Bemorrico atom —1It would be funny if Gifford Pin- ‘chot should run for Senator in Con- ‘gress and Cornelia for Representative -at the same time. —The first pretzels were made in ‘Pennsylvania and the industry seems not to have languished much since the law deprived it of its greatest li- quid asset. —It matters little to us how March comes in or how it goes out. We ‘stopped fussing about the weather long ago because we discovered that ‘the more we crabbed about it the worse it appeared to be. —Every time we see a picture of Henry Ford or John D. Rockefeller we study it most carefully to see whether there is any expression that might indicate that money brings happiness. As yet we have discov- ered none. Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that happiness is something that money can’t buy. In ‘fact we came to it before we ever saw the phiz of either Hen or John. —The bogus “Lord” Beaverbrook has been given a title to a cell in Sing ‘Sing for fifteen years because so many American women gave him ev- erything they had for a half interest in his bogus title. Inasmuch as “his lordship” isn’t anything to look upon with admiration we think the ladies with so much money and so little brains who fell for him are accessor- ies before the fact and should be placed in confinement too. —Some years ago the pastor of a local church made his first call on a family that had lately been rescued through the medium of the peniten- tial bench. On entering the home he was met by the oldest boy, a husky lad. The minister greeted him by saying: “Well, my young man you're a fine looking fellow! I hope you're working for the Lord.” “Nope,” re- ‘plied the hopeful of the family, “I'm drivin’ bus for the Brockerhoff house.” —Just what strained the relations between our two former county treas- urers is piquing our curiosity. We didn’t know that Heverly and Mayes were not political bed-fellows until we heard the story that Jim only an- nounced for the Legislature because he couldn’t think of Frank’s getting the nomination. That was nice in Jim, wasn’t it. If that’s all he came out for the logical thing for him to do, now that Frank has taken him- self out of the contest, is to do like- wise. We don’t think, however, that it was Heverly who scared Mayes off. —The Miami, Florida, Daily News «calls to mind a matter many of us are prone to overlook. It suggests ‘that a special acknowledgment of -some sort be made to Senator Walsh, .of Montana, for the service he has rendered his country in the reclama- tion of the Teapot Dome and Elk hills oil fields. Hundreds of millions of dollars in property and twelve mil- lions in cash were recaptured almost solely through the persistent and in- ‘telligently directed efforts of the Montana Senator. Had he been ‘serving a private client in that case what would a fair fee have been? ‘Certainly it would have been not less than a hundred times his salary as a “United States Senator. Walsh is a poor man, as wealth is counted today .—giving his giant ability to his coun- try for pure love of it. He would spurn the suggestion of a bonus for “this outstanding service. But were cne sugegsted thousands of pygmies on all sides would appear to oppose .it for no other reason than that Sen- ator Walsh is a Catholic. —This paper will support the nomi- nee of the Democratic party for Pres- jdent. It will take no part in the primary contest for that office, but in order that there may be no misun- derstanding as to where the writer is personally, we want to tell you that .he will vote for Smith delegates to the national convention. As we have often said in this column we have yet to be brought to believe that a country founded ' on religious tolerance will proscribe a good man because of his creed. We shall vote for Smith dele- gates because Smith is wet and we hope if he is nominated his opponent will be dry because we want to see -that question settled in a national ‘referendum. Neither one of them are political issues and both are a menace to the stability of our gov- “ernment. We’re keen for a show- down. It’s time our country discov- ers what manner of men and women comprise its citizenry. The issue we weuld have raised would, to a de- gree, answer that question. For all the numbskulls who believe that if Smith were elected President the « Pope would move into the White House and all ‘the silly folks who think that a wet President could ir- rigate a dry land would vote on the one side. On the other side would be the ballots of all Americans loyal enough to support section III of ar- ticle VII of our constitution which says: “no religicus test shall ever be required as qualification to any of- fice or public trust under the United States,” as well as those who believe, with us, that prohibition is only a banner under which fanatics and sen- timentalists are herded by paid ag- itators in an attempt to bring about by law what the home, the church and . society alone can accomplish. It’s temperance, not prohibition that the . country needs. And men can be in- “temperate in many things besides the use of beverages over one-half of one per cent. STATE RIGHTS AND FEDERAL UNION. rm —— ———— VOL. 73. BE Denouncing a Pernicious Practice. The practice of “packing” commit- tees of Congress and commissions of government, which has grown to dan- gerous proportions in Washington in recent years, got a rather rude jolt the other day when Senator Reed, of Missouri, denounced the decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission in the Lake cargo coal case. The dis- cussion which followed recalled the fact that a few years ago Senator Dave Reed attempted to force the ap- pointment of Cyrus Woods, of West- moreland county, an attorney for and shareholder in certain bituminous coal companies of western Pennsylvania, into membership of the Interstate Commerce Commission when the Lake cargo case was pending in that body. It is of reccrd that when the tariff commission expressed an inclination to reduce the tariff on sugar some years ago President Coolidge pre- vailed on one of the commissioners to resign and put in his place a ram- pant tariff monger who voted to in- crease, rather than decrease the fax rate. Later when the recounting of the vote in the Wilson-Vare contest was lodged in the Committee on Priv- ileges and Elections Senator Goff; of West Virginia, who, though a Repub- lican, was known to favor Wilson, was induced by some influence to resign from the committee and Senator Mos- es, of New Hampshire, a bigoted par- tisan, was substituted in his place. poses, were perversions of justice. In his statement of the case Sen- ator Reed, of Missouri, alleged that just prior to the decision of the com- mission in the Lake cargo coal case Senator Dave Reed, of Pennsylvania, approached two members of the body whose terms of office were about to end, and who had previously voted against the decision, and notified them that unless they reversed them- selves they would not be re-appoint- ed. Thus threatened they did “about face” and made possible a decision which it is charged, and not denied, gives the bituminous coal operators ir the Pittsburgh district an immense advantage over the producers in West Virginia, “Kentucky and Tennessee. What the result will be remains to be seen. —Probably the experience of Harry Sinclair and Tom Cunningham en- couraged Colonel Stewart of the Inm- diana Standard Oil company to show contempt for the Senate. Tracing a Corruption Fund. The trail of the Teapot Dome oil lease scandal has finally led up to the Republican National committee. Jo- seph P. McMahon testified before the scandal that his firm, Potter & Co., New York brokers, “on November Co., of New York, $75,000 in Liberty bonds of the first 8% per cent issue and forwarded a check for $74,718.- 87 to T. Coleman DuPont, chairman of the board of the Empire Trust, which held a note of the National committee. Sinclair had previously testified that he contributed $75,000 in Liberty bonds to the committee and the serial numbers showed that they had once been owned by the Conti- nental Trading company, of Canada. The Continental Trading company, of Canada, was the mushroom con- cern organized over night to purchase several million barrels of oil at $1.50 a barrel. It was composed of Sin- clair and Standard Oil corporations, and without exchanging a dollar or movement of the oil it was immediate- ly resold to other companies controlled by Sinclair, O’Neil, Stewart and the few others, at $1.75 a barrel. Out of the profit of several million dollars $525,000 were paid to Secretary of the Interiof Fall for making the lease of the Teapot Dome oil reserve, and the evidence of Mr. McMahon reveals the fact that $75,000 of it was do- nated to the Republican slush fund. A diligent effort has been made to trace the balance of the profits of this sinister transaction but with only partial success. One witness testified that $800,000 had gone to O’Neil, who at a time he thought he was going to die, transferred it to the company of which he was the head, and had been a victim of the swindle. His spasm of penitence ended when his health was restored and for four years he has been living in Eurcpe in order tc dodge a subpoena to testify on the subject. Stewart is in contempt of the Senate because he refused to tell what he knows about it and severai others have sworn they know nothing. But justice, though it may “travel with a leaden heel,” will overtake them in the end. itis —It costs ten years in the peni- tentiary to pretend to be a lord in New York, In some other cities it is a profitable and pleasant employ- ment. These substitutions, for selfish pur- Senate committee investigating the 30th, 1923, sold to the Empire Trust LLEFONTE, PA The determination Hoover to contest with a “favorite son” for the Ohio delegation in the Republican National convention