14
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded
evenings except Sunday by
THE TELEGRAPH PRIXYIXG CO.,
Telegraph Bulldlag, Federal Square.
E. J. STACKPOLE, Prts't ana Editor-in-Chief
-• R. OYSTER, Business Manager.
GL S M. STEIN3IETZ, Editcr.
/Member American
Newspaper Pub
_ cago, Illf
Entered at the Post Office In Harris
burg, Pa., as second ciass matter.
-fggyav bv carriers, six cents a
<Eros££|KE> week; by mall. J3.00
a year m advance.
THURSDAY EVENING, Dfec. 11
Pay as you go, or don't go. —Asox.
SELECTING AN ARCHITECT
HAVING returned home after a
thorough investigation of school
methods and school buildings
elsewhere. President Stamm and the
officials of the Harrisburg school dis
trict are ready to proceed with the
Important preliminaries incldentai to
the building of a new Central High
School, the enlargement of the Tech
nical High building and the locating
of junior high schools.
Their tour has opened the eyes of
the officials to many things which will
have their careful attention in the
formulating of plans and the adoption
of changes to conform to the program
approved by the people at the recent i
election. One of the vital steps will
be the choice of an architect and.
manifestly, the directors are of opin
ion that the existing rule which pro
vides that the selection of the archi
tect shall be by competition of plans
submitted anonymously, and which
was adopted years ago, must be
changed to meet modern conditions.
An amendment is now pending and
will be acted upon to-morrow which
provides that In the selection of an
architect for a new building or the
remodeling of an old one it shall be
by competition, dropping the anony
mous feature and leaving open the
kind of competition, the method, etc.
The thought back of the amend
ment is that this change will make
possible the choice of an architect
after full discussion of all plans and
the investigation of the integrity of
the competitors, their experience and
general fitness. In short, the pro
posed change seeks to do away with
an anonymous selection simply upon
drawings and sketches without knowl
edge of the architect who made them.
As in the case of the new hotel,
care is being exercised in looking into
the qualifications of architects and
builders and all others concerned, so
that there may t>e no reason for regret
when a final choice shall have been
made. President Stamm and his as- '
sociates are clearly determined that'
public expectation shall be met at
every point,
Europe is fighting over the idea that I
the State is greater than the people I
who created it.
THE CITY'S EXPANSION
PRELIMINARY surveys under the
direction of the City Planning l
Commission of the territory be
tween the northern boundary line and
the first mountain at Rockville indi
cate the necessity for immediate at-,
tention to the development of this im- i
portant section of Harrisburg. Unless
and until there shall be a formal
platting of the district from Division
street to the mountain and from the
river to the Pennsylvania railroad •
lines there will be constant difficulty
growing out of the converging of par
allel streets into each other. For in
stance, Second street would cross
Front street owing to a bend In the
river line and Third street would be
lost in what is now known as the Ital
ian Park lake. To overcome these
conditions it has been suggested by
Warren H. Manning, the city's land
scape adviser, to the streets
so that there may be no complica
tions hereafter.
Comprehensive surveys have been
made and it is now an easy matter to
determine just where the streets
should be located. Mr. Manning sug
gests a wide highway at Division street,
extending clear through the Wildvood
park, and a similar highway at Ott's
Lane. There is also a practical sug
gestion that the lake along the bluff.
Just north of Division street, be made
a permanent and attractive feature of
that section of the city, the streets
terminating at that point being divert
ed into other highways on both sides of
the fresh water basin.
It's easier to win the iron cross than
It is to bear the cross that European
women are being made to carrv
PENNSYLVANIA TREES
IN his consideration of the highways
of the Commonwealth, especially
upon the late summer tours. Gov
ernor Brumbaugh emphasized the im
portance of planting Pennsylvania
trees, such as the red oak and maple,
along the main thoroughfares, so that
these roads should not only be com
fortable, but also attractive to the
thousands of tourists who will visit
Pennsylvania during the coming
years.
