8 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Pounded lSjr Published evenings except Sunday t>y THE TELEGRAPH PRINTIKQ CO., Tclrcraitli Building, Federal Square. HI. J. STACKFOLE, I'res't atia Editor-in-Chief 3'. XI. OYSTER. Business Manager. 3UB M, STEINMETZ, Managing Editor, ~ Member American llshers' Asaocla tlon. The Audit Bureau of Clrcu- BwS'Ph latlon "vnd IJenn sylvanla Assoclat- SmShkBSSSII Eastern office, Wt'H ac &fc.W JPjj Story, Brooks & mn M jiwjg gS Flnley, Fifth Ave nue Building, New ern Story, . £Sgg|3!Pj|y ley. People's 9 cago, lllf' Entered at the Post Office In Harrls burg, Pa., as second ciass matter. By carriers, six cents a week; by mall, $3.00 a year in advance. FRIDAY EVENING, DEO. 29. Our doubts are traitors, and make us Jose the good, we oft might win by fearing to attempt. —Siiakespkabf.. THE PROPOSED TWO-CENT PIECE CONGRESSMAN POTTERS bill directing the United States mints to resume the coining of two cent pieces ts a popular measure. It ought to be enacted without delay. There are many good reasons why the use of smaller coins should be en couraged and there is a very particu lar need for a coin between the cent and the nickel in value, and the two- j cent piece would cover the ground better than a three-cent piece. Small coins tend to lower costs. A penny is of such small value in these days of high prices that even the newspapers are compelled in a ma jority of instances to foresake the penny field which for so many years they so nearly monopolized. Two cent pieces would encourage the sale of all manner of things in less than nickel quantities and very often a nickel's worth more than meets the need but must be bought for the rea son that under the present system of coinage no smaller unit of price is quoted. The Jump from a nickel to a quarter Is broken by the ten-cent piece. If it were not for the dime the consumer in many Instances would be required to buy a quarter's worth instead of a dime's worth, as now. Yet the dif ference between the nickel and the quarter is no greater proportionately than the difference between the cent and the nickel. The general adoption of two cents as tho price of newspapers—a condi tion forced upon publishers by the tremendous cost of white paper and printing materials in general, is an other very good reason why the coin age of two-cent pieces should be re sumed. In the selection of a successor to tho \ late City Solicitor Seltz the City Coun- | ell should proceed with caution. This I Is a most important and responsible j offlce, which cannot be regarded as a sinecure or side-issue. The interests of the city and the taxpayers are in volved and great care should be exer cised in choosing tho municipal legal adviser. PAYING THF. PIPER GOIXG into office on a platform pledged to reduce the high cost of living and returned to office after having made no effort to fulfill those promises, the Wilson adminis tration is apparently convinced that the people view its extravagances with pleasure and are ready cheerfully to assume any new burden put upon them. That is about tho only con clusion to be drawn from the proposal of tho Democrats at Washington to levy a special tax on coffee and tea in order that there may bo no need to reduce the funds at the disposal of the Democratic Congress. Tax on tea, coffee or any other article of such common table use is a tax direct upon the poor man, who is least able to bear It. Perhaps Eng land, or France, or Germany in pres ent circumstances, might be Justified In levying such an assessment, but In the United States at present there can be no excuse for it. Better by far a bond issue to cover current expenses, but even that would not bo necessary if those in Washington had as clear a conception of the economic needs of the nation as they have of using the unlimited power of a majority in Congress to exploit the public treasury for tho promotion of their own pet schemes. A protective tariff would place the burden of tax where it belongs—upon the foreign manufacturer and shipper —and would not only yield the desired revenues, but would place the Amer ican workman behind th'e bulwark of government statute, instead of laying additional burdens upon his should ers. The country preferred Wilson to Hughes and having chosen to dance to Democratic music it must not com plain too much when it is called upon to pny the piper. Why not get up a peace note to the Republican campaign managers? THE PASSING HOSTS THERE is food for reflection In the annual report of the Pension Bureau which shows there was a decrease of 38,575 In the number of persons on tho pension roll during the year ended June 80, 1916. The total on that date was 709,572, of whom 362,277 were civil war soldiers and 287,753 were civil war widows. The number of widows on the pension roll FRIDAY EVENING, decreased 3/354 during the year. Let us lose no opportunity to pay hom age to these fast passing venerables. One after another the cities of Penn sylvania which were forced by the Legislature to swallow the commission scheme of government through the en actment of the Clark act are revolting, and It is expected that the lawmakers will be asked to amend the law to the extent at least of making optional com pensation of the five commissioners, but empowering them to employ a city manager, this official to be charged with the responsibility of getting re sults. PARTY FOOLISHNESS T>OR several years there has been ■*- growing discontent among the Republicans of the State over the unsatisfactory conditions in Phila delphia. As the metropolis of the Commonwealth that city has devel oped a situation which seriously men aces the future success of the party at large. Year after year the clash ing ambitions and peurlle resentments of the party leaders In tho big munici pality excite disgust and contempt among the thousands of stalwart party men throughout the State. Not satisfied to confine their activi ties within the limits of their own locality these malcontents project their caterwauling into the remotest corners of the Commonwealth. Unfortunately for tlioso responsible for tho uproar, their profeslons of party fealty and In tegrity are not taken seriously by the great majority ofj Republicans, who are not in the least interested In these petty squabbles. But the very fact that the bickering and senseless controversy goes on year after year demonstrates that there is something radically wrong with the party spirit in Philadelphia. Just when tho schism In the Republican i ranks wan healing we are confronted with another outbreak which further threatens the party as a whole, if the Plii!.\f boat and bathhouses. Most llarrlsburgers have long since •eased to consider proper provisions t'or the health and pleasure of the peo ple as unnecessary expenditures. Thousands of our people are not so situated that they can go to the sea-' shore or mountains during the heated 'crm and It is only fair to these that reasonable measures be adopted for their health and comfort. While it is the part of wisdom and foresight to conserve the public, funds :jnd to practice rigid economy in every directly to the end that there shall ':>o no Waste of the public moneys, it Is nevertheless true that in matters af fecting the welfare of the people there HARRISBURG OAfA* TELEGRAPH] AIN'T IT A GRAND AND GLORIOUS FEELING * By BRIGGS WHEN Buy A New -AMD FIM ALLY T-r-i ft WITH A HORRIBLE T f aBH cSN\, y>~)V II RU3H VoO "PLUNGE m I A WV Ju 4?l OVER A * HIGH A g * e home next month. The cavalry will be split up at Pittsburgh and the First Squadron will go on through to Philadelphia, the others being sent to home stations. One of the matters connected with the return of Troop C, or the Gov ernor's Troop, as it will be known when It comes home, will be the care of the thirty-two horses which will be maintained here for the organization. Those horses will be stabled under the direction of Captain George C. Jack and the government will pay tho hostlers, so that there will be horses available for the men to ride at all times and in event of mobilization the men will have mounts for a start. The machine gun company of the Eighth and the wagon company will have much material here and will also have some horses for training purposes. In fact, the local companies will be closer to a war footing than ever known before. As it Is probable that the next Legis lature will bo asked to make some sub stantial appropriations for armories and other arrangements in behalf of the National Guard, it is interesting to note that one state which has two regiments spent $70,000 in preparing its camp, while another spent over $200,000. The State of Pennsylvania owns something close to 2,000 acres at Mount Gretna, where its permanent camp Is located, and its investment, less than $50,000, is in marked con trast when one considers the efficiency of the Keystone State troops. The State Highway Department's au tomobile division is the big money maker on Capitol Hill just now, as it Is doing a business of SIOO,OOO a day. In all probability the total revenue for 191G licenses will run over $2,225,000. At the present rate the 1917 revenue will exceed it and then some thou sands. Out of I_,ewif?town comes a story to the effect that a. Beaver Springs farmer owned the heaviest pig in proportion to its size in the world. When slain this week the porker weighed 595 pounds and all present at the slaughter asserted that there was something wrong. First the scales were criticised, but when they proved accurate fur ther investigation developed that the pig had been a walking hardware store. In the stomach were sixty-nine 10-penny nails, a quantity of loose bolts, nuts and screws and four to six pieces of iron hoop from four to six Inches long. This sounds like a Munchausen story, but when it is called that & certain Postal Telegraph messenger a few years ago feasted dar after day for the benefit of his asso ciates on nails and glass and all sorts of impossible breakfast foods of the same kind the experience of the Beaver Springs farmer is not to be questioned. This messenger boy was subsequently opened up by a surgeon and consid erable hardware removed from hla stomach. It is probable that there will be pretty big audiences at the watch night services which are a feature of Harrisburg life on the last night of the old year. For years these services have been held in some of the churches and they have attracted audiences which have filled the pews, notably in the case of churches in the upper section and Hill portion of the city. They are by no means denominational, but people from all churches attend them, and the service varies. In some inslances the hour of the passing of the old year is spent in prayer and in others the advent of the new year la greeted by songs. The methods of collecting ashes and garbage appear to be arousing the ire of some householders in Harrisburg and they are comparing notes on the condition of their yards. This morn ing one man gave the following inven tory of his premises: Seven lard tubs, one large metal box, three peach baskets and one nail keg, all filled with ashes and all waiting for the man with the wagon. Representative Miles A. Milliron, of Klttanning. is here combining busi ness, politics and pleasure, as he is a legislator and also connected with school supply concerns. Hj has been attending the educational association meetings nnd visiting the headquarters and the Capitol. ~ WELL KNOWN PEOPLE —Mayor James O. Harvey, of Haale- k ton, has decided that he can designate where children are to coast and has nsmod the streets for sports. —Professor Paul Haupt in an ad dress at Philadelphia said that the wine of the ancients was twenty-five times as strong as that of to-day. —Ralph Bingham acted as Santa Claus for the Pen and Pencil Club at Philadelphia again. —E. F. Romlg, son of a prominent Allentown man, la home from the Orient, where he was a teacher dur ing the early nart of the year. | DO YOU KNOW That Harrisburg manufactures tin plntc which Is used In army cups? HISTORIC HARRISBIRG The first legislature to sit In Hari risburg occupied the Courthouse on a very snowy day. His Diet With flapjacks, bacon, coffee, eggs, I smooth the nighttime wrinkles out (The cook says I have hollow legs, To carry so much about). And then I light a fat cigar, And gagly hop upon a car. For luncheon I have something light! Corned beef and cabbage and brown bread: A steak, a chop, I take at night. Another ere I hit the bed. A clear Havana, not too mild, Helps me sleep like any* child. • My diet's just the thing for me. My state of health is almost rude. But doubtless It would l fatal be To any one afraid of food. The moral: Let each child live his pIMV But don't advise your fellow man. v-Chicago New*