is not only a surprise to many of his friends but a source of alarm to his enemies. It may be said in this instance that the favorite son is not a strong fa- vorite except in ultra prohibition cir- cles, for Senator Willis is neither in- tellectually strong nor politically pop- ular, and the Harding administration rather overfed the public on Ohio Presidents. But the entrance of Hoover into open competition with Willis for the delegates is construed as a trespass by the element which favors Willis and is more than likely to create a bitter fight. The reason given by the friends of Hoover for poaching on the Willis preserve is that it was an actual ne- cessity. The highest estimate that could be obtained of his initial strength in the convention is 350 del- egates, whilst 545 are necessary to nominate. With the strength of all opposing candidates actively against him in the early balloting it would ‘be difficult to annex the nearly 200 votes needed. It was reasoned, therefore, that his initial strength must be in- creased and the Ohio field was ap- praised as the most promising bat- tle ground. If he is able to carry a majority, or even a considerable num- ber, of the Ohio delegates it will have ‘an important influence on the con- of ‘Herbert In all these calculations it is as- { sumed that Mr. Hoover will have the i favor of the Coolidge administration, {and that is probably true so far as | the President is concerned. But the real dominant figure in the Coolidge administration has not yet spoken. | Andy Mellon is, and has been, as “si- ‘lent as a clam” and it is not certain that he is without preference. Mr. : Charles E. Hughes has said that he : is too old to run for President but he "is not too old to be “the whole cheese” {in the Pan-American Congress, just | closed, and to absorb all the glory | of diplomacy, statesmanship and achievement that has come out of that generously advertised enterprise. . | | —Roland Morris, of Philadelphia, | has been suggested as a suitable man | to go to the Democratic convention as i a delegate-at-large, and the party { might go farther and fare worse. | vention. Norris Asks Pertinent Questions. During the discussion of the reso- Iution proividing for a Congressional investigation of the electric power trust, the other day, Senator Norris. of Nebraska, asked, “why is this lob- by down here spending thousands of dollars to prevent this investigation ?”’ That is easy. The lobby is there be- cause those concerned in the creation of the trust are opposed to a Con- t gressional investigation and the ad- | ministration is in sympathy with their purpose. Only a few years ago, eas- !ily within the memory of most of the | Senators, Woodrow Wilson drove all lobbies out of the capitol by simply denouncing them as inimical to order- ly public business. With the retire- ment of Wilson the lobbies returned. Samuel Insull, of Chicago, bought a seat in the Senate for a servile agent in order to strengthen the op- tion. declares such an inquiry “will ruin the business.” He is perfectly will- ing to have an investigation made by the Federal Trade Commission. That commission has been organized to manufacture alibis for such enter- prises as the electric power trust, and in order to make’ its work easy the Attorney General has put restraints on its activities that make it impotent as a corrective agent. Yet there are Senators who plead for the amend- ment of the resolution so as to lodge the inquiry in the commission. the natural resources belonging to the people be exploited by a few million- aires using the people’s money?” That is also a problem easy of solu- tion. It is because those millionaires contribute vast sums out of their un- earned profits to campaign commit- tees with which to corrupt the ballot and elect unfit men to high offices in the government. They have deliber- ately set out to absorb the wealth of the country and reduce the people to a state of peonage. It is the supreme menace of the day and generation and unless the people realize and resist the danger it will prevail. ab —The bill providing for a pilgrim- ege to Paris of the “War Mothers” got through the House of Representa- tives but what the Senate will do to it is plenty. me ———— el esas. —The empty ballot boxes of the “strip” in Pittsburgh caused no sur- prise to the investigators in Wash- ington. ; position to a Congressional investiga- | As a member of the group he Senator Norris asks, “why should - : An Unholy Alliance. - Governor Jackson, of Indiana, has been acquitted of the charge of at- tempt to bribe, not because he is in- nocent of the charge but for the rea- son that a benevolent statute of lini- itations interposed in his behalf. More than four years ago he offered one of his predecessors in office $10,000 for the appointment of a certtain lawyer of Indianapolis to the office of district attorney, the money having been provided by the Ku Klux Klan. The evidence was positive but came too late. In Indiana, as in this State, prosecution for such offenses must be begun within two years after the per- petration of the offense. More than four years had elapsed before the complaint was officially made But the trial was wert was a long drawn out affa the taxpayers of the siderable sum of money. ait brought into public notice the shame- ful condition that has come out of an alliance of the Republican org tion of Indiana and the Klan. Since this combination has come into exist- ence, and probably because of i Governor of the State has sérvec in the penitentiary for malfeasances in office, one mayor of Indianapolis is now serving time and the head of the Klan is in prison under a life sentence. The political morals of the State have become completely bankrupt and one of the conspicuous members of the gang has had the temerity to an- nounce that he is a candidate for President. : In instructing the jury to bring in a verdict of acquittal the learned judge took occasion to express his opinion of political conditions in the State. “How .any Governor of Indi- ana could have believed for one mo- ment that the Ku Klux Klan could have controlled verdicts in the courts,” he said, “I cannot possibly . see. I am perfectly aware of the slime and disgrace of that organiza- tion and participation in politics of the Ku Klux Klan. It has resulted in dishonor to the State of Indiana.” That is the literal truth, and the soon- er it is impressed upon Abe people the better... —_———— —The grand jury for the February term of court, which convened on Monday morning, did not lose any time in disposing of the work pre- sented to them by the district attor- ney. James L. Kerstetter was ap- pointed foreman and of the nineteen bills presented to them seventeen were found true bills and two ignored. The jury completed its work on Tues- day afternoon after making the us- ual inspection of the public buildings, which included recommendations for various repairs and suggestions as to more sanitary conditions. —The coal situation in a nutshell is this: The miner wants so much for mining it, the railroads want so much for hauling it and the retailers want so much for handling it that the con- sumer hasn’t enough to buy it. It isn’t the operator who is responsible for the high price of coal. Today in the soft coal fields of Pennsylvania coal at the mines is little more ex- pensive than it was twenty years zgo. But to get it from the mines into your cellar? That's Where the cost piles up. : i tremens. —The groundhog is now getting credit for the variable weather of the past week, but whether it had: any- thing to do with it or not, it has been a real taste of winter. Snow and rain Friday night and Saturday, with a temperature above fifty degrees, then a drop to four degrees above zero on Sunday morning. More snow Sunday night, high winds on Monday and almost zero weather on Tuesday morning was about as much real winter as any weather of the year. —Congress is about to “renew as- surances of distinguished considera- tion” for President Coolidge by snub- bing him on the navy building pro- gramme. —Some complaint has been made because Pittsburgh is to get three of the seven delegates-at-large to the Republican convention. —The Pan-American Congress op- ened gorgeously and ended in mutual admiration but acocmplished little. —Joe Grundy may be snubbed with impunity by the Mellon machine but he will ever be true to the tariff. —Jim Reed isn’t waiting for the nomination to catch him. He is try- ing to catch the nomination. ! —The Bellefonte High school bas- ketball team defeated the Philipsburg Hi, on the local floor, last Friday evening, by the score of 34 to 23. It was a fast, clean game, FEBRUARY 24. 1928. the minds of A dE Ra ps NO. 8. HIGH SCHOOL GLEE CLUB SCORES ARTISTIC SUCCESS. When one stops to think of the work it takes to train two hundred children of varying ages and aptitude, { to costume and marshal them for such [a performance as was given by the | glee club of the Bellefonte High i school, on Monday and Tuesday even- ings, even more superlative praise ! than is generally being given the pro- duction of “M’lle” Modiste” appears merited. It was splendidly staged, went off with almost professional smoothness, and held two vast au- diences charmed with the subtle com- gn edy of the play itself and the artistic presentation of the interpolated num: bers. 3 Because it was their play, their tri- umph we refrain from further com- ment on it and leave that to the dra- matic critic of “The Bellefontian.” It is the High’s own publication and this week carries the following story of the play: Sw After playing to capacity houses at matinee and two evening perform- ances “M’lle. Modiste” added her name to the long list of Glee Club successes. In perfecticn of technique and in display of color, “M’le. Modiste” is unrivaled. Never, in the history of the High school plays, has such a gorgeous array of rainbow hues greeted the eyes of an audience. As the curtain fell, there were lit- tle murmuring sighs, both of admira- tion for the performance and of re- gret that it had ended. : As the crowd passed along the aisles, “Fifi! Wasn't she wonderful! The character could not have been portrayed with more ease,” was the remark on every lip. And so it was. . Demure yet vivacious, Louise Tanner as “Fifi”, won the hearts of her au- ionaire, was enabled to attain her shed ambition—that of becom- rima donna, we secretly felt, real- Fred one of her own desires. 