THE COLUMBIAN. BLOOMSBURtt, PA- CORRUPTION RAMPANT ON "THE HILL." All Officialdom in fiarrts burtf is Putrid in Vice and Crime. RASCALITY SANCTIONED .;.; inn) l.ittlo Abuses do On flitter the Kye of High OIllcliilH. l'l'oin of P.efomi Without lVrfonn-i-uces Admonish Peop!e, Only Kcin c'y Is Klot-tlon of John (1. Tlarnuiii. (oi.cci.il Correal oikIoih o.) HarrlsbiTR. Pn., Oft. Jt. There nro plenty of opportunities f'tr relorm on "Tin; Hill." without wMUni; for the court proceedings In t'to gr;t cases. In fact Mr. Merry hns jt-'f l!Kiiinirnted a now linn of improvement In the public service. It Isn't a matter of vbri Iniiiortunco L u L It Is a "slruw" wlildi In llri.tm the coulee mid measure.- the vol'icll y cT the n 1. r t: wind in (-f'kl:.. Hie. In fact you can sometime net more l-iforTi'iit'on from small flings Hum enn he obtained from lancer .ifTalrs. The sinnller n crime the meaner It Is at It i:st some times. Public patronage Is U'.c currency tiF'nl by professional 1" icians to r.-lbo men to perform i ; I : 1 1 ;i 1 crimes. It was "the mysterious iniiuoi.ce whleh eh.-unred a minority Into a iiia J r. ily e.-r t.lghl" In. Mi' vniVm which nominated Pennypnrker for Governor In 1!02. It was on oc C J.iut ol lilt- potentiality of this force in thul way that oi.U-es have beau j multiplied so rapidly In recent years. Ti corrupt State Highway IVpnrt li i. 'lit Is the spawn of that evil. The Bureau of Vital Statistics was crer.t- j cd on that account an 1 n-.'W and needless clerkships were authorized t In all of the Departments In order to supply places for dependent politi cians. This "thlnst for place" developed the evil which Mr. Horry has Just attacked. It Is an expedient to make one office satisfy two men. The plan 1m as simple as the practice Is con temptible. For example there Is an office which pays $5 a day. A man tn Pittsburg or Philadelphia or else where 1b appointed to the place. He remains at home attending to his own affairs and employs a resident of Harrlshurg to perform the work for say $2 a day. The appointee has a "pudding," The substitute enjoys a "snap." Row Official Graftrs Help the Party. Both these agents of the "system" Tork their relatives and friends for 'tie tmrty. The $2 a day man In larrisburg who does the work has v Urge family, as a rule, and not oo easy a time making ends meet Ills relatives hustle to "hold his Job," and the grocer and butcher and bak er who serve him are Interested. The $1 a day man elsewhere "tolls not, neither does he spin," but he chews the string of the pudding and en joys the luxury of "easy money." Of course he works every possible means to continue the source of raft. The law forbids this "farming" of public patronage and Mr. Berry has gdven notice that he will pay no employes who perform no work. He la entirely willing to pay the substi tutes the full salary of the office be cause the law provides for It. But lie is not willing to furnish the shy sters with money coined from the sweat of the faces of others. The decision hfis created consternation among the beneficiaries of the "sys tem." Every last man of them is ready to denounce Mr. Berry as meddler. They are a unit against John G. Harman who would pursue the same wholesome policy. The office holders are having other troubles at present, moreover. The collector of "voluntary contribu tions" is working the employes Just now with a rigor never before wit nessed. Within the last ten days very official on "The Hill" has been notified to pay a percentage of his salary Into the campaign corruption fund. This la a good deal of a bur den every year but this year It Is worse than usual. Living Is expen sive and In addition to the contribu tion the clerk has to pay the ex penses of a trip home to register and another to vote. The Ptfbllc Prlutlng Conspiracy. I Lave referred on two or three occasions to the State Printing Job but thus far have been able to dis cover no signs that the reform im pulses of the Governor have turned his energies toward the correction of this abuse. The present State Print er was the highest bidder for that Juicy party plum instead of the low est, as the law requires. The way It happened was thus. Four or five men or firms bid for the contract and each deposited a bond for the per formance of the work In the event the award was to him. The lowest bidder got the contract and the fconds of