8
THE COLUMBIAN.
BLOOMSBURG, PA.
THURSDAY, FEimUAUY H, K07
HARRISBURQ LETTER.
Special Correspondence.
Harrfclmrg, Pa., Feb. i, 1907,
Six weeks cf the legislative sess
ion of 1907 lias already passed anr
theie lias hardly been enough work
accomplished to form a basis of an
estimate of the character of the
body. Public expectation was high
h may be remarked, probably too
high. The dominant party had
promised a good deal while passing
through the valley of adversity from
tlie flection of 1905 to that of last
bit, and u good many intelligent
people imagine that the present
session would be a sort of a reform
ratification meeting. The first
day's proceedings gave this notion
a hard jolt. The election of Mc
Clain as Speaker of the House and
Woods as President pro tern, of the
Senate was a bad beginning of re
form work and the re-election of
CEtrks Garvin and Judd confirmed
the bad impression that had been
thus created.
There was a deep-seated popular
notion that the absence of the pass
es would keep the legislators to
their work fairly well at least, and
that without materially increasing
the length of the session there
would be ample time to take up,
consider and enact such legislation
s the party platforms had promis
ed. But this hope has been entire
ly disappointed. The first day of
the session was followed by a recpss
of two weeks and so far as practical
results go the Senate has adjourned
for the week every Wednesday.
The constitution forbids the ad
journment of either House for a
longer period thau three days with
out the consent of the other and
wing to a blunder of somebody
the consent of the House for the
Senate to adjourn on Wednesday
until the following Monday evening
was not obtained on one occasion.
But that made no difference to the
Senators. They all went home as
asual and on Thursday Senator
Fox of Dauphin county called the
oody to order at the regular time,
declared the absence of a quorum
ind announced an adjournment un
til the following Monday evening.
That was a technical compliance
with the provisions of the constitu
(ion which quieted the consciences
f those concerned.
PLENTY OF BILLS INTRODUCED
.Considering the frequent and
prolonged recesses, however, for
the House has held no Friday or
Saturday sessions, and the Monday
evening session is not for purposes
of legislation but are to support the
legal fiction that ths constitution is
oeing obeyed, a good many bills
have been introduced and referred
to committees. These cover every
ronceivable subject and include all
he promised reforms. But this
;act simply exemplifies the Biblical
idage (that "many are called and
ew chosen." In other words a
ast. proportion of the measures
'read in place" are duplications,
.is many as a dozen different bills
;jeing submitted on one subject.
Most of these, moreover, are "artful
lodgers." That is to say they are
ills upon subjects on which public
opinion has asserted itself which
nore or less vehemence or consider
ate earnestness, intended to placate
;he demand without accomplishing
.he desired result. They are "leg
slative jokers" which serve the
wrpose of diverting the popular
uind from the reform desired.
They contain language of double
ueaning which can be construed in
one way to the ear of the layman
ut convey a different notion to the
.uind of the lawyer.
The one hope which encouraged
the thoughtful observers of events
about the Legislature was that the
ustomary and iniquitous "pinch
bills" would be cut out of the pro
gramme for this year. "Pinch
bills" are the most prolific source
of revenue to the "grafters" in the
lobby. They come in all forms
but mainly in the form of tax and
insurance legislation. For exam
ple a bill to levy a tax on some
subject not hitherto taxed was a
certain producer. Usually they
are directed against corporations
with plenty of money ana as soon
as they are introduced the corpora
tions concerned are notified that
they can be "killed in com
mittee" for a given sum. The fig
ure is generally high but less than
the tax would amount to in a few
years and the bargain was struck.
It is said that the bill prohibiting
the sale ot cigarettes was introduc
ed as a "pincher" and was only
passed because of the "misappro
priation" of the funds which the
Tobacco trust had paid into the
lobby to defeat it. The iusurance
pinchers were particularly frequent
and productive. During the sess
ion of 1905 a Philadelphia Senator
bad those iu charge. He has re-
Catarrh
Is a constitutional disease
originating in impure blood
and purifying the blood for
lis rauicai ana permanent
cure. Be sure to take
Hood's Sarsaparilla
Nasal and other local forms of catarrh
are duicklv relieved by Catarrlets.
which allay inflammation and deodorize
aucharge.
Hood's Sarsaparilla, all druggists, $1.
Catarrlets. mail order only. 50 cts.
For testimonials of remarkable cures
Send for our Book on Catarrh, No. 4.
C L Hood Co., Lowell, Mass.
cently been favdred by a high office
in the organization.
THE riXCHERS ARE THERE ALL
RIGHT.
The hope that pinchers would be
cut out has been disappointed how
ever. They are not exactly iu the
old form out they are there just the
same. For txample the benator
who distinguished himself by milk
nig insurance companies two years
ago has turned his attention to the
railroads and has a "beaut" in re
ference to eminent domain in al
ready. There are others, moreover.
Among them is a bill "to tax lands
and personal property of railroads,"
"annual State tax on capital stock
of corporations" and so on. The
creation of new offices is another
evil which it was hoped might be
ended. But they are flowing in in
undiminished volume. Keyser, of
Philadelphia, wants a bureau of
elevator inspection and Roberts, ol
Montgomery, wants the number of
employes of the State Highway de
partment vastly increased. Tustin,
of Philadelphia, insists on a State
commerce commission. New courts
are wanted in Philadelphia, Pitts
burg and Delaware county and a
Representative purposes to provide
County Solicitors with stenograph
ers at public expeuse.
e are drifting into a govern
ment by departments in this State
or what might be properly designat
ed a bureauocracy. In other woids
the several departments of the gov
ernment are practically permitted
to control all all legislation on sub
jects amhated in any way with
their departments. "It s no use in
trying to get any legislation," I
heard an experienced Representa
tive remark the other day, "unless
the bureau of the government to
which the legislation relates is fav
orable to it and it is equally impos
sible to defeat any legislation which
any department wants enacted."
That is the most dangerous symp
tom of recent times. Take the
Highway Department, lor example.
Everybody knows that it is rotten
and yet it gets whatever it wants
and nothing that it doesn't want.
It is not because the majority of the
Senators and Representatives are
venal that this is true. On the con
trary it is a safe guess that if the
question could be determined by a
vote of either House the Highway
Department would be torn from
stem to stern" and reorganized on
practical basis. But the com
mittees of the Legislature are or
ganized to serve the machine and
only legislation favored by the bu
reaus is reported from committee.
A FEW OF THE BAD ONES.
In this line there are a few bills
pending which ought to receive
more than a passing notice. One
of these has reference to the killing
of game within the commonwealth
and another to the taking of fish.
Both ot these diversions interest
vast numbers of people. The ob
noxious feature of the pending bills
is a clause requiring all hunters to
take out licenses for which a fee of
a dollar is charged iu each case,
the revenue derived from this spec
ies of robbery going to the Game
Commission and the Department ot
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THE COLUMBIAN,
Fisheries respectively, instead of in
to the State treasury where all reve-
mies properly belong. Obviously
the purpose of these laws is to pro-
tect the game and fish for the con-
vetuence of .wealthy residents of
the cities v ho spend their vacations
in the forests hunting or along the
streams fishing. To serve this pur -
pose to make farmers and their
sons take out licenses to hunt in
woods of their own and fish in
streams which run through their
own farms and farmers who can't
afford to take out such licenses will
ne torbuiuen irom snooting game
even 011 their own farms. That is
about the limit of absurdity and in
justice.
The Department of rorestry is
also in the lobby with a couple of
cokoos. One of these is an act
"to define and establish auxiliary
forest reserves," and the other to
"provide for the taxation of auxil
iary lorest reserves. The first
providss that any owner of "sur
face land on which trees suitable
for merchantable timber or sa.ed
lumber shall be growing and which
if cleared would not be suitable for j
agricultural purposes," mav be '.
constituted a separate and distinct ,
class of lands to be known as auxil-
liary forest reserves." Under the two very excellent lawyers to con
law the Commissioner ot Forestry duct the examination iu the persons
will have the right to appoint ex- of James A. Stranahan, of Harris-
aminers who sMall report to the
County Commissioners and after all
the rigmarole if the Commissioner ,
of Forestry wants to he may so de-
signate the lands. The other meas-
ure limits the taxation on such
land to a valuation of a dollar an
acre, itiis will be an admirable
arrangement for tannery and other
corporations which have or intend
to acquire vast areas of forest.
Their property will be practically
free of taxation until they are ready
to cut the timber iiom it, when it
will be released.
PEANUT POLITICS APLENTY.
The feature of the session i9 the
peauut politics which has already I
been revealed. The Republican '
managers are determined that no !
important legislation shall bear the '
stamp of Democracy and imagine j
they can fool the public with such
t
iiuing expeuiems. 1 nis was ;
shown strikingly, the other day, in
the action of the House committee
on Electric railroads when the bills
to authorize trolley roads to carry
freight were under consideration.
The first bill introduced on the
subject was Mr. Creasy's measure
and it may be added the he was the
first to propose such legislation.
The committee determined, how
ever, that Creasy s bill should not
be reported out. One member who
for some inscrutable reason was
elected in a Democratic district was
particularly active and offensive.
He protested vehemently against
reporting the Creasy bill and de
clared that only Republican reform
measures should be enacted or con
sidered. He imagined that the
bosses of his own party were in
fluenced to the same purpose by
similar considerations. His narrow
vision could discern no other reason
and he was encouraged in his de-
usion, poor, ignorant fool.
As a matter of fact, however,
there was another and more potent
reason for preferring the Homsher
bill. It is an absolute'y harmless
measure. It makes no provision
for the regulation of such trafic by
the local authorities in boroughs
which is the most important feature
of the question. Under existing
aws the passenger traffic of trolly
roads is subject to regulation by
councils and boroughs through
which they run and in which they
operate and considerable revenue
is derived from that source. But
the Homsher bill for trolly freight
relieves them of this burden aud if
it is enacted the corporations can
say to the people go hang. The
Creasy bill gave them no such lib
erty or to speak more exactly such
license. Another difference is that
the Homsher bill Induces elevated
and subway roads. This is ob
viously a "tub to the whales."
There are no elevated roads except
in rmiaaeipma ana tney are oner
atea by steam ana no subways in
the State. Consequently that pro
vision of the bill was put in to make
souud and signifies nothing.
THE COUNTRY CLUB.
The novelty of the session is the
country club and that organization
has afforded a good deal of amuse
ment to a good many people who
don't understand it. In the first
place the impression was conveyed
in the beginning that it was an or
ganization of the country members
to antagonize the city contingent
and compel righteous legislation
and with bam Cochran of Arm
strong county as one of the leaders
it would be hard to imagine any-
tning more absurn. As a matter
of fact, however, the club is simply
an association of meraoers for the
purpose of social intercourse and
the interchange of views on ques
tions involved in pending legisla
tion and it is not limited to country
BL00M5BUPO.
hers. It is a pity, however, that
it isn't intended for the purpose
first expressed. There is ample
room for such an organization in
the present legislature and abund-
nnt work for it to perform. But m
, that event the servile tools cf the
machine among the country mem
! bers would have to be excluded in
order to make it effective and there
are a good mauy of that sort be
tween the Delaware and the Oh'o.
The investigation of "the Palace
of Gratt" makes little or no pro
gress. There was a ereat deal of
lnste 111 rushing the enabling reso
lution through the Legislature but
that was more on account oi the
fear of debate than because of an
xiety to expose crime. In fact
there was an attempt
at railroad-
111 rr"
in the Senate but Senator
liali
interposed an objection and
the bosses have come to understand
that Senator Hall's objection means
business. His purpose was simply
to give the minority an opportunity
to ofier needed amendments and
discuss th subject freely and that
achieved he was content. That
was two weeks ago, however, and
thus far as practical work is con-
cerned, nothing has been done
since except the appointment of
burg, and James Scarlet, of
Danville. If it were problems of
law instead of questions of fact that
are to be solved Stranahan and
Scarlet would go to the bottom.
G. D. H.
For Director of the Poor
The Republican party through
its regularly constituted authority
has placed Oliver T. Wilson of
Bloomsburg in nomination as a can
didate for Director ot the Poor for
Bloom district.
The policy of the Republican
has always been to support the re
gular candidates of the party. It
has not only done this on principle
but because there has never been
an instance in our recollection when
the candidate of the party has not
beeil honestly nominated. In this
nstance we al the more cheerfullv
support the candidate because he
has been tried and has proven effi
cient in this often perplexing and
trying ottice.
When Mr. Wilson assumed office.
three years ago the district had a
floating indebtedness of $5000. As
a prudent buiness man, he insisted
that this debt must be paid and to
accomplish this object the tax was
increased.
But now the district is out of
debt and a handsome surplus is in
the treasury and Mr. Wilson who
insisted on an increase three years
ago to meet an emergency, is just
as insistant now that the tax rate
shall be reduced.
There are other good candidates
in the field but the Republican in
sists that there are none better than
O. T. Wilson, who has proven his
claims to your support. He devotes
his time to the work of the district.
He comes before you, not as an un
tried quantity nor as an experi
ment. Vote for O. T. Wilson.
Adv.
NOTICE.
The supervisors or their treasur
ers and treasurers of boroughs can
receive their respectiye shares of
license money for 1907 on or after
March 1st, 1907, by presenting
themselves at the treasurer's office
in Bloomsburg and receipting for
the same.
M. H. Rhodes,
County Treasurer.
The Irish House of Commons.
The Irish House of Commons sat
for the last time on June 10, 1800. It
was tbe duty of Lord Castlereagh to
move tbe third reading ot the union
bill, and he discharged tne duty with
tbe utmost apparent equanimity,
.Other members wore not so com
posed, and to conceal their emotion
hurriedly left the room. The speaker,
who hated the measure, rose to put
tbe fatal Question. He held up tbe
bill for a moment in silence, and
looked, according to a spectator's ac
count on the scene, steadily round on
the last agony of the expiring parlia
ment. "He at length repeated in au
emphatic tone, 'As many as are of
opinion that this bill do pass say aye;
the contrary sny no.' The affirmative
was languid, but indisputable. An
other momentary pause ensued. Again
his Hps seemed to decline their olllce.
At length, with an eye averted from
the object which he bated, he pro
claimed with a subdued voico, 'The
ayes have It' The fatal sentence was
now pronounced for an instant he
stood statue-like, then indignantly
and with disgust, flung the bill upon
the table and sank in his chair with
an exhausted spirit. London Chroni
cle.
OASTOniA.
Bear a ) The Kind You Haw Alww Boujft
PA.
OOOOOOOC
GREAT SEMI-ANNUAL
SURPLUS
Our 2nd surplus stock sale
will eclipse all previous ones,
both as to price reduction and
the enormous stocks of fine
merchandise.
NOW GOING ON.
Bare Tou Tried
The new Quick desserts that
grocers are now selling? They are
justly termed "Easy to Make" as
all ingredients are in the package.
Three complete products, D-Zerta,
Quick Pudding and D-Zerta Per
fect Jelly Dessert at 10c per pack
age, and D-Zerta Ice Cream pow
der, two packages for 25 cents. A
trial will convince you how easy it
is to have the finest desserts with
no labor and little expense.
. .
DOCTORS SAY
WHISKEY
Is the best Ktimulunt wi have.
They menu, of course, pure whiskey.
It is Invaluable in many eases. There
secniH to be no adequate substitute for it
Some people drink too imieh. Some
ent too much; some smoke too much.
For those who need it there is nothing
better than
A. P. WARD & CO S.
BLACK DIAMOND WHISKEY
Properly aged, rich, smooth llavorjnb
solutely pure. Price moderate.
13 N. Washington.,
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
NOW IS THE TIME
of year when you think ofcleanlnK
house, also of cleaning up tbe rub
bish and foul matter which has ac
cumulated about your premises, to
guard against sickness, but do you
ever give the second thought to the
old built-in unsanitary Plumbing
Fixtures which breed disease right
in your own houses. If you think
of installing
New Fixtures
I am ready to quote you good prices
o n ST A NDA RD SA NIT A It Y
MFO. t'O'S Enamel Goods, all fully
guaranteed.
All Jobbing of Plumbing and Heating
Promptly Attended to.
P. M. REIIXY,
438 Centre St. Bell 'Phone
The New York World
THRICE-A-wEEK EDITION.
Read Wherever the English Language is
Spoken.
The Thrice-a-VVeek World hopes to be in
I006 a better natier than it has v,.r tu.n 1..
fore, and it has made its arrangements ac
cordingly, us news service covers the en
tire globe, ana it reports everything fully,
promptly and accurately. It is the only pa
per, nor. a daily, which is as good as a daily,
and which will keen vnu a i.niillu in
formed ol what is happening throughout the
woriu.
The Thrice-a-Wcek World is fair in its po
litical reports. Ycu can get the truth from
its columns, whether you are Republican or
Democrat, and that is what you want,
A special feature of the Thrice-a-Week
World has always been its serial fiction It
publishes novels hy the best authors in the
world, novels which in book form sell for
$1.50 apiece, and its high standard in this
respect wi be maidtained in the future at in
the past.
THE THKICK-A-WEEK WORLD'S
regular subscription price is only (j. 00 per
ear, and this pays for 136 papers. We of.
fer this unequalled newspaper and the Cot
UMHIAN together for ope year for tl.50.
The repi.lar jbserijtk-n pr e rf tU Uv
0KXX0000 0000
STOCK SALE
W. L. Douglas Shoes
FOR MEN
are worn by more men than
anv other shoe made.
Come in and let us fit you
with a pair.
PRICE,
$3, $3.50 and $4
W. H. MOORE,
Corner Main and Iron Sts.,
BLOOMSBURG, PA.
Our Pianos
, arc the leaders. Our lines in
clude the following makes :
Ciias. M. Stiefk,
Henry F. Miller,
Brewer & Pryor, Koiiler &
Campbell, and Radel.
IN ORGANS we handle the
Estey, Miller.H.Leiir & Co.,
and Bowlby.
This Store has the agency for
SINGER HIGH ARM SE W
ING MACHINES and
VICTOR TALKING
MACHINES.
WASH MACHINES
Helby, 1900, Queen, Key
stone, Majestic.
J. SALTZEtf ,
Music Rooms No. 105 West Main
Street, Below Market.
BL O OMSB UR G, PA
photo;
For the Satisfactory
Kind in Up-to-date
Styles, go to
Capwell's Studio,
(Over Ilartmat 's Store)
BLOOMSBURG. PA.
PROCURED AND DEFENDED. Beud model, j
ilr WW .11 plmlo.orojipurt uan ft mid rreeniA I
rvu H.lviuuf bow to ubula iMtteitU. triulu maiiuL t
JWrmhtuw ALL COUNTRIES.
Jimbus dirtrt vnh Washington taxtt timA
Pjtsnt snd Infringement Prictlct Exclusively.
W Uinta stmi, opp. Onlua SUUt P.Ulit OSM.!
members or even to present mem-