8 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded IS3I Published evenings except Sunday by THK TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO., Telegraph Building, Federal Square. E. J. STACKPOLE. Prest and Editor-in-Chief V. H. OYSTER, Business Manager. GUS M. SHEINMETZ, Managing Editor. A Member American Newspaper Pub- I Ushers' Assocla- Bureau of Circu lation and Penn sylvania Associat- Eastern «ffice. Has- Brooks, Fifth Ave nue Building. New irn office, Has- Gas Building, Cht- Entered at the Post Office in Harris- , burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, six cents a week; by mail. $3.00 a year In advance. t Sworn dnfl7 average circulation (or tha three months rndlnar April 1, lUIU, it 22,432, * These Harare* are net. All returned, anaold and damaged copies* deducted. ' I THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 27 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall He down ! with the kid; and the ealf and the young lion and the lotting together; and a little child shall lead them. — IBA. 11:6. PROSPECTIVE COAIi STRIKE THE anthracite operators and the mine workers are conducting their negotiations as Vliougli l they were the only parties interested j in the dispute that to-day threatens to close all of the hard coal mines and send prices of fuel soaring.' Both ! sides are acting as though people at j large had nothing at stake, whereas the public Is more vitally interested than either one of the two contesting! forces, inasmuch as it is the con- j sumer who will be called upon to pay whatever wage advance and for what- j e\er shorter day the miners may be, al le to wrest from their employers. Let no false sympathy for either the operators or the miners blind the householder to the fact that whatever decision may be reached or how costly | the controversy may prove, he is the man who will pay the freight. Neither side is thinking of the con sumer and It is about time that the consumer begins to think of his own j rlehts in the matter. Certainly, he ought to have a voice In any matter , that affects his pocketbook so ex tensively as does this. If hard coal keeps on going up in) price it will not be long before the j housekeeper will find, of necessity, a ' cheaper fuel in soft coal or coke, or i pcsslbly In one of the western lignites' that are making such a bid for east ern markets. Certainly, hard coal in * few more years at the present rate of advance is going to be beyond the purse of the average man. Evidently > he miners are not taking such ai possibility into account. MR. CUNNINGHAM'S DEATH IT is no exaggeration to say that the whole State mourns the death of Robert J. Cunningham. Highway Commissioner of Pennsylvania, who died in Sewickley yesterday following *n illness due to overwork. In the year of his incumbency he made a wonderful record of achievement in the Highway Department. He brought to t halrofftce~ an abundance'of energv,- a clear Idea of the duty of the State toward the highways under its con trol, of the limitations placed upon the activities of the Department by reason of the inadequate funds at his disposal, an unalterable determin ation to let neither politics nor favor itism interfere with the highest effi ciency of his working force, a lovable disposition, an admirable tact, an absolutely fair and open mind and a remarkable ability to grasp and hold the vast details that made up his daily work. Not the least of his accomplish ments was the establishment of what amounted to civil service In the selec tion and promotion of the men en trusted to the important duties of the department. Mr. Cunningham took over the State Highway Department when it was anything but popular and at a time when the highways of the State were very properly the subject of much unfavorable criticism. In little more than a year he Instilled into the people of the State perfect confidence In the Inten ' tions and abilities of the Department and made really wonderful progress in the repair and reconstruction of the vast highway system of the Common wealth; all this with woefully Inade quate appropriations and in the face of almost. Insurmountable difficulties In other directions. Under Mr. Cunningham's adminis tration the latchstrlng was always out at the Highway Department. Delegations were always welcome and anybody might go to the Commissioner " with assurance that his views and re quests would be courteously heard. These hearings were not always pleas ant Interviews. Often the Commis sioner. who always made a point of being absolutely truthful, was com pelled by circumstances to say no to what under more favorable conditions would have appeared as perfectly rea sonable suggestions; but he knew how to say no In a way that left his hear ers with the understanding that his decisions were never personal nor ar bitrary, but were dictated by the ne- THURSDAY EVENING, cessities of the moment, and that when the ilme arrived their requests would he remembered and favorably acted upon.' News dispatches say that over work was the underlying cause of his death, and those who know of the tre mendous driving power of the man and the untiring efforts he gave to his office will not doubt that this is true. Governor Brumbaugh did a big thing when he appointed Mr. Cun | ningham to be State Highway Com mtsloner—possibly the biggest thing of his administration up to this time— and the death of the Commissioner will create a vacancy that will be dif ficult to fill. The people of Pennsyl vania have come to look for big things at the hnndsp of the State Highway Department. They now know that it is possible to run it without political interference, influence or entangle ments. The department is organized on a working basis more efficient than ever before. It is doing a great work. The death of Mr. Cunningham is a heavy blow to every man associated with him, but it must not be allowed to mar the admirable program which the late Commissioner gave the clos ing months of his life to perfecting. The man who succeeds Mr. Cunning | ham must not find the boots too big 1 for him. He must be thoroughly in sympathy with the Department as it is now conducted and he must stand steadfastly for the high standards and ! ideals fixed by his lamented predeces sore. Only another Cunningham in charge of the great work of making this Commonwealth a State of good roads will satisfy the people of Penn sylvania. THIS WEEK'S PRIMARIES THE results of the primary elec tions of Tuesday in Massa chusetts, Ohio and New Jersey and of the primary in Indianapolis yesterday are not significant save in one particular that Republican voters are not united on any one man for the Presidency at this time, but prefer to leave the matter of nomina tion largely to the wisdom of the Chi cago convention. This is the case particularly in Massachusetts and New Jersey, where the delegations will go to the con vention uninstructed. Evidently, the rank and file is will ins to let the national convention have its head and leaders are willing to let it go that way, realizing as they do that even the semblance of "road roller" methods this year would be fatal to party success in November. A large majority of those elected as national delegates this week are uninstructed, which means they may vote how they please in the national convention. Thus they also will be free to enter unrestrictedly and wholeheartedly into any arrangement made with the Washington party leaders in convention at the same time. THE GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS GOVERNOR BRUMBAUGH, speak ing in Boston last night on the efforts of his administration to improve the conditions of childhood In Pennsylvania and to lengthen the pe riod of training for life-work to fol low, said: We have committed ourselves to this vast enterprise—the making of men and women fit to be the Republic—there must be no looking backward. We must go steadily on until the proud boast, "1 am an American citizen," shall be synonym to civic pride, industrial efficiency and moral and religious worth. Then we shall be prepared—not for war —but for peace that passeth all understanding and is permanent. There is much truth in that para graph. In it are the fundamentals of family, community and national life. The duty of man is not to himself alone, but to posterity. First, the father and mother owe to their offspring what has been handed down to them through countless generations—health and mental capacity. The parent who contaminates the stream of life on which he floats, commits a crime that I will besmirch and befoul humanity i through myriads of years to come. The effort of every true father is to 'improve the conditions of his children, Ito leave them better able —to —cope with the world than he himself was! when lie faced adult life. The efforts | of the State to Improve the conditions of childhood is but an extension of the love and endeavor of the duti ful father toward the boys and girls of parents less thoughtful or born into conditions that make parental care ineffective or the ambitions of father and mother for the betterment of their children impossible without legal assistance. The boy and girl of to-day will be the man and the woman of to-mor row. Just as the house reflects the quality of its inhabitants, so the nation as a whole is no better than its people. It' America is to be a better place in which to live during the coming cen turies it must be because its people are better people, and early training and proper education will do much to improve Individual citizenship. It is a great work, as the Governor says, the most important work, indeed, in which the republic is engaged. THE TWO-CENT NEWSPAPER RESOLUTIONS passed by the As sociated Dailies in Philadelphia yesterday declaring that unless prices of commodities going into the making of newspapers are soon mate rially reduced the price of newspapers must be advanced from one to two cents afford no surprise to those who are familiar with the situation. The two-cent newspaper has been staring the publisher In the face for the past two years. Inks, news print, metals, wool all of the numerous materials that are used in the manufacture of the mod ern newspaper—have advanced from ten to 3,000 per cent, since the begin ning of the war, and the end is not yet. Every new quotation Is higher than the last and frequently telegrams cancelling prices and quoting higher figures are received before mail quota tions have been delivered. And not withstanding this, the war has made It imperative on the part of the con scientious publisher to put out a larger and more expensive paper than ever in order to keep up with and give adequate space to the tremendous world happenings that are every day events in the news, at the same time not neglecting his important local field. Ink has gone up in price and the newspaper publisher is using more of it. Paper is sky high, and never before was it necessary to use so much paper. The same applies to other materials. Many publishers who have been operating under comparatively favor able contracts for news print are ap proaching the summer season when these contracts expire and when it will | be necessary to face another big boost in prices. The little fellow without cash sufficient to enable him to buy by the year has already approached very near the breaking point, in many in stances. And with respect to these smaller publishers, at least, it is more than likely that the community they repre sent would be better served on a two cent basis. In the first place two cents a copy would permit the printing of a superior newspaper, and in the sec ond place publication on a basis that would yield a profit without a penny's worth of advertising, if necessary, would put the publisher in a place where he would be absolutely indepen dent of all outside influences and in position to look through his editorial spectacles only for the best influences of the town he represents. Ck By the Ex-Committeeman The Democratic reorganization ma chine was oiled up, fired up and tooted yesterday in Philadelphia and then started out on its way to race the 1 ehabilitation machine for the pink liag of leadership of the Pennsylvania Democracy. This all occurred within a few hours after a meeting of re organization leaders and the challenge of Congressman Michael Liebel, Jr.. of Erie, to contest the national commit teeinanship with A. Mitchell Palmer, the present leader, was formally an nounced as accepted. The meeting in Philadelphia yester day of Palmer and his pals was in line with those previously held by the re organization faction. It was secret, slimly attended and prolonged, with the invariable accompaniment of a bombastic statement. In addition to following this course Palmer also let it be known that the reorganizers had a slate to oppose the slate put out by the rehabllitators. Everything that the rehabilitation faction said about the reorganization faction was hurled hack and plans made for a strenuous cam paign. According tc Philadelphia papers, the reorganizers agreed to support these candidates at the May primaries: Senator. ex-Judge Ellis Ij. Orvis, of Center county; Auditor General, James B. Morrin, Carbondale; State Treas urer. Samuel B. Philson, Somerset; Congressmen-at-large, Jacob B. Walde lich, Lehigh; Thomas Ross, Bucks; John J. Moore, Luzerne, and Joseph T. Kinsley, Philadelphia; national deie gates-at-large, ex-Judge Voris Auten. Northumberland: Jere S. Black, York; Henry ,T. Dumm, Reading; T. Mart Given, Pittsburgh: William A. Glas gow and Roland S. Morris, Philadel phia; Senator W. Wayne Hindman, Clarion; ex-Congressman Robert E. Lee, Pottsville: ex-Congressman John T. Lenihan, AVilkes-Barre: E. J. Lynett, Srranton: Charles D. McAvoy, Norrls town, and William S. Mclntyre, Mercer. —A Chainbersburg dispatch says: "Senator Penrose, Congressman Focht and State Senator C. A. Snyder passed through here this morning. The party stopped here half an hour with Re publican County Chairman Dr. J. P. Maclay. Senator Penrose said nothing on the political situation. When asked a question about Governor Brumbaugh. Penrose said: 'He'll be here soon, ask him.' A dozen organization men called on the party, including M. K. Burgner, D. L. Greenawalt. A. M. Ritchey and others. Charles Jy Ambler, candidate foi; the Republican nomination for Auditor General, was in Chambersbr<-g ! this evening at the Hptel Washington. He was visited by numerous anti-Pcn rose Republicans and was introduced I by Senator John W. Hoke." —The Pittsburgh controversy over the fees for municipal experts has been ended by Mayor Armstrong signing the bill to cut the fancy figures. —Rirdsboro yesterday held a special election and approved a $50,000 loan. • —The results in Massachusetts were the talk of the State yesterday and the general imnresslon was that the chances for quite a number of unin structed delegates to Chicago were good. In this city the Brumbaugh people vigorously declared that such interpretation was erroneous because there was some uncertainty about Roosevelt's candidacy and that there were many features which did not have a parallel in Pennsylvania. —The Lancaster county delegate pledge contest, which will involve the declaration of Messsr. Smith and Mar tin, will be watched closely all over the State. It is to be heard here to morrow and will furnish the first op portunity for court action on the declaration. —William Draper Lewis' name will go on the ballot without a pledge. His withdrawal was too late. —McNlchol men showed that they bad what the Philadelphia Public Uedger calls "a firm grip" on the city Republican organization yesterday. It appears that there was a question as 1o who was to be counsel for the organ ization and In response to telephone calls Representative Isadore Stern was supported by a majority of the city committee. Chairman Lane was in formed by twenty-five of the forty eight members that unless he desig nated Mr. Stern there would be a special meeting of the committee. The Vare men called the matter a flash in the pan. The Searchlight SKt.MNt; SHOES BY MOTORCYt'I.R A versatile New York shoe dealer lias utilized the motorcycle In advertising anil selling his newest stock. He bad the cycle fitted out with a light and at tractive case exhlblttng half a dozen different styles In footwear. He sends this motor out to the homes of pros pective customers and frequently re ceives orders for every style in the case upon a single trip. It is oprated bv an efficient salesman who frequently stops to let an interested group of people up on the street have a close view of the shoes and to order them If desired. Rising Prices [From the Detroit Free Press.] Where will it end? Will prices go on rising and rising until people are simply unable to pay them and force them downward by their sheer cessa tion from spending money? Or will some sudden climax come to the up ward tendency from a now unforeseen event? It Is impossible to answer the questions. Human erperlence is the only guide to the future and human experience does not Include a parallel to the stupendous forces of this un precedented war. The best one may hope is that when the change cornea It may come gradually so that human ity may adapt itself In time. Tf the end of the rise should be a sudden drop, the consequences would be in calculable. The effect upon business would be catastroDhicaL RARRISBURG (6i62k TELEGRAPH ' THE CARTOON OF THE DAY ' ~ mi | " 'TAINT RIGHT, SUCH GOIN'S ON IN BUSINESS HOURS!" —Krom the f*h TELEGRAPH'S PERISCOPE —Having invented a submarine that does not leave a wake it is now up to somebody to Invent a torpedo that does not leave a funeral. —After reading the latest Standard Oil dividend bulletin we can understand why the management is beginning to feel kindly toward those who "busted the trust." —The people in Massachusetts were so "het up" over the presidential pri maries that only about half of them came out to vote. —lt's only twenty years since Bryan was "crucified on a cross of gold'* and yet last week the heartless Nebraska mob took him by the back of the neck and kicked him across lots. —A wife can never understand why her husband can't wax as enthusiastic as she over a well-cleaned room. —Our idea of wasting the natural resources is the vast amount of gas that is consumed in the nominating speeches' of favorite sons. ""editorial"comment The Italian press wonders why we don't go to war with Germany. Why doesn't Italy?— Columbia State. Washington needs only the beans to he the pork-and-beans center of the world. —Philadelphia North American. An international court of bank ruptcy seems the likeliest future de velopment at The Hague.—Wall Street Journal. If worse comes to worst, Republi cans and Progressives can unite against Wilson on the high cost of gasoline.— New York Evening Post. Clarion God send a prophet tongued with flame To sear the Nation's self-content; Lest writ in words of vivid shame Ye read, eternal banishment. Dread banishment from those High Halls Your fathers builded wide and deep. Once, twice and thrice the trumpet calls— How long shall ye lie bound in sleep? The skies are dark with homing ghosts. With Belgian blood the world is red. Through the salt sea in piteous hosts Still troop the pnantoms of your dead! Slirill-volced. your chosen leaders cry The need of freedom for your gold. Thank God the men at Concord lie Too deep to know what ye have sold. Was It for tills ancient hand Carved out the riches of your soil? Then let the sea blot out the land, The storin blot out the wasted toll! Blot out the dream of Washington, Blot out the vision Lincoln knew. Blot out the hope of air and sun, Bring back the night they over threw! Once, twice and thrice the trumpet calls, The sword is high, the sword is come! Awake, O watchmen on the walls. And lift your dead hands to the drum! —Harold Trowbridge Pulslfer in the Outlook. Bitter Relief From Work [Emporia Gazette] They moved in from the farm this Spring, he and his wife. He did not want to leave the farm, he said, but the children "just run him off." Then he guessed that his wife's health would be better when she got off the farm. They are living on the east v side of the town, with city water in the house, a furnace in the cellar and all the conveniences of a comfortable town home. The Spring Is coming, and dad Is beginning to realize that for the first time he will hstve no part In the active farm life of the Spring. For years, a little at a time, the children have lifted the load from his shoulders, but he has seen things planted and he has seen things grow and he did not real ize his slip from an active life to re tirement as long as he lived on the farm. Now he gets up In the morn ing. looks around, and there Is no calf to feed, no wood to bring 'n. not even a pail of water to be brought. So he drifts downtown and over In Mechanic street, where the hay from the farms such as his comes to town. It will be a lonely Spring, cooped vp in town, with the activities of a life time behind him, but the saddest part of the story is that the children really l.elieve that father will be happier and have a pleasanter time In his de clining years, now that he has moved to town and does not have the worry of things on the farm. So be stands around the hay mar ket sniffing other men's hay and try ing to "take it easy." ( ; CARING FOR WAR REFUGEES By Frederic J. Haskin s SINCE the first wave of sympathy | for the Belgians subsided, com paratively little has been heard about the destitute of Europe. The. impression of the average reader is j that the Belgians have been pretty j well cared for, and that the other | nations are able to provide for their I own people. As a matter of fact there are to-day thousands of homeless wo men and children, not only Belgian, 1 but also French, Polish, Russian and Serbian, and the problem of support ing them is a constantly growing one., Never has there been greater need for funds and volunteers. There are a hundred and forty < thousand refugee children in colonies ! in southern France and as many in towns around Paris. Besides which, j there are many small Belgians in Hoi- , land, whose parents have been killed j or become separated from them in the I hasty exodus from the invaded cities, j Holland has done nobly in caring for these refugees suddenly thrust, upon | lier soil, hut Holland already is over- i populated and she cannot possibly take care of them all. Hundreds of women, children and old men are continually being rend ered homeless by the military decree J which orders the complete destruction ' of a town before the invasion of the ] enemy. The officers desire no spies left in the villages, no food and cattle | for the opposing armies and no j buildings to act as protection for artillery. With their homes destroyed and with nothing but the clothing on 1 their bodies and what little food they i can hastily gather together, these j weaker ones whom men go to war to \ protect are compelled to take to the; road. In the winter slush and snow only the fittest can survive. In France, the work of caring for these unfortunates is well organized, mostly by Americans. The convents of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches have thrown open their doors to the refugee children, where they are provided for by-the relief committees and taught by the nuns to I knit stockings and to make lace of! beautiful and intricate patterns, the j s#le of which sometimes goes far to- 1 ward defraying their expenses. The Franco-American Committee j for the Protection of Children of the Frontier, consisting of such prominent Americans as Mrs. Cooper Hewitt; j Mrs. Robert W. Bliss, wife of the Secretary of the American Embassy in Paris; the Countess Pierre de Viel- Castel, formerly an American girl; Mrs. Frances G. Shaw, and Mrs. Wil- j Ham H. Hill of Boston, and Mrs. 1 Frederic R. Coudert of New York, is one of the most influential relief com- j mittees taking care of children. Its i members go out and gather the chil- ; dren from the road, bring them to the ' rppplvlnff which have been es-i tablished, wash and provide them with I absolute necessaries, and then place j them among the different colonies j maintained by ihe committee. The committee came into existence through the efforts of Mr. Coudert. At j the beginning of the war the usual j military decree was issued ordering i the razing of the towns around the j fortifications at Belfourt in Alsace i and the evacuation of the people. | Over fifty thousand persons, largely j women and children, were set. adrift, ! homeless wanderers. To every wo-1 THE STATE FROM DW TO DAf] Work is progressing on the State Penitentiary near Bellefonte. The buildings are being rapidly brought to completion and the little "city unto itself" is now a self-sufficient colony which is dependent upon the outside world for neither clothes, food, nor any other thing. It is not the old fashioned kind of detention place. The only fearful thing about the State institution is the wonderfully mourn ful wailing that occasionally pervades the country roundabout when a pris oner escapes, which is very infre quently. The social editor of the Punxsutaw ney Spirit reports that Mon Delner, a University of Pittsburgh student, spent Easter at his home in Punxsutawney. Truly an interesting name, with its similarity to French and German, pronominal adjectives. How is it pos sible for the poor man to convince the casual reader of his neutrality? Richard Nash stole an engine for a drink, comes the report from Connells ville. The "red medicine" of the In dian proved too strong a lure for this recent machinist on the Baltimore and Ohio and he selected the quickest method of getting to a saloon. We see now why he is described as a "recent" machinist. Mrs. Bertha Shope, of Camp Hill, treasurer of the Pennsylvania Spirit ualists' Association, was present at the recent meeting in Pittsburgh, where Mrs. E. E. Cadwallader, of Chicago, advanced the theory that the "Angel of Mons," reported to have been seen by soldiers of the allies, was the spirit Of a departed soldier urging his com rades on to victory. The State Editorial Association, composed of the leading dfiily news papers of Pennsylvania, was In session AFRIT 27, T9W | man who lias a liusband, father or brother in the army on whom she is dependent for support, (lie French government pays -twenty cents a day, j and to every child whose means of j support Is in the army. It pays ten ! cents a day; but, for the great num- I ber who happen not to have male relatives there Is no provision what ever. To these children, cast from Helfourt, went Mr. Coudert with his friend M. Cruppi, formerly French foreign minister; gathered them to , gether and placed them in an old seminary at Yvetot, half way between I Havre and Rouen. This old seminary had room for four hundred beds, which the good wives of the village were asked to contribute, together , with such food and clothing as they could spare, to be used until funds could be raised. I The least that can be said of the French people is that they are ener getic. The village adopted the chil ! dren with great gusto, the women teaching the girls housework and the old men instructing the boys in car- I pentry, woodcarving, and other trades. However, the French govern- I ment needed the seminary for a war | hospital and the children were moved 'to the Chateau Grosfys not far away. ]ln the meantime, Mr. Coudert had ' been instrumental in forming the Franco-American Committee, which j then took charge of the colony. Many private chateaux and countrv homes have been put. at the disposal ! of committees engaged in the rescue of refugee children. At La Jonchere, j the country home of Mme. Philippe Berard, the large stable has been turned into a well-equipped sana i torium for children who are too ill to go to the other colonies. Here thlrty [ eight small refugees are under the care of professional nurses. At Versailles there is a colony of j twenty small girls who are living in an old convent. These children fled I from Belgium under the care of two nuns, and were compelled to undergo I the most rigorous hardships. They spent the winter In a draughty barn, j where the only covering at night was 'straw; where their feet and hands i froze, and where they subsisted on , scraps of bread, meat and grease dis carded by the army. Gradually their ] legM began to swell and spots to ap j pear on their bodies due to exposure; J two of them died and almost all of them were 111. In this plight the com j mittee found them and they are now [comfortably housed in the old convent, studying and knitting stockings for ! other children. In Russia, conditions are even worse than in France. Americans have done | much for France, Belgium, Serbia ' and Montenegro, but they have left ! Russia to cope with their own sltua j tlon. which Is quite beyond her power. | The same military decree which de j stroyed Moscow before the invasion |of Napoleon has held good with re- I spect to Russian Poland and the Baltic > provinces. Thousands ordered out of j these provinces are making their way j on foot toward Moscow and Pctrograd ! often succumbing to the Russian win jter and dying In the snow. When the i government can spare the railroads, j the people are herded like cattle in | the freight trains and transported j aimlessly from one place to an- I other. at the Hotel Walton, Philadelphia, all day yesterday. The Philadelphia surgeon who will ed his brain 'to science bequeathed them a far more valuable possession than all the money he might have left, for their heritage is one that di rected the affairs of the prominent surgeon while alive and the money a mere concomitant. Fishing as one of the fine arts was ably illustrated by the Lycoming man who set out for trout and caught a pheasant. It reminds us of the well known story about good old "Dan" Holler, who was famous for having been reported to have "shot a cat for a rabbit." OUR DAILY LAUGH MAIN SELLER. The girl wants V J | only choco- Y| When foun tainward she The dr u»B:lst of — In forty-seven fIN JjPRING. In the spring the ~ hobo's fancy Strongly turn* to thought* How to get it without That's the ques tion, there the rub! ■ ■ ■- c | lEbgtttng (El?at| A summary of reports of various States on what they are doing to put the firebugs behind the bars, issued yesterday by Acting State Fire Mar shal Charles D. Wolfe and mentioned In the Telegraph, has attracted much attention because of the showing made by Pennsylvania. The State Fire Mar shal's department was only created some three years ago and was the re sult of a demand that the public authorities take some steps to run down incendiaries. When the Legis lature finally passed the bill there was a brisk fight made against it and the reduction of arson and consequent fire loss In Ohio and other states was pointed out as a reason for this state to have an organized force of firebug catchers, as someone termed them in debate. The summary made by Mr. Wolfe from the otlicial reports shows that Ohio, which has had the system for several years, had 91 convictions, but that the youthful and vigorous Pennsylvania department got 49. West. Virginia convicted 10; Texas. 15; Michigan, 15; District of Columbia, 3, and Wisconsin. 15. One of the notable things about the Pennsylvania record was that it had 25 confessions. Con fessions are about the hardest thing to get from prisoners, firebugs in par ticular, and It is always difficult to get conviction for arson from a jury. The proof must be positive, and In some states a man can not be con victed of arson unless It is shown that he endangered human life. The Penn sylvania department has a small force and has 45,000 square miles to look after. • • » The manner in which the spring flowers are appearing in the gardens about Harrisburg is responsible for considerable interest being taken in outdoor life and consequent sore muscles. There is nothing liKe a few mild days and a half-dozen of flowers to cause men to turn to hoes and spades. And there is nothing that will make them grouchier in the mornings. The other morning two men met in a car. Roth had to hang by straps and the motorman, not being skillful with hif car. stopped with jerks, jars and jolts. "CJ,uch ( ." said one man with a look toward his shoulder. "Aw, you're not the only one," fired back the other. "I saw you at it last evening. You're old enough to know you can't play gardener and not suffer." The late Robert J. Cunningham, the State Highway Commissioner, whose lamentable death occurred yesterday, prided himself upon his newspaper wcrk in his younger days. Mr. Cun ningham started in as a reporter when a mere lad. lie lived near Pittsburgh and dropped Into a newspaper ofllce one day and asked for a job. He got the job and he got the story lie was sent after. Initials, street numbers and all that was needed. After that he was one of the staff. He was city editor, Sunday editor and held executive po sitions. but he said that the work he loved best was out "digging afler a | story." The habits of work that he i formed when he was a reporter never ) left him and he was the hardest work i tHff official on Capitol Hill. Inclden j tally, he made it a practice to see that every letter was answered and every person was given attention at the ofllce. And he made it a rule that only fads and results were to be considered. E. Lowr.v Humes, United Slates dis | trict attorney for Western Pennsylvania. was here yesterday, visiting old friends on Capitol Hill. Mr. Humes was one of j that previous band of Democrats and Independents known as the "kickers" in the legislative session of 1913. Tn that year he was a member from Crawford county and next to John R. K. Scott, he got into the Journal more than X anyone else. Scott was "insurglng" about that time and Humes was not doing anything else. The government prosecutor Is the man In charge of the suits against the breweries, and while he says he is having a fairlv strenuous time, lie occasionally longs for the lively days in the Legislature. • » * The annual sociability run of the Camp Hill motorists is going to be bigger than ever this year. Twenty cars have been entered and merchants who have friends among the auto moblllsts have offered a series of prizes to be awarded as the committee In charge sees fit. The motorists have made It a point to ask for no con tributions of prizes and all that have been given have been voluntary offer ings. The run this year will be on May 6-7 and will be to Baltimore on the first day, where lunch will be served shortly after noon, with a side trip to the Naval Academy at An napolis during the afternoon. The night will be spent in Baltimore and the route home the day following will be by way of Bel Air, with a choice of | several routes beyond, depending on the condition of the roads. . . . General A. J. Logan, commander of * the Second Brigade, who was here yes terdav for a meeting of the State Armory Board, la the head of tlic State— troops in the Pittsburgh district, lie took the precaution of getting the latest strike news before he left for this city. Incidentally. « WELL KNOWN PEOPLE^ —Howard B. French prominent Philadelphian, is taking an active part ir> the movement to abolish toll roads. Bethlehem business men had Charles M. Schwab as guest of honor at their dinner. | —Charlemagne Tower does not think that Germany will risk a break with the United States. He was tor merly ambassador and knows the country. , . . Colonel C. A. Rook, re-elected one of the directors of the Associated Press, is owner and editor of the Pitts burgh Dispatch. W. D. Heebner, Montgomery busi ness man, has announced that he will share profits with employes. | DO YOU KNOW ~ Tlint Harrisburjt street "specifica tions have been copied in mniiy clties? HISTORIC HARKISBURG John Harris used to have yearly meetings of neighboring Indian chiefs on this city's site. Does Newspaper Ad- „ vertising Pay? A large paint manufacturer asked this question of retailers throughout the country: NO. 7 SAID: "It has never entered our mind* that there might be any question as to whether 'or not It paid to advertise, In our home papgr especially. "We can conceive no Idea or plan wherein a person or firm could succeed without advertls j ing." j Rather positive talk, is It not? Tet any storekeeper can prove It for himself. (continued to-morrow.)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers