brought the matter to the at- tention of the United States Senate. It is now said that Senator Walsh, lar rights, will urge Congressional in- vestigation of the subject during the coming session. There can be no doubt that a move- ment is in progress to monopolize, by corporations, to centre control of the electric service in a very few big corporations, and it is equally certain that in the event the purpose {is will chot’s idea was to prevent or avery this danger by legislation vesting in thority over the production of, and charge for, electric current. It will in mind he refused to approve char- ters for several electric corporations and mergers of some already charter- ed. Soon after the expiration of his term these restrictions were removed. The plan outlined by Senator Nor- ris, and which Senator Walsh is said to have adopted, is to place electrical production and distribution under con- trol of the federal government. The erable if it were possible to procure unity of action among the States. So would be better even without this un- ity for the people of this State. But Federal control is better than no con- trol, and Senator Walsh is too wise a lawyer and too good a Democrat to recommend to the public a policy that would work evil rather than good. The purpose of organizing the monop- oly is already in progress and. the sooner it is checked the better. BELLE STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. Not Surprising but Disappointing. The result of the election in Phila« delphia is not surprising. The ma- jority for Mr. Mackey, the Vare candidate for Mayor, may be a tri- fle larger than most persons expected, but that is not a matter of great im- portance, Money is a potent force in politics and the Vare machine had millions to spend whilst the opposing contingent was unable to collect confidence that “the strength and wis- | advertising, better mining and operat- . orbitant price charged consumers. ‘of tax or strikes the’ price of cite has soared to an altitude ~ that has put it out of the portant and rapidly increasing source : the public interests is widely acknowl- : an equally zealous defender of popu- | mergers and consolidations of electric . achieved the users of electric power , be victimized. Governor Pin- the several States a supervisory au- Pinchot plan would be infinitely pref- | far as Pennsylvania is concerned it | mon cause in an effort to perpetuate the misgovernment of the city in or- der to share the advantages which are to be obtained by favoritism to one and protection to the other. It is a sad state of affairs. ! But though the candidates of the j Vare machine were all elected by large majorities the real purpose of the Vare machine has not been ac- complished. Mr. Vare’s selfish and sinister ambition to completely con- i trol all the departments of the muni- cipal government may have been ful- filled. But the supreme purpose of Mr. Vare in this instance was to con- vey to the Senate in Washington and the country at large the belief that the bogus majority given to him in Philadelphia last year was an hon- est expression: of the political senti- ment. The majority for Mr. Mackey is approximately 100,000 less than to that received by him last year and that figure expresses the fraudu- lent votes cast for Vare. | The hope of the managers of the i Vare machine was that the election of his hand-picked candidates this year by majorities equal or nearly equal to that received by him last year ‘would entice the Senators to believe that the Vare majority was an honest one. Influenced by this expectation the Vare machine collected and dis- bursed at least a million dollars in the alleged purchase of votes and bribing voters to support the Vare ticket. Even if the figures of this year had been made to equal those of last year this result would not have been achieved, for court records have al- ready shown many frauds last year,’ and unless the courts are in the vote this year. ——————————— | "~The Soviet government of Rus- sia has‘ been operating for ten years’ and only - a few thousand ' persons have been murdered for disagreeing with the authorities, Early Start of a Good Fight. It is not too early to begin an active campaign for the support of the pro- posed constitutional amendment pro- viding for the use of voting machines. The vote of the people on the question will not be taken until the general election next year. But the opposi- tion will be vigorous and the methods employed against the amendment will be devious. The hope of success lies | | in education and that is a slow pro- cess. The merits of the proposition must be clearly presented and con- | stantly kept in mind. Clubs must be enough to meet the legitimate ex-! penses of the contest. The capital- ‘ists and the bootleggers made com-: influenced many frauds will be shown FONTE. PA.. NOVEMBER 18, 1927. Many Wiil Jump When the Plum Tree sho is Shaken. Rumors are already rife that there is sure to be a scramble when the newly-elected county officials shake the plum tree. Judge-elect M. Ward Fleming will probably figure to a great extent in the juciest plum of all, his successor as referee in bank- ruptey in Centre county. Mr, Fleming has held this position ever since it of the late Judge Henry C. Quigley, when he resigned to take the oath of office as Judge in January, 1916, and recommended Mr. Fleming as his sue- cessor. While the appointing power lies with federal judge Albert W. Johnson he will likely be guided by Mr. Fleming’s recommendation. And it is only natural to suppose that he will recommend a Republican and as there are only four Republican attor- neys at the Centre county Bar, and one of them is district attorney, we'll leave our readers to guess who the fortunate one is likely to be. Judge Fleming will also have to appoint a court stenographer (which will probably be Gilbert S. Burrows,) a court crier, court messenger, four tipstaves, a board of road and bridge viewers, and a private secretary to look after his office affairs. The new board of county commis- sioners will have two clerks to appoint and an attorney for the board. The sheriff, the prothonotary and the treasurer will each have an appoint- ment to make and it is rumored that all of them would like to have the same individual. possible it will naturally leave an op- ening for two others and it goes with- out saying that there will be enough willing candidates on hand when the time comes. ——e— —— ——It is said that President Cool- ‘idge has reproved Senator Fess, of LOhio, for persisting in the belief that he may be “drafted.” But it may be noticed that the rebuke was of a very mild type. __~ Strong Evidence of Crime. i A NE 2 or Cmca p Former Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, and Harry Sinclair, acy to defraud the government in the lease of the Teapot Dome oil reserve, continue to flout the law and the courts ' Following the court order declaring a mistrial of the case the grand jury began an investigation of the state- ment that at least one of the jurors +had been tampered with. As a result of this investigation it has been de- , veloped that a force of detectives op- ;erating under the direction of the { Burns detective agency, of New York, had been “shadowing” the jurors al- ‘most from the beginning of the trial. {It is believed these detectives were employed by the defendants or by Sin- clair, 2 | The significance of this surveillance depends largely upon its source. Of itself it is unlawful, as well as un- ethical, but unless a base purpose is . shown, hardly criminal. If the rea- As this will be im- defendants .on the charge of conspir- | NO. 45. A Row Over Taxes on Estates. From the Philadelphia Inquirer. Automobile and amusement taxes engaged the Ways and Means commit- tee for a portion of the week, but the subject that gave the mest trouble was the Federal tax on estates. The demand for its abolition was not only strenuous, but of magnitude. Indeed, so insistent was it that certain mem- bers of the committee, obstinate ad- - Vocates of the ghoulish levy, quite lost was awarded him through the grace : their heads in their resentment. They charged that a powerful lobby was at work; that the expenses of some of the witnesses were paid. Yet the op- ponents of the existing law comprise President Coolidge, although, of course, he does not appear before the committee; Secretary Mellon, innum- erable chambers of commerce and boards of trade and buismess inter- ests generally. Representatives of State Legislatures were there. The tax is vicious in the extreme. The Government, a Te resorted it except temporarily in case o emergency. It really belongs to the individual States. There is a sinister motive back of its retention since the war—an effort to compel States to in- crease their rates in order to take ad- vantage of the rebate allowed by Con- gress. Franklin Spencer Edmonds, of the Pennsylvania Tax Commission, managed to hold the attention of the committee because his attack on the Federal position was so strong that he could not be sneeringly sidetrack- as so many others had been. He asserted that it was a mistake to put a misfit straightjacket around the States; that any proposal by Congress to collect money and give some of it back to States in order to coerce them into the adoption of a certain policy was detrimental in the extreme and without warrant by the Consti- tution. f i That a fierce battle is imminent on the floor of the House and Senate over the Federal grave raiders is apparent. . The Ways and Means Jeommittee 1s ‘divided. A group of Western Sena- tors has held a confah nnder the guidance of Borah, the Wild Man of Idaho. He insists that reveal will be “~ught to the last, and says of the tax that it is “one of the most just lev- ies.” Well, he would. rah. : But we dispute the fustness of the (tax. It is anything but that. It isa | species of highwaymanship: 6f which | the Congress of the ‘ought’ to be thorouchly hamed. It is sheer robberv. ‘ It is fhe meanest, most contemptible tax ever devised. em— | i Very Unlike His Dad. , From the Philadelphia Record. . It ig rather diverting to read that the implusive (but no longer youth- | ful) Colonel Theodore Roosevelt threatened on Tuesday, in a campaign ress to some New York Republi- 1 can women, to eliminate Governor Al Smith from the political map if he did not promptly reply to some vague _ insinuations previously made by this mighty warrior, and at the same time ; , to recall that this terrible threat was made on the day following the scath- ing indictment by the United States Supreme Court of the corrupt and | fraudulent deals between Albert B. | Fall and Harry F. Sinclair invelving the Teapot Dome oil reserves. It will be remembered that at that time . Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy and that, in the absence of Secretary Denby, he played a part, ' organized, pablts meetings held and SOMable suspicion that the defendants ' although a minor one, in the shocking literature provided. These things re- quire time, talent and money but they ought to be available in view of ©d- the purpose in mind. The recently formed Pennsylvania Elections association held a meeting ,in Philadelphia, recently, for the pur- pose of setting the campaign in mo- i tion. Representatives were present from meny sentions of the State and the Philadelptia Committee of Sev- enty gave assurdnce of earnest and active ‘help in the work; Among the reasons given for the measure it was said that it would be impossible with the use of voting machines to have a discrepancy between the votes cast ‘and those recorded. That the use of machines would obviate the long and tedious processes of computation and the errors, willful and otherwise, in- cidental to the slow computation as | Hes for fraudulent returns. ' The strongest arguments that will , be brought against the amendment { Will he the initial expense of procur- ing the machines. On this point the conferees stated that “voting ma- chines will save money for taxpayers. Not only are voting machines cheaper in the long run than the huge ex- penditures for printing ballots. Great Suns are wasted annually on urused ballots. Literally tons of ballots were unused in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton alone at the recent primaries and this waste will be avoided if voting machines are used.” There can be no denial of this state- ment. But the greatest saving will be in avoiding the cost of election of- ficers and machinery. —————— lp e—————— ——Those who expect a definite declination from Coolidge will be dis- appointed. employed the detectives is verified turpitude would be clearly establish- The detectives, having refused reveal their employer, some of Sin- clair’s employes and business asso- ! ciates were subpoenaed. Sheldon | Clark, vice president and general man- , ager of the Sinclair Refining com- pany, refused to testify on the ground that his evidence “might incriminate him.” Henry Mason Day, another of- ficial in the Sinclair enterprises, re- fused to give evidence for the same reason. | There could hardly be more con- _vincing proof, though it be entirely circumstantial, that Sinclair is direct- .ly responsble for this flagrant insult to the courts and outrage of justice, perpetrated almost within the shadow of the dome of the capitol. The In- centive is plain. The evidence of the be remembered that with this purpose well as diminishing the opportuni. conspiracy was presented in the Dis- , trict court and upon an appeal from the judgment of guilt has been affirm- by the Supreme court of the United , States. Conviction in a criminal court made a long term prison sentence in- 'evitable and Sinclair hoped to avert | that through the medium of a “hung” jury or mistrial. Such obvious flout- | ing of the law is without parallel in , the history of American jurispru- dence. ——An esteemed contemporary | thinks the ambition of Senator Willis of Ohio is a joke. To return the , “Ohio Crowd” to Washington would be a national tragedy. ——Only a few hunters have been shot thus far during the present sea- son but a few is enough to show too much carelessness.’ —Subscribe for the Watchman. : scandal that hag been unearthed. Un- | der such circumstances it might nat- urally be expected that the ex-As- [sistant Secretary would move ean- tiously in making serious charges against other men, but no such re- straint puts a curb on his tongue. Ap- parently he cannot forget the terrible beating he received from Governor Smith when he aspired to the latter's position in 1924, . The incident is interesting because | it reveals how unlike his distinguished father is this Roosevelt of the same name. He appears to be without po- litical poise of judgment and to look for advancement principally on the strength of his. name. In this he dif- fers radically from the sturdy youth who, disdaining such an advantage, fought his way from one post to an- other until he finally attained the Presidency. The New York World is not too severe on the son when it de- clares that “he makes up in brass what he lacks in brains.” ——The West Chester preacher who declares he will stay “until hell freezes over” is likely to ‘need both an overcoat and linen duster. ——After Mayor Thompson, of Chicago, gets King George “into the clear” he might take Mussolini and thus stage a real battle. ——The homing pigeons made a record for efficiency during the world war according to the biological sur- vey in Washington. : ——Charlie. .Schwab’s Riverside Drive palace is for sale but it is safe to say the sheriff will have no part in conveying the title. Thus far Curtis, of Kansas, has not taken the place of “favorite” in | sPAwLS ‘FROM Aa ER RE, Wi Fn — —Amos Eberly, Lancaster county farm- er, to date is the 1927 champion potato grower. His yield of 651.4 bushels om u measured acre is the largest reported so far this year to E. L. Nixon, potato dis- ease specialist of the Pennsylvania State College and founder of the famous Key- stone 400 Bushel Potato Club. —Leonard G. Yoder, a lawyer and at- torney for the Berk’s prison board, has of- fered every prisoner in the county jail a dollar if he attends religious services after his release. Yoder was the speaker at the weekly service and told 75 prisoners in at- tendance to get divorces of the kind for which no lawyer are needed—from John Barleycorn and bad company. —A practical joke caused the death of Michael Garnis, 39, at Chester, last Friday. Two fellow workers in a dye house put what they thought was a lump of salt- peter in a cup of coffee which Garnis drank. It turned out to be a deadly poi- son. The workmen, Richard Stewart, 18 and Harold Swope, 19, were held without bail for hearing in police court. —Mrs. Sara Patterson, aged 31 years, of Huntingdon Furnace, was burned and the family home destroyed early on Sunday in a blaze caused by an overheated stove. Mrs. Patterson was rescued after her clothing caught fire. She is in the Altoona hospital with severe burns of the chest, both arms and hands and both legs. Three children in the home were saved with min- or burns. —In memory of the late Dr. H. Freeman Stecker, for many years a professor of mathematics at the Pennsylvania State College, Ormelle Haines Stecker, his wi- dow, has authorized the establishment of a scholarship. It is an award of $50 in cash to be given each year to that member of the junior class in the School of Liber- al Arts who attains the highest marks in mathematies. ‘—Squeezing through a window six in- ches high and 28 inches wide, Richard J. Little, aged 22, Williamsport, escaped from a cell in the upper tier of the Lycoming county jail on Monday night and still ts at large. He was being held for Court on charges of robbing a filling station near that city and a detainer charging him with desertion and nonsupport also had been ledged against him. —An unmasked young man forced N. Maderos, night manager at the Crystal! hotel, in Reading, into a linen closet when Maderos was alone, and robbed the safe ot about $500. The man engaged a room and Maderos unlocked the safe to get change for the guest’s advance payment, the stranger covered him with a gun. When the sounds of the stranger's operations ceased Maderos emerged and found strang- er and money gone. —Emmett W. Pytcher, for 21 years al- derman of the Meadville Fourth ward, was on Monday evening convicted by a jury oi a charge of larceny. The direct charge was the conversion to his own use of $500 placed in his hands as cash bail. Some years ago Pytcher was subject of a coun- cil investigation for irregularities, when friends helped him to restore several hun- dred dollars said to have been held out il- legally. Pytcher was formerly a railroad man and lost a leg in an accident. “~The - disaster of November 26, 1926, when six men were entombed by a flood in the Lehigh Valley Coal company mines at Tomhicken, five being rescued alive after eight days of imprisonment, was re- ealled when Mrs. Mabel Smith, widow of Charles Smith, the sixth prisoner, started suit against the Lehigh Valley Railroad for $50,000 damages. Smith’s body was found after six months of pumping. She sued the railroad instead of the coal com- pany because, she claims, the railroad changed the course of a creek which broke | through its new banks and flooded the | mines. —Henry N. Reist, county agricultural? agent of Warren county, since 1915, will assume the duties of agricultural econom- ies extension specialist at the Pennsyl- ! vania State College this week. He sue- ceeds Howard @G. Niesley, who recently was chosen assistant director of agricul- | tural extension work in this State. Reise is a native of Lancaster county. Gradu- ated from Penn State in 1913 he taught agriculture in a Minnesota high school for two years before going into county agent work. In 1923 he earned a higher degree in agricultural economics at the Univer sity of Wisconsin, + —EKEngineer J. E. Slattery, operating a Reading train between Pottsville and Tamaqua, on Saturday saved Daniel Fee- i ley, year-and-a-half-old son of Hugh Fea: i ley, New Philadelphia postmaster, from drowning. As Slattery’s train was pass- ing the lower section of New Philadelphia, he noticed the child fall off a chair and tumble into a creek. Applying the brakes immediately he brought the train to a stop and pulled the child out. The young- ster was unconscious, but will recover. Some years ago, John Slattery, a brother of the engineer, saved another child from drowning in much the same manner. —John, better known as “Corporal ‘Irish’ ” Hummel, of Lewistown, was crossing the tracks of the Milroy branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad at grade at Dorcas street, on Saturday, when the Sun- bury passenger train struck his automo- bile, knocking off three wheels, rolling it over and over, and sending it to the junk yards. Hummel escaped uninjured. Hum- mel went through the World war, seven- teen months in France, and got out with impaired hearing. He had a three-ton flask fall on him on the moulding floor of the Standard Steel works a year ago, and got away with the loss of a foot. He was elected justice of the peace Tuesday with an overwhelming majority, and Saturday adds another page to his adventures. —The rich and poor, the halt and blind, even the preachers, were eating chicken at Lewistown, over the week-end. There never before were so many chickens in the history of Mifflin county placed on the festive board. Five hundred and seventy- one boxes of dressed chicken were broken in a wreck on the Pennsylvania Railroad at’ Longfellow on Tuesday. The poultry was en route from Glasgow, Ky., to New York and was refused on account of the delay incident to’ the wreck. Sergeant Davis, of the Pennsylvania Railroad police, was instructed to sell the chickens for whatever he could obtain, so he fixed the price at three large ones for $1. The price was well within the reach of all and they went like hot cakes. The birds were froz- betting circles. en and wrapped in tissue paper.