10
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A NBWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Poundtd ifji
JPubllslied evenings except Sunday by
THE TRI.RnRAPII PRINTING fO.,
Telegraph Building, federal Square,
£. J. STACKPOLE, Pres't and Editor in-Chief
fc*. R. OYSTER, Business Manager.
EVS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor.
Member American
Newspaper Pub
lishers' Associa
tion, The Audit
Bureau of Circu
lation and Penn
sylvania As«oclat-
Eaatern office, Has-
Brooks, Fifth Ave
Hue Building. New
era office, Has-
Gas Building, Cht- j
Entered at the Post Office in Harris
burg, Pa., as second class matter.
By carriers, stx cents a
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a year in advance.
Sworn dally average circulation ft>r the
three uionthn ending Jim. 31, 1010.
★ 22,760
These figures are net. All returned.
Unsold and damaged co|»le» deducted.
THURSDAY EVENING, FEB. 10
Look up and not down.
Look forward and not back.
Look out and not in;
Lend a hand.
— EDWARD EVKBETT HALE.
TWO CHAMPIONS
REPRESENTATIVE MANN, the;
leader of the Republican
minority in Congress, standing j
shoulder to shoulder with Speaker
Clark, the titular head of the Demo- \
cracy in the national legislative body,
In the first skirmish in behalf of na
tional preparedness, is a spectacle at
once encouraging and the very em-;
bodiment of patriotism. It has sent
R thrill throughout the country and
In a moment has cleared the atmos-'
phere of all doubt as to the real,
attitude of the people of the United
(States in matters affecting this coun
try in its relation to other nations.
If anybody had any doubt of the i
patriotism of the American people,
they will doubt no longer. Air. Mann
declared his belief in President Wil
son's sincerity on the subject of pre
paredness and called upon his coun
trymen to aid the President In pre- i
paring "the country for trouble, which |
tve all hope will not come, but which j
Itili may come in spite of us."
What, a situation for any Presi- j
dent when the leader of his own party |
Bits mute in the House while the Re- ,
publican champion takes his position |
on the firing line with a rejected
champion of the opposite political
faith in behalf of the responsible head
of the administration !
' Itepresentatlve Mann is no slacker
und this week ho has given expres- J
fion to the thought and feeling of the j
Republicans throughout the nation.
In an address this week Mayor Smith 1
declared that the spirit of prepared- i
ness was prevalent among the men and
women of Philadelphia, and expressed
admiration for the several organizations !
which are preparing for eventualities i
should their services be required by I
their country. It might he well for
Mayor Smith 1o suggest that the Re- 1
publican factiunlsts could And a better
outlet for their superabundant com
butiveness in the Kiddle instruction 1
camp, rather than in battering each i
others' heads.
TlllO VALENTINE AGE
IF that small boy of yours bogs a
dime and shamefacedly declines to
reveal the purpose of the gentle
"touch," don't, darkly imagine that it j
jnust be a detective story or cigarets; (
the chances are he has his eye on a
xalentine. Most likely it is large, of !
florid complexion and has hearts, !
i-upids and wedding rings scattered
promiscuously over the front, with a
stanza or two of very fervid and very
mushy verse tucked away on the in- '
Bide. It may not appeal to you, on the
shady side oC forty, but to that boy 1
of yours it is just now the most de- j
Bit-able thing in town. Not that it has I
nny intrinsic value for him; oh, no;
lor itself alone it is far less desirable j
than a pack of gum or a trip to the
movies. But, in the "spring the young
man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts
of love," and if you go back a little !
you will remember that this male
fancy begins to turn that way pretty
early in life.
Do you remember that, two-cent
valentine you hid in Mary's third J
reader and, a little later, how you j
risked a paddling for being out late !
in order to push a gay heart-throb
costing five cents beneath the front
door of Maggie Jones, under cover of
darkness? You always did these things
in secret, hut how you did hope that
Mary, or Maggie, as the case may have
been, would in some occult way divine
the identity.of the sender.
Well, that's the state of mind your
hoy is in to-day, chances are, so give
him the nickel, think of the fun you
got out of life at his age, of the
priceless memories your boyhood
nickels bought at valentine time, give
him the dime lie craves—and don't ask
fool questions.
MR. CONSUMER
f A MID all the controversy over
questions of labor and wage
scales and other collateral mat
ters affecting the general labor situa
tion it must, always be remembered
that, the interested third party is the
consumer. More and more the public
is beginning to understand that these
disputes in the last analysis concern
the man on the side line quite as
jnuch m the parties to the contest.
THURSDAY EVENING, HAKRISBURG TELEGRAPH FEBRUARY 10, 1916,
For this reason interest in strikes is
not quite so one-sided as was the case
) a few years ago. Public sympathy Is
usually with the under dog, but the
under dog turns out to be the con
sumer quite as often as the wage
earner.
For instance, the proposition to
| largely increase tire wage scale of
j the miners in the anthracite coal
i field Is receiving the careful con-
I slderation of consumers of coal
(throughout the country. These have
J been given warning that any increase
jin the scale will mean an increase
In the price of coal to every con-
J sumer, large and small. So It is that
J the contest is not entirely one between
j the coal operators and their em
| ployes. It goes into every home
j where anthracite coal is used as fuel.
[ An interesting incident of the pro
| posed change in the scale—the de
: niand for a twenty per cent. Increase
in wages, an eight-hour day and
i recognition of the United Mine Work
; ers is an attack upon the organ
. lzation and the methods pursued, by
j Thomas L. Lewis, former interna
tional president of the United Mine
i Workers. This attack appears in a
magazine published by Lewis, who de
clares that the miners' organization
is in a more demoralized condition to
| day than at any time during the last
lifteen years. He says:
To collect and spend millions i
j of dollars in industrial con
flict seems to be a fad with the
leaders of the union. The mem
bership pays the expense, and has
to earn it by hard work. It will not
i always continue. A tifty thousand
. deficit in the publication of the of
ficial journal was treated with lit
tle concern.
It must be remembered that there
are two sides to every question,
and it is not always the unwilling
ness, but the inability of the em
ployer to concede the demands of
the employes and remain In busi
ness. Any person can demand a
thing; but it takes men of intelli
gence, with a thorough knowledge
of the difference between the cost
and the selling price of a com
modity, to prove that any demand |
which adds to the cost of the pro- j
duct can succeed.
In the coal mining industry the cost
of producing a ton of coal and the j
price at which it is sold will be the
I determining factors in negotiating a
| wage contract.
That the labor leaders are making
j a more careful study of the funda- !
mentals than was once the case, es- ;
pecially as these affect the relations j
of employer and employe, is demon- i
strated every day in the discussion of j
the great problems which concern the j
wage earners of the country. The ]
1 tendency of the organizations of labor
is to avoid strikes and the other dis
turbing factors which militate against
those immediately concerned and the |
larger third party represented by the I
I average consumer.
As illustrating the more reasonable j
attitude we quote from "Progress." j
a magazine issued by the relief and
I compensation board of railroad broth- i
i erlioods with headquarters in this
j city. Discussing Judge Gary's pre- j
(diction that the producers of tliisi
country, including the wage earners, j
] would find themselves in commercial!
| antagonism with the most persistent i
I and difficult competition unless this'
! shall be prevented by laws that are
i reasonable and sufficient, the maga- i
1 zine in question says:
Certainly there is need of the |
most searching examination of our
tariff schedules and consequent ac- I
Hon greatly resembling a measure |
! of defensive warfare. Special rea
sons exist why the whole system of
American tariffs should be over- I
! hauled by scientific experts, by a
I commission intent upon establish- j
ing a "line of justice and fairness j
I between the producer and the con- j
! sumer."
Thus it is in every department of
labor and industry, the mutuality of
j the relationship between employer
} and employe being emphasized more
j and more as it is better understood
I how closely and intimately related j
are the interests of each in the wel
| fare of the other.
Strikes are no longer promoted by
level-headed leaders of labor organ
izations, save as a last resort. They
! realize that the better plan is arbitra-
I tion of all questions at issue to the
end that there may be no cessation of
employment and resulting loss to all ■
| affected by the temporary suspension.
It is a favorable sign of the times j
that the big stick is less in evidence
'in all dealings between capital and j
' labor.
SENATOR PENROSE'S SANITY
IT is by such clarity of vision and
sanity of view as characterized
his speech on the manufacture of
armor plate by the government that
Senator Penrose maintains his posi
tion of authority and influence in
Washington. Neither the Senator
nor anybody else conversant with the
facts minimizes for an instant the
evils of possible price agreements
among armor plate makers, but any
thinking man must see the reason
ableness of Senator Penrose's conten-
tion that the building of an armor
plant by the government at this time
is not the way to correct that con
dition. Just when we are about to
enter upon the most extensive ship
building program in our history is no
time to cripple the privately-owned
industry upon which we must depend
if we are to get the proposed new
ships under way without a necessary
delay of several years while the gov
ernment is getting ready to make its
own plate.
FATHER KENN AND HIS FUNDS
IF, as has been stated at the Capitol
in the last fortnight, the actual
working cash of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania is not much over
three-quarters of a million dollars,
there is nothing of greater importance
for the responsible heads of the State
government to do than study the con
dition and do their best to prevent its
recurrence. The time to prepare a
financial program for the next Legis
lature is right now.
It is not pleasant to realize that our
State, which has in its sinking fund a
dollar for every dollar of debt out
standing and which would pay off all
old bonds it could get hold of to-night,
is in such a position that it can hardly
pay the money due to the school dis
tricts of the State without scraping the
bottom of the strong box. This does
not mean that there Ut not enough
money in the Treasury, but It means
that, adhering to lines laid down in the
act of 1909 and to the business methods
of the Treasury, the money to pay cer
tain things is pretty well requisitioned
or else tied up. ,
The present state of affairs, which
is more dangerous to state pride than
to credit, is due to the size of appro
priations approved last year, especially
for charitable institutions; to the diver
sion of money which used to form big
items of State revenue and to the lock
ing up of cash in special funds.
The new State revenue raisers are
not going to raise n million dollars,
and, with the federal government
hunting new subjects of tax, any addi
tional State taxation is going to be a
rather difficult problem.
The time to start on a plan which
will allow the State to maintain its
departments, go ahead with construct
ive work, carry on its humanitarian
projects and at the same time give aid
where it should be given is right now.
WHERE THE BLAME LIES
AFTER all the talk of plots against
munition factories in the United
States since the war began, the
statement of the Du Fonts that few of
the explosions in their plants can be
traced to foreign agents is a relief to
strained nerves. When one thinks of
the vast number of unskilled workmen
at work in the powder plants the
wonder is that accidents have not been
more numerous. Hudson Maxim lost
a hand experimenting with explosives
and we are told that the first ground
handful of niter, sulphur and charcoal
drove Monk Schwartz's pestel through
the ceiling. Occurrences like these
are bound to follow the handling of
highly explosive compounds by inex
perienced persons.
["TELEGRAPH'S PERISCOPE ,
—Germany won't admit that it was
"Illegal," but confesses it was "un
justifiable." Why not compromise
and call it by Its real name—murder.
—"Grown women who dress like
little girls" are condemned by Mrs.
Thomas A. Edison. If she refers to
the modern ball gown she is slander
ing the little girls.
—When it comes to announcing
candidacies Woodrow seems willing to
let Joe do it.
We don't believe that old saying
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a
crown." Recent developments leads
us to the conclusion that many of
them lie entirely too blamed easy.
—lt Is remarkable how some of
our liquor dealer friends are trying
'<> save the country from the evils of
increased drinking which they insist
follows the enactment of prohibition.
—Admiral Blue gives every sign
of being true blue.
EDITORIAL COMMENT
Great Britain is said to have the
modest ambition to control the world's
coal and iron. If she can control our
anthracite coal trust and Standard Oil
she'll do more thau we can do.—Wichita
Eagle.
Carranza might try a note to Villa
demanding a disavowal.—Wall Street
Journal.
IN THE OLD HOME TOWN
I From the Kansas City Star.)
The Old Home Town is divided on the
question of preparedness. The Old Home
1 own, of course, is divided on almost
every question—religious, political, so
cial and economic. Not since the days
«>f free silver in 18H6, however, has
The Old Home Town been so "split" In
its opinion as it is just now on pre
paredness.
As a rule in the Old Home Town
men are Democrats or Republicans, and
they approach every question from the
viewpoint of one or tile other of these
political parties. But over the ques
tion of preparedness there appears to
be no common ground of meeting.
Every one has his own fears, his own
argument, his own theories.
The Old Home Town Debating Society
meets every day to "settle" the ques
tion. Every day the society adjourns
with the question unsettled. So tar as
known each member stands where he
did the first day the question was up
for discussion.
But notwithstanding the fact that
the Old Home Town is making no pro
gress it finds great satisfaction in the
discussion, it hears some truly won
derful things.
Take "Uncle Cy" Morgan's story, for
instance, of what the navy costs each
man, woman and child In the United
States to maintuin. '.'Uncle Cy" does
not remember just where he got the
figures, but he knows they are car
reel, "Uncle Cy" iwas in the Civil War
and says the victory was won there
"without no navy," but Wall Street, he
says, makes Its money out of the navy.
"Uncle Cy" is for all the infantry that
can be enlisted. But "Uncle Cy" is
against the whole program because it
calls for a strong navy.
On the other hand, "Ves." Thompson,
who has a nephew in the navy some
where. is strong for preparedness—but
he is against any bigger army than we
now have. "Ves." was once involved in
a strike In which the State militia was
called out, and he believes to this day
that it was the United States army that
interfered with the strike. He always
refers to it as "the time the army
came."
Undo "Bill" West, who has not been
off the townsite for a quarter of a cen
tury, contributes to the cause the theory
that the President wants a big army for
no other reason than to annex Mexico.
"I know what 1 am talking about,"
Uncle "Bill" invariably adds, and to
doubt it would be to doubt his word.
"We don't want no more Mexicans In
this country," Mr. West says, with
finality that is meant to settle the ques
tion for all time.
Then there is "Gov." Saunders. Just
why they call him "Gov," nobody
knows, but he has been known that way
ever since he landed in the Old Home
Town forty years ago. "Gov." Saun
ders has a daughter who works in the
pension office at Washington, and for
that reason his opinion on all questions
affecting the republic are supposed to
be "first hand" and are given great
weight. In the Old Home Town debating
society.
"Everybody knows." says "Gov."
Saunders, "that the President and the
press have been hypnotized." (Prob
ably he means to say subsidized, but he
has said hypnotized so many times in
this connection that nobody notices the
difference). "It is a well known fact."
the "Gov." continues, "that these United
States is in no mortal danger from any
foe within or without. Our navy can
shoot stralghter, our vessels are bigger
and faster, and our army is better
trained than anv army in this world.
T guess I needn't tell you fellers where
T get my information," he concludes
mysteriously, "but 1 wouldn't be talkin'
if I didn't know what t was talkin'
about."
Here the discussion ends each day In
the Old lfome Town Debating Society.
There is no answer to "Gov." Saun
ders' remarks. His Information is sup
posed to come direct from the pension
department. So. the society disbands
In time to allow the members to do the
chores early this cold weather.
But to-morrow it will meet again to
cover the same ground—the advocates
of preparedness, meantime, hoping that
something will "turn up" to refute the
mysterious information that "Gov."
Saunders carriaa about under hi* haL
By ttva Fx-Committeeman
The news came out of Washington
last night that the effort of Senator
Cummins to set up presidential candi
dates in Pennsylvania might result In
bringing Philander C. Knox to the
front as a candidate. The North
American publishes a dispatch from
the national capital to the effect that
rather than see Cummins rounding up
delegates unopposed in this State,
Knox's friends believe they might with
propriety ask for a Knox delegation
from Pennsylvania, and this Is es
pecially appealing in some quarters,
for Knox has the approval of Repub
lican leaders of all points of view and
of the Progressives as well. However,
nothing definite has been decided.
—State Senator James P. McNlchol,
who Is depended upon to lead the Pen
rose forces In the city in the event of
the anticipated tight between Governor
Brumbaugh and the senior senator
for the State leadership, held a con
ference yesterday with Mayor Smith,
of Philadelphia, to discuss the Phila
delphia situation, according to the
Philadelphia Record. Although neither
the Mayor nor Senator McNlchol
would make any comment on their
meeting. It was believed in organ
ization circles that McNichol had
sought out Mayor Smith to ascertain
where the Mayor would stand If the
two factions in the organization came
to a clash.
The meeting, according to Mayor
Smith, was requested by Senator
McNichol, and the Mayor agreed to
take lunch with the Senator in the
Bellevue-Stratford. For almost an
hour the two were engaged In an
earnest discussion. Following the
luncheon the Mayor met Attorney Gen
eral Francis Sliunk Brown.
"I took lunch with Senator McNlchol
and we discussed politics, but further
than that 1 am not at liberty to talk,"
was the explanation given by the
Mayor when asked what significance
was attached to the conference.
—Continuing, the Record says: "A
thing that worried the McNichol fol
lowers was the confident manner in
which Governor Brumbaugh and the
Varcs, with the open aid of the Mayor,
fixed a slate for delegates-at-large to
the Republican national convention
and then followed up their attack by
placing Speaker Ambler in the race
for Auditor General. The latter move
was considered a direct slap at the
leadership of Senator Penrose, as he
is known to have opposed the Ambler
candidacy, and to have refused the
olive branch extended to him in the
shape of permission to select the
nominee for State Treasurer. The Pen
rose workers expect him to make a
declaration by the end of the week,
and that he will call upon his friends
throughout, the State to prepare for
war in the May primaries."
Who shall lead the forlorn hope
against Knox for the Senate is said by
the Philadelphia Public Ledger to be
troubling the Democrats. Says that
newspaper:
"Democratic State leaders yesterday
declared that they hoped to be able to
reverse Secretary of Labor Wilson's re
fusal to become the Democratic can
didate for the United States senator
ship against Philander C. Knox, the
Republican candidate.
"With their candidate for United
States senator decided upon. Demo
cratic State leaders would determine
quickly upon the personnel of the rest
of their ticket, including that for dele
gates and delegates-at-large to the
national convention.".
U. S. ARMOR PLANT
[Philadelphia Public Ledger.]
It is obvious that the Government
will not be able to compete on equal
terms with the Midvale, Bethlehem
and Carnegie companies in the mak
ing of armor; and the question which
ought to receive the serious consider
ation of Congress is whether the pos
sible control of prices, to be obtained
by the expenditure of $11,000,000 or
more for a Government plant, would
not be secured at too great a price. It
would be a national calamity if the
existing private plants were driven
out of business; and while the fear of
such an eventuality as the result of
the entrance of the Government into
the armor-making field may be an
exaggerated one. the possibility is too
serious to be overlooked by Congress.
It is a pity that the question should
have been approached, as it has been,
in a partisan spirit; it ought to be
lifted to a higher level, for it is part
of the national program of prepared
ness. Any course now which threat
ens to delay naval shipbuilding or un
duly increase the cost of preparedness
would be suicidal. The evils resulting
from price combinations by armor
plate are not to be minimized; but
can they not be corrected by some
method short of crippling established
industry or of handicapping the Gov
ernment in preparing for national
defense?
FUTILE
[From the Atchison Globe.]
Unless you are close enough to him
to be appointed Postmaster, following
a leader is the most futile task.
I OUR DAILY LAUGH
SO THERE. H '
Hey! Ton L
haven't forgotten
that ten you owe S
me, have you?
Don't worry,
ril let you know 1 w '
when I forget it. |
I IHA PROBABLY NOT
Jjlv'? She's always do
ufiir 'i/ 1 iC * n K something
iaJS A original.
WM' \ what 18 her
i |Hr L latest achleve-
JJm ljU. Wj J ment In that line?
■I 1 'lll I 3 She's become
YK engaged by wire
j less telegraphy.
BksjS s ! lA I wonder if she
J™ j I will be satisfied
Hkl f w'th ringless en
' gagement.
A RIFT IN THE
springtime grand?
her most gorge
ous raiment, the
timid violets peep jpSaaSTO 'ViVol
through their cov- pKjMJI ■>
ness in song, and-
Wholly And 'f" -C
, the cro-cussea.
THE CARTOON OF THE DAY
TWO TRENCHES WON
—From the Philadelphia Record.
< -y
MANAGING
How the Gang Came Back
' By Frederic J. Haskin
s. „ J
WHEN you see the other fellow
throwing trash ujpon the street,
just call up the policeman as
he's rounding out his beat; the judge
will do the balance and the fine must
then be paid, to punish the offender
for the ugly trick he played."
This jingle Is running through
every head in New Orleans. Francois
reads it as he idles over hs late coffee
and roll at Antoine's in the old French
quarter. Fernandez and Beatrice
read it above the window of the
street car as they rub their sleepy
eyes in the early hours between home
and the cigar factory. Sam Bowie
Houston Crockett Jefferson, proud
scion of a migrated Texas fanfily,
reads it on the billboard as he
trudges to the warehouse to check
cotton receipts. Whenever the people
get tired of reading one jingle the
poet laureate of the city hall pro
duces another one of his vest pocket
odes on civic righteousness. For this
is one of the methods by which the
New Orleans commissioners ifc-e
striving to foster community spirit.
And it works. The rhythmical in
junction about trash has helped to
make New Orleans, which had open
sewers along its streets a generation
ago, one of the cleanest cities In the
United States.
In New Orleans the conflict between
city hall politics and civic reform,
which has preceded the adoption Of
commission government in most other
cities, did not happen exactly as the
reformers had intended. It was- a
fairy tale in which the villain upset,
the plot by slaying the dragoif and
marrying the heroine before the hero
got around to It. Martin Behrman
had been mayor of New Orleans and
head of the city liall ring for a good
many years before commission gov
ernment was adopted. Most surpris
ingly, he has been mayor of New
Orleans ever since.
It happened like this. The reform
party, otherwise known as the "Outs"
started an agitation for commission
government. The "Ins," otherwise
known as the city hall gang, saw that
commission government was making
a hit. They quietly went up to Baton
Rouge and induced the State Legis
lature to pass the law authorizing the
change. So the civic reform party
was out of thunder. It had been
talking commission government for
some years, but the city hall gang had
actually produced the thing.
So commission government in New
Orleans is managed by exactly the
same set of men who formed the poli
tical ring of the town hall. But they
do not manage it the same way. Hav
ing undertaken to J>ecome reformers,
they have got to make good. Furth
ermore, each of them is responsible
for a certain part of that good. The
city hall ring has become a halo of
chic righteousness.
The five New Orleans commission
ers have had a rather strenuous career.
In the first place, New Orleans with
its 400,000 people, is the largest city
in the United States governed by a
commission. Running such a town Is
rather a large problem in any case,
and several other large things, such
as the Mississippi River, bubonic
plague, and a West Indian hurricane,
have come along to complicate it.
Being so nearly on a level with the
river, the problem of drainage pres
ents some distressing difficulties. It
is not the most encouraging thing In
the world to begin digging a founda
tion for a house and before you get
through, have to change your mind
and call It a well. Living in New
Orleans used to be like living on a
great big sponge. If you stuck your
finger In the ground it came out wet.
THE STATE FROM IWTODW
The Kingston school board has just
decided a most momentous question,
to wit: That a schoolboy is permitted
to eat garlic regularly if he so de
sires, in spite of the effect it may, and
is said to have upon the olfactory or
gans of his schoolmates. Perhaps*
the problem is one for the S. P. C. C.
(last C referring to children) to de
cide rather than the school board.
The king can do no wrong! The
Mayor of Altoona can stub not his
toe without the taxpayers suffering.
His honor was taking a walk and
struck his foot against a corporation
service box protruding an inch or so
above the sidewalk. An Investigation
proved that there were hundreds of
them, and the reduction will cost the
taxpayers some hundreds of dollars.
James Shields has eaten 157 oysters'
in 40 minutes and claims the cham
pionship, He lives in Altoona, and
if he can do that and still live, he's
welcome to the championship and
then some. Heinz's 57 varieties have
nothing on this young man. After he
had finished his six pounds of bi
valves he ate two sandwiches and
drank a pint of milk to wash the
oysters down.
The rector of St. Peter's Catholic
Church, the Rev. John K. Kiernan. of
.Heading, has denounced immodest
That has all been fixed, thanks to
the determination of the people to
stick to their town and to make it
habitable. Recently, an enormous
drainage system has been completed,
which literally takes the water out of
the bottom of New Orleans. It is now
possible to live in New Orleans and
have not only a cellar but a dry cel
lar under your house.
To get the subsurface water out
and into the Gulf, however, has re
quired not only great expenditure,
but remarkable feats of engineering.
Tn some of the mains, the water is
pumped five times before it is carried
to the river. A sewer carries it by
gravity till the sewer gets to the bot
tom of dry soil; then it is pumped
back to the surface, and carried a little
further by gravity; then pumped again
and so on.
New Orleans was just ready to take
a long breath after getting her drain
age system bought and paid for, when
a big, fat rat scuttled off n fruit
steamer and slipped around a bale of
cotton just in time to be stepped on
by a husky roustabout. Not even a
rat objects to a number ten shoe in
its solar plexus, and this particular
rat showed his resentment bv sink
ing his sharp teeth into the leg of the
roustabout.
The next thing New Orleans knew
she was in the throes of a bubonic
plague scare. There were only a few
cases, but the city health authorities,
the State authorities and the Public
Health Service at Washington all got
busy on those cases.
"What shall we do about it?" the
city commission asked the Public
Health Service.
The Public Health Service replied
that rats spread bubonic plague. If
there were no rats there would be no
bubonic plague. Therefore, get rid of
the rats. That was all the Public
Health Service could see to the situa
tion. Of course, in a city as old as
New Orleans, containing as many old,
small buildings, crowded together on
narrow streets as are all Latin towns,
sitting on wood foundations or on
lightly constructed brick foundations,
the simple suggestion of the Public
Health Service presented difficulties.
There were lots of rats and still more
rat holes.
But the city commission of New
Orleans thinks in a straight line. It
gasped once; then it told the people
what the situation was, passed an
ordinance requiring every cellar and
every building in New Orleans to be
rat-proofed, told the citizens how to
do the job, spent half a million dol
lars rat-proofing the building owned
by the city and rested on its oars.
The people gritted their teeth, grinned
and spent their money, a total esti
mated at $6,000,000. To-day the
Public Health Service says New
Orleans is as nearly immune to bu
bonic plague as any city can be.
Levees, drainage and rat-proofing
—surety that entitled the tax-payer to
surcease. Surely he coud now take
that long breath and rest. He did—
for a few weeks. Then last Fall's
storm hit the town. It was the worst
in the history of the weather bureau.
The wind reached a velocity of 131
miles an hour the highest ever re
corded in the United States. Crash
went the windows, and away went the
roofs. Then, when New Orleans' hat
had blown away, so to speak, it
rained for five days on her bare head.
All this, however, has since been
forgotten. With customary willing
ness and good humor, New Orleans
paid the bill and went merrily on her
way, taxing herself for still greater
improvements and planning for even
greater things In the future.
garb and the modern (lance, urging
mothers not to allow their daughters
to attend dances where the newest
steps are practiced.
Lieutenant Governor Frank B. Mc-
Ciatn is the guest of the York Elks
this eveningin that city and will make
on address at the tenth annual ban
quet.
Wampum has a woman who form
erly lived in New Caßtle and while a
schoolgirl there, 15 years ago, she
appropriated several pencils worth all
together about 10 cents. Her con
science has troubled her In the in
terim apparently, for she last week
sent 10 cents to the school board of
Tarentum, who acknowledged the
amount with thanks and cancelled the
obligation.
HOW TO LIVE LONGER
Alß—Rule a—The skin should be
kept clean and warm and should have
air. To keep the body healthy, clothes
should not be tight.
As most of us are in heated houses
,in winter a laree part of the time, we
should wear lightweight clothes while
in the house. Upon going out-of-doors
put on heavy outer clothes.
Do not wear your hnt tight. Tt cuts
off the blood from the skin of the
head and makes you bald. A soft hat
is the best.
Do not wear tight shoes or high
heels.
GNV V SI/AYETH
Call now if there be any that will
answer thee: and to which of the saints
wilt thou turn? For wrath killeth the
foolish man and envy slayeth the silly
, one. —Job v, 1 and 2.
©retting Qlljat
Establishment of the six school li
braries in as many schoolhouses of
the city by the Harrisburg Public Li
brary Association has a branch of its
educational work has been so suc
cessful that the Library management
has not only been forced to send
books from its own Juvenile collection
to the schools but to secure loan of
books from the State Library to fill In
the gaps until new books can be se
cured. The school libraries were
located in six widely separated build
ings and it is the plan to double the
number some day when funds war
rant. The extension of the Library
service to these buildings gives the
youngsters in communities far re
moved from the center of the city and
not likely to get the use of books, a
tact demonstrated by the manner in
which the boys and girls jumped at
the chance to read the books. The
principals of the buildings are acting
as the librarians and in every in
stance have asked that more books be
supplied. .In addition to this branch
ing out the Library's educational
work this winter at the building 011
the River Front has doubled, there
being so many children for the story
telling hour that additional time hail
to be provided. Saturday's visitors in
clude more children than dreamed
of two years ago when the attrac
tive week-end work was established.
You do not hear much about the
great American mule being; bought
for war service, but let me tell you
the same situation prevails regarding
mules that was noted during the Boer
war. The mule saved the British In
South Africa until the traction engine
was put to work and I guess the Al
lies are at the bottom of the high
prices for mules now In spite of all we
hear about automobile transporta
tion," said a dealer in livestock who
gets this way every now and then. "I
have been picking up horses and
mules around here for quite some
time, but let me tell you the men that
have them are hanging on and arc
disregarding some nice offers. I think
more livestock is going to be raised in
this State because of the prices
that can be obtained for •it it*
the next five years."
A rather striking demonstration of
the extent to which men who have
come to Harrisburg and Steelton and
other parts of the county are buying
property in Dauphin county is fur
nished by the publication of tha
names of property owners lately. For
years names of English, Irish, Scotch,
Welsh, German and occasional Scan
danavian predominated, or rather
made up the whole of the lists, but
now the list is reminiscent of Slav,
Magyar, Croat, Italian and other king
doms which are figuring largo in the
telegraphic news of the day. A good
many of the old names remain, some
German and Irish ones looming large,
but there is a Near Eastern smack to
the whole list nowadays. But when
people start to invest in property they
are pretty apt to look after it against
all comers.
Roundsman "Jim" McOann does not
look any older and his step is not a
bit less elastic than it was twenty
years ago when he was as much of a
terror to the wrongdoers as he is to
day. The veteran officer, who has a
more extensive acquaintance with the
night roaming gentry than any one
now in the city service, is just now
cogitating what will follow the ex
tinction of that part of the city known
as "The Ward." He says it's a lonely
place these nights compared to the old
days and that It's rather odd to see a
vacant lot where used to stand houses
which he used to have to keep on his
watching list.
• • »
Pottsville people have been paying
some visits to this city to note the
new Public Library building as the
capital of Schuylkill has lately re
ceived from Carnegie a gift of $15,000
to construct the home for the Li
brary. The site was donated by Potts
ville citizens at a cost of $23,000 and
the school authorities are giving
$4,500 a year for maintenance. The
Harrisburg Library has also been not
ed by the people in charge of York's
new Library and by those interested
in libraries from a number of other
places.
» * *
George H. Wirt, who is in charge
of the forest fire bureau of the State
Department of Forestry, is contribut
ing an interesting series of articles to
In the Open, the organ of the Wild
Life League, the big organization of
State Sportsmen. The articles are
filled with information for everyone
who likes to roam the woods, to say
nothing of hunters.
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE ]
—lsaac Sharpless. active in the
peace movement, is president of Hav
ertford college.
—Congressman Foss, who spoke
here last week, is to address a meet
ing in Pittsburgh.
—Lee A. Gilmore, superintendent of
Lawrence county schools and well
known to many here, has resigned to
become head of Oakmont schools.
—F. C. Smlnk has been re-elected
president of the Reading Iron com
pany.
—Theodore Voorhees, head of the
Reading railway, is rapidly recovering
from his recent illness.
—Congressman J. Hampton Moore
is advocating raising more sheep in
Pennsylvania as good business.
| DO YOU KNOW
That Harrisburg plates are in a
number of the big oil tank ships'.'
HISTORIC HARRISBURG
This city had a dozen hospitals dur
ing the Civil War.
GENERAL REGRET
[From the Cleveland Plain-dealer.]
There will be general regret if
Sweden joins the warring nations
and a lot of th# regret will be
Sweden's. i
' -«
"Good Morning,
Customers"
In n bright, cheery way, that
is what you the storekeeper
are saying whan you till your
windows with newspaper adver
tised goods.
Your friends, your neighbors,
have read about these goods in
their favorite newspaper.
They will be eager to see
them.
And seeing them in your win
dow will at once stamp your store
in their minds.
The next time they read the
advertisement they will say to
themselves, "Oh, yes, I saw
those tn Blank's window."
And/your sales and customers
naturally Increase.