3 “As Hiram Bent, the millionaire, r Meek had the suave manners, indly air, and the poise of the Peter deserves commendation. Hen- rietta Hunter, as Mrs. Hiram Bent, called forth numerous laughs as she acted the part of the provincial wom- an bewildered by the splendor of the gay city. William Brachbill, as the gouty count, played his part in such a real- istic manner that it was hard to be- lieve that the groans were not genu- ine. Paul Crust, as Captain Etienne, had a true military bearing. The title of captain, we feel, was a just reward for loyalty to country; none the less just the well-deserved reward for loy- ally in love—the hand and heart of ifi. Donald Conrad made a most roman- tic looking French artist; Virginia Kern, as a dancer was bewitching; Kathryn Bullock as Madame Cecile had all the haughtiness of the usual French modiste; Louise Meyer, as Captain Etienne's sister had all the poise and charm of a real French lady; Lenore Morgan, Dot Wilkinson and Margaret Hassinger, as shop girls, were French to the finger-tips; Marie Martin made a most beguil- ing Gypsy fortune-teller—but adjec- tives fail us in setting forth the good . points of the principals. As for the choruses, the grade chil- . dren certainly added to the play. “Dew-Dew-Dewy-Days” was one of the best choruses of the show, and Farina and the Duncan Sisters were the juvenile hits of the season. Little Helen Olpsen as “Eva’ and Druscilla’ Taylor as “Topsy” could have held the stage all evening and made the show themselves, and Lou- ise Tramel was a “Farina” that even Hal Roach® would do well to sign. By far the most gorgeous was the Glow-Worm chorus. The slow, melo- dious music and the perfect rhythm of the dancers, clad in irridescent , hues, held the people spell bound dur- i ing the best chorus in the play. Per- haps, girls, George White has a place for you in his famous “Scandals.” Why don’t you try? We are sure that you could rival the Foster girls. The costumes worn by this chorus were designed by Mrs. Krader. Nev- ‘er in any other High school play were such beautiful and fitting costumes worn. The Colonial chorus in the stately minuet, the “Ice-Cream” boys, the officers and cadet girls—all the chor- uses deserve the highest praise. The school and the town wish to thank Mrs. Krader for the entertain- ment which they enjoyed for two nights and for the great interest she takes in school activities. ea A} eters. —Beginning next Sunday afternoon at 3.30 and continuing about four weeks the musical organizations of the Pennsylvania State College will broadcast an hour’s concert program. The student orchestra will give the first concert to be followed on sue- ceeding Sundays by the men’s glee club, the military band and the man- dolin club. : | railroad cars, SPAWLS FROM THE KEYSTONE. —Vineent Zeole, who “walked into jail” when he called on a& Philadelphia police- man te find out why a search was being made for him, was sentenced to from twenty to forty years in the eastern pen- itentiary for holding up five taxicab drive ers. He got $790. —The Fort Pitt and William Penn hotels, in Pittsburgh, will be managed by the Eppley Hotel company, of which Eugene C. Eppley, of Omaha, Neb., is president, after March 31, it was an- nounced on Tuesday by officials of the Pittsburgh Hotels cempany, which con- trols both enterprises. —The loss of a woman's hand brought a damage award of $100 by a jury verdict, at Butler last week, while $609 damages were awarded by the same jury to the owner of an automobile which was dam- aged in an accident. Louis Rott was awarded the $609 for his damaged car and his wife got $100 for the loss of her hand. —Partly recovered from injuries suf- fered in jumping from a window of a train as it was traveling through the yards at Harrisburg, James Tuttle, 20, wanted in Altoona for robbing the branch of the Altoona First National bank of $3000 on December 28, was removed from the Harrisburg hospital on Friday night and taken to Altoona on a stretcher. ~The quarry plant of the Bethlehem Steel company, at Naginey, broke ground for inmiprovements that will cost in excess of $200,000 and which will increase the capacity for shipping broken limestone to Bethlehem ‘furnaces: at Johnstown. The entire plant will operate electric crushers, cranes, breakers, and screens, all to be built and in service in a few weeks. —Pleading guilty to charges of extor- tion and conspiracy, Emlyn Evans, form. er deputy internal revenue collector at Johnstown, on Saturday, was sentenced, at Pittsburgh, to serve a year and a day in the Federal penitentiary. George Bondy and Milan Savlovich, against whom Evans testified on similar charges, received like sentences. They were charged with ex- torting $1775 from a Johnstown man as Government taxes. W. A. Goll, former deputy internal revenue collector ‘at Beav- er Falls, was paroled for three years when he pleaded guilty to embezzling $3150 collected in taxes. —As the ice went out of the West Branch of the Susquehanna river, at Lock Haven, last Friday, it crushed both wat- er mains of the Lock Haven Suburban Water company, leaving the surrounding villages without water for several hours, until water superintendent C. 8. Harter ordered the use of the emergency pump owned by the company at Mill Hall. The water hydrants of the ‘Suburban company were attached to the Lock Haven water system by means of a fire hose which was stretched across a street in the extrem western end of the city. $ —Damages in $10,000 are asked by Mary S. Foutz, Philadelphia, in an action in trespass instituted in the Franklin county courts against John W. Garrett, Waynes- boro. Mrs. Foutz’s statement sets forth that on the morning of April 3, 1927, she was riding with Garrett in his car on a highway near Greencastle. He drove past anothér car and struck an embankment. She had her arm broken as the result of which it has become permanently stiff and “phe was ‘handicapped in ‘her work as dress. maker. She incurred expense for medieal attention and was unable to work for six weeks, her statement sets forth. —TFranklin 8. Searle, former Harrisburg mail clerk who cashed checks said to have been stolen from the government mails in Altoona and Juniata, plead guilty to possessing and forging crecks for war veterans in federal court in Pittsburgh, on Monday, and was sentenced to 15 months in the federal penitentiary at At- | lanta, Georgia. Sentence was imposed by Judge R. M. Gibson. It was said by I Georve V. Craighead, postoffice inspector, ! that Iarle opened 37 bank accounts in lA I'toona, Juniata, Bellwood, Scrantoa, | Wilkes-Barre and York, using the names of persons to whom the checks were made { payable.’ He forged the checks and. de- ! posited. them in the various banks. It | was said that he obtained about $900 on . the forged checks. ta —Police arrested two shop . laborers at York, on Monday, . for . counterfeiting, charging them with the manufacture of quarters. One man, Luther Arthur Wilt. 29. of York R. D. 10, admitted. the charges upon cross examination and . pointed out the spot, in the Condone creek , there, where he threw the dies early that. morn- ing when he learned police were on his trail. His companion, Patsy, Meyers, 24, denies knowledge of the manufacture or passing of any bogus . money. Rolice learned of the counterfeiting activities last week when the two men are, said to have passed several counterfeit quarters on a West York groceryman. A citizen ob- | tained the license number of the car the men were traveling in at the time and | they were traced by this means. ! —Charged with victimizing farmers in | Lancaster county, Charles Steiner, 39, a ! huckster, Harrisburg,” was arrested on a fyarrant issned by justice’ of the peace | Charles Hicks, Maytown, charged with { obtaining goods by fraud and under false | pretense. According to justice of the foeacs Hicks, Steiner and another Harris- ! burg huckster, Charles Simpson, got pro- | duce valued at $75 from Hiram Nissley, | farmer, loaded it on a truck and then jexplained that since they forgot their i check book they would have to drive to , their hotel for it. They explained they | would return, but never did, Nissley said. | Justice of the Peace Hicks said the two Harrisburg men had operated for three i months throughout Lancaster county and vietimized three other farmers near May- tewn. } —Living at the foot of a mountain near Fields Station, about ten miles from Wil- liamsport, Mr. and Mrs. George Davis combine the good work of providing food for squirrels in the winter with furnishing amusement for themselves. Mr. Davis al- ways has on hand a large supply of pea- nuts for the little animals, which visit his property during the winter as well as during the summer. From the house to a tree about fifty feet away has been stretched a rope, from which, at intervals of two or three feet, dangle strings about a foot long. Each string has a peanut fastene on the end. To obtain the pea- nuts, t 2 squirrels must walk upside down on the stretched rope to one of the strings, where they must hang by their hind legs and reach dowa with their paws to gath- er up the nuts. The Davis family enjoys the entertainment from a window of the house.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers