A ———— INK SLINGS. —Would-be Senator Vare seems to have picked the wrong Reed to lean on. —When Jim Reed gets through with Big Tom Cunningham there will be sorrow on “the rialto.” _—Mr. Vare has no concern for his own disappointment but his heart bleeds for the suffering public. ._—An optimist is one who, because his party is in power, kids himself into thinking times are good when they are actually bad. * —If there should be no snow Santa Claus might ride down on the tail of that Skjellerup comet which is to be visible at Christmas. —Only the morons bemoan the rain. They are too nit-witted to un- derstand that it is easier to carry an umbrella than it is to shovel snow. ~ —It looks like it won’t be long un- til Bellefonte is minus the district highway offices. The removal will mean an appreciable loss in many ways. —Ambassador Morrow has ac- complished a good deal in the way of composing differences between this country and Mexico, but wait until Lindy has finished his job. —If we were Santa Claus we’d make the girls hang up socks this Christmas. It’s unreasonable to ask the good old soul to fill the lengthy stockings the ladies are wearing now. —That Chester county bride of three weeks who fired four shots at herself and missed every time, in an attempted suicide, is the kind of ‘marksman one wouldn’t describe as having unerring aim. —When the hour hand has swung around the circle ten more times the shortest day of the year will be here. ‘Then as the days lengthen the cold will strengthen and spring will be only three months off. —In Philadelphia the bandits beat up their victims because they haven't enough money to recompense for the time spent in holding them up. Po- litical blackjacking is conducted on the same system there. —Senator Dave Reed says it cost ‘three times as much to nominate Gov- ‘ernor Fisher as was spent to nomi- nate Vare and the expense of recon- ciling Mr. Beidleman to the robbery is not included in the reckoning. —Possibly we are pessimistic, but we believe that banditry won't de- «crease until parents train their chil- «dren to work for what they get and punishment for the crime is made so severe that the most hardened will shrink from it. —Yes, a friend brought us a mess of venison. You are curious to know, ‘we presume, whether there was any sherry in the parcel. We shall not gratify such curiosity for the reason that we might incriminate both the friend and ourselves. ; —President Calles, of Mexico, is quoted as having said that “any revo- lutionary movement in that country ‘which threatens the authority of cap- ital is bound to fall.” In the light of recent occurrences in Mexico we are inclined to infer that Calles means ‘that he is capital. + —Inasmuch as William 8S. Vare stands practically no chance of being given a seat in the United States Senate Governor Fisher might have a chance to appoint a Senator for Penrsylvania. As to whom it might ‘be ve shall not hazard a guess, It might ke Joe Grundy, but it wont be Gifford Pinchot. TLere being no more doubt as to President Coolidge’s determination to retire at the expiration of his present term our friends, the Republicans, find themselves with a problem on ‘their hands: A problem so difficult to solve that they will have no time to continue poking their noses into our presidential woodlot. —The most striking example ‘of Tare presence of mind comes to us through a Chicago dispatch. A woman out there undertook to bite a police- man who was attempting to arrest her and the officer promptly grabbed her false teeth out of her mouth. ‘The message didn’t say whether she “gummed” him then or not. —If you've never been impeached and feel that you would like to star in such a proceeding go down to Ok- lahoma and have yourself elected to some office. Just now the Legislature of that State is trying to get rid of ‘the Governor, Chief Justice of the Su- preme Court and the Secretary of Ag- riculture; all by the impeachment route. —If Willis Beach and Mrs. Lillien- «dahl killed the latter's husband they must have done it with premedita- tion. For that reason we can’t un- derstand how that New Jersey jury returned a verdict of manslaughter. It must have been a compromise. If such were the case justice was not rendered either the State or the de- fendants. Justice is not exact when compromise holds the scales. —Lots of hunters who will rail at seventy-five cents a pound for a Christmas turkey came home from the woods elated with a few pounds of venison that had cost them two or three dollars a pound. Of course they had the sport of the chase, but is it comparable with that of a hap- py family, in a cheerful home, gath- ered about a table on which reposes a great browned bird stuffed with chestnuts ? VOL. 72. BELLEFONTE. PA STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNI .. DECEMBER 16. 1927. Electrical Monopolists Active. The most important problem in the industrial life of the country is the development and control of electrical power. It is a question that can be properly settled only by Congression- al legislation. Gifford Pinchot ex- pressed a full appreciation of the subject when he appealed to the Leg- islature of Pennsylvania to enact a law that would prevent the exploita- tion of this great element in industry by monopolists. It was a step in the right direction and if his advice had been followed the people of this State would have been secure in their right to use and control the electrical ener- gy produced within the Common- wealth. But the better method of con- servation is by Congressional legisla- tion. There is now, and has been for some time, in process of formation a vast electrical trust which will, unless restrained - by suitable legislation, monopolize the production and distri- bution of electrical power and put the whole country under tribute. Those concerned in this sinister enterprise thoroughly understand that the Con- gress is the only agency that can de- feat their purpose. Among the lead- ers in this scheme of spoliation is Samuel Insull, of Chicago, whose ac- tivities extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His reason for contribut- ing liberally to Frank Smith’s slush fund in the campaign of last year was that he might have an attorney in the Senate who will guard his inter ests. i The determined fight to place Wil- liam 8. Vare in the Senate may be for the same reason. Mr. Vare may have no personal interest in the matter and little understanding of the subject. But he will be obedient to orders and vote as Big Business desires. The ap- pointment of James M. Beck, as a Representative in Congress, may be in furtherance of this plan, also. He is a corporation lawyer, with a repu- tation for ability and success, and will be a formidable opponent to any legislation inimical to the interests of monoply. Meantime the true friends of the people, both in the Senate and House of Represecentatives, are alert. Senator Walsh and . Senator . Norris are In"the witch tower. ; —Another reason in favor of early | Christmas shopping is that you have a better chance of getting what you want if you get there first. Not a Partisan Question. During the debate on the question of admitting Mr. Vare to a seat in the Senate, which Governor Pinchct declared was “partly bought and part- ly stolen,” Senator Dave Reed, of Pittsburgh, inferentially charged that the Democratic Senators were in- fluenced by a desire to seize control of the Senate. There are forty-seven Republicans, forty-seven Democrats and one Farmer-Labor Senator, in- cluding Vare, and throwing Vare out would reduce the Republican force to a minority, giving the Democrats control. But in that event the Farm- er-Labor Senator could at any time tie the vote and invest the Vice-Pres- ident with controlling power. Even if that were the purpose of the Democratic Senators it would not lie in the mouth of Senator Reed or any other Republican Senator to com- plain. At the opening of the Sixty- sixth Congress a similar condition ex- isted, except that the Democrats had the meager majority and the question of control rested upon the admission of Truman H. Newberry, of Michigan, who stood convicted of corruption in his campaign for the nomination. Un- der direction of the Republican caucus it was made a party issue and New- berry was given the seat and his party control of the organization and the committees. It was part of Sen- ator Lodge’s “fight against Wilson,” and kept us out of the League of Na- tions. In the Vare case the Governor of the State had cast a doubt on the validity of the nomination and elec- tion of Vare by refusing to certify that he had been “duly” elected. The resolution to deny him the seat had been offered by a Republican, the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, and was being supported by a considerable number of Republican Senators. It was not in any respect a partisan question. It was simply a protest against the purchase of seats in the Senate by unfit men of large wealth and small conscience. Senator Reed had, himself, denounced Vare as unfit and the Senate has approved his judgment. —If Mr. Coolidge would indicate in even cryptic manner who he favors as his successor he would relieve a great many anxious minds. : —Tobacco users paid $376,000,000 revenue tax last year, which accounts for the smaller income tax of some Distinction Without a Difference. It is difficult to reconcile the rea- soning of those who professed to draw a line of distinction between the claims of Mr. Smith, of Illinois, and Mr. Vare, of Pennsylvania, for a seat in the Senate and the facts in the case. It is true that the investi- gation of the Slush Fund committee revealed the fact that the vast amount of money used in the pur- chase of the nomination and election of Colonel Smith was obtained from an illegal source. Samuel Insull, a utility corporation magnate, had con- tributed to the Smith slush fund a very large sum. Presumably this con- tribution was made in consideration of favors previously bestowed or services expected in the future. No actual taint was shown in the funds employed to nominate and elect Vare. | The contribution of funds to can- didates or political committees by corporatiens is forbidden by law. The contribution of funds to candidates or | political committees by officials or employes of State or municipal gov- | ernments is forbidden by an act of the General Assembly of Pennsylva- nia. The contribution of funds to a candidate by organized criminals is obnoxious to every principle of mor- ality. In the slush fund investigation it was shown that a public official of Philadelphia earning $8000 a year had contributed $50,000 to the Vare slush fund and he refused to tell where the money came from. It is widely suspected, and generally be- lieved, that it was collected from pub- lic officials, bootleggers and profes- sional criminals in and about Phila- delphia. It is true that this suspicion and belief was not supported by compet- ent evidence. But the failure was not the fault of the Slush Fund commit- tee or the public outraged by the crimes. It was the grave fault of the friends of Mr. Vare, in and out of the Senate, who organized a filibuster and by sinister methods and at great sacrifices of public interests choked off the investigation before the whole truth could be brought out. The pur- pose of this eriminal “hold up” of the processes of inquiry was to pre- | vent the exposure of the sources of y pleasant the Vare slush fund. = will ‘have to show —Lowdon and Dawes are rendering the “After You, Alphonso” act very gracefully, if not exactly successfully. —Justice Kephart is a vote-getter and his friends are making the Mel- lon management very anxious. BE — Vare’s Absurd Hope Vanished. It is to be hoped that the vote in the Senate, on Monday, renewing the life of the Slush Fund committee, will mark the beginning of the end of William S. Vare’s attempt to break into the Senate. If it should also mark the elimination from Mr. Vare’s mind of the absurd idea that he is a political leader in Pennsylvania it will be doubly gratifying. It is said that he has fondly cherished for many years an ambition to wear the Sena- torial toga. But until recent years the political morals of the State had not fallen to a sufficiently low level to justify the public avowal of his hopes. The certainty that his cor- rupt methods will now be exposed ought to put an end to his dream. Mr. Vare may not be altogether to blame for the moral degeneracy which inspired his ambition. Men of great wealth, who for selfish purposes con- tribute large sums of money to cre- ate and maintain corrupt partisan or- ganizations, are the real causes of ex- isting political evils. Men of the Vare type are simply instruments by which the greater enemies of moral public life accomplish their sinister purposes, The recently adopted resolution of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce urging the Senate to admit Vare, not- withstanding his tainted title made every member of that organization as culpable as the election officers now serving prison sentences for frauds in Vare’s interest. Besides Mr. Vare had the encour- agement of past experience to feed his expectation of making the hurdle. Newberry was admitted to member- ship of the Senate, even after he had been convicted of fraud, and it has become a custom to buy or steal Re- publican nominations. Vare had as- surances from the Governor and the Mellon organization of cordial support in his claim which they knew to be suspicious. During the primary cam- paign Governor Fisher, Senator Dave Reed and chairman Mellon declared Vare unfit for the office, but Mr. Reed organized a filibuster in the Senate and defeated important legislation in order to force him in. If such things are stopped great good will follow. entra Am i —Major Eugene H. Lederer, of State College, has been appointed ap- praiser of estates for Centre county by Auditor-General Edward Martin. The appointment is said to carry a of them. Kansas City Gets the Convention. After an intensely bitter contest Kansas City, Missouri, has been chos- en as the seat of the Republican Na- tional convention, which will assemble on the 12th day of June, 1928. The other contestants for the party favor were Detroit and San Francisco with scattering votes for Philadelphia, Cleveland and Chicago. On the first ballot San Francisco had within four votes of a majority but was unable ‘to increase its force. Philadelphia’s ‘three votes were cast by the two Pennsylvania members and one Ver- monter. The controlling influence in the balloting was the preference for Kansas City expressed by Chairman Butler, of the National committee, who is supposed to speak for Presi- dent Coolidge. Of course considerable party ad- . vantage is expected to come from holding the convention in the Mis- souri city which is the market centre of the corn belt and the most import- ant city of the middle west. In recent years the political complexion of the State has been very much in doubt and the electorate disposed to listen to the appeals of the slush fund, which is the only form of polities chairman Butler understands. He realizes that it will be necessary to carry such States as Missouri, Ken- tucky and Tennessee in order to cre- ate even a hope of victory and im- agines that holding the convention in Kansas City will promote that result, But voters are no longer so easily de- i ceived. Kansas City, in June, is probably the hottest spot between Maine and California and the delegates and oth- ers who attend the convention may look forward to a period of discom- fort which is appalling to contem- plate. But otherwise and in other seasons of the year it is a charming place to visit. The people are hospit- able, courteous and progressive and not too particular about the enforce- ment of laws that are obnoxious to some politicians. For that reason, though the hot sun of midday may pierce and the hot winds of midnight torture, the delegates and other vis- Litors to the convention may have a - nably ‘time. But they those Missourians something in return. Centre County Man Attacked by Rioting Students in Rumania. News dispatches on Tuesday includ- ed a cable message from Rumania about an unwarranted attack on Wil- liam M. Keller, a son of Mrs. Tam- mie Keller, of Linden Hall, Centre county, who is now in business in Oradea Mare, Rumania. that Keller was walking through a public square on the way to his home, ten blocks away, when he noticed that he was being followed by a group of students with a menacing attitude. He remonstrated with them, declaring that he was an American citizen. They ignored his plea, declaring he must go to the police station with them, They took him by force back to the public square, passing a Rumanian of- ficer who knew him and who was aware that he was an American. Kel- ler pleaded with the officer to save him, said the witness, but the officer ignored the appeal. En route to the square the students and their Ameri- can captive passed three military guards who did not raise a hand to save Keller, the witness said, despite his repeated pleas that he was not a Jew and not a Rumanian. When Keller and his captors reached the Anglo-Rumanian bank the Ameri- can was attacked by at least 25 stu- dents. A sympathetic civilian observ- er tried to assist the American, but was ordered away by soldiers. Keller is in the automobile business there and has been since January, 1923. He served in the American army in France. Keller's wife was born in Oradea Mare and is understood to be of Hun- garian Jewish origin. Keller was once connected with the American Y. M. C. A. in Rumania, which esteemed him highly, and also was employed for a time by the Near East Relief. Lindy Does It Again. Col. Charles A. Lindbergh has once again manifested his superiority as a flier. Leaving Washington in his famous ship, “The Spirit of St. Louis,” shortly after noon on Tues- day, he made a non-stop flight to Mexico City, a distance of two thousand miles, in twenty-seven hours, landing in the Mexican capital at 3:34 on Wednesday afternoon. President Calles and almost one hundred thou- sand people were at the Mexican fly- ing field to greet him on his arrival. Now if “Lindy” can be induced to at- tend that big military ball, at State College in January, Centre countians will also have an opportunity to line salary of $100 a month. up with the hero worshippers. ‘would make no An eye witness to the assault said | N. NO. 49. The Chinese Puzzle, From the Philadelphia Record. For a few years after China became a republic the internal political sit- uation was x involved that even ob- servers on the ground gave up trying to untangle the threads of rival move- ments. We had already sto won- dering what Sun-Yat-Sen ly stood for when the World war broke out and caused all our attention to be con- centrated for years upon events in another continent. Almost a year has passed since China suddenly became a first-page i news story once more in the press of the world. The civil war had been going on for a long time, but the world was not aware of it until the startling events of Hankow and Shanghai seemed to call for foreign intervention. Although Great Britain gave up her special privileges at Hankow, she ordered thousands of troops to Shanghai. France and Japan and the United States limited their contingents for the defense of the international settlement at Shanghai to marines. Soon the anti-foreign movement grew in intensity to a point it had not attained since the Boxer rebellion, 27 years before. Mission- aries were called in from outlying stations, and the shipping and com- merce of all nations except Germany were crippled, if not actually para- lyzed. A civil war between two parties, with clearly defined opposing princi- ples, is not a puzzle. The reason we have a Chinese puzzle—and have had one that appears insoluble to observ- ers—ever since the beginning of these internal troubles is precisely because there never have been two parties with opposing principles. © Civil war arose in China, coincident with the estab- lishment of the republic, the opposition of the Liberal South to the Conservative North. At least this is the way it was represented to the outside world. But the ex- planation, if true at the beginning, did not remain true very long. The southerners, or Nationalists, had ef- fective control only over the Canton region, and the Peking government, the ostensible government for all China, was not always master even in Peking. The Peking ronment had to rely on generals 2 A were virtual- ly independent of its authority to de- fend it against the Canton govern- ment. And the Canton government move of & v sl offensive character ‘without enlisting the support of provincial leaders who neither understood nor shared the. sin- cere enthusiasm of the originators of the Canton movement for a Liberal regime in China and a sweeping as- sertion of independence against for- eign political and economic encroach- ments. Virtually the same situation pre- sents itself again at the end of 1927. The Kuomintang Central executive committee of Canton has seen the op- of its control. There ationalist government which claims to represent Young China and the Liberal independence movement by virtue of the successes on the field of battle of the generals and provincial governors who consti- tute this government. Nanking now calls Canton “red.” On the other hand, there is no army, under a eom- mon leader, Ing and recognizing the authority of the Peking government, but a group of war lords, each hostile to the other and shifting in alliances and each hoping to dominate for his own per- sonal aggrandizement the Peking gov- ernment. We understand that while there is less actual fighting and danger to fore gners in China now than there was six months ago, foreigners living there, with a stake in the country, are more pessimistic than they were last spring. They seem to realize that at Nanking, their ability to remain in China is ! ing was constructed between 1800 and 1820 due solely to the 54 foreign patrol boats on the Yangtze and the soldiers, marines and fleets at and near the larger seaports. —————————— ee ——— State Shows Up Well. From the Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania State College entries won two class championships, seven first prizes, one second place, two third, one fourth, one fifth and one eighth prize in the international live stock exposition in Chicago this week. is is only an example of the splendid work State is constantly do- ing for the agriculture and the in- dustry of Pennsylvania. Only such outstanding triumphs can be noted among a host of everyday activities that mark the institution as one of the most useful among the colleges of the East. All the more remarkable is this be- cause most of the wrok done at State is under discouraging conditions and difficulties. Until Governor Fisher generously and wisely recognized the needs of the school with the first real appropriation in years, State College was treated in most niggardly fashion by the Legislature. It is to be hoped the Governor will be able to persuade fre next session to do as well, or even etter. —The new Senate committee on Privileges and Elections, which will count the Wilson-Vare vote, will be made up of six Republicans, all hard- boiled, and five Democrats. But the five will be alert. SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. ~—Unless the State raises an additional $200,000 by January 1, Cook forest, near Brookville, will be offered at public sale, ‘according to announcement of the Cook heirs, who are eager for. division of the estate, and decline to wait longer for sale of the tract. —While on duty Thursday night Pa- trolman Robert Mohr, of Allentown, parked his car in the heart of the city. After transacting his business at police headquarters he made a quick return to report the automobile had been robbed of tools, bulbs, tire gauge, patching kit, chains and flashlight. —While 12-year-old Edgar Watson, of Chester, stood in the central shopping dis- trict, on Saturday, waiting for his mother to accompany him on a Christmas shop- ping tour, the mother, Mrs. John GQ. Wat- son, died at her home from acute indiges- tion. The boy, tired of waiting, went home and discovered her body. —Anthony Frak, Oil City grocer, saved the $19 cash in his eash register but re- ceived a bad cut on the head from the end of a revolver when he mrde an empty threat to shoot it out with the masked and armed invader of his store Saturday evening. While Frak was edging toward a meat cleaver the robber slugged him over the head and escaped. —On the ground that Mrs. Mary Cyko, of Kittanning, was not dependent upon her husband at the time of his death with- in the meaning of the statutes, the Work- men’s Compensation Board last week up- held the referee’s action in disallowing compensation to the woman. The husband, Andy Cyko, died two days after a piece of rock, weighing several hundred pounds, fell upon him while working in the prop- erty of the Allegheny River Mining com- pany, of Kittanning. —Records in the Bureau of Motor Ve- hicles, at Harrisburg, disclose the fact that a majority of members of the Legis- lature and of the Pennsylvania bench have availed themselves of the opportunity to obtain distinctive license plates for 1928. The legislators have plates with the let- ter “L” preceding the numerals, and on plates for the judiciary the letter “J” fol- lows the numerals. This is the first time that special plates have been made for these two classes of officials. —Dr. Charles B. Smith, 62, of Newtown, one of Bucks county’s most prominent physicians, committed suicide, on Sunday, over the grave of his son in the Newtown cemetery. Grief over his son, Morrell Smith, who was killed in the Argonne drive during the World war, was said by relatives to have caused Dr. Smith to take his life. Placing a blanket over the grave, Dr. Smith fired five shots through his breast near the heart. His body, lying across the grave, was found a few hours later. ! —William Deemer, four year old son of Mr. and Mrs. F. V. Deemer, of Burnham, will not be compelled to travel through life, short a large portion of his chin as was at first thought when he was taken to the Lewistown hospital. The lad ran through the back yard at his home in the darkness and falling sliced a goodly portion of his chin off on a double-bit axe that had one bit sunk deep in the chop- ping block and the other as a snare for the unwary. Doctors at the hospital say they can graft the pieces on his chin y [and the doy will not be disfigured. —A cat owned by Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Oliver, of Berwick, prefers snakes to mice. Eleven snakes have been brought into the Oliver apartment by the cat in the last month, several of them copperheads, and the cat plays with them as with a mouse before killing them. In some unexplained " manner she las avoided being bititen by the copperheads. A son, George, aged 12, investigated the source of the snakes and ; found a huge ball of garter snakes and copperheads, apparently gathered for the _ winter, on the hill back of the business position to Peking get entirely out section. He killed or caught 30 of them. is another | —The State of Pennsylvania has one ; unique position. It is that of official clock winder in the State buildings held by Melvin D. Leonard. Once each week Leonard makes a tour of the State offices winding and rezulating about 850 clocks. In addition, he cares for 336 electric clocks which are controlled by four master clocks. This work takes about five days. Until a few months ago Leonard also had in the north represent- | to do the clock repairing, but now a mas- ter clock maker attends that work, The official winder has been on the job for three years and declares he likes the po- sition. -—The Logan flour mill, at Lewistown, one of the oldest in this section of the State, was destroyed by fire on Thursday night with an estimated loss of $65,000. Flying embers endangered nearby resi- dences and the adjacent business section, and all Lewistown’s firemen and those of all the neighboring villages and townships were seriously hampered by the cold. For the past few years the mill has been owned by H. J. Cohen & Son. The build- over the bed of the old State canal, the boats passing through under it when the canal was in operation. It was three stories” high and constructed of brick. —Apples have been reported scarce this year but a cold storage plant at Waynes- boro is filled with 65,000 barrels. The ap- ples in storage there are from the or- chards throughout the Cumberland Valley and other sections as far away as the State of Washington. One hundred ecar- loads of apples were shipped there for storage, from Washington State. It is a case of “in again, out again” at their local storage plant. With the filling of the storage rooms, orders for apples begin to arrive from various markets. Already twelve carloads have been shipped out of storage at Waynesboro. Shipments will continue from the plant, up until about May 1, when the storage will be put in readiness for the early apples of the 1928 crop. —A certified check for $2,000, posted by J. M. Breman, a former University of Pittsburgh student, with C. J. Schin- ninger, of Altoona, as a wager on the recent Pitt-Penn State football game, was returned on Saturday by Schinninger, who is under arrest in Piittsburgh, charged with defrauding Pitt supporters out of approximately $8,000. The check was re- turned in Morals Court after Breman testified he wagered that amount with Schinninger that Pitt would defeat Penn State, but was unable to find the man to collect his winnings after the game. Schinninger, who represented himself at the time as “C. BE. Hugus, representative of a New York broker,” was ordered held while police sought to locate other Pitt men who were victimized.