3
THE COLUMBIAN.
f.l.OOMSBURG, I'A.
TIUUSDAY. uKCEMHER 2i, tg-is.
STATE ORANGE
Report of the Legislative Committee
The sessions of the State Grange
at Sunbury closed last Friday.
Tlie following report of the com
mittee on legislation sets iorth the
position of the organization on
many matters of public importance:
Worthy Master and Members of
the Pennsylvania State Grange:
Your Legislative Committee beg
leave to report that we have given!
during tlie past year carelul consid
eration to legislation affecting the
agricultural interests of our State
and made every effort to carry out
the instructions of tins body given
to us one year ago at the Erie meet
ing. Under these instructions we pre
pared and presented to the last
Legislature bills on those subjects,
with the following results. A bill
to allow trolley roads to carry
freight. Killed by the Committee
on City Passenger Railways. Bills
favoriug th; return of all license
money and personal property taxes.
Pigeonholed in the Ways and
Means Committee. Bills regulat
ing railroads and passenger rates.
Pigeonholed in the Railroad Com
mittee. Bills favoring legislation
for the initiative and referendum.
Pigeonholed in the committee.
Bill for ballot reform. Pigeon
holed in committee. Bill for a gen
eral primary electioa law met the
me fate.
Nothing further was said about
the treatment that the farmers re
ceived at the last session of that
subservient Legislatura until one
day in November last, we think it
was the seventh, when it was dis
covered that the people registered
a mighty protest against this kind
of treatment. And should this
plan of defeating all reibrm move
ments continue there will be a
mightier protest next time. The
people are beginning to learn that
political parties are supposed to
carry out the wishes of the people,
and when they fail to do this it is
our duty to apply the remedy.
In the matter of taxation we can
only repeat what has been said by
this committee for more than 15
years that the grossest inequali
:ies exist in our present tax laws.
Our present method of Stnte tax
ation is not based on acts of Legis
ature, but cm , decisions of the
ourts, so that we find that compet
ng corporations in the same town
r city are taxed differently. One
jays State taxes on its capital stock,
onded indebtedness and gioss
:arnings, while the other pays no
State taxes at all. We refer to
slectric light and gas companies.
Vnd it is common knowledge that
he latter is not taxed because the
irtlficial gas plants either by pur
:hase or lease. In short our tax laws
tra made to favor trusts and mono
polies and cannot be changed on
iccount of their campaign contri
intions.
The old chestnut that the farmer
md other real estat; owners
ay no State tax is very
lelusive. Real estate is paying
.bout 15 mills tax cn the dollar,
rfhile corporate and personal prop
erty is paying an average of three
3) mills. The fact that one pays
is takes to the State and the other
0 the local authorities can not
ake up for this injustice. Be
cause of this inequality the great
orporate interests and their agents
re opposed to any change in our
angling tax laws.
The Grange plan of retaining in
:he counties the license and part of
:ae personal property taxes is uieet-
1 lg with more favor aud is the cor
A Mattter
There is a quality in Royal
Baking Powder which pro
motes digestion. This pecu
liarity of Royal has been
noted by physicians, and
they accordingly use and
recommend it exclusively.
ROYAL BAKINO POWDER fO., NEW VOBIC
Bad Blood
Is responsible for most cf
the diseases and ailments of
the human system. It se
riously affects every organ
and function, causes catarrh,
dyspepsia, rheumatism,
weak, tired, languid feelings
and worse troubles. Take
Hood's Sarsaparilla
which purifies and enriches
the blood as nothing else can
For testimonials of remarkable cures
end for Book on the Blood, No. 3.
C I. Hood Co., Lowell, Mas.
rect way of keeping down the sur
plus. The return of these taxes
would reduce local taxes to that
amount and equalize taxation to a
certain extent.
The laying up of a large surplus
by the State is wrong in principle,
because it breeds corruption and
extravagance! it is wrong in law,
since the governmental function in
taxation is to collect only such
amounts of money by taxation as is
actually needed to run the govern
ment economically.
Suppose a municipality would
collect twice as much money from
the taxpayers as it needs for its
schools, roads, etc. how long would
the taxpayers tolerate it ? Yet this
is practically what we are doing in
our State finances. A reasonable
surplus, say from one to two mill
ions of dollars, is all that the State
should carry. Our tax laws are
badly in need of revision. The
Grange must keep on pointing out
the way. Eternally keeping at it
will win success.
ROADS
The Grange secured the passage
of a Township Road Law at the last
session of the Legislature. Its prin
cipal features are the election of a
continuous board of three supervis
ors one being elected each year and
all to serve without pay. Their
duties are similiar to thosa of the
school board. This Board appoints
Road Masters, fixes wages, and
may contract out the building of
roads for a continuous period not
to exceed three years to the same
taxpayer, and for a stretch of road
not exceeding three miles in length.
By petitioning court the citizens of
a township may secure the right to
decide by ballot whether the road
taxes shall be paid in cash. In
case the voters decide to pay cash
the township will receive fifteen
per cent, of the amount raised in
said township. Your committee
recommends that the percentage
borne by the State be increased to
fifty per cent., as in the States of
Delaware and New York.
So far the various townships of
Pennsylvania have built and main
ed the 100,000 miles of public
reads, at a cost of over four millions
of dollars annually. The State
Grange years ago took the position
that as the public roads were used
by all the people, all should con
tribute to their building and main
tenance. This proposition is funda
mental and must be respected.
This new Township Road Law
has been published in the official
paper of our order, the Grange
News, as well as explanations rela
tive to the more important points.
It passed the House and Senate un
animously and while not perfect it
should receive the support of every
one that is interested in having a
system in the management of our
public roads. One of the strong
points of this new law is that it
puts all the power in the hands of
the people instead of delegating it
to outsiders. K ven the provisions
allowing the voters to adopt a cash
tax can be repealed by the same
authority it not satisfactory. The
THE COLUMBIAN.
I law has been attacked because the
I Board of three supervisors receive
! 110 pay. In our opinion this is one
j of the bet Icatures of the law, as
it will have a tendency to secure
1 the services of men who are inter
j csted in good roads at the lowest
I possible cost. And it is our hope
j that the farmers of the State wilt
: make nn effort at the coming Feb
ruary election to put the law into
I operation in good shape, and what
ever its defects are can be remedied
j at the next s.'ssbn ol the Legis
lature. I STATIC ROAD LAW
At the last Legislature, through
the efforts of the Grange, the part
which the township and county pay
( toward the building of a State road
was reduced from one-sixth to one
eighth each. Another change is
j that applications must be tiled bv
I May 1st of each year or the momy
1 will go to those counties that have
application filed for more than
their share of the state aid. This
state road law needs some radical
changes because it is impossible for
the State Department to build roads
in 67 counties in the state at the
same time, unless it has a regiment
of men nt Harrisburg. This is too
expensive and slow a business.
The red tape around this law must
be removed. The money paid
direct to the counties. The depart -ment
having the overseeing power
with the right to withhold the ap
propriation if a road is not properly
built. The cost of these roads are
excessive and we are opposed to
bonding counties and townships
for their construction. It would
seem reasonable that some cheaper
method could be devised for build
ing many roads which would
answer the same purpose as the
more costly ones. Another subject
that is coming up and creating a
greai deal of trouble is the reckless
use of automobiles on our public
toads. It has come to pass that
we farmers are afraid to send our
wives and daughters out with a
carriage lest they be injured or
killed. So far the automobile
people have paid little or no tax
toward building or maintaining our
country roads, and while under the
law tbey have a right to travel
them, we insist that they use the
greatest care.
SCHOOL APPROPRIATIONS
The appropriation to Township
High schools was increased from
$100,000 to $200,000 at the last
session of the Legislature through
the effpits of the Grange. Our
common school appropriation
should be increased. We are not
appropriating as much to them as
we did when the treasury carried
no surplus, because there are de
ductions made that were not made
at that time.
IHKKCT LKOISLATIOX
On tiiis subiect we ouote from
our report of last year, as follows:-
Keiative to the initiative and
referendum the Grange cannot
aliord to take a backward step
when we consider that this is no
new thing, except perhaps, the
name. Manv Questions in the nast
have been referred to the people for
their approval or (disapproval. The
constitution gives us a right to pe
tition Congress and the Legislature
in favor or against measures. The
initiative and referendum in onlv a
more extended use of privileges we
now possess and its adoption is sure
to come. It seems to be a wise
method to overthrow the work of
corrupt officials and give the peo
ple a chance to enact laws iu their
interests."
PURR FOOD LEGISLATION
We congratulate the State Grange
upon having secured the enactment
several years ago of a state oleo
law, which, under its vigorous en
forcement by our present Diiry and
Food Commissioner, has proven
itself to be highly efficient. In
this age of food grafters it ij highly
necessary to have a National pure
food law establishing uniform reg
ulations in all states. Honest man
ufacturers, as well as consumers,
are entitled to this protection. We
favor striking out the word "know
ingly" in the Federal olto law and
insist that no reduction be made in
the tax upon colored o'eo.
We favor a parcel post. Postal
savings bank, election of U. S.
Senators by a direct vote of the
people, and endorse the action of
the President in his efforts to grant
greater powers to the Interstate
Commerce Commission as was in
tended when the act was originally
passed. There is no subject on
which the people are so thoroughly
united. We tavor the passage of a
law allowing the manufacture of
de-naturalized alcohol. We be
lieve there should be some changes
in our present tariff laws. For in
stance, can anyone give a reason
why we should have a tariff on
lumber and then spend millions for
lorestry, permuting our trusts and
monopolies to sell cheaper abroad
OASI'OIIIA.
Bean tha A ma hw tou nan Aiwayi
1 ha Kind You Haw Always Boufht
BLOOMsBURG, PA.
than at home.
In conclusion we wish to empha
size the fact that in order to secure
the needed legislation we must be
alert. The appointment of Legis
lative committees in ur Subordin
ate and Pomona Granges will help
us materially. The committee ex
tends its thanks to the newspapers
that have so ably championed the
nieasiin in which farmers are vi
tally iincrested.
Bibles, teacher's edition, large
and small at Mercer's Drug and
Book Store.
IXKCTION NOTICE.
The onnuiil mm-tlntf oftlio policy holder ot
Mm MrliirrivrK FHiiiii'r'n Mm mil Insurance!
Omnimnv ot Mm" KM tv I'd., will bn hel l at
the Hull or Oi-iiim Urnnge No. !9 '. nf H. on
'I'm-wliiy .Inniiiii)' t) li, lwuii, helweon IIih hour,
or 10 a. M. mil 2 r. M , ror tun elccilon or
twelve Itlrcof'im to pi ve ror t lie vriHUlnK your
and ror the trnnnncilon nf men other business
an may pr.urly come before iwld mprtlnu.
11. a. tuo
Hoc. .'I, 81
Secretary
At Wharf's Utnua Store
Salad dishes from 15 cents to $2.'
50. Orange bowls, $2.00 to $2.50.
Chocolate sets, ascents to $6.50.
Sugar aud cream sets, 2.s cents to
$2 50. Cereal Jars, 50 cents to $2.75
Jardiniers, 17 c;nts to $4.50. Bread
and butter plates, from 10 cents
each to $6.70 per dozen.
Fine Hue of hand painted china
in odd pieces. 2t
Tocket Books for ladies and
geutlemen at Mercer's Drug and
Book Store.
The Smallest Coin.
The natives ot the Malay Peninsula
have in use the very smallest current
coin in the world. It is a sort of waf
er, made from the resinous Juire of a
tree, and is worth about onc-ten-thou-sandth
of a penny. The smallest metal
coin in circulation at the present day
is the Portuguese three-reis piece,
worth twelve-one-hundredths of a pen
ny. The smallest coin circulating offi
cially in any part of the British empire
is the flve-mllloslma piece of Gibraltar,
about half a farthing. Lahore Trib
une. 1
Great Depths of Ocean.
A French writer in a scientific mag
azine tells of the great ocean depths
of 28,0u0 to 30,000 feet, the tempera
ture tending toward zero, the perpetual
darkness ranging below depths of
about 1.2S0 feet. At that level plants,
deprived of light, cannot exist. The
organs of sight, not being used, have
become atrophied and disappeared. Yet
there is light even in that sightless
world. A German exploring ship found
a fish with enormous eyes at a depth
of 6,400 feet. Exchange.
Eccentricities of the Shah.
Recently he came upon a kitten that
immediately charmed him. For a
while the shah played with the kitten,
and at last he picked it up and present
ed it to the grand vizier with the in
structions to take good care of it. Its
owner, the wife of a gardener, ven
tured to protest. She loved the kitten,
she could not part with it; but the
grand vizier threw her a piece of gold,
silenced her with an awful look, and
walked off with the kitten under his
arm.
India's Mounted Nurse Corps.
India has a Btaff of mounted army
nurses. The Indian government allows
these ladies of the Indian nursing serv
ice 30 rupees a month for the upkeep
of their horses, and free conveyance of
their animals to and from active serv
ice. This corps ot nurses are all ladies
of good social position, and have to un
dergo'three years' training in a general
hospital before qualifying.
A Valuable Crown.
The Pope has ordered a firm of Flor
ence jewelers to manufacture a crown
set with imitation stones for the Image
at the Virgin in the basilica of the
Vatican, in place of a crown containing
gems valued at $7,600,000, which is to
be deposited in the vaults of the Vati
can. Hindu children are remarkable foi
their precocity. Many of them are skill
ful workmen at an age when European
children are learning the alphabet. A
boy of 7 may be a skillful wood carver,
while some of the handsomest rugs are
woven by children not yet in their
teens. ,
Fortunate is the man who
to his wife.
a hero
BRIGHT'S DISEASE-GRAVEL
"I htve long reBOlvod that I
would apprise you of the deep
u nre of obligation which I Ivii.
There ii nothing which J now
enjoy I hut I do not o o to die
line of Dr. Jliivid Kennedy'
Favorite Keinedy at a time when
I wnmsulTirihn till that a human
being could endure. My troubles
beuuu iu uiy. kidney uud
I Never Expected
to Recover.
I wai compelled to ueo a cane
when I wulki-il. And I tlruMv ...it
to weak that I could not taud aluue. My niiy
vician mill I kail Hri;lit' Dineaae, which wa, In
deed, alarming information. To add to my a mic
tion, lifter I had been ill about two years, 1 had a
had atlacU of gravel. I auw Dr. David Kennedy'
Favorite Keinedy advertised In our iaer. After
uaing one bottle 1 threw away my ei.ne and went to
New York on a vlait, and three botUe cured me. I
have never had a return of gravel, nor of the pain
or wenkneH in the back, aud though X am over
sixty year of age
I Am Novy Vigorous and Strong
a I wa In my prime. I do all my own work and
rarely know what it I to be tired. What phyilclau
aud all of the many remedie I had taken could not
do Dr. Kennedy' Favorile Hemedy ilid( It tayed
the diaeue and made me a ttroiig, vigorous woman.1
Mr. Kmellue P. M liner, Burg IIU1, Ohio.
Dr.D.Kennedy's Favorita Remedy
Prepared at Rondout, N. T.
Sold by all drugj-iila, aiabotUaj forfo.
XXXXXXXXX?
SANTA
Will Visit Us
flonday Dec, 4th to Sat
urday Dec.
day at 10 to
3 to 4 afternoons.
Children with parents
or guardians admitted.
Ayerk Pills
JfZi
California
Thirty Days' Tour via Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany has arranged for a special personally-conducted
tour through
California, to leave New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wash
ington on January 25 by the
"Golden Gate Special," composed
exclusively of Pullman parlor
smoking, dining, drawing-room,
sleeping, compartment, and observ
ation cars, rttirning by Feb. 23.
This special train will be run over
the entire route. The best hotels
will be used where extended stops
are made, but the train will be at
the constant command of the party.
Round-trip tickets covering all
necessary expenses, $375 from all
points on Pennsylvania Railroad
except Pittsburg, from which point,
the rate will be $370.
For itineraries aud further infor
mation apply to ticket agents; C.
A. Studcta, Eastern Passenger
Agent, 263 I'tlth Ave., New York;
Hugh Hasson, Jr., Passenger
Agent Baltimore District, Balti
more, Md,; B. M. Newbold. Pass- ,
enger Agent Southeastern District, .
Washington D. C; Thos. K. Watt, j
Passenger Agent Western District, I
Tittsburg, Pa.; or address Geo. W.
Boyd, General Passenget Agent,
Philadelphia.
W. L. Douglas
W. L. Douglas $3.00,
$3.50 and $400 shoes
have by their Excellent
style, Easy fitting and Sup
erior wearing qualities
achieved the largest sale of
any shoes of the price in the
world.
Fall styles now in stock let
us fit you with a pair.
W. H. MOORE,
Comer Main and Iron Sts.,
BLOOM SB URG, PA.
USE
BLACK If
DfAMOND
WHISKY
. fc-j.
7-8if
S1HIOES
0XXOOO0OOXXX
CLAUS 1
16th. Each f
11 mornings;
Act directly on the liver.
They cure constipation,
biliousness, sick-headache.
Sold for 60 years. fcSrif. 2l:
BUCKINGHAM'S DYE
nrrr era. or tiauiiuura ua n. p. hall co., nuiii't a. a.
Our Pianos j
are the leaders. Our lines in-j
elude the following makes : j
Ciias. M. Stiefk, '
IIknry F. Miller,
Brewer & Pryor, Koiii.er &l
Campbell, and Radel. j
IN ORGANS we handle the ,
Estey, Miller,II.Leiir& Co.,,
AND I30WLHY. ' j
This Store has the agency for j
SINGER HIGH ARM SEW
ING MACHINES and j
VICTOR TALKING
MA CHINES.
p I
WASH MACHINl-J
Helby, 1900, Queen, Key
stone, Majestic.
J.SALTZER,
Music Rooms No. 105 West Main
Street, Below Market.
BL O OMSB URG, PA
NOW IS THE TIME
of year when you think ofclfunliiK
holme, hIho of cleaning tip the rub
biahttnd foul matter whii-h hu ac
cumulated about your preininen, to
guard agaiiiHt BicknexM, hut do you
ever jrlve the second thought to the
old built-in unsanitary lMunihinn
KlxtureH which breed liiHeane ritrhl
in your own houwes'. If you think
of installing
lVliY FfXTUIIKS
I am ready to quote you jrood price
on .STANDAUI) SAXITAh't
UFO. CO'S IliKiim l (Iwnli, nil (ally
guaranteed.
All Jabbing of Plumbing and Heating
Promptly Attendea to.
P. M. REIIXY,
438 Centre St. Hell 'I'lioiu-
vu'jivnfj-i.ij'V
Beagle Stadia,
Prompt attention given
Photographic Work
Crayons, Framing. Copying and Bromid
Enlargements. Hade at Short
Hotlce.
The BeagTe Studio
MAIN AND CENTRE ST.S.