i
The managers of public utilities |
in Pennsylvania received some
wholesome advice, at the session of
the association held at Bedford
Demorralif Watch.
|
The that P. Gray Meek edited and published for fifty-seven vears and |
now published by his Estate at the Watchman Printing House, Bellefonte, Pa,
Editors. Springs, last week. Mr. D. C.
CHARLES L. GATES MARY GRAY MEEK coon’ of New York, chairman of
To Correspondents. —No communications |
published ess accompanied by the real
name
of the writer, |
In orderi or if of address always
R. the A the new sddreda. |
t is important that the publisher
noid when a subscriber wishes the
paper discontinued. In all such cases |
the subscription must be paid up
date of cancellation,
GEORGE R. MEEK
the National Electric Light associa-
tion, suggested that instead of
“high-hatting” their customers, man- |
agers of utility corporations should |
“devote attention to the establish. |
ment of cordial! relations with thé
| public they serve.” This result may
|be achieved, Mr. Green pointed out, |
by conveying information of the ad-
| vantages of the service they offer
| through the medium of the advertis-
|
to
A sample copy of the “Watchman' will
be sent without cost to applicants,
ing columns of the local newspapers.
| “American business has nothing
‘to fear from a public which is fully
informed,” Mr. Green declared. In
| other words, according to his notion,
the misunderstanding which has
‘grown up between the producers
'and consumers of public utilities is
largely the result of no information
‘or misinformation on the part of
DEMOCRATIC STATE TICKET
Judge of the Supreme Court
CHARLES F. UHL
of Somerset
DEMOCRATIC COUNTY TICKET
JOR O08 Cy Sv SPEARLY the consumers concerning the pro-
of Millheim of Spring Township | cesses of production. No progressive
| community would consent to the
|abandonment of utilities and if the
producers are as altruistic as some
J. VICTOR BRUNGART
County Treasurer of Rebersburg
ROBERT F. HUNTER
of Bellefonte County Auditor of them claim to be, and will lay the
IRVIN A. MEYER | facts before the consumers, in the
Prothonotary of Coburn form suggested or any other ef-
8. CLAUDE HERR
of Bellefonte
fective way, the prejudice which
now exists may be removed, or at
least modified.
CLARENCE A. YEARICK
of State College
Recorder of Deeds Coroner But the utility corporations have
D. A. McDOWELL DR. WALTER J. KURTZ themselves to blame for much of
of Spring Township of Howard
the animosity which has developed
against them. Some of them have
taken advantage of opportunity to
overcharge for service and others
‘have assumed an indifference to
complaint which is offensive. These
things have made it possible for
SOMETHING TO BE ASHAMED OF. ‘demagogues to magnify trifles into
ve offenses. It is an easy mat-
The shailowness of the argument that beer and light Wines tor t; fan sparks of prejudice into
should be legalized because their production would stimulate busi- games of passion, which even “the
ness is a fair measure of the depth of thought that the average ag sense of a good job well done” wil!
: gives to the principles for which our forefathers not extinguish. If the utility cor-
on tn > 2 porations are fair and frank with
ong. i 3 : their customers the trumped-up
Mass psychology is a very potential power and in the present ET efiah politineay mn
period of depression it might be mobilized into such a threatening soon lose force, But the torporas
bogey that the next Congress will legalize
three per cent beer and | tions must do their part.
wines of twelve or fourteen per cent alcoholic content.
County Surveyor
J. THOMPSON HENRY
of Huston Township
Register of Wills
JOHN L. WETZLER
of Milesburg
It can do;
that under the Volstead act. With eyes on November 8, 1932, even 4
he Great Engineer might sign such a bill, should Congress pass it. President Hoover promises that
The Brest 8 g his federal building plan will fur.
Such a denouement would be a terrible commentary on the nish employment for one hundred
country’s understanding of the principles upon which its government thousand men by January 1. What
is founded. hundred thousand of the seven mil-
The American Bar Association, the American Medical Associa- juts Sat Willa Cran, uant
tion, the American Legion have all gone on a record as favoring the ie 3
’ . : a bor, says are idle now?
repeal of the Eighteenth amendment. They have done it, however,
as a matter of principle and not of expediency. ae a
. . .s - -—Mayor “" yy" 4 ow.
If restoration of light wines and beer is to be made only on the
hope that it will furnish jobs for someone then it must be admitted buryport, Mass. spent a recent Sun-
: : day night in the station house of
that He States had no forethought when they ratified the Eighteenth that a He was arrested for |
amendment.
. “Bossy” is maintaining
Those who have given thought to what motivated the Thirteen his reputation for beinga “bad boy,”
Colonies, when they broke away from the rule of George III, of but since that is all the claim he
England, know that “taxation without representation” was only a lever appeared to have for headlines |
smoke screen to conceal the spirit of personal liberty that was our in the Hitiiopolisdh Fe who a
inheritance from Plymouth Rock. blame, Lim: for: ne owing
greatest asset to become frozen. ,
Great principles of government are involved in the Eighteenth |
amendment to our Constitution. Whether it is right or wrong is
the only issue upon which it should be repealed or limited in its ef-
fectiveness. The move to do so on the ground that it would restore
an industry is a puerile attempt. Something that our country
might be ashamed of.
! ~The death of Sir Thomas Lip-
‘ton was not a shock. He was a
very old man and at the age of
eighty-one, from dawn to sunset
‘and from sunset to dawn are the
spans that those who have reached
that age may reasonably expect to
bridge. It would be fine to die
like he did, with the admiration of
‘the world following one to his tomb.
WRITTEN EVIDENCE FOR MR. LEWIS.
At the convention of County Commissioners of Pennsylvania,
at Reading, last week, Highway Commissioner Samuel S. Lewis
walked into a veritable mare's-nest. He was on the program for!
an address, but the temper of the gathering was such that it showed
its hostility the moment he took the platform.
From all quarters of the assembly room Mr. Lewis was heck-
led. All manner of charges were hurled at him. In substance of the club, when “Pepper” names
most of them were to the effect that his Department is being run his salary demand for next season.
more for the aggrandizement of King Pinchot than for the good of 2
the people of Pennsylvania.
3 tas : i Fs History Repeating Itself?
By way of defense the Highway Commissioner plead ignorance
of any such practices in his Department and challenged his hecklers From the New York Times.
to produce evidence in writing. | __It is a gloomy moment in history..
Mr. Lewis is a politician, such a slick one that he manages wiles fo man men Jot in ths es
keep himself in office regardless of what faction of his party is in paper—has there been so much
power. Those familiar with his outspoken denunciation of Gover- grave and deep Spprescnsios. In|
nor Pinchot’s claims of the savings during his former administra- | 28F own comity there i epea)
tion wondered why, when the Governor gave him the fat berth he gnq thousands of our poorest fel-
now holds. Everyone must draw his own conclusion as to the real low-citizens are turned out against
reason for that. Whatever it may have been Mr. Lewis is now the approaching winter without em-
Highway Commissioner of Pennsylvania and he is under fire from ployment. the tical: saidron
all parts of the State. 2
'seethes and bubbles with uncertain-
If he were not so much of a politician his plea of ignorance as t¥- Russia hangs as usual like a
to what is going on in his Department might be accepted, but from
cloud dark and silent upon the hori-
one who runs with the hare and hunts with the hound in Pennsylva-
| British Empire are sorely tried, and
identification of the Highway Department of Pennsylvania, in which gjan insurrection, and with disturb-
——Mr. “Pepper” Martin, the cen-
terfielder for the Cardinals, prob-
ably owns all of St. Louis now.
Pitty poor Samuel Breadon, owner
zon of Europe; while all the ener-
. ea . | gies, resources and influences of the
nia politics it sounds rather specious.
4 - te . are yet to he tried more sorely, in
Before us, under date of August 7, 1931, is a letter bearing coping with the vast and deadly In-
the discharge of a man in Clearfield county is a mandatory order. ed relations in China.
