6
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
Established iSii
PUBLISHED BY
THIS TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO,
E. J. STACK POLE
President find Editor-in-Chief
F. n. OYSTER
Secretary
GUS M. STEINMETZ
AfanJt' n i Editor
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Entered at the Post Office In Harris
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three months ending July 31, 1813
★ 21,084 ★
Aver«ge for the year 1914—21358
Average for the year 1013—10,9®!
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ducted.
WEDNESDAY EVENING, At GUST 25
The secret of satisfaction in life is
self-control. —Frank Crane.
BUILDING AND LOAN REPORT
IN his recent annual report State
Banking Commissioner Smith tells
us that building and loan associa
tions of Pennsylvania helped to buy
or build 21,379 homes during 1914 and
according to the official reports of the
1,766 associations active last year these
organizations gained S per cent, in re
sources over the previous year. An
army of 541,400 shareholders is re
iported to have 4,866,828 shares, of
'which almost 3,000,000 shares are free
Bof loans.
There Is food for reflection in these
jflgures for those pessimists who have
Ibeen telling us that we are a shift
less, thriftless people, living from pay
(envelope to pay envelope and saving
when we do save only for Christmas, a
rvacation or an automobile.
The figures show heavy increases of
wavings in the building and loan as
«ociatlons alone. The increased cost
(Of living has created an increased need
(for saving to meet the actual expenses
k>f everyday life—the bills of the
fbutcher, baker and the candlestick
maker—and because the buying power
. . of the dollar has decreased to such an
extent that one must save more than
formerly in order to accomplish as
much In the way of accumulating a
competence.
It is true that in the past decade
and a half the cost of practically
everything the average family uses
has gone up at least one-half. Of
course, wages and salaries have like
wise increased to some extent, but not
In proportion to the higher cost of
living.
So if tine saved S2OO annually ten
years ago, he ought to save S3OO a
year now to be doing as well. In
short, there ought to be an effort on
the part of everyone to readjust his
living expenses, in view of the new
conditions, so that he saves an amount
not just nominally the same as that he
used to save in a yeat® - when his dol
lar would buy more, but also relative
ly the same, and the building and loan
report indicates a step in that direc
tion.
DOG-OWNERSHIP LAW
THERE is good sense and good
law in Deputy Attorney Gen
eral Davis' construction of the
recently adopted act forbidding for
eign residents to own dogs.
As Mr. Davis says, the law was
designed to protect game in Penn
sylvania from the ravages of doss
owned by careless or unscrupulous
foreigners, of which reports of the
game wardens Indicato there are
many. But it was never intended
that a foreigner should not own a
pet dog, or having one that it should
he within the powers of an officer
of the law to go into his home and
deprive him of the animal and fine
him for possessing It. But the letter
of the law distinctly provides for
Juat such harsh and unfair methods.
Sensibly administered, the act is
capable of working much goo 3; en
forced by fec-huntlng constables, it
will have just the opposite efTect.
We must treat the newcomer as
kindly as he will permit. We must
teach him respect for our laws, not
hatred of them. Mr. Davis haa shown
admirable Judgment and keen dis
crimination in hla Interpretation of
the act and the State will profit much
thereby.
RUSSIA'S CARE OF ORPHANS
A POSSIBLE explanation of the
recent visit of a Russian envoy
to the Pennsylvania State De
partments of Agriculture and High
ways may be found in the announce
ment from Petrograd that & wide
spread system of free agricultural
schools and colonies for the children
of soldiers killed or severely wounded
In battle has been started by Imperial
ultese.
The immediate management and
esntrol of the schools Is to be In the
hands of the local Zerastvos, which
will provide also a part of the funds
for their support. Other sources of
ilncome are charges upon monasteries,
ichurch charities and agricultural so-
WEDNESDAY EVENING. . 6LAKRISBURG TELEGR3FH AUGUST 25, 1915
Icietles, and the State will give grants
of money as needed.
The aim of the new Institutions is
■ to train the orphan children In the
same station of life as their parents.
Children of both sexes up to the age
of 17 will be received. The schools
will be under the general supervision
of the Minister of Agriculture. At
least the Czar cannot be accused of
neglecting the children who have been
made orphans by his mandates.
CTVIC CENTERS
J Baltimore American discusses
A plans for a civic center In that
city. All live municipalities are
j thinking of the civlo centers, either
- in the way of developing that which
they have or for the creation of such
• t places when opportunity shall offer.
* The Mayor and the 'City Planning
. Commission favor a comprehensive
scheme for Baltimore and the Ameri-
can urges the expenditure of a vast
. sum for that purpose as good business
■
for the city.
And it is good business; good busi
ness for any city to create for itself
■ a civic center around which shall clus
' ter the governmental, educational, so
cial and philanthropic activities of the
' municipality, housed In buildings of
proper dignity and harmonious and
beautiful In design.
Harrisburg In this respect Is far
more fortunate than most towns.
When the new Capitol Park extension
is completed North street and Walnut
street will front on two sides and the
Capitol itself on the third side, while
it is not unlikely that eventually a
great Pennsylvania railroad passenger
! station will occupy the fourth. Al
ready on Walnut street a beginning
has been made by the construction of
the Technical high school, and either
on North or on Walnut should be
built the new Central high school that
must come at no very distant date.
Also, thero is at Fourth and Walnut
streets the fine new Young Women's
Christian Association building and on
North street at Capitol the Scottish
Rite Cathedral which will be enlarged
from time to time. Altogether the city
has a very fair beginning for what is
destined to be a wonderfully beautiful
Civic Center.
Eventually, too, National Guard ar
mories and State buildings of various
kinds will be erected along Walnut
street or North, the armories with
sidings run into them from the rail
roads for quick loading and unloading
of supplies and munitions.
With these changes will come also
the widening of Walnut street, North
street and Third the full length of the
Capitol grounds. All of these thor
oughfares were laid out when the
town was young and when their width
accommodated all needs. To-day they
are crowded beyond safety at busyj
hours of the day. Tho widening can
be done at small cost and without
damage to the property owner, as a
few feet from the State's park prop
erty on three sides of the park will be
all that will be needed.
These are subjects that the City
Planning Commission has under con
sideration. It is one of the duties of
this commission to foresee just Buch
problems and to provide a way in
which they may be solved far
in advance of the time when the im
provement is to be considered. This
kind of work is as important and as
far-reaching in its possibilities as any
function of the municipal government.
Every refusal of the Republicans to
walk into the parlor of the Democratic
spider in this city and county is the
I occasion for an attack from the fusion
incubator. If the voters are really in
. terested In a change in the School
Board, they can achieve their end by
voting for some excellent citizens who
are in the open as Republican candl
' dates for' directors.
i RAILROAD FOR FI'LTON
! T ESLIE W. SEYLAR, writing to
'■ I j the Public Ledger from McCon
! nelsburg, heralds the news that
I Kulton county Is to yield its palm as
i the only "railroadless" county in
[ Pennsylvania.
In February of this year a charter
I was granted by the State Public Ser
i vice Commission to the McConnells
■ burg and Fort Louden Railway Com
■ pany for the operation of an electric
road across the Cove mountain, be
i tween the two points named. The
contract for erection was let and work
on the grading of the roadbed is be
ing pushed as fast as possible. A
: steam shovel, with a Oapacity of 600
cubic yards a day, is at work on the
Fort Louden side of the Tuscarora
mountain, where already over two
miles of the grade Is cbmpleted.
This road when completed will open
up a county to development that has
hardly realized its possibilities here
tofore. Vast deposits of iron oro
await transportation; millions of tons
of high-grade Ganister rock and ce
ment, or concrete sand, have hardly
been touched; thousands of acres of
the finest fruit lands will be thrown
open to use where fruit-raising was
profitless previously and the land left
to grow up in underbush beeause the
young men left the farms to seek
1 wider opportunities In the outside
world. Millions of feet of lumber can
1 be shipped that would have remained
in the woods, not to speak of the In
l crease of all farm products.
i Thuß passeth the last of the "back
woods" counties of Pennsylvania. Just
i as building follows the trail of the
' trolley suburbanward from the city, so
settlement and development follow
along the course of the rural electric
road. Fulton county may lose some
of Its quaintness. but it will gain in
wealth and all those things that go
to make modern life in the country
desirable.
| TELEGRAPH'S PERISCOPE"
—After the Arabic, what?
—At all events Dr. Dernburg has
no reason to be proud of the results
of his efforts to create a favorable
opinion of Germany in the United
States.
—Have you ever noticed that it is
the class of men who expect most free
publicity at the hands of the news
papers who are the papers' sharpest
critics?
—The meek may Inherit the earth,
but it Is the strong that take it away
from them.
—lt appears evident that the Ger
mans have no Ton Hlndenburg of the
navy.
"Why," asks the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, "does Mr. Lansing make a
better Secretary than Mr. Bryan?"
Well, for one thing, he occasionally
indulges in a thought that does not
include the personal welfare of Mr.
Lansing.
EDITORIAL COMMENT
Germany, says a European cable
gram, is now racing ruin. Well, any
how, she's facing It.—Boston Tran
script.
The farther the Germans penetrate
into prohibition territory, the feebler
becomes their attack.—Columbia State.
Mr. Osborne's obstinate fight to re
main at Sing Sing must be very
puzzling to Harry K. Thaw.—New Yorle
Evening Post.
"Made in the United States." remark
ed Great Britain as It handed Wash
ington a thesis on the law of block
ade. 'Wall Street Journal.
The rest of the world will welcome
the day when Europe Is confronted
with the serious question of what to do
with its ex-trenches. Washington
Post.
Colonel Roosevelt says that the
noblest role is to bo a mother. That's
about the only strenuous role the
Colonel has never tried. Nashville
Banner.
"HEADY TO DIE"
From "The Conquest of America in
1921," bv Cleveland Moffett in Mc-
Clure's Magazine.
On the tourth day the Germans
thanks to an advantage of three to one
in artillery pieces—Succeeded In cross
ing the Delaware; and after that the
Issue of the battle was never in doubt,
the American forces being outnumbered
and outclassed? Two-thirds of General j
Wood's army were either militia, insuf
ficiently equipped and half trained, or
raw recruits. There were fifteen thou
sand of the latter who had volunteered
within a fortnight, loyal patriots ready
to die for their country, but without the
slightest ability to render efficient
military service. These volunteers In
cluded clerks, businessmen, profes
sional men from the cities of New Jer
sey and Pennsylvania, thousands of
workmen from great factories like the
Roebllng wire works, thousands of vil
lagers and farmers, all blazing with
zeal, but none of them able to handle
a high power Springfield rifle or operate
a rangefinder or make the adjustments
for the time fuse of a shell.
"They shot away tons of ammunition I
without hitting anything," said one of
the American officers to me. "They
didn't know how to use wind gauges
or elevation sights. They couldn t even
pull a trigger properly."
THE BOSS KNEW HIM
In a Now Tork street a wagon loaded
with lamp globes collided with a truck
and many of the globes were smashed.
Considerable sympathy was felt for the
driver as he gazed ruefully at the shat
tered fragments. A benevolent look
ing old man eyed him compassionately.
"My poor man." he said, "I suppose
you will have to make good this loss
out of your own pocket?
"Yes," was the melancholy reply.
"Well, well, said the philanthropic
old man. "hold out your hat—here's a
quarter for you; and I dare say some
of these other people will give you a
helping hand, too."
The driver held out his hat and sev
eral persons hastened to drop coins
In It. At last, when the contributions
had ceased he emptied the contents of
his hat into his pocket. Then, pointing
to the retreating figure of the philan
thropist who had started the collection,
he observed: "Say. maybe he ain't the
wise guy! That's me boss!"
RIIX AN EXPERT SPOVTER
[From the Boston Transcript.]
Mt. Lassen is preparing to regain
Its standing as the .country's most
famous mudslinger, (his being the
first opportunity It has had since
Bryan resigned.
WHICH IS TO BLAMET
[From the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times.]
A Philadelphia dentist declares that
automobile riding loosens teeth, but
isn't some of the blame due to the
diicken served at the average road
house?
Our Daily Laugh
\\ Jr GET rrt
So you're In
love with Miss
jPqA Spider?
«Yes, case of
love at first sight
spider, in fact.
pW^-\
Buy me a piece * * » )
if punk, pa. /A
You can use aml
his cigar. It's . MMI
THE CLl'B'l FAULT
By Wing Dinger
I have a golf club, brother,
In my bag. that Is' my Jinx,
Every time I've tried to use It
In the game upon the links
It has thrown me down completely
And brought ruin to my score
'Till I thought I would discard it
And ne'er use it any more.
Notwithstanding that aome player.
Every time I use the club,
Tells me that it's not the club's fault
That with it each shot I dub,
I am satisfied they're all wrong, *
And the fault Is not with me,
8p I've had the blamed thing fixed up
As I think It ought to be.
When I took it home, last evening,
I thought I would try it out,
And went out into the backyard
Juat to knock the ball about.
And despite my noblest efforts
I mlased strokes one. two and three.
But I atlll contend the fault Ilea
With the club and not with me
Lk
By the Ex-Commltteeman
•—The time for filing petitions to be
candidates for judicial nominations
and for Congress in the Twenty-fourth
district expired last night at midnight
and but one petition came in too late.
It was returned to the sender this
morning The official list of candi
dates will now be made up at the
office of the secretary of the Com
monwealth and certified to the proper
authorities of each county for the
printing of the ballots.
—Seven men have filed petitions to
bo candidates for the superior court
to which three Judges will be elected
this Fall. The candidates filing were
(Judges Orlady and Head and J.
Henry Williams and William C. Wil
son, Philadelphia; Charles Palmer.
[Chester; Stephen Howard Huselton,
Pittsburgh and William C. Wallace,
New Castle.
—One of the surprises of the last
hour of the filing was the entry of a
petition for Michael J. Ryan, city
solicitor of Philadelphia, to be a can
didate for Judge of court No. 2 in
Philadelphia. Mr. Ryan was a candi
date for the Democratic nomination
for Governor last year and Is a State
figure. There are ten other candi
dates for the same court, one of whom
Joseph W. Gross has filed papers for
both courts No. 1 and 2. George Mc-
Curdy, president of common council,
has filed papers to ri>» for orphans'
court in Philadelphia
—ln practically every district in
•this part of the State except York,
and Lancaster county there is a con
test for judicial honors. Jn Lancaster
Judge A. B. Hassler is not opposed.
In the York district Judge Wanner
has easy sailing. However in the
Huntingdon-Bedford-Mifflin, Franklin,
Adams-Fulton, Chester, Tioga, Center
and other districts there are hard
fights.
—Harry L. Jones, of Newport, filed
a petition to be a candidate for as
sociate judge In Perry. There are
half a dozen candidates and a contest
only second to those in Adams and
Snyder.
—A move for nominating A. Merrltt
Taylor, director of transit for major,
has been started in Philadelphia.
—The committee named by the
Democratic and Bull Moose bosses to
arrange for getting control of the
school board, which they cannot do
at the polls, will meet to-night to re
ceive the reply of the Republicans
who have declined to surrender the
advantage of the majority. The sug
gestion of the names of Messrs.
Stamm, Keene and Enders appears to
have met the desires of most citizens
in the Democratic party who do not
have axes to grind. The machine
Democrats are getting ready to put
forward Dr. Galen Hain, who has
gone to the well several times and
come back In a shattered state;
Charles P. Splcer, for assistant fire
chief, and others for school board.
—Some of the men mentioned ita the
fusion bugle to-day as possible candi
dates for this or that nomination re
turned thanks for the compliment and
backed off.
—The committee of 100 in Phila
delphia is whirling around over the
mayoralty very much in the same
manner that Fred Morgenthaler and
Ira Mosey and the rest of the dual al
liance are revolving on the school
board scheme. In fact there is a
striking similarity about the way they
bump Into things and only let day
light In on their schemes.
To-morrow is the first Fall registra
tion day in the third class cities of
the State and It is expected that there
will be some lively registering of
names throughout Pennsylvania. In
every one of the third class cities there
is a fight of some kind and determined
efforts are being made by all parties
without regard to nonpartisan con
tests to get men registered.
The Montgomery county Democra
tic committee has done a funny thing
in endorsing a candidate for .ludge.
It has set up a whole slate for county
nominations and this, too, in tae face
of the fact that there are numerous
aspirants. It Is something like the
way the Dauphin county Democracy
issues its "lists of eliglbles."
. Ex-Mayor John Von Bergen is out
as a candidate for council In Scran
ton. The former mayor started off to
do some things but got twisted In the
political game.
Anent the Philadelphia mayoralty
situation the Philadelphia Inquirer
to-day says: "Prominent manufac
turers, businessmen and others inter
ested in Republican harmony on the
mayoralty to insure a triumph in this
city to strengthen the party for the
Presidential election yesterday Inau
gurated a movement with a view to
bringing about the nomination of
former Postmaster and present Pub
lic Service Commissioner Thomas B.
Smith for mayor. Their action is in
line with that of the Northwest Busi
nessmen's Protective Association,
which the night before adopted resolu
tions in favor of the nomination of
Mr. Smith and calling for the co-oper
ation of Governor Brumbaugh in
bringing about his nomination. Many
prominent Republicans continue of the
opinion that if there is to be har
mony among Republicans for mayor
former Postmaster Smith is the most
likely man upon whom the leaders
will agree. Should Congressman Wil
liam S. Vare be a candidate, there will
unquestionably be a contest at the
primaries. It was stated upon the
highest authority yesterday afternoon
that nomination papers for Congress-!
man Vare for mayor will be filed be
fore the last day for recording such
petitions, Tuesday, August 31. It may
be that Mr. Vare may later conclude
to withdraw in the Interest of har
mony."
WHES PA COUNTS
Pa's not so very hip or brave, he can't
lift weights like Uncle Jim,
His hands are soft like little girls',
most anyone could wallop him.
Ma weighs a whole lot more than Pa.
When they go swimming she
could stay
Out in the river all day long, but Pa
gets frozen right away.
But when the thunder starts to roll an'
llghtnin' spits Ma says. "Oh dear.
I'm sure we'll all of us be killed. I
wish your Pa was only here."
Pa's cheeks are thin an' kinder pale, he
couldn't rough It worth a cent.
He couldn't stand the hike we had the
•day the Boy Fcouts camping
went.
He has to hire a man to dig the garden
coz his back gets lame.
An' he'd be crippled for a week if he
should play a baseball game.
But when a thunder storm come up Ma
sits an' shivers in the gloam
An' every time the thunder roll* she
says, "I wish your Pa was home."
I don't know ,Juet what Pa could do If
he wero home, he seems so frail,
But every time the skies grow black I
notice Ma gets rather pale.
An' when she's cslled us children in.
an' locked the windows an' the
doors,
She Jumps at every llghtnin' flash an'
trembtes when the thunder roars.
An' when the baby starts to cry she
wrings her hands an' says: "Oh,
dear!
It's terrible! It's terrible! I wish your
Pa was only here."
---Edgar A. Guest In the Detroit Free
Press. .
I THE CARTOON OF THE DAY 1
SACKCLOTH AND ASHES
If you ever have been given the pleasing task of sifting ashes you know
the meaning of Sackcloth and Ashes." L. R. Ney, the Harrisburg artist,
has either been there himself or had a good model of a disgruntled boy.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
Vl.—Lessons of the War—Explosives.
•
By Frederic J. Haskin
If the European war has produced
new types of guns, new methods of fort
construction and new machines for
hurrying the death-dealing monsters
from one place to another, it has also
provided a vast experimental plan for
the motive forces which lie behind the
projectiles—the new explosives.
Uncle Sam himself maintains a num
ber of proving grounds for new kinds
of powder where the efficiency of each
new explosive designed by the Govern
ment chemists is demonstrated, but
since August 1 last he has been de
pending in large part upon the greatest
"proving ground" ever provided, the
battlefields of the European war. Ever
since the conflict commenced the Unit
ed States Government has been closely
watching, through the medium of mili
tary'experts and chemists well versed
in the composition of detonants, the
different kinds of explosives used
abroad, with a view to adopting the
best of them for use in this country. In
the event of war, the United States will
not be Ignorant of the latest words in
gun powder and its modern deriva
tives..
"Trotyl"
One of the most important of these
Improvements on the invention credit
ed to the Chinese is a compound of
comparatively recent Inventions, known
to' the British military experts as "T.
N. T." and to the Germans as "Trotyl."
To chemists this substance masquerades
under the name of "Trinitrotoluene," a
title which is almost as deadly to the
person who tries to pronounce It as
would be a small quantity of the com
pound. The precise combination and
method of preparation of this explo
sive differ slightly In different coun
tries. but the resultant substance is
practically the same. A considerable
quantity of trotyl has already been
manufactured In the United States and
the War Department Is experimenting
with It in an effort to discover whether
it is sufficiently superior to the explo
sives formerly In use on this side of
the Atlantic to warrant its adoption.
Because trotyl Is the most efficient
explosive yet designed for ÜBe In war
fare, according to foreign experts, it
must not be inferred that it is more
powerful than any other explosive
hitherto known. In point of fact, there
are substances known to the chemist
that explode with greater violence than
is manifested by any compound used in
the construction of military explosives
or propellents.
The Most Powerful Explosive
The power of an explosive depends
upon its capacity to produce a large
volume of gas from a comparatively
small amount of original solid Matter.
Judged by this standard, the most pow
erful explosive known is probably a
salt of hydrazoic acid, the ammonia
compound of which produces, accord
ing to the French chemitt Berthelot,
1,148 cubic centimeters of gases for one
gram weight of substance. No other
known substances gives a correspond
ing change of volume in passing from
the solid to the gaseous state, but there
are chemical reasons why it is unwise
to try to use this substance In lieu of
gun powder or in place of dynamite. .
In the first place, these compounds of
hydrazoic acid explode with extreme
violence if heated to a temperature
only slteshtly above the normal boiling
point or water. They are therefore far
too sensitive to be used for the prac
tical purposes to which military ex
plosives are put. Moreover, thoir ex
treme violence of action would be, to
some extent, a disadvantage. It would
f>r event their use as propellantij since
hey would burst the gun barrels and,
If placed In torpedoes or mines, they
would shatter their enclosing cases
almost to the condition of powder on
being discharged and on the whole
would thus have a less destructive ef
fect than would be produced by an ex
plosive that burst the shell Into rela
tively large pieces and. by relatively
slow combustion, extended the area of
Its destructive Influence.
Over-rapid Explosives
Such tendency to over-rapid explo
sion is a fault of picric acid and Its
derivatives, lyddite and melinite. In
general. It may be said that the prac
tical explosives now used in warfare
are modified in such a way as to re
tard rather than to accelerate their
rapidity of action when detonated. For
example, the British explosive, "cor
dite," which Is used for small arms
and cannon alike. U modified in action
by the simple expedient of manufactur
ing it Into cords —whence ItR name—of
smaller or larger size. The larger
the cord, the slower Its combustion.
Thus It may be adapted to the require
ments of a relatively slow burning pro
pellant or of a quickly detonating ex
plosive—although for practical pur
poses another explostve, lyddite, is usu
ally substituted by the British In their
nflnes and torpedoes.
The Torpedo Field
In the field of torpedoes, however, the
United States Government is now ex
perimenting with the Invention of a
young American, which naval experts
claim is' destined to revolutionize war
fare on the sea quite as much as has
the submarine. This Invention con
sists of a torpedo of a novel Blze and
shape, capable of being guided or di
rected by means of a wireless station
several miles distant. The torpedo is
under the control of the marksman
from the time it Is launched and It
may be made to turn to the right or to
the left or even dive at the will of the
wireless operator. The secret of the
process whereby the torpedo Is guided
lis being carefully guarded, for it MI
realized that if it proves itself, the pos
session of one such missile of death
might possibly change the fate of na
tions.
Turning Bark the Clock of Mara
One very striking lesson pointed out
by the European war to date is the
necessity of turning back the clock of
whn. a JL WeU as turnir >S 't forward.
While the explosives which are being
used are the latest products of the
chemical factories, their containers and
the manner in which they are applied
are often primitive in the extreme. The
trenches along the western battlefront
during the past winter were often as
f» ii? as fifty or seventy-five yards and
it was therefore practically Impossible
i 5 f e a l y un or cannon which
n°2?i Projectiles at such an
angle that they would drop in the
enemy s trenches such & short distance
away. The Germans devised a gun.
known to the allied troops as the
U e \, wh 'ch was capable of
dropping shells some 200 yards away,
but it was not found to be effective at
shorter ranges. Accordingly both sides
J}®, to the ancient device of
catapults, varied by volleys of hand
grenades, relics of warfare of a cen
utry or more ago.
The Hand Grenade
The hand grenade id a small circular
bomb with a fuse attached. The fuse
Is lighted and the bomb thrown by
hand into the opponents' trenches
where, theoretically, it explodes with
?„ rea^. <lam . aß:e v Owing to lack of uni
l^. rl ?-li y J, he - length and burning
qualities of the ruses, however, some
of these grenades have exploded before
they could be thrown, with effects simi
lar to the bursting of a gun at the mo
ment of firing.
There is also a report of an American
soldier of fortune, a former collegiate
baseball star, who was serving with the
allies during the Spring campaign
when the hand grenade warfare was at
its height. This young man's specialty
was catching the grenades thrown by
the enemy and throwing them back so
quickly that they either exploded In
midair without damage or else reached
their original destination before burst
ing, thus creating considerable havoc
among the very men who had started
them on their journey of death. Spring
training for baseball does not appear
to be confined to this side of the At
lantic.
Improbable Report*
The tremendous advance in the
science of warfare and the great strides
that have been made in the manufac
ture of new explosives have given rise
to a number of highly improbable re
ports of epoch-making substitutes for
gun-powder, such as the French shell
which was supposed to asphyxiate an
entire company of the enemy when It
burst, or the German projectile which
spread death-dealing vapors for acres
around. The latter was probably the
outgrowth of the "poisonous gas"
method of the Teutons. by which chlo
rine and other gases were Introduced
into the enemy's trenches by means of
pipes laid under cover of darkness.
This method was found to be particu
larly effective for paralyzing the enemy
just before a charge was contemplated,
but it can hardly be said to come under
.the head of explosives.
The "F-Ray"
There remains the Philosopher's Stone
of warfare, the super-explosive for
whl s'lJPY entors have s °Ught during the
past thirty years—the so-called "Violet
ray, or "Infra-ray" or "F-ray," which
will sound the knell of gun-powder and
all kindred explosives as surely as they
disposed of the armor of the Crusaders
This ray, transmitted through the ether
like the wireless waves, will explode the
ammunition or detonants of the enemy
and destroy them with their own
weapons It will sink the greatest
battleship by exploding the magazine
and it will dispose of the submarine
peril by exploding the torpedoes. It
will be Irresistible; it will be revolu
tionary.
But the violet ray exists only in the
confidence of inventors who claim that
It will.be perfected within a short time
One thing, however, is certain— the na
tion that controls the ray will hold In
its hand the destinies of the world Un
til the dlsco\'ery is made, the United
States will continue to depend uDon
the modern explosives.
IN HARR.ISBURG FIFTY YEARS [
AGO TO-DAY ]
[From the Telegraph, Aug. 24, 1865 ]
Has Leg Crushed
Joseph Bosttck received a crushed
leg to-day when he was caught be
tween two freight cars which were
being coupled.
Painting Capitol
The walls of the Capitol are being
cleaned, painted and penciled.
Large scaffolds have been erected
which surround the building.
Elect Faculty Members
The board of trustees of Dickin
son College met to-day and elected
several new members to the college
faculty. The school will reopen Au
gust >l.
jj jEtottntg (Etfat
One of these days City Clerk Char
A. Miller, who has just completed c
of the most useful city official dire
ories ever compiled, is going to tu
hin attention to the history of borou
days. For several years Mr. Miller 1
been giving attention to the gatheri
of data relating to the period betwe
the first incorporation of
and its erection into & city. He 1
some of the old minute books,
though some were burned in a Are tl
destroyed the borough offices ab<
100 years ago. However, old lett
and documents that may be held
private persons may assist in coupll
up some of the borougn history. 1
Miller is exceptionally qualified to i
dertake the work.
• » •
Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh,
though out of the State and on the *
to the Pacific coast, is getting a
of mail as the result of publicity gl'v
a letter written to him last week b;
young man living near Cincinnati, w
wrote to the State executive ask:
him If he could not help him to sect
a wife. The Governor saw the let
while here for the week-end. but i
letters came after he had left i
Capitol for his trip. The letters i
from women of various ages, who i
asking that the Governor's office i
that the communications reach 1
swain in the Buckeye State, all of 1
letters being more or less personal a
intended for • the eye of the you
man with an ideal. The Govern®
office is forwarding the letters,
though this is the first time it 1
been called upon to act as assist'
matrimony.
» • •
Some pathetic letters are being
ceived at departments of the St
government because of the restrict
character of the amendment to i
mothers' pension act passed by 1
recent General Assembly. Under 1
terms of an opinion given by the le
department to Auditor General A.
Powell, only women whose husbai
are dead or permanently insane <
receive pensions. This has had 1
efTect of striking from the list deser
mothers, and some of them are mi
ing appeals to State officials in
hope of getting pensions restor
The situation is an unpleasant one
cause the officials cannot do anyth
to help the situation, much as tl
would like to do.
* * •
Edging from the way applleatii
are being made for young trout to
"planted" in> the streams of the Stf
the supply at the State hatcheries
which cultivation of the gamy fish ]
been given attention will not begin
meet all demands. The success of
"planting" last year of yearling fisi
declared by men connected'with
State fish propagation service to
the cause of the numerous requ«
coming in from fishing clubs, game
sociations and individuals. These
quests call for large quantities of fl
but none will he filled unless the w
dens are satisfied that the fish will
properly cared for and the places
suitable and that, moreover, repc
will he made to the department of
manner in which the fish survive. 1
latter information is declared to
very important in the fish propagati
as it enables the men to trace pol
tion. Millions of young trout
hoped to be-propagated when the r
hatcheries are completed. This v
the output will run high >|Ao th
sands and shipments will We made
soon as the waters are in good c
dition.
"I doubt rot if it had not been
Wildwood dam, Paxton creek va]
would have been flooded as scare
ever in its history," said A. C. Dee
who happened to be in Wildwi
Park fishing when the storm of £
urday night broke. "For a timi
thought the spillway that carries
the water into the river at the up
end of the dam would not be suffici
to care for the flood. I looked foi
to go over the top of the dam, so t
did Paxton creek pour its water do
to the lake. But the engineers <
dently knew their job when they b
it, for the spillway did its work i
saved the city almost the price of t
whole improvement during Satun
night's rain."
• » •
H. V. White, chairman of the St
Agricultural Commission, who i
here yesterday, is an expert in cer
production and has been connec
with milling all his life. He is ala
lawyer and has been engaged in fa
institute and other work.
j WELL KNOWN PEOPLE "
—W. S. VoorsaJiger, Pittsburgh I
dier, will organize a reserve regim
of veterans of foreign wars in t
section.
—Ex-Governor Tener is planning
take a vacation after the baseball s
son ends.
—General Charles Miller, of Frai
lin. has been New York Sta
—Charles A. Woods, the Pittsbui
insurance man, is with the State pa
for California.
—Henry Miller Watts, of Philad
phla, is spending some time ale
Lake Erie.
1 DO YOU KNOW
That Harrlshurg made some o
the vey first road rollers?
HISTORIC HARRISBCRG
The first court of Dauphin coti:
sat at Front and Washington street
THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER
[From the New York World.]
Word comes from Australia t
Americans are hated there next to
Germans. In Germany Americans
hated next to the British, and so
goes. The innocent bystander
usual, comes In for a large share of
blows.
Things That Count
It is not what you pay bUt
what you get for what you pay
that really counts.
It takes usability and quality
to make value and the meflure
of time to prove it. fTs,
Men who have the faith to
put their names behind their
goods and service are planning to
stand this test of time.
They know that their contin
uance of profit will be In direct
ratio with your satisfaction
It is to your Interest to trade
with such men.
To find them Is not a difficult
task for every day the advertis
ing columns of the Telegraph
sound the message's sure satis
faction.
/
SECOND FLY CONTES'
of the Civic Club for 1915.
August Ist to September 25th.
Five cents a pint (or all files, ai
many primes In cold.