the others were returned to them. Thus far the law bad been scrupu ously compiled with. But the scheme lng set In at once. The lowest bid der made some absurd excuse for re fusing to accept the award' and it was offered to the next lowest bidder tio also declined and the process was continued until the highest bid der was reached who got the con tract at an exorbitant figure. One would have thought that the forfait ed bond would In some measure re compense the State for the difference In the rate between the highest and lowst bid. But no such result fol lowed. The "system" never con templates recompense to the State for. anything. Here is what actually occurred. The forfeited bond was promptly re turned to the delinquent bidder, not- t'ithatundlng the "legal obligation to h.-il i it, and the highest bidder was declared State Printer. He simply let one. of the lower bidders take up the work and, It is alleged and I be lieve, not only he but two of the other bidders feet a rake off while the State "pays the freight." It is clearly A conspiracy to rob the State. There could hardly be a clearer case of collusion and yet the Governor takes no steps to stop the crime. The Ia gl'dntlvc Hecord Job. Reference has also been made In a previous letter to the corrupt collu sion In awarding the contract to print the Legislative Hecord for the cession of 1007. On the day fixed for letting that contract the printer who received It was In the inner office of the officer of the Senate who made the award and another printer snt in the anteroom. About a minute before the time for opening bids the official approached the man In the anteroom and asked if he had a bid to submit. He replied In the negative, the olllclal returned to his office, and soon afterward announced that the contract had been awarded to the only bidder. The contract price under the award thus made was nearly three times what the work had been done for tho previous session. Of course that is not in itself an evidence of either conspiracy or collusion. Hut it Is alleged that during the period between which tho official had spok en to the man In the anteroom and tho announcement of the lotting the bid had been changed and the price nearly doubled. In other words the bidder having been Informed that he was the only bidder and that the awiTd would bo to him however ex orbitant his price, rhangod the fig ures to u price which was little short of grand larccnv. The corridor gossip concerning this conspiracy got so Insistent, dur ing the session, that an investigation was ordered by the House of Repre sentatives. Representative Ilubgood of McKean county was made Chair man of the Investigating committer. He was Informed of all the facts and even had a conversation with the man In the anteroom at the time of the letting. But ho reported that while the price was high there was no evidence of collusion and besides the publisher hud promised to matte a better "Record" than any of its predecessors. It may have been only a coincidence that Mr. Habgood was elected President of the State League of Republican Clubs a few days ago. All the Department Are Putrid. The fact Is that every Department of the State government is rotten with corruption. There are not only an excessive number of employes In every office but there 'is grafting everywhere. The Highway Depart ment makes no contracts for road building or improvement that does not yield a bonus to somebody on the inside. The Health Department has become a veritable asylum for political pensioners. Not long age the son of an Influential citizen of this town came home from school to spend his seven weeks' vacation. He was immediately given employment in the Health Department. After standing around the office for two weeks he was given a "vacation" of three weeks on full pay. Then he returned, worked two weeks and went back to school. He enjoyed a lucrative rest at the expense of the State. But It looks as If that is what the Health Department is for. Meantime we hear much about prosecuting the eapltol (rafters and nothing concerning these other loot ers who are working like rats in a cheese cellar. They tell us that Gov ernor Stuart is a model of official Integrity and that he will purge not only the State but the party, of crooks and corruptlonlsts. But what merit is there in promises in the absence of performances. The talk of the prosecution of the eapltol grafters is declamation to the gal leries. A year ago the boast was that the Insurance grafters would be fitly punished. They made us almost imagine Durham in prison stripes. But there has been no prosecution of the Insurance grafters. Durham Is still the Party leader of Philadelphia and the Republican committee of Chester county, the other day, Bet Auditor General Snyder up as an exemplar of political morals and civic virtue. The Machine Cant Reform. You might as well try to bleach linen by plunging It into a pitch bath, as to reform the official life of Penn sylvania while the Republican ma chine Is In control. The managers of that organisation are compelled to continue their iniquities. With them it is graft or gravel. If they can't remain in office they must go to prison and they have debauched the electorate to such an extent that moat of their voters have to be bought. Vast sums of money are necessary to buy their majorities. Ballot box stuffing is a hazardous enterprise now and boodlers demand compensation according to the haz ard. The remedy Is In the election of John O. Harman to the office of State Treasurer. Berry began the work of political regeneration and Har man will complete It. O. D. H. , John O. Sheati was never a re former either In the Legislature or out. In the Legislature be voted for some of the most iniquitous measures and out of It he has sup ported some of the most notoriously bad men. Two years ago, for exam ple, when all reformers were align ed against J. Lee Plammer, Sheati stood with the machine. To rank him as a reformer Is not only absurd but it is actually dishonest. We rise to remark that nearly a month has elapsed since John O. Harman challenged John O. Sheati to discuss the question of minority representation on the Board of Pub lic Grounds and Buildings and there has been no reply to the challenge. The delay Indicates that Mr. Sheatz"i mental machinery works entirely too slow to be effective In the office of State Treasurer, What could Lieutenant Governor Murphy have meant when he said in bis Jamestown speech tho other day, "as Pennsylvania and Virginia were alert one hundred and thirty years ago to-day, each to strike down that which threatened to harm the other, so must Pennsylvania and Virginia be alert now when different foes must be conquered? We haven't heard that there Is anything the matter with Vlrglnlu and we can't see how Virginia can help us In our troubles. The remedy which we must apply is nn aroused public con. science to guide us at the polls and Virginia can't participate In our eloe tlons. It 1b true that the people of that State can sympathize with us In our lack of civic virtue and self-respect. But we must cure our own ills with our own votes and the time to begin Is at the appmnchlns elec tion and the way the election of Mr. John G Harman to the office of State Treasurer. The Philadelphia machine shows the same Indifference to the interest and will of the people ns It did be fore the outbreak of two years nno. The people of that city revtord the machine to power last winter by the election of Mayor Reyburn r.nd It Is Indulging in a riot of bossism nnd a deluge of political immorality. If Sheatz In elected the Slate machine wl'l be quite as daring as that of the city and the looting and grafting will be resumed and continued Inde finitely. Happily, however, there Is no danger of such a result. Sheatz will be defeated as badly as Plum mer was two years njco If not worse. The htghjlnk of the Philadelphia ma chine Just came In time to admonish the people of the danger of restor ation tn the State. Manifestly President Roosevelt has gone mad on the subject of Fed eral authority over the affairs of tho States. He wants to completely revol utionize our form of government In order to gratify his inordinate lust for power. P.ut the people are not likely to sympathize with such ab surd notions. The history and tra ditions of the government of the fathers are as dear to the hearts of the people to-day as they ever were and though Roosevelt has been a popular idol he will lose out If he advocates such nonsense as was ex pressed In his St. Louis speech last week. If every Democrat in Pennsylvania votes for the splendid candidate of the party for State Treasurer next month his majority will be equal to the largest that has ever been re ceived by a candidate with the single exception of that cast for Roosevelt three years ago. And there Is no reason why every Democrat should not vote for him. He will be an Ideal public official. Capable, cour ageous and honest ho will do what ever Is possible to restore the pub lic life of the Commonwealth to the high plane which was once an honor to the people. If Governor Stuart wants to do some effctlve reform work through the medium of the criminal courts he has a Bplendld opportunity to manifest it by beginning on the In surance grafters who were Investigat ed last year. Insurance Commissioner Martin was among those who were condemned in the report of the Committee but so far from that haying any adverse ' effect on - Martin's standing at the Gov ernor's office the Indications are that he Is still in the highest favor. At any rate he continues to hold his office and draw the salary. Dave Lane is again instructing the voters of Philadelphia to stuff the ballot boxes at the coming election. If the voters of Philadelphia are wise, however, they will pay no at tention to Dave Lane's advice. Bal lot box staffers will go to Jail this rear. The style of treating that sort of calendar has vastly changed within a couple of years. Even crooked Dave Lane won't be immune from punishment this year If there la anything doing in his line of poli tical work this year. A citizen has not performed his full duty In the election of this year when he casts his own vote any more than a man discharges Ms full duty when he notified the police that a crime is being committed. He ought to assist the police In prevent ing crime Just as he ought to urge his neighbors to vote to rescue the Ctate from the desperadoes who are despoiling It. Let us all do our full duty this year. The corrupt and contented City Party men of Philadelphia may have, like the dog, returned to their vomit, but the vast hosts of inde pendent Republican voters in the Interior of the State who voted for Mr, Berry two years ago will vote for Harman this year. They have not been purchased, dragooned nor Aeofclved into supporting Sheatz. Most famous of all palms. Tho Coco de Mer Which Hears tho , Hlggcst Nut in the World. In the magnificent palm palneo of the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, a specimen of the nio.it famous of all palms, and ono of tho rareBt In cultivation, hns been placrd for public admiration after thieo years In tho propngatlng house, whore It arrived ns a seedling. Thin Is tho double coconnut, the coco de mer, the coco de Salomon, tho ct.co des Maldives of tho French. It attains a hclsht of 80 or 00 feet, nnd is surrounded by a beauti ful crown of winged and palmttlcd leaves. Tho diameter of ho trunk varies from 12 to 15 Inches, nnd the wholo Is so flexible, that It sways in a strong breeze. Tho leaves attain a length of 20 feet, and even 30 feet, with n breadth of 10 or 12 feet, and open llko a fan. Tho fruit Is the largest which uny tree produces. It frequently Is 18 Inches In length, i t li a circumference of 3 feet, nnd sometimes weighs 40 or CO pounds. A remarkable circumstance con nected with the tree Is tho length of tlni" necessary to mature Its fruit and the long duration of the bloom. It bears only one spidlx In each year, and it hm oftn as many ns a i! -..; In bloom at once. It has flow ers nnd fruit of nil ngs at one time. l iull the year 1713, when they were sxn on the trees In tho only spot where they grow, the mats were known solely from having b??n found Homing In the Indian Ocean ofV the MaUIIvo Islands. They were foiiiul In no other place in the world. X'i' reason wns that the trees grew o:i tho shores of the Seychelles, nnd large quantities of tho p,reat fruit, f iMh's I"'" the water, were borne to the. Mr.ldlves by currents, tho direc tion of which in those parts is east nnvthenst. The nuts were alwnjs found minus the husk and mostly with the in ternal part decnyed. They were called "Calappa Laut" by tho Dutch, and under that appellation Rum phlus has given a historical nccount of them. The double coconnut, ho says, Is not a terrestrial production, which may have fallen by accident Into the sea and there become petri fied, but a frr.lt probably growing It self in tho sea, whose fruit hitherto bus been concealed from the eye or man. The Malay nnd Chinese sailors used to affirm that it was borno upon a tree deep under water, which was similar to a cocounut tree, and was visible in placid bays upon the coast of Sumntra, etc., but that If they sought to dive after It tho tree In stantly disappeared. The negro priests declared It grew near the Island of Java, where Its leaves and branches rose above the water, and formed the habitation of a monstrous bird or griffin. This grlf fiu was accustomed to sully forth nightly and tear to pieces with its boak such insignificant game as ele phants, rhinoceroses, and tigers, and carry off the flesh to its nest to feed on at leisure. Moreover, ships were attracted by the waves which sur rounded the tree and were unable to sail out of the fatal zone, so that the hapless sailors fell an easy prey to the voracious bird. Needless to say that the inhabitants of the Indian Archleplago In their travels about the ocean were careful to give the spot the widest possible berth. Nowadays the crown of the trunk that Is, the heart of the leaves Is eaten like that of the American cab bage palm, and often preserved in vinegar; but It is less delicate and slightly bitter. The trunk Itself, af ter being split and cleared of its soft and fibrous internal parts, serves to make water troughs as well as pali sades for surrounding houses and gardens. The foliage Is employed to thatch the roofs of houses and sheds, and even for walls. With a hundred leaves a commodious dwelling may be constructed, Including the parti tions of the apartments, the doors and windows. The down attached to the young leaves serves for filling mattresses and pillows. The ribs of the loaves and fibers of the petiole are used for making gaskets and brooms, while the young foliage furnishes an excellentt material for hats. Of the nut, vessels, of different forms and for various uses are made. When preserved whole and perfora ted in one or two places the shells Berve to carry water. Some of them hold from six to eight pints, and generally are carried suspended to stlckB, one on each end. If divided in two between the lobes, each portion serves, according to Its size and shape, for plates or dishes or drink ing cups. In European countries the shell has been utilized for making shuvlng dishes and similar articles. It Is black and polishes beautifully, and generally Is carved and set in silver. For many years attempts to in troduce the coco do mer In the con servatories of the European botani cal gardens failed Invariably. Such was the eagerness to make experi ments In rearing it that germinating nuts were disposed of at public sale In London for 10 apiece. There are some flue examples now both ut Kow and Hanover. English ltlflcmen. Great plans are being laid in Eng land to make the young men of that Island good rifle shots. Many shoot lag clubs are being organized. In tills connection the mayor of West minster employs ouo of the best equipped miniature rifle ranges in London. The range Is in the vaults under St. Martin's Church. Grammatical errors looked In a nilltonalre. are over- Tlio Kind You Have Always in uso for over 80 years, and ffi-f-tf- 8onal supervision Mnco its inraney. 'CUcAt4i Allow no ono to deceive yon in tills. All Counterfeits, Imitations and " Just-as-ffood" nro hut Experiments that trlflo with and cudannor tho health of Infants and Children Experlcnco against Experiment, What is CASTORIA Castorla is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Tare gorlc, Drops and Soothing Syrups. It is IMcusaut. It contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other Narcotifr fiubstaiico. Its apro is its guarantee. It destroys Worms nnd nllays Fcverishness. It cures DIarrhwa and Wind Colic. It relieves Tceililiiff Troubles, cures Constipation nnd Flatulency. It assimilates tho Food, rc ui.it cs tho Stomach and ihiwels, giving healthy and nitturiil sleep Tho Children's Panacea Tho Mother's Friend. GENUINE CASTORIA ALWAYS Bears the The KM You Have Always Bought In Use For Over 30 Years. ' THI Ot NTUH eOMMN. n WUKMV TK (T, NtW VO OfTV. 22 No Improvement. Yeast: "It Is asserted that In these days, with the aid of machinery, 60,000 people can do the work per formed by 16,000,000 persons 70 years ago." Crimsonbeak: MI guess that's right I notice there are s good many more people doing nothing now than there used to be." The Most Audible Dialogue. "The theatre Is not so entertain ing as It might be," said one