In it there is no mention of the man’s incompetence or of his fail-| Of our own troubles no man can
ure to give a dollar's worth of work for the dollar he received for | 5¢¢ the on Ye only 10 loge
it. It does say, however, that he was discharged because “if nt on no a Vr ser- |
Mr.———does not feel that he can give this administration his
J ! : | ously r. Yet the very haste |
support and co-operation there is nothing left for us to do but drop to be rich, which is the occasion of
Mr.————from our payroll.”
this widespread calamity, has also
bee 3 tended to destroy the moral forces |
Because Mr. happens to be a Democrat it is evident with which we are to resist and]
from the letter that he was discharged not for failure to give the subdue the calamity. |
State full value for the remuneration he was receiving, but because The above. ‘we. Babten to Bad. is]
. » . * plata | y ’ |
of the fact that he wouldn't sell his manhood for a job under this | reprinted from Harper's Weekly of
administration. Oct. 10, 1857. It is always, we
If Mr. Lewis wants written evidence to substantiate the charges | know, Sole Sontfert to be reminded
that were hurled at him at Reading last week we can give him the [OF Sarlter ye tit of :
letter of one of his district superintendents that has convinced US | former generation far more intense,
that either he is not in control of his own Department or that he is relatively, than our own. But, af-
not as slick a politician as he imagines himself to be. ter all, there is a certain element of
I 5 8 | good cheer, even if of a somewhat |
!grim kind, in reading of the misfor- |
—The World's Series now stands St. Louis 3, Athletics 2. The | lines a er Hines. The
teams are in St Louis where the fight will be finished. The As will jn the instance cited the parallel is |
have to win two straight to repeat as world champions and, accord- |almost uncannily close—the strong-
ing to Connie J 1 i er may be our faith that we, too, |
i x Mack, they can’t be called champions unless they do A Tg eT Sg
per, the Slough of Despond.
-
Good “Advice to Utility Corporations. *
| Every
the Public Relations committee of express whatever opinion
og ou sub,
pu .
‘taining another
'usal country ni
‘role of Homer
This column is to be an open
body is invited to make of
they may bave
Ni Hibelous will be
though we will give the public
the widest latitude in invective
subject is this per or its editor.
tributi will signed or initialed,
Hiibutione wor may desire.—~ED.
From Men Who Know, This
Harrisburg, Pa., Oct. 2, 1931.
Mr. George R. Meek
Bellefonte, Penna.
Dear Sir:
Each issue of the Democratic
| Watchman that reaches me con-
vinces me more of its outstanding
place among the weekly newspapers
of the land and I trust ycu will
pardon me for relieving my feelings,
from time to time, in dropping you
a letter of commendation.
Perhaps the fact that I spent ten
years on a weekly newspaper may
account for my weakness in enjoy-
ing a good one when I see it. If
ever I could have gotten to the place
where I could claim credit for such
a paper as you are publishing I
know my cup of joy would have
been full.
Sincerely yours
WwW. V. D
I Il
While the following was not in
the form of a letter to the Editor
it refers to the Watchman's recent
change of form and expresses the
opinion of one of the ablest of the
younger writers in the field of Penn-
sylvania journalism. Marion Schoch
owns and edits the Selinsgrove
Times. That must be mere play
for him, because his contributions to
metropolitan journals appear almost
daily.
Praise from a writer who has
made a name for himself that any
of us might envy, is praise indeed
and for that reason we publish what
what was said of the Watchman by
Mr. Schoch in his “Pepper Box"
last week.
Speaking of other days.
Bellefonte Watchman, that brilliant-
ly edited, last survivor of that old
school of personal journalism in the
weekly field in which the first page
was the editorial page, changed its
make-up last week for the first
time in the seventy-six years of its
scholarly and fearless expounding
of the doctrine of Democracy. The
Watchman's two outstanding col-
umns, Ink Slings, and Spawls from
the Keystone, continue to occupy
their old positions in the first and
last columns of the first page re-
spectively, but the other four col-
umns of that page were filled with
news this week rather than their’
traditional editorial observations.
The four columns of editorial com-
ment were removed to page four,
where a double-column masthead
appeared and under it a double-
column editorial in typography like
the editorials of the old Philadelphia
North American. Another innova-
I tion there is the appearance of the
names of G.orge R. Meek and Mary
{Gray Meek as editors. The Watch-
man was founded by their distin-
guished father in 1855 and edited
by him for fifty-seven years. Tho
that son and daughter of the found-
er, with their associate Charles L.
Gates, edited The Watchman the
score of years since his death, they
did their work anonymously and
continued to carry their deceased
father's name in the masthead as
editor until last week, thereby main-
tradition of that
praiseworthy institution, The Belle-
'fonte Watchman. The newspaper
continues distinct in its make-up in
that large type is not used for head-
lines. Perhaps scare heads are to
be adopted too for The Watchman,
for George R., observes in the re-
vamped edition of the 25th:
“After fifty six years of residence
in this particular column of this un-
per “Ink Slings”
are threatened with eviction. The
management is thinking of relegat-
ing them to 4. Can it be that
we are slipping?”
The above paragraph may smack
too much of newspaper shop talk to
be of absorbing interest to those
readers of The Pepper Box, who are
not interested in the mechanics of
the publishing business, but to those
who have been reading The Watch-
man many years and admiring it all
the while, the change is worthy of
note as well as careful consideration
of George's shoot-the-shoots query.
-——At a special session of court,
Saturday morning,
ring presented a petition for the pa-
L. Ilian, from the
Allegheny county work house. On
May 19th, 1931, Illian was sentenced
‘on two counts for a violation of the
liquor laws, one for three months
and the other for nine months
and $400 fine. He is also under
indictment for a violation of the
liquid fuels act. He has served his
three months sentence and about a
month and a half of his second sen-
tence, and attorney Woodring stated
in his petition that arrangements
have been made to pay the fine and
costs. The court granted the pa-
role with the understanding that
Illian is still subject to the liquid
fuels charge and action on it will
depend largely on his conduct after
returning from the work house.
——During August 27,958 appli-
cants for automobile operator's li-
cense were examined by Troop C, of
the highway patrol. Of the num-
ber 7669 failed to qualify. At the
Bellefonte station 307 passed and
105 failed.
The
S. Kline Wood-
FIFTY YEARS AGO
| IN CENTRE COUNTY
Items taken from the Watchman issue | The Board of Game Commission-
| of October 14, 1881,
| w—
| —On Wednesday night the drug
store of Howard A. Moore, at How-
ard, in which is also the jewelry
!store of Marius Miner, was broken
into and robbed of a lot of chains
rings that had been left out-
the safe. Mr. Miner slept over
store but the theives went about
work so quietly that he heard
' nothing.
—Mr. Bauer, from St. Mary's has
been conducting a school in
manship, at Hublersburg, for the
| past four weeks.
| —Fire broke out on Chaney &
| Thompson's coaling, two miles west
‘of Port Matilda, on Friday, Sept.
' 30th, and as everything was so dry
it soon got out of control. Several
thousand dollars worth of bark, logs
and cord wood were destroyed.
—The advance blasts of Old Bor-
eas have been felt during the week.
—A building valued at $5000.00
and owned by J. F. Steiner, was
destroyed by fire in Philipsburg the
latter part of last week.
—A little daughter of David
Glenn, of Howard street, died on
Sunday and was buried on Wednes-
day. She was only two years old
and had eaten some water-color
paints that had been given her by
other children.
--While driving from town to
their home in Spring township, last
Saturday night, Mr. Harrison Kline
and his good wife met with an acci-
dent that injured both of them se-
verely. For some unaccountable rea-
son their team took sudden fright
at something and wheeled about in
the road so unexpectedly that the
conveyance was overturned, throw.
ing both Mr. and Mrs. Kline out.
—The closing day of the county
fair, last Friday, drew an unexpect-
edly large crowd. The racing was
good. As Lock Haven failed to
show up for its base-ball game with
the State College team a nine was
“picked” on the grounds to take the
field against the collegians. It was
a great game, but the college boys
defeated our fellows 31 to 22. In
the foot race between A. Pullin,
Charles Schmidt and William
O'Leary, once around the track for
$5, O'Leary came third.
the Boy's Branch of the Y. M. C. A.,
added 33 recruiis, bringing its roster
up to 148. They completed ar-
rangements for bringing Ralph Bing-
ham, the eleven year old boy orator
from Richmond, Va. here to give
one of his entertainments.
——Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hoover, of
Unionville, celebrated the silver an-
niversary of their wedding, last Fri-
day by holding open house all day.
Addresses were made by Revs. W.
W. Morris and J. A. Woodcock, A.
J. Griest and Tonner Leathers. Mrs. |
Woodcock sang a solo. Toward
evening the older folks departed
and the younger friends of the fam-
(ily flooded the house and there was
until mid-
plain dancing and singi
night. Among the lefonters
there were Mrs. Orie Hoover, Miss
Bella Hoover and the two young ac-
complished and fascinating daugh-
ters of Mr. Humes,
—E. C. Bender Esq., late editor of
the Philipsburg Journal, has moved
his family to York, Pa. Mr. Ben-
der was a lumberman as well as an
editor and was quite successful in
both.
—Gen. James A. Beaver, of Belle-
fonte, William V. Emery, of Wil-
liamsport, and Samuel Auchenbaugh,
superintendent of the nail works at
Crescent, have formed a copartner-
ship and will begin the erection ofa
nail mill in Bellefonte at once. The
partners left for Buffalo yesterday
to contract for the machinery.
—The Hollidaysburg n-
dent to the Altoona Sun says: “Yes-
terday Mr. Bruce Lingle was united
in the holy bonds of matrimony to
Miss Lilah Knox, one of Newry's
fairest and most accomplishéd young
ladies. The groom is from Le-
mont, Centre county, Pa.
ANOTHER MURDERER
PAYS THE PENALTY
William C. Snipes, Bucks county
murderer, was electrocuted at Rock-
view penitentiary on September
28th, the fourteenth person—thirteen
men and one woman—to go to the
chair so far this year. Snipes was
one of three youths who robbed Ed-
ward Gamils, proprietor of the Blue
Spruce inn, near Trevose, Bucks
county, of $500 then shot him dead
in his tracks. Two of the three
| young men were given life imprison-
ment and Snipes, who did the shoot-
ing, was condemned to death. The
robbery and shooting occurred last
February.
About three weeks ago Snipes at-
tempted suicide by setting fire to
his cot in the Bucks county jail
then lying down on it, but was res-
‘cued before the flames made much
headway. He made no statement
before his execution, that morn-
ing, but said goodbye to the chap-
lain in a voice that showed no fear.
The young man was said to be a
member of a well to do southern
family, and has six sisters and a
brother living at Lancaster, 8S. C.
His was the 220th electrocution at
| Rockview since the establishment of
the death chair.
——Centre county is generally re-
garded as a farming community, but
more than half it's area is moun-
tain land. To be exact just 496,000
acres out of a total of 733,440 are
covered with forests, most of it
‘scrub and second growth . Clear-
field county has 500,000 acres of
| forest land, Potter 510,000 and Mc-
| Kean, with 565,000 acres, is ninety
| per cent. woodland.
—At its meeting Monday night
A HODGE—PODGE OF
NEWSY INCIDENTS.
i
|ers have decreed an open season for
‘both bucks and does for 1931 —De-
.cember 1st to 15th, inclusive, Sun-
days excepted. This will no doubt
mean an increased slaughter of the
fleet-footed animals during the hunt-
ing season but it will greatly les-
sen the sport of the chase unless
the hunters are gallant encugh to
spare the female of the species. On
jan ordinary drive, in past seasons,
‘half a dozen does were driven out
to one buck, and the regular hunt-
|ing party ought to have little
trouble in shooting down their limit
‘the first day, and their hunting sea-
son will be over before it has right-
ly begun, which will take all the
fun and excitement out of deer
hunting this season.
The Game Commission's reason
for declaring an open season, too
‘many deer in the woods, is well-
founded. One Bellefonter who re-
cently made two automobile trips
‘out through the Allegheny moun-
tains counted eighty-six deer on one
trip and over sixty on the other.
Down in the Woodward Narrows
they are reported so plentiful that
they actually jump at autos passing
along the road at night. This con-
‘dition has been brought about
through the game protective laws of
the State.
Older residents of Bellefonte who
can remember back forty years ago
will probably recall that while there
were no game laws in those days,
and deer were killed most any time
in the year, the natural hunting
season was in the fall. The Gentz-
el hunting party was about the
only organized gang of hunters in
this section and they always went
to the Green Woods, in Clearfield
county. Whether they stayed a
week or a month they invariably
came home with a two horse wagon
load of dead deer. There were no
regulating laws in those days. In
fact the first game law was passed
in 1897 when an Act of the Legisla-
ture fixed the month of November
as the seasen for deer. In 1907 a
new act fixed the season as the
first two weeks in December and
made bucks with visible horns the
only kind of deer that could be
|legally killed. Thus the does were
protected in the entire State for a
period of 16 years. In 1923, 1924,
11925 and 1926, two day seasons for
does were declared in several or
| more counties in the State. In 1928
| there was an open season for does
only, and in 1930 there was a spe-
cial season for does in restricted
areas. And now every hunter will
doubtless be on the anxious bench
for the 1931 season for both bucks
and does to open.
For some time past we have beer
wondering where all the money that
is supposed to be im circulation has
gone to, but now we have discover:
ed that the Republicans have it. At
{least it locks that way from a sum:
'mary of the expense accounts filec
in the Prothonotary’s office by the
| various candidates at the recent
| primaries. A comparison show:
that only four Democratic candi
dates spent in excess of fifty dol
lars during their primary campaign
and those four a total of $589.55, o:
an average of $147.39. Twenty
two out of a total of thirty-nim
Republican candidates spent in ex
cess of fifty dollars, in fact all tol
$5,110.86, or an average of $232.31
‘Philipsburg candidates were the bes
‘spenders, five of them putting ou
$1559.27, or an average of $311.85.
Down at the Bloomsburg fair, las
‘week, prizes were paid for the bes
exhibits of homemade bread and w
were really surprised to see tha
there was quite a competition ©
this line by the housewives of Co
{lumbia county. In most of th
|counties of the State baking o
‘bread in the home is almost a los
art. Time was when bread-bakin;
days came around twice a week a
regular as Sunday but the automc
bile has made it so convenient t
drive to a bakery for the staff c
life that many women who used t
bake prefer the drive in the autc
mobile to watching a baking ¢
bread in a hot oven.
Every winter, it seems, som¢
thing turns up to interfere with th
| perfect attendance marks of kiddie
at school. Last winter it was th
chicken pox, measles and mump
with a few cases of scarlet ras
thrown in. Now it is the Iris
itch, if you know what that is; an
|a number of children who have
‘have been sent home from schor
for a period of two weeks. A
| evidence thai there is a lot of iti
| Bellefonte one druggist has put vu
| forty prescriptions recommended ¢
'a cure for it.
Last Friday evening there we
‘considerable shooting on Bald Eag
mountain, south of Unionville, ar
| people who heard it have been tr}
ling to figure out whether it we
| some persons shooting mark or pt
hunters after either deer or wi
| turkeys. It is a known fact th:
| there are a number of deer on ti
mountains in that section as the
'have frequently been seen durir
the summer; and there is also qui
a large flock of young wild turke:
{in that locality, as they also ha
been seen.
| ——Don't be a pessimist. Be ¢
|optimist and boost Bellefonte.