It has been suggested os a practical
method to assure thi3 result that
some rebate bo allowed fanners for
the planting of such trees along the
highways. A betttr plan v.ould seem
THURSDAY EVENING,
to be tho utilization of the State For
estry reserves for the stock and the
forestry forces for the planting. the
Highway Department to give the trees
attention thereafter. But whatever
the plan it would seem to be the part
of wisdom to give attention to this
matter In some official way, so that the
highways may be hedged with beau
tiful trees for the present and suc
ceeding generations.
Incidentally it has been suggested
that an interesting feature of the de
velopment of the Capitol Park zone
would be the planting of trees in
honor of cities and towns of the State.
This planting might take the form of
municipal celebrations, the officials
and others coming to Harrisburg for
the planting of the community tree.
! There is a joker in that bill to coin
| a "half-jitney" that every bookkeeper
I will understand.
I IT 'EM INVESTIGATE
THE proposed Senate Investigation
of campaign expenditures is a
movement that will meet oppo
sition among neither Republicans nor
Democrats. It is entirely safe to say
that neither of the national campaign
; committees will be found .Involved In
transactions in violation of any of the
laws of State or nation. While it is
not only probable, but practically cer
tain. that in both campaign manage
ments there was not only much ex
travagance. but absolute wastefulness
of campaign funds, this is something
that happens in every campaign, the
extent of the waste being dependent
upon the political sagacity of the cam
paign managers.
Wherever corruption occurs in poll
tics it is connected with a local cam
paign. It is impracticable, for obvious
reasons, for a national committee to
engage in the corrupt use of money,
even if it were so disposed. Its busi
ness transactions pass through too
many hands for a national campaign
management to even attempt anything
irregular. The only possibility of fraud
lies in a local campaign, where the
man who is interested in the violation
of election laws deals directly with the
man who interferes with an honest
ballot. Neither intimidation nor brlberv
ever has its origin in a national cam
paign organization. It has frequently
been a feature of local political con
tests.
It is notorious that Tammany Hall,
the most famous and most efficient
political organization in the world,
cares not one rap for the presidential
election. Tammany Hall is chiefly in
terested In patronage, and all tho pat
ronage the Federal administration has
in the city or state of New York would
not be a drop in the bucket as com
pared with the patronage attached to
the city and State administrations.
What Tammany Hall wants first Is
control of the city of New York, with
its vast force of policemen, its street
cleaning department, its water system,
its contracts for street improvements.
Its control over the army of other em
ployes on the city payroll. It wants
control, If possible, of the State legis
lature and the governorship, but It
cares even less for these than for con
trol of the city itself.
What is true of Tammany Hall is j
true of the local political organizations
in both political parties all over the
United States. 'Where there is no or- j
ganization on the Tammany Hall plan
there is frequently a local would-be
"boss" who seeks to control local gov- '
ernment for mercenary purposes. He I
wants the city council, or the sheriff's
office, or the prosecuting attorney's :
office for what he can make out of it j
for himself. In the effort to secure
control of these offices there Is in some
instances corrupt use of money in elec
tions. A few instances in which this
occurs receive much publicity when
discovered, leaving the impression that
corruption in elections is a common
occurrence.
The agitation In favor of an investi
gation of the affairs of the two na
tional committees is calculated to give
the impression that dishonesty is a
prevailing feature of national cam
paigns. whereas a moment's reflection
will convince any thoughtful person
that there is no likelihood whatever of
any dishonest effort to control the re
sult of the national campaign.
The investigation of the committees
may prove the campaign managers In
efficient and wasteful, but it will not
prove them dishonest.
WE MUST PREPARE
JOHN SKELTON WILLIAMS is not
always on the right side of grave
questions which affect the na
tion, but he seems to have struck
the nail on the head in an address
on national defense before the South
ern Commercial Congress. Discussing
the problems which the United States
faces with the warring nations of Eu
rope and which will come into greater
prominence with peace, he pointed out
that this country must prepare to de
fend itself from aggression and must
be ready to lend after the war for
the rehabilitation of Europe. He de
clared America's efforts to enforce the
laws of nations had earned the enmity
of most of the belligerents. These ex
tracts from his address will have sym
pathetic response among all patriotic
Americans:
Trying earnestly to be fair to all.
we have incurred the suspicion and
the animosity and brought upon
ourselves the accusations of all
Wealth unsupported and un
guarded by strength is the weak
est. most timid and helpless of all
things. Every man who loves
America must hold her honor as
dear to him as his own or as that
of the women of his own family.
Every true American, cherishing
the spirit. inheriting the magnifi
cent dreams of our founders, must
feel bis heart swell and thrill with
the thought of our United States
fearless, confident, powerful, equip
ped for defense against any foe or
all foes, ready to resent quickly
and effectually any insolence or ag
gression.
Our duty to the world is to be
ready not only with armament to
command respect and monev and
supplies with which to attract ob
ligations and gratitude, but with
the fruits of American gnlus. in
genuity and Inventive talent to in
crease man power.
Everywhere the thoughtful men of
this country are now giving utter
ance to these reasonable warnings
against our Indifference to national de- j
fctsc. Nicholas Murray Butler, inhljl
earnest speech at the annual dinner of
the Pennsylvania Society in N'ew York
City, stirred the thousands of repre
sentative men at that dinner to the
depths by calling attention to our fail
ure to measure up to the traditions of
the past and the principles upon which
our institutions were founded.
We must prepare for peace and no
prosperity based upon indifference to
the other nations of the world can
long continue. These great problems
must be faced and faced as alt true
American men and women have faced
them in the past.
Our idea of an uncertain job is that
of Archduke Charles, regent of Poland.
We suppose Germany proposes also
to leave the widows and the orphans
"Just as they were before the war."
Maybe the Kaiser is trying to win
the Nobel peace prize.
What's the use of making two-cent
pieces when the food barons have cut
the value of a nickel down to two
j cents?
I , ■■
LK
By the Ex-OoinmJ tteenian .
■ Adequate funds for State highway
Improvements, provision to increase
salaries of teachers, local option and
the speakership are the subjects Gov
ernor Martin G. Brumbaugh is tak
ing up in the order named in his "con
versations" with legislators-elect in
vited by him to visit his offices to talk
over matters. The Governor has
found his visitors generally in favor
of the first two, but has had varying
success in getting them to his pofnt
of view on the others.
It is expected that between now
and Christmas most of the members
will be here for their "conversations."
Very few have refused to respond to
the requests for visits to the Capitol
and naturally the names of those re
jecting the invitations are not made
public. The Governor is hopeful of
being able to swing members around
to local option and support of Rep
resentative Edwin R. Cox without
having to resort to drastic measures,
such as removing high officials byway
of object lessons.
—The Governor was informed by
three of his callers yesterday that
they were not for Mr. Cox. These
callers were Representatives A. A.
Weimer, Lebanon, who told the Gov
ernor he was for Baldwin; George W.
Williams, Tioga, who told the Gover
nor ho was a candidate and who feels
that he should have been selected by
the Governor because of his "local
option record, and Frank H. Marvin,
Williams' colleague, who will naturally
back him. Representatives Walter and
Benchoff of Franklin, will be for Cox,
but abide by the caucus.
> —The Governor was generally
pleased at the outcome of his "con
versations" and expects to do consid
erable work next week.
—While some of the Governor's
friends are urging him to an extreme
course and to remove officials who
do not or will not help and who re
fuse to replace men by adherents of
members favorable to Cox there are
others who counsel going slow for
fear of reprisals when the Legislature :
meets. They fear that something may
come from the threat to cut out of!
salary appropriations provision for,
offices which may be tilled by adminis
tration men in replacement of men
dropped and that the salaries of some
of the men who have been very active
in the Cox cause may be reduced to
such an extent as not to make the
places attractive. This has been done
before and there are intimations that,
it is being considered and that some
of the places which, according to
rumor have been offered to legisla
tors-elect. may not be worth much
when the Legislature gets through
with them.
—©n the other hand the State ad
ministration people say the Governor
has the whip hand in the veto power
and that while he cannot make ap
propriations he can unmake some for
pet objects of recalcitrant members.
—The committee in charge of the
proposed changes to the Philadelphia
city government Is out with a report
' favoring radical moves. Mayor Smith
is vitally concerned and it may govern
his course. It is notable that the
Mayor has not come out for any one
and that the Philadelphia members
have not had a caucus.
—Two big parlors and the three
rooms in the Commonwealth Hotel
ordinarily used by Senator Boies Pen
rose as his headquarters when in Har-
I risburg were to-day engaged by Rep
resentative Richard J. Baldwin as his
; headquarters for the campaign for
I the speakership. They will be opened
after Christmas and a number of
friends of the candidate from Dela
ware and other counties will be in
charge of the place. Mr. Baldwin will
; come here several days before the
I Legislature meets and will actively
direct his campaign. He is now tour
ing the State.
—Friends of Representative Edwin
R. Cox have not yet engaged head
quarters but they will probably be in
the same hotel. However, it has been
announced that there will be head
quarters for him. It is understood
that Congressman John R. K. Scott
wil be active at his headquarters.
Representative George W. Williams,
the third candidate, will have rooms
at the Commonwealth, which is a
"dry" hotel.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer says:
"After conferences between Mayor
Smith and the presidents of the two
branches of councils, Jaines E. Len
non. of select, and Dr. E. B. Gleason,
of Common Council, the committee
which is to represent. Philadelphia at
the next session of the State Legisla
ture at Harrisburg. for the purpose "or
providing Philadelphia, by law, with
new expedients for taxation, was au
l nounced yesterday. The committee
i was authorized by a resolution of
: councils providing that it should be
I composed of five members from each
| chamber. In addition to the two presi
| dents, ex-oflicio."
—Says the Philadelphia Record:
"Lauding United States Senator Pen
| rose for his loyalty to his friends and
I bitterly lashing Governor Brumbaugh
j for his desertion of 'the friends who
: made him.' State Senator James P.
! McNichol put Home real warmth into
the house-warming last night of the
Overbrook Republican Association's
new clubhouse. No. 1541 North Six
tieth street. The club members, who,
tinder the leadership of ex-Recorder
Ernest L. Tustin, arc the active Pen
rose-McNichol workers in the Thirty
fourth ward, enthusiastically cheered
I the Tenth ward Senator."
Though We Have Rebelled
To the Lord our God belong mercies
and forgivenesses, though we have
I rebelled against him.—Daniel ix, 9. J
HARRISBTJRG TELEGRAPH
ISN'T IT JUST TOO BAD HOW THOSE GUARDSMEN MISBEHAVE ?
~\ GENERAL I HAVE GOME TO J 1 77 J BEFORE SHOWING XOU ] [ AL^GWT——H
Uns rr? f VfSr T id
I W CAPTURED W IN WH YOU AND 1 J<^C
( THE ELUSIVE X T Sin^WFim 1 ( rTSoDp<\^
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The Entente envoys are said to have
reached a full agreement on what King
Constantine will agree to. —Philadelphia
Record.
Owing to the high cost of living the
Pittsburgh stogie has been cut an inch.
Every cloud has its silver lining.—Bos
ton Transcript.
The Skating Party
The blazing hearth.The trip over the
The comfortable twig.
chair. The J-ard bump.
The soothing pipe. The friends who
The satisfaction. race.
The restless The inability to
friends. stop.
The suggestion "he tricky ice.
about skating. The sudden crack.
The lack of inter- Th* disappearing
est. friends.
The others who en- The rush to the
thuse. spot.
The collection of The tiles for help.
skates. The rescuing act.
The abundance of The frozen friends.
sweaters. The blue lips.
The excuse about The chattering
feeling "low." teeth. i
The friends who The icy clothes.
insist. The lack of "spir-
The final resigna- its."
tion. The carrying home.
The cross-country The pitiful proces
tramp. sion.
The hitter day. The arrival at the
The biting wind. house.
The cheerless lake. The thawed-out
The cautious be- friends.
ginning. The mustard baths.
The slow progress. The many blankets.
The fancy skater. The "rock and rye."
The awkward spill. The resumed pipe.
Th "cracking the The comfortable
whip." chair.
The tangled mass. The blazing hearth.
—Life.
Christmas Shopping
Do your Christmas shopping early.
Gentle friend!
Don't betray ill-manners surly,
"Which offend.
Have a thought or two for others —
Fathers, sisters, mothers, brothers—
Whom a careless habit smother 3.
As they vend.
Rise up early in the morning,
When you'd buy;
Slothful ease with vigor scorning.
Though you sigh:
Get that diamond ring for Mary—
She'!! no longer be contrary,
But to your arms, all unwary.
She will fly.
Get those skates for little Freddie,
And the drum;
If you don't, you know, he said he
Would be glum.
Get those gloves and things for sister—
You'd be sorry if you missed her—
Write out checks till there's a blister
On your thumb.
Anil the same advice I give you.
Ladies fair;
Haste a bit: I'm positive you
"Want to share
Every single Christmas blessing;
So take care you're not distressing
Other folks—joy dispossessing—
Yes. beware!
—Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Advertisers Endorse Newspapers
[From the Fourth Estate.]
Men who handled $90,000,000 in adver
tising appropriations last year put their
heads together in Boston to devise ways
and means to make every dollar spent
In marketing bring back greater re
turns. They were the members of
the Associations of National Advertis
ers, meeting in the Copley-Plaza Hotel.
An action of the A. N. A. considered
of great Importance was the passing of
a resolution endorsing the action of
newspapers and periodicals in rais
ing selling prices. The members did
not consider that circulation lost by a
publication through raising rates
amounted to enough to be discounted
In the advertiser's payment of rates, as
the experience of publishers was that
the real quality readers will pay any
reasonable price for a worth-while pub
lication. whether It be a daily or a
periodical.
The resolution adopted is as fol
lows:
"Whereas: Because the cost of white
paper has made unprecedented Increase.s
during the past two months and the
cost of other materials and labor has
also made large increases, many news
papers and periodicals have been com
pelled to raise their selling rates to
readers;
"Therefore: Be it resolved that we
sympathize with them In their efforts to
maintain their high standards of ad
vertising in accordance with the "Dec
laration of Principles' established by
this association at Dayton. Ohio, in
May of this year, without detracting
from the quality of their editorial and
news services, and that
"It Is the sense of the A. N. A that
Its approval be given such reasonable
increases In the selling prices of news
papers and periodicals."
"BUDDHA'S SERMON ON MOUNT'
Allen Sar.gree Inspired by Telegraph Editorial to Review
Carssr and Teachings of Great Indian Thinker
To the Ei!iter of the Telegraph:
An interesting editorial in the Tele
graph recently on Tagore. the Indian
poet and philosopher, now in this
country, is bound to recall to many
a thought of the Buddha, the greatest
of Indian thinkers and reformers,
whose system of morals once counted
among its adherents half the human
race, and which has even now more
followers than the Roman Church, the
Greek Church, and all other sects of
Christians put together.
His name was Slddartha Guatame,
his father being the chief of a tribe
In the Aryan clan living some 100
miles north of the city of Benares,
near the foot of the Himalaya moun
i tains. About the age of thirty he
come to the conclusion that material
j pleasures and worldly goods did not
. mean real happiness, and so leaving
his life of luxury and ease, even his
wife and children, he became a pennl
j less, despised 3tudent and homeless
v.-anderer. This occurred five hundred
i years before the Christian era.
Among the very oldest records of
1 the Buddhist belief is a sermon of the
i Buddha, vhlch has been likened to
I Christ's sermon on the mount. In it
Ihe says: ' There arc two extremes
! which the man who has devoted hlin
jself to the higher life ought not to
| follow. They are the habitual practice,
; on the one hand, of those things whose
: attraction depends upon ihe passions,
and especially of sensuality (a low
and Pagan way of seeking gratifica
tion, unworthy, unprofitable, and fit
only for the worldly minded), and the
habitual practice, on the other hand,
of asceticism, or self-mortification,
which is not only painful, but as un
worthy and unprofitable us the other.
"But the Buddha has discovered a
middle path which avoids these two
extremities, a path which opens the
eyes and bestows understanding,
which leads to peace of mind, to the
higher wisdom, to full enlightenment
—in a word, to Nirvana. And this path
is the noble eight-fold path of right
views, high aims, kindly speech, up
light conduct, a harmless livelihood,
perseverance in well-doing, intellec
tual activity and earnest thought."
It Is a rather strange fact that such
a scheme of salvation should have been
propounded at so early a period in the
history of our race, it is a painful
fact that the followers of Buddha have
distorted his simple philosophy with
silly legends, wars, persecutions and
dogmas. Nevertheless, it has been the
source of the support of all that Is
good within its realm, and Its history
is not yet done, albeit Christianity is
beginning to replace it.
Gist of Buddhism
The last part of Buddha's sermon
on the mount contains the gist of
Buddhism. He said: "Birth is at
tended with pain, and so arc decay and
disease and death. Union with the
unpleasant Is painful, likewise separa
tion from the pleasant: and any crav
ing that is unsatisfied is a condition of
sorrow. Now, all this amounts, in
short, to this, that wherever there are
the conditions of individuality, there
are the conditions of sorrow. This is
the First Truth.
"The cause of sorrow is the thirst
or craving which causes the renewal
of individual existence, is accompan
ied by evil, and is ever seeking satis
faction, now here, now there —that is
tiits ot the
Out o' Doons
Slush Ice
North wind's blowin' bitter;
Skies are dull and gray.
Suskle's slow an" sullen:
Bass have quit their play.
There's slush ice on .the river;
I've dragged my boat away.
Farewell fer a season to the
Whltecaps an' the spray.
Useless Ads Eliminated
Merchants of Berkeley, Cal., recent
ly agreed to eliminate from their adver
tising schedules the purchase of space
In programs, blotters, desk pads, floats,
transparencies and others of a similar
nature. Charitable organisations were
excepted.
DECEMBER 14. 1915.
to say tho craving either for sensual
gratifications, for continued existence,
or for the cessation of existence. This
is the Noble Truth concerning the ori
gin of sorrow.
"Deliverance from sorrow is the
complete destruction, the laying aside,
the getting rid of, the being free from,
the harboring no longer of, this pas
sionate craving. This is the Noble
Truth concerning the destruction o
sorrow.
"The path which leads to the de
struction of sorrow is this noble
eight-fold path alone—that is to say,
right views, etc. This is the Noble
Truth of the path which leads to the
destruction of sorrow."
From this it is evident that, ac
cording to Buddha, the effort, the
struggle, to maintain individuality is
the essence of human sorrow. In it'
course from birth to death the in
dividuality, the separateness, when
ever it is brought most distinctly in
to play (as for examule in the sever
ance from what it ioves, or in the
union with what it hates) produces
pain.
Next then, what is the cause, and
i he takes that up in the second para
-1 graph, namely the thirst or craving for
renewal of individual existence. If
this causes sorrow then who wants a
future life, say the Buddhists, because
what can a future life be but a con
tinuation of individuality, and ttyat
means sorrow. Hence it Is that Bud
dhism is entirely independent of the
belief in a soul, of the belief in God,
and of the belief in a future life.
Warns Against Baseness
But in the third paragraph Buddha
also protests against the doctrine.
"Let us eat and drink, for to-mor
row we die." Even though there is
no God, no future, no soul, he warns
against the gratification of one's baser
capabilities. It is only the base and
cowardly whom the struggle against
the lust of life, or the sense of the
evils of existence, can drive to suicide
or despair. You muat conquer the
evils of life, which are due to this
strange but unrentable craving from
which they spring. And this is to be
done in no other way than that laid
down by the fourth Truth—tho culti
vation, namely, of the opposite con
ditions of mind, of the equanimity
that will result from kindness, from
self-culture and from self-control
Buddhism, It will rightlv be con
cluded, is a philosophy, raither than a
religion. That it is on the wane and
cannot take the place of a religion is
evidenced at present in Japan. There,
in the last two years has been an in
crease of 89 8 Christian Sunday
schools, with an added enrollment of
41,753 students. This has so aroused
the Buddhists that they are imitating
the Christian methods, as one mis
sionary reports "to a shocking de
gree." They have Issued books for
the arousing of Buddhists quoting
such Christian authors as Professor
Butler, Bishop Atkins, Leskv, Luther
and others. They have adopted Chris
tian hymns wholesale, substituting the
name of Buddha for that or Jesus. But
the story of Buddhism's decline can
be read in a remark of a Buddhist
priest to an American missionary.
"We have no love in our religion
Christianity has. You will therefore
succeed." *
ALLEN SANG REE.
| OUR DAILY LAUGH
MUST KEEP
RR-W THEM.
Does he keep
M ( his promises?
"7CI I guess so. I
/ J T never heard of
*V anybody want
iff 15 lng to take
them.
PARADOXICAL
(I 11 EXPERIENCE.
[OT Have you beea
) 'W® studying- the
science of e<6-
tm> Had to * on
tfal reading about it.
Got o Interested
that I found It
was Interfering
with my regular
VMkr
l-bening (£l|at
"There is one tiling about Harris
burg which lins not been lilt by thi
high price move and which to th
credit of the people who run It has nol
taken advantage of the .soaring cos'
of living and the mounting cost of al
most everything else," said a resident
of this city this morning. Naturallj
he was asked what could be so un
usual that had escaped notice.
"Street car rides" was the compla
cent reply. "I'm not joking. Thinii
of it. You have seen the price ol
flour, coal and everything else go u£
and the railroads have tacked on in
creased prices and you pay more foi
books and everything else. But you
can still rido from Hoffman's woods
to the lower end of Steelton for a
nickle and you can go from Puxtang
to any part of the city for the same
price. This is just what you used tc
pay. The prices for rides on the liar
risburg trolley system are just where
they were twenty years ago unless
they are longer. I'm not sure of that
and it docs not matter. The point is
that the price of rides in 6;;ite of the
growth of the city, the Inci cased cost
of equipment and the numerous othei
tilings that have entered into trac
tion operation in this city and State
has not increased. The only fault tc
be found ts that the ct>mpan> stil!
persists in Its refusal to sell si>
tickets for a quarter or to give chil
dren's rates as is done by other
cities. It has learned after lighting
against it for years that night car
pny. It has had its own trials ans
tribulations but you can still ride at
far for a nickle as you could in 1896."
•
Speaking of trolley cars it is inter
estlng to watch the way the conduc
tors take the transfer checks and the
tricks that are tried on them. The
experienced conductor makes the pas
senger with a transfer present it
opened. Some of the conductors dc
not hesitate to stop people to make
them unroll the slips of paper and the
person who does not comply speedllj
hears from the other passengers wait
ing to get in and receives hostile
glances when he or she sits down
The great public wijl not stand foi
| four-flushing and the wise person un
rolls the ticket when entering a car.
| Occasionally there Is a conductor whe
j in the rush has to take a ticket whicli
| is rolled up but he keeps his eye or
I the person who gave it and more
than once a man who has tried to slide
I through a "stale" transfer Is tappet
on the shoulder at his seat and askec
!to make good. The conductors are al
ways the favorites in the car at that
I time and very uncomfortable is the
| person who attempts to cheat.
. . .
I One of the oddest attempts to get
I through a crooked game in regard te
a transfer, was tried on one of the up
j town lines by a man who had conn
j from Philadelphia. He had a Couple
j of transfers which he had accumu
j lated in Philadelphia and he decided
to try to save a nickle. He got on i
j car and proffered one of the trans
j fers. It happened that it was almost
i the same color as that of one divisioc
on the lines here, but the different;*
was caugtit by the conductor and he
quietly handed back the slip with the
information that the car had left
twenty-four hours before. The mar
paid a nickle and when the conductoi
was complimented upon the quickness
with which he had detected the trick
he was asked how he did it. "We get
used to looking for the hour. We dc
it automatically because if we turn in
one which is not right we have to ex
plain," said he. "Now I looked foi
the time and in doing so caught th
name of a line I knew was in Phila
delphia. It happened that the time
was about the same hour the day be
fore. I just handed that fellow s
quiet jolt."
• • •
Some of the old-time conductors or
the trolley line can spot a bad coir
as quickly as a crooked transfer. The
one thing that worries them is a Can
adian dime. But it is to be noted that
they generally manage to get rid ol
them pretty swiftly.
• * •
Harrisburg people who have com
plained from time to time of the use
less noises that inflict themselves upon
residents of this city, especially in the
business section, will be interested tc
know that Pittsburgh, the city which
got rid of its smoke nuisance, is tak
ing steps to knock the noises. A few
days ago Maurice Pease, who has
been the police "silencer" of noises in
Baltimore, spoi;e at Pittsburgh undej
the patronage of the Civic Club ol
Pittsburgh. Mr. Pease recited a hun
dred or more unnecessary noises that
have been reduced to a minimum in
Baltimore during the past two years.
"Autos, steam engines, shop whistles,
grinding gears in large factories, and
all friction machines made too much
noise," he said, "and so we approach
ed the owners and asked co-opera
tion In eliminating as much noise as
possible. We won that co-operation,
by friendly anDroach and suggestion,
and to-day the citizens of Baltimore
work in hearty sympathy with the
police in the noiseless movement."
* * •
Representative Asa A. Weimer, of
Lebanon, who was re-elected in No
vember, was here yesterday afternoon
and visited friends in the city as well
as calling on the Governor at the
Capitol. Mr. Weimer is a prominent
manufacturer and a keen student of
legislation.
[~~WELL KNOWN PEOPLE
—Col. G. C. Rlokards, commanding
the Sixteenth Infantry, is bending ef
forts to have his command sent home
from the border next.
—C. B. Foster, well known to many
here, has been elected secretary of
the Crafton Board of Trade of which
he was secretary for years.
—W. H. Holloway, Pittsburgh man
who has been working for the govern
ment armor plate plant for his city,
thinks it still has a chance.
—C. N. Gery, father of the county
treasurer of Berks, celebrated his
ninety-fourth birthday.
—Gifford Pinchot, who is to speak
here Friday, has been delivering o
series of addresses throughout the
State.
| DO YOU KNOW
That Harrisburg billing ma
chines arc used in Canadian
offlero ?
HISTORIC HARRISBURG
' Before the water works was built a
dozen or more springs furnished water
for the townspeople.
This Is Uncanny
Are figures clairvoyants? This looks
like It.
Put down tlie number of your liv
ing brothers.
Multiply by two. Add three. Multi
ply the result by five.
Now add the number of your living
sisters. Multiply the total by ten.
Add the number of your dead broth
ers and sisters. Subtract 150 from
i the total. The right-hand figure will
be the number of deaths, the middle
figure the number,of living sisters, and
the left hand figure the number of
I living brother*