8
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded iSjr
Published evenings except Sunday by
THE! TKI.EIiRAPH PRINTING CO.,
Telegraph Building, Federal Square.
K J. STACK POLE, Prts't and Editor-in-Chief
F. R. OYSTER, Business Manager.
OUS M. STVEINMKTZ, Managing Editor.
I Member American
lation and Penn
sylvania Assoclat-
EB3tern office, Has-
Brooks. Fifth Ave
nue Building. New
Brooks, People's
Gcs Building, Chi-
Entered at the Post Office in Harrls
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By carriers, six cents a
<U3j£g!|(gytU]> week; by mall, $3.00
a year In advance.
Snnrn dally average elrcnlatlon (or the
three months ending February 20, 1010,
it 22,785 it
These figures net. All returned,
unsold and damaged copies deducted.
THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 80.
We are workers together with Qod;
do not let us forget God. —
— Frances Muri>hy.
TII AT PEN BROOK ROAD
IT can't be possible that Penbrook
is going to permit the time limit
set by State Highway Commissioner
Cunningham to pass without agreeing
to accept the State aid offered for
the paving of the main street through
that town.
In a recent speech before Congress
Representative William P. Borland, of
Missouri, said:
Good loads arc the golden chain
that binds the nation together for
nrosperity or defense. They lighten
the burden of transportation, re
duce tile cost of living, raise the
value «if farm land, increase the
national efficiency, provide for the
common defense, build up the
church and school, banish the isola
tion of rural life, and spread pros
perity, intelligence, and social ad
vantages throughout the length and
breadth of the iand.
Does Penbrook want to co-operate
in such a movement ? That a majority
of its people do seems certain, and the
rest should be made to feel the weight
of the majority.
Of course, we shall hear the usual
lamentations about the waste of energy
and public funds in the Improvement of
the River Front now that the river is
at full tide and washing the bank, but
these same critics will recall that year
after year the river does about the
same sort of stunts and without serious
disturbance to the embankment once
it has been firmly established.
CENSORSHIP
THE censorship which the War De
partment established relating to
the movements of our troops in
Mexico cannot possibly exceed the
severity of the censorship which the
State Department has constantly exer
cised over the publication of all in
formation relating to our diplomatic
movements in the Mexican case.
For goodness sake, Mr. Demain,
:lnn't you know the Spring openings
nre on?
RAILROAD EARNINGS
DESPITE the great "prosperity" of
which the administration boasts
so loudly and which has been
brought about by the European war,
the railroads of the country are unable
to show abounding satisfaction with
(heir earnings for the year 1915. They
did. indeed, have a better business
than they had in 1914, but their aver
age earnings amounted to only 3.09
per cent., which was less than those
of 1912—the last year in which the
railroads had anything like normal
business. That year, it will be re
marked, was the last year of Repub
lican administration.
To show the difference between rail- !
road earnings under Democratic times !
ami under Republican times there are
some interesting comparisons to be !
drawn from the figures In which the '
above result for 1915 is derived. In
1915 the net operating income of!
American railroads Increased almost
38 per cent, as compared with 1914,
but only a little over 9 per cent, as
compared with the last Republican
year. It further appears that the rail
roads profiting most by this increase—
such as it is—were those which
traverse territory wherein "war babies"
are most abundant and most insistent
for transportation. Under the former
regime, when Republican policies were
in force, railroad earnings were not
only more generously, but more gen
erally, distributed.
And this brings up a question that
has been causing considerable discus
sion in financial circles. Railroad
earnings for this year are larger than
those of last—due to the rush of war
business —and It Is asked why no loans
are being made for much needed con
struction purposes. In the first place,
competition of the governments of
Europe for capital and material has
absorbed much of the idle money of
a year ago and has run steel prices
up to almost prohibitive figures, but
far and away more Important than
Ihls is the thought of a sudden decla
ration of peace in Europe or a split
in the Republican party that might
result In a continuance of the present
misfit administration at Washington.
Just now the railroads are even more
In need of emergency construction to
increase capacity than the industrials.
But. they cannot bargain as the others
do for the sale of their services. They
THURSDAY EVENING,
are compelled to serve all comers
equally to their utmost, at rates fixed
by the slate.
Conditions which are creating busi
ness for the railroads are In large part
extraordinary, as pointed out, and
therefore uncertain as to duration.
That. Is not. to deny that much of the
existing railroad prosperity is founded
on strictly domestic activity, or that
the railroads can expect a good vol
ume of traffic after the war. But the
first effect, of peace woilld undoubtedly
be a sharp decline in the best paying
traffic, especially of the trunk lines.
Such a decline, if it came Just when
the carriers were beginning to feel the
full weight of the general wago ad
vance which will no doubt be made
before midsummer, might'fully justify
the conservative course which the rail
roads are now following. But of even
more lasting effect is the possibility of
four more years of railroad baiting
under Democratic rule and slump in
traffic under a Democratic tariff.
Now that Germany has disavowed the
sinking of the Sussex, we can all be
satisfied and wait patiently until—Ger
many does It again.
KICATJ AMERICAMISM
NOT all the jewels of political wis
dom are scattered on the floor
of the Senate or House of Rep
resentatives. Senator Wadsworth, of
j New York, in an address to the
Vaughn Class at the Calvary Baptist
Church, recently, had this to say:
We must have a system of edu
cation in which the son of the rich
will work elbow to elbow with the
50ii of the poor. We must learn to
understand one another. The slow
growth of poisonous class feeling
only tends to destroy our democ
racy. The East must know the
West, the North the South, and the
rich man the poor man, in a coun
try that is certainly a wonderful
one to work for.
Just read that over again and com
pare it with the fulminatlons of one
Frank Walsh, late chairman of the
Committee on Industrial Relations, a
"deserving Democrat" who planted
dynamite in every section of the
country.
SHOE PRICES
AND now it Is shoes that are to
take another advance in price.
Scarcity of leather due to the
war is the cause, given by the manu
facturers. They say that shoe wearers
must "pay the price" because this
increased demand for leather made by
European nations at a time when
American shoe manufacturers are
unable to get the high-grade materials
which formerly came from Germany
and Austria-Hungary.
Millions of pairs of shoes for the
European armies have been and slill
are being made by American shoe j
manufacturers, according to A. H.
Geuting, secretary of the National,
Shoe Retail Dealers' Association. Mr.
Geuting points out that on the i
average these shoes consume one and
one-lialf times as much leather as the
average American man's shoes.
Knapsacks, saddles, harness and j
other material for the armies at war j
and a general increase in equipment:
of the American army and State
militia account for a still further de
mand on the none too large supply of
leather.
Unquestionably, all these enter into
the situation, but we are inclined to
believe, with Congressman Kreider,
who is a shoe manufacturer and stu
dent of the leather market, that the
most potent influence toward higher
prices for shoes at this time li.es in
the extreme styles demanded by
women during the past year. All
manner of odd and expensive shades
have been worn and the changes in
lasts and designs have been startllngly
frequent. Every departure from
standard colors and styles has its ac
companying cost to the maker and the
consumer must pay the bill. If milady
finds her shoes more expensive this
Spring than last let her share the
blame equally between the war and
her own sweet will to wear "some
thing different."
HOPE IV FUNSTON
JUST now there is no immediate
success in sight for the expedition
sent into Mexico to r,un down
Villa. It is like hunting for a needle
in a haystack. But with Funston in
command no such thing as ultimate
failure need be feared.
If ever there was a "darling of the
gods" Funston fills the bill. To a few
men, and to only a few, fate presents
herself in so adventurous, picturesque
and successful guise as she has to
i Frederick Funston. lie has faced
! death a thousand times from the
i arctic to the equator and has come
! off not only alive, but a conqueror.
* After blazing the way for millions
' of gold-seekers in Alaska and travel
ing thousands of miles across that
frigid zone, with only Indians and wild
animals for company, Funston thought
to enter commercial life and became
la coffee planter in Brazil, where he
scored his only failure, Like Grant,
lie could win battles but he could not
! make business profitable. Then fol
| lowed his adventurous career as chief
artillery officer for the Cuban rebels
against Weyler; his campaign in the
| Philippines in command of the
, Eleventh Kansas, which culminated
lin his capture of Aquinaldo and his
I promotion to be brigadier-general. At
| Vera Cruz he was to the front once
| more, and now again in Mexico,
i Wherever there has been adventure,
j there has been Funston, and lie has
never been more-brilliant or successful
than when in the lead of some
desperate enterprise.
CHANCE FOR BRYAN
THE need of trained soldiers for
Mexico is keenly felt. The re
cruiting stations are calling for
t,hem, but the mills nnd factories are
calling even more loudly. Recruiting
Is on the Increase, but not to the ex
tent desired by the Government. "The
million trained men In a day," of
which Bryan prated so recently, have
not been forthcoming. But, then, of
course, Bryan has not let loose his
clarion cr,y to arms. Come on out
from under the bed. Bill, and clarion
a few notes for the army.
By the Ex-Committecmnn
Men active in Republican affairs
have given up all hope of avoiding a
contest over members of the Re
publican State committee and the
point of interest in the preliminaries
of the battle is what figure Colonel
Roosevelt is going to cut. The Colonel
has intimated that he will keep out
of the State but he is just as liable to
come in, horse, foot and dragoons.
Pittsburgh newspapers which have
been giving much attention to the
harmony stories are coming around
to the belief that the issues will be
fought out at the primaries and point
to the interest being taken In the
affair by the Democrats. Thoughtful
men are watching the activity of the
leaders who left the Republican party
to be progressives in 1912 and who
are now willing to jump back. These
men are fomenting the trouble every
where they can and apparently
watching for a chance to put them
selves right when the time arrives.
—How Washington views the situa
tion in this State, which is being
watched closely all over the country,
is summed up by the Public Ledger
as follows: "The Penrose faction is
satisfied that there will be no real
fight. This assumption carries with
it the conclusion that Governor Brum
baugh will either withdraw or that
there will be an agreement reached
by both factions giving Brumbaugh a
complimentary vote and the delegates
left to the final disposition of Pen
rose. Senator Penrose is confident
that Roosevelt will not enter the Re
publican primaries in Pennsylvania.
Republicans say that Roosevelt does
not wish to test his strength before
the people, fearing- that the outcome
would weaken him as a compromise
candidate, and therefore he will not
Interfere in the Republlcnn primaries
in Pennsylvania or any other State.
While the Brumbaugh leaders are not
so much In evidence here as a week
ago, yet they will not admit any
change In Governor Brumbaugh's
campaign plans. The situation as
viewed by the Brumbaugh camp is:
Governor Brumbaugh, if he retires,
Will do so in order to cement the Re
publicans and Progressive Republi
cans. There is nothing certain that
ho will retire. No compromise will
be made with the Penrose faction,
and no matter what attacks may be
made the plans of the faction opposed
to Penrose will be carried out."
—Tlie Philadelphia Press In a re-
I view of the Stale situation says the
whole light i s for control of tlie He
publican State committee, just as was
the Democratic light a few years ago.
The Press points out that Penrose
wants to succeed Henry G. Wasson as
national committeeman. AVasson was
here this week "adding fuel to the
flames" as lie said it. The Press re
views the situation favorably to the
Governor and Rives for the first time
some of tlie Brumbaugh claims. It
says: "The Brumbaugh claim of an
'irreducible minimum' of sixty-four
members is made up in addition to 14
members from Philadelphia by solid
delegations from the following dis
tricts: Montgomery, Lancaster, Leb
anon, Chester, Lackawanna, Bradford-
Wyoming-Susquehanna, Tioga-Potter-
McKean, York, Huntingdon-Blair,
Mifllin - Juniata - Perry - Cumberland,
Clearfield-t'enter, Fulton - Bedford-
Somerset, Westmoreland, Armstrong-
Butler, Washington-Greene, Beaver-
Lawrence, Warren-Venango, and
Crawford-Mercer, and parts of the
delegations from these other districts:
Carbon - Monroe-Pike-Wayne, Colum
bia-Montour-Sulltvan-Lycoming, For
est - Elk - Clinton - Cameron - Clarion,
Northumberland - Snyder - Union and
Jefferson-Indiana. Confidence is ex
pressed, however, that from the six
districts in Allegheny county and
from the other districts not specilied
there will be elected Brumbaugh State
committeemen which will largely in
crease the majority claimed already."
—Adding to the joyousness of the
occasion the Pittsburgh Gazette-
Times gives the following ns what E.
A. Van Valkenburg said at Oyster Bay
after his talk with Ihe Colonel. • "If
Governor Brumbaugh will see to It
that he and his delegates to the con
vention are pro-lioosevelt, although
not pledged or instructed, however,
then the Governor will And with
him these Progressives who hold the
balance of power. If Air. Brum
baugh doesn't see his way clear to
this inclination then Senator Pen
rose will receive the Bull Moose
support and Senator Penrose has al
ready indicated that he has forgiven
Colonel Koosevelt many things. Thus
there are indications that Pennsyl
vania will send a pro-Roosevelt dele
gation to the O. O. P. convention,
but uninstructed of course, thus car
rying out the colonel's mandate
issued in his Trinidad statement,
when he said that he insisted that
his name not be used in the pri
maries of Massachusetts or any other
State."
—One of the most singular situa
tions in the State growing out of the
aspirations ot' the Governor for na
tional delegates and the policy of bis
advisers is in the Seventeenth con
gressional district, composed ot' eight
central counties. A short time ago a
number of representative Republicans
met in the offlco of A. Nevin Pomeroy,
State superintendent or printing, and
one of the leaders in Franklin county
and agreed upon Calvin Green, Mifflin,
and llarry Byron, Franklin, for na
tional delegates. Mr. Pomeroy had a
hand in making the agreement. Plans
are now being made for the setting up
of a rival slate in the interest of flie
Governor. A. Nevin Detrlch. chair
man of the Washington party Stale
committee, is taking a hand in putting
up the rival slate.
—Signs of pretty close relationship
between some of the Washington party
leaders and the administration forces
in up-State districts are to he seen
about, the Capitol anil it is said that
the final day for filing nominating
petitions may bring some surprises.
—The fact that J. Verner Clark, of
Washington county, w lio was endorsed
for the nomination for State Treasury
by the Washington party conference
here a week ago - , (lied a petition this
morning to run for the Republican
nomination for treasurer caused a stir
hero to-day. Clark is said to be the
Bull Moosers' offering for State
Treasurer on a harmony basis. 11.
M. Kephart, of Connellsville, an
avowed candidate for State Treasurer,
who was here last night, said that he
had not considered withdrawing.
—Democratic voters in the Fifth
Congressional District have agreed
upon Magistrate Edwin K. Borie and
Henry J. Burns as delegates from the
district to the Democratic National
Convention. Joseph K. Fabian and
Benjamin H. Green have been agreed
upon. Slates have been prepared in
the other four districts, but have not
yet been ratified.
-—lt was announced yesterday that
D. Webster Grim, of Doylestown, who
was the Democratic candidate for
Governor in 1910 would be a candi
date for delegate -at - large. Mr.
Grimm's friends in the Eighth Con
gressional District, which comprises
Bucks and' Montgomery counties, are
said to have started the circulation of
petitions among the Democratic
voters of the district in his behalf.
—The Philadelphia revised transit
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH 1
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WHY DOM T You JSBSI S
<SO AwD SLAP I
FACES- YOU SAID )
plans are out at last and the debate
on them will start at once.
Col. R. A. Phillips, Scranton coal
man, who was a candidate for Re
publican delegate has withdrawn in
the interest of Col. 1.. A. Watres and
Mayor R. B. Jermyn.
—Philadelphia Democrats are plan
ning a big Jefferson day dinner next
month if they can get together with
out fighting that long.
TELEGRAPH'S PERISCOPE
—A column Is given In a financial
journal to "advice for war slock inves
tors." We could sum it all up in one
word—"Don't."
—lt is reported that the Capitol
park squirrels scoff at the idea of a
bird that eats nuts—but in these days
of uncertainties it may be merely a
rumor circulated for political pur
poses..
Germany now has a U-boat that
carries 80 persons. Maybe they pro
pose taking excursionists out to see
the women and babies drown.
—Cole Blcase is a candidate for
Governor of North Carolina and seems
pretty certain of getting the entire ex
convict vote.
—lf Congress kept right on meeting
until election time, a great many peo
ple would refuse to vote for any Con
gressional candidate.
—After reading that 4 3 Princeton
students admit they never kissed a
girl, we are ready to answer that much
discussed question—"What is wrong
with the modern college?"
THE STATE FROM DOT TO DA/
Of interest to Johnstown people is
the article in the current issue of the
newspaper magazine. The Fourth
Estate, in which Frank Leake, form
erly an advertising man of Ohio, just
released from the penitentiary, de
clares that he will become a "Billy"
Sunday and that, liauor is responsible
for the downfall of 85 per cent, of
criminals.
Speaking of "Billy" Sunday, we have
often wondered, with all due respect
to the famous evangelist and his
aggressive record, why sonic enter
prising dispenser of "sassyprilla" never
took it into his head to concoct a
beverage in honor of the old-timer
and call it a "Billie Sundae."
Presumably the river felt just a
little out of it with everything else
going up in price, and so took it into
its head waters to rise. It is way
above par now and still going.
Lovers of birds will be Interested in
the information which comes from the
State Sanatorium at Cresson to the
effect that the Keystone Scouts, an
organization composed of boys and
girls who are patients at the institu
tion, are to create a village of bird
houses at the hospital as a place of
lefuge and comfort for their little
feathered friends.
Major-General Leonard Wood was in
Wilkes-Barre the other evening to
make an address on preparedness and
to arouse interest in the military con
dition of the country. The meeting,
which was an enthusiastic one, was
held under the auspices of the local
branch of the National Security
League.
"We are close to the nominating
conventions,' says Girard in the Phila
delphia Public Ledger, "but as that
mysterious Roman guy warned
Caesar to beware the Ides of March,
so I warn all presidential aspirants
now to beware of Pershing if he comes
home from Mexico with Villa upon
his shield." This following a per
oration on the various presidents who
have been fighters In their time.
"The value of advertising lies In
THE WORLD NEEDSMO
By Frederic J. Haskin
WITH millions of motorcars all
over the world eating up tires,
and warring Europe using rub
ber hospital supplies and boots in
enormous quantities, the demand for
rubber and its price are both reach
ing heights unprecedented. Where
fore Uncle Sam, through the Bureau
of Standards, is making a special and
very interesting study of rubber, with
a view to standardizing the product.
This is always a long step toward
cheapening any material, and is one
of the most important services that
the government renders to industry.
When the work is completed, the
manufacturer of rubber will be able
to order a certain grade of rubber and
to know exactly what he is getting.
At present the Bureau is experi
menting extensively in the manufac
ture of rubber, and is also testing the
manufactured rubber products now
on the market to see how well they
arc made, how honest the material
in t hem is.
A complete rubber mill equipment
has been set up at the Bureau of
Standards, and every process of
manufacture is being studiod with
a view to perfecting it. Perhaps the
most important development to date
is the nitric acid process which the
bureau has evolved for the "reclaim
ing" of scrap rubber. By this process,
old rubber may be made over into
a product that is better than somo
of the grades of fresh rubber. The
importance of this discovery may be
gauged from the fact that ab,out 183,-
000 tons of scrap rubber from worn
out, automobile tires alone will be
put on the market in the United
States this year. This particular pile
of junk will be worth about $25,000,-
000. Then there will also be about
I SO, OOO tons of old rubber shoes and
boots worth about eleven cents a
pound, and a good many thousand tons
of old airbrakes, rubber hose, in
sulated wire, and other manufactures
of rubber. In view of this immense
crop »f rubber junk, and tiie extreme
Scarcity of new rubber, the Bureau
of Standards can hardly render a
greater service to the industry just
now than by developing new ways of
using this scrap.
An elaborate mechanism for test
ing rubber in its various stages of
manufacture has been set up at the
Bureau of Standards. Its elasticity is
of course one of its most essential
qualities, and this is tested most
thoroughly. There are machines
j which will stretch a piece of'rubber
at the rates of 5 inches a minute, 25
inches a minute and 45 inches a min
ute. The uniformity of the pproduct in
this regard is tested by a machine
which stretches six samples from the
same batch at the same time. In the
case of hose and other fabrics treated
with rubber, the fibers and threads
used as a basis are carefully examined.
Chemical tests show exactly what in
gredients were used in vulcanizing
I and otherwise preparing the rubber.
In the last twenty years, rubber has
attained a place in modern industry
which makes it indispensable to a
persistent rather than occasional
copy," said Paul Kindlay at the week
ly meeting of the Poor Riclirtrd Club
1 i» Philadelphia a short time ago. Mr.
Findlay is a member of the editorial
staff of Printers' Ink and is in close
touch with the advertising men of
the State.
A MATTER OF TASTE
By WIDK Dinger
T'other evening wife and I
To the opera went.
For three hours I sat. my soul
Filled with discontent.
Artists were all right, oh yes.
But they all sang, bo,
In Italian, a speech
Which I do not know.
Wife, however, liked it much
(Women like the stuff).
But I sntd to her: "My dear, ""
I have had enough.
Ask some friend to go along
With you Wednesday night—
I'll go to the boxing show
And sea a real light."
MARCH 30, 1916.
long list of arts and industries. The
present plight, of Germany shows just
how essential it is. Tnat country is
suffering from a severe shortage of
rubber, because England has cut off
the importations. The result is that
many of the German hospitals are
compelled to get along without hot
water bags, ice caps, rubber sheeting,
and rubber gloves. The lack of rub
ber gloves lias resulted in many of
the nurses contracting septic fever.
The International Bed Cross and Am
bassador Gerard have both protested
to England against this embargo; but
the British war office is obdurate be
cause of the great value of rubber
for military purposes.
Indeed, this demand from the war
zone is the most, important factor in
the present rubber situation. Troops,
supplies and equipment are aN moved j
my motor and most motors run on
rubber tires. England has sent about
5.000,000 rubber sheets ro her hos
pitals, and one English firm has an
order for 2,000,000 pairs of hip
length boots to be used in the
trenches.
Bubber is not an Ingredient in any
of the explosives; yet few of them 1
i could be manufactured without it.
j Dynamite workers wear both .rub
ber gloves and rubber boots. There
are about ISO.OOO high explosive
I workers In Great Britain wearing j
; more or less rubber, and it is quickly \
destroyed by chemical action. Gas'
i bags of Zeppelins and war balloons 1
are also of rubber. A great deal of
[ waste rubber in the war zone Is not I
being reclaimed, eit her, though junk I
dealers will doubtless do a big busi-j
ness after the war is over.
Although the United Slates has ai
commanding position in tlie manu
facture of rubber, it has done less
than any other great nation to pro
duce the raw material. Perhaps ouur
most notable service in that direc
tion is the experimental work which
the Department of Agriculture is now
carrying on with a small shrub call
ed Guayule, which is native to Mex
ico, and which produces rubber of a
| low grade. Before the revolution in
I Mexico, quite an industry in the pro
duction of rubber from tiiis shrub had
| grown up in Mexico, and in 1909 near-*
ly 10,000,000 pounds of Guayule rub
-1 ber was put upon the market. Now,
| however, war has practically destroy
ed the industry. Guayule can easily
!be grown in Texas, Arizona and
I Southern California, and there is no
I reason why it should not be the basis
of a substantial industry on American
| soil.
Bubber is extracted from Latex, a
milk-like substance which is formed
! in a number of tropical and subtropi
cal plants. The Latex easily separ
ates into two substances, one of
'which floats upon the o*:ier like cream
I upon milk. . This cream of the Latex
lis the rubber. Unless me Latex eon
tains at least fifteen per cent, rub
ber, it. is not profitable to work it.
The best rubber tree is that known
as ltevea. which is native to Brazil
and lias been successfully introduced
I into the Malay slates and Ceylon.
I OUR DAILY LAUGH I
r j
& RELATED.
Ivl ' 3a Ant ,s * n
° ld m * ld > ain't
Ym, she's a
maiden ant ot
Bacon —Has your wife a cook book?
Egbert—Oh, yes.
Bacon —Did you ever get anything
out of It?
Kgbert Sure! Indigestion.—Yonk
trs Statesman. t
lEtettUuj (Eljat
People who have Jjeen following tha
rise of the volume of water In thft
Susquehanna river the Inst few dnya
will be interested to know that al
though the wide branching river has
risen to from fifteen to eighteen feet
above low water mark frequently,
has only been eight times in the last
seventy years that tho Susquehannft'
has gone above the twenty-foot mark.
According to well authenticated rec
ords there were some floods prior to
184G which sent water all over tha
lower end of the city, but the points
of measurement were not the same as
now owing to the fact that the banks
were different and there were not so
many islands. The first flood of which
anyone around here knows anything
wan the "pumpkin" flood of 1790. 11.
is more or less traditional, too. it IH
remembered largely because it was in
the Fall and Jhe high water carried
down the yellow pumpkins from In
dioi villages and farms of settlers up
I tho river. The town was then mainly
between Paxton and what is now Wai
nut streets and from all accounts
there was not much in that. In any
1 event the Hood went over all of what
| was then llarrisburg. Soon after the
war of 1812 there was another flood.
In 1846, when llarrisburg began to
| have some lines and the river bank
was raised, there was a flood which
j had a record of 22 feet, 2 inches,
j Under present conditions It might
) have been about 27 feet, say some who
know what changes have taken place
!in the river. In March, 18G5, just
j before the end of the war the river
I rose to 24.3 and menaced the two
j bridges. That was the last flood of
iinv account until 1886 when some
thing over twenty-one feet was re
corded. The big "June flood" of 1889,
! made the record of 27 feet, one inch,
which has not been equaled since
j and the water was up to Washington
street on Second and Faxton creek
! backed up for many blocks. In 1894
| there was a 25-foot flood, which did
much damage at Steelton. The 1901
j flood was only a little over 21 feet.
| Next year, when the old "camelback"
I bridge was destroyed the water went
!to 23.9 and in 1904. the year of tho
! so-called "ice flood" it was 23.8. I.ow
j water mark is now established by tho
national State and city governments
and the records are in excellent shape.
The rapid rise of the Susquehanna,
and the complete submerging of the
city's "front .steps" causerl people to
flock in large numbers (o Front street
nil day yesterday in order to gel. a
good look at the swiftly flowing stream
with now and then a log shooting by
with the speed of a miniature express
train. An interested party up around
tlie bend at Maclay street in order to
estimate the rapidity of the rise,
placed a stick in the bank and left it.
there for a little less than an liour. On
taking it out, the measurement of the
portion which had been covered by
the rising river in that was seven
inches. A mathematician would soon
have the water up over the top of the
bank at that rate!
That winter is over—at least for the
present—was demonstrated yesterday
when the river bridges began to be
used again for afternoon walks.
Dozens of people were out for prome
nades over the Susquehanna in spite
of a wind that blew rather cold at
intervals across the ice that was piled
about the islands. The bridges are a
fine place for an afternoon walk ait>t
are used by many people In the Spring
and Fall.
Feline felicity is an unknown term.
Feline courage is scarcely more a char
acteristic of the ordinary cat, and
when a spirited little, squirrel puts to
rout a full-grown and active descend
ant of the wildcat species one is in
clined to place one's faith henceforth
in the little squirrel.
An interesting tableau was enacted
in a rear yard in Locust street the
other day when a large sized cat sud
denly spied a fat little squirrel seated
upon the top of a fence and chewing
diligently away upon a nut. Mutual
hostility appeared on the faces of the
two principals in the affair; then the
feeling was transmitted to other por
tions of their anatomy, and two tails,
a bushy one and a furry one. began
angrily to fan the breeze. Anon there
was action, but it consisted mainly in
the complete putting to rout of
Madame Cat, and "little Billie," if we
may borrow from "Trilby," went on
bis way rejoicing with another scalp,
figuratively speaking, hung to his belt.
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE "
—Dr. Edward Breck, who is noted
as a big game hunter, is making pre
paredness speeches in Western Penn
sylvania.
I —\V. H. Manbeck, one of the gov
ernors of the William Penn Highway
i is a former Senator.
-T-Janies McLaughlin, chief of elec
itrical affairs in Philadelphia, plans to
' place 30 electric reflectors about the
i statute of Penn on city hall.
—James M. Beck, former United
States Attorney, established a prize
for oratory at Moravian College.
—James M. Archbald, formerly on
the Governor's staff, has taken com
mand of a company at. Pottsville.
I DO YOU KJCT
That llari'isbui'g iron is made up
Into toys in other cities?
HISTORIC HARRISBCRG
In old times when water got high
in Harrisburg. people moved out to
what is now Allison Hill.
MILITARY TRAINING
(Philadelphia Press)
The proposal to introduce a course
in military training in the high schools
of the city is rapidly gaining in popu
larity. lis recent indorsement by the
United Business Men's Association
and by two hundred prominent gradu
ates of the. Central High school should
carry great weight with the Hoard of
Kducation when Ihe question comes
up for official consideration. Too
many public-spirited citizens and or
ganizations have pledged themselves
to the project to leave any doubt as
to how the general public stands in the
matter. / J r -
It is generally conceded that, apaW
from the probable advantage to th,
country In case of war, military train,
ing in the schools has its benefits both
physical and scholastic. In the first
place it makes for bodily development
only comparable with the effects ol
talnod by the compulsory courses iii
physical training now In force in most
higher schools and colleges. Moreover,
it teaches the student discipline, a spe
cies of moral control and ability to
concentrate that is useful to him not
or.!;' in his student days but in after
1 ifc as well. It Is no exaggeration to
attribute the remarkable industrial
efficiency of the German people to the
tact that virtually every ablebodled
male is compelled to undergo a course
of \ military training In his youth.
What military training In the
schools would mean toward national
preparedness is too obvious for dis
cussion. If every high school in the
country were to inaugurate such a
course under competent instructor*
the nucleus of an efficient army would
| within a very few years be available
kfor any emergency. .