criti cal person. "No," answered the other, "It would be much better If box parties would arrange to have playwrights prepare their conversation instead of trying to make it up as they go along." Washington Star. One of the Early Unsettlers. Aaron Burr was hunting for Blen nerhasset'i Island. "It's somewhere along here I know," he muttered, consulting his map again. Tying his skiff to a tree near the top ot neighboring bluff, he watted for the Ohio River to subside. Chi cago Tribune. Points of View. "Beautiful memorial window," re marked her husband as they left tho church. "I didn't notice particularly," said his wife, "but the light from it fell on the Jones pew and It made her complexion a fright" Phila delphia Ledger. In Small Doses. Little bit o' Blghln' All the way along, Yet Life to Life replying "A sigh Is half a Bong!" Atlanta Constitution. MAGAZINE READERS 8TJ1T8KT HAOAtlRB buutilully illiutittcd, sood itorfe S- awl uticlas about Cafiiornis and V5U all U Fm Wea. 7Mr CAMIBA CBATT dWotad asc moon to thi u- . tube npioductioo of the but $1,00 woik of amateuf and profion al A r Baotooyapbara. B0AD OF A THOUSAND W0NDXB8 a book of 75 pagat, containing 120 coloiad pLotographt ol q He picturnqua apoU is California " ' and Oragoa. ToU . . . $3.35 All for ... . $1.50 Addiw ail order. Is SUNSET MAGAZINE Wn atafl Ruflrlina ftstn Eouglit, and which has hem has horno tho slRiinturo of has been made, under his pcr Signature of EBSBSBS3333 Have You an American Fla in Your Homo? That splendid home newspaper, The rhtiaiiclphia J'rtss, oilers a beautiful American l-'la size 3x5 feet guaranteed fast to sun and rain, stripes sewed, not printed, and the Daily edition of their pub lication for cne year for $3.50. This is just about the price of the paper alone $3.50 is the total ex pense to you, so that you get the flag almost free. Hand your check or money to your Postmaster or Newsdealer or mail it to the Cir culation Department of Tht Press, Philadelphia, and the paper and flag will be mailed at once. Money returned for the asking if you are not satisfied. "Keep Your Head Cool, your conscience clear and your bowels open." There is a ton of common sense in it. Constipation is death in life. The intestines are clogged willi matter. You must move it or be sick fever possibly. Take Dr. David Kennedy's Favorite Remedy until the bowels are clear and natural. Write Dr. David Ken nedy's Sons, Ront'out. N. Y., for a free sample bottle. Large bottles $1.00, all druggists. Wool "I don't believe in taking things for grunted." Slobbs "No, not unless they belong to you." The Royal Month and the Royal Disease. Sudden chants of weather are es pecially tryluf?, aud probably to none more so tlinn to the scrofulous and con sumptive. The progress of scrofula during a normal October is commonly great. We never think of serofula its bunches, cutaneous eruptions, and wasting of the bodily substance-wlth-out thinking or the good many sufler ers from it have derived from Hood's Sarsaparllla, whose radical and perma nent cures of this one disease are enough to make it the most famous medicine in the world. There is pro bably not a city or town where Hood's biusuparilla lias not proved its merit In more homes than one, in arresting and completely eradicating scrofula, which Is almost as serious and as much to be feared as its near relative, consump tion. Nell "Do you think Jewelry should be regarded as vulgar?" Belle " Yes, if you don't happen to have uny." . . . Only a i.itti.k cou in the head may be tho beginning of an obstinate case of Nasal Catarrh. Drive out the Invader with Ely's Crenin Halm ap plied straight to the inflamed stufled up air-passages. Price 60e. It von prefer to use nn atomizer, ask for Liquid Cream Halm It has all the good quali ties of the solid form of this remedy and will rid you of catarrh or hay fever. No cocaine to breed a dreadful habit. No mercury to dry out tho secretion. Price 75c, with spraying tube. All druggists, or mailed by Ely llros., 60 Warren Street, New York. Envelopes , 75,000 Envelopes carried in stock at the Columbian Office. The line includes drug envelopes, . j pay, coin, baronial, commercial I sizes, number 6, 6)4, 9, 10 aud 11, catalog, &c. Prices range j from $1.50 per 1000 printed, up to ' $5.00. Largest stock in the conn 1 ty to selcet from. 1
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers