8
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded 1831
Published avenincs except Sunday by
THE TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO.,
Telrcmph DvlMlit, Federal Square.
E. J. STACK POLE, Prts't ana Editor-in-Chief
S\ R. OYSTER, Business Manager.
GUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor.
t Member American
Newspaper Pub
lishers' Associa
tion, The Audit
Bureau of Circu
lation "*nd Penn
sylvania Associate
Eastern orflce.
Story, Brooks ft
Flnley, Fifth Ave
nue Building, New
le>V Gas
Entered at the Post Office In Harris
burg, Pa., as second class matter.
By carriers, si* cents a
week; by mail, $3.00
a year in advance.
TUESDAY EVENING. JANUARY 9
Be thou faithful unto death, and
1 will give thee a crown of life. —
Rev. 2:10.
DEMOCRATS AND "REFORM"
THE Philadelphia Public Ledger of
to-day contains an extremely in
teresting account of the "com
plete harmony that has been restored
between the Old Guard and the Re
organizers of the Democratic party In
Pennsylvania."
"As a result of a conference recently
between A. Mitchell Palmer and Vance
C. McCormiek, the administration's
spokesman in Pennsylvania, and
Charles P. Donnelly, of this city, the
Old Guard chieftain, plans have been
formed for a rejuvenation of the party
In the State, with the capture of the
gubernatorial battle two years hence
as the big objective," says the Ledger,
and adds: "So complete have the two
factions harmonized that it is already
assumed that Donnelly will control the
patronage not only in Philadelphia but
also in this section, and that Palmer
will keep his hands off entirely In the
eastern part of the State."
Donnelly, of the political firm of
Ryan and Donnelly, only a couple of
years ago was being called by both
Palmer and McCormiek "a traitor to
his party," a "double-dealer," the
of an infamous bipartisan com
bination designed only for profit," "the
enemy of free government;" he was
charged with being a "tool of the
liquor forces" and the "friend of cor
rupt politics in Pennsylvania."
And now he is to be entrusted by
the „McCormlck-Palmer combine with
the guardianship of President Wilson's
federal appointments in Philadelphia
and the entire eastern part of the
State. The "reform element" and the
"corrupt, bipartisan" faction have em
braced each other like long lost broth
ers. President Wilson has caused the
fatted calf to be killed for the prodi
gal highwayman returned to party
headquarters. The erstwhile apostles
of political purity and the liquor
controlled, loot-hunting "gangsters"
are sitting about the well laden tabler
napkins to neck, knives and forks
poised, with visions already before
them of a second course consisting of
the well-roasted corpse of the Repub
lican party in Pennsylvania. And in
the background the forlorn and neg
lected figure of Reform, weeping.
A pretty picture, is it not?
There appears to have been a proper i
amount of "cooing" when Gerard :
landed in Germany with his "olive
branch."
Those new coins may be handsomer, '
but they don't buy as much as the old
ones used to do.
BACKING UP A LIBRARY
THE people of Harrisburg should
do more to support the Public
Library. The fact that during
the month of December the Library,
with less than 20,000 books, circu
lated over 10,500, without cost of one
cent to those who read them, is an
evidence of service hardly equalled
by any library in the State, if in
the country. The circulation of books
In the year just closed was thousands
ahead of 1915 and if the circulation
of last Saturday, January 6, which
•was almost 1,000, is any indication the
new year will put a great strain upon j
the resources of the Library.
Contrary to the popular opinion,
the Harrisburg Public Library is not
a gold lined institution. Its total an
nual income is less than SII,OOO and
that includes the $5,000 given by the
Harrisburg School Board to aid the
notable educational work which the
Library has been doing among the
school children, not only at the build
ing at Front and Walnut streets, but
In the schools. There are libraries
>n six of the school buildings, re
quests for four more libraries from
schools, an offer from one building on
the Hill to furnish a person to handle
the books free of charge and a de
mand for books for the outdoor school,
which ought to be given if anything
Is done at all. All of these enterprises
can be taken care of, the work among
the children expanded, the variety of
books increased for the hundreds of
daily readers at the building, stu
dents, mechanics, old and young, who
go to the Library for wholesome
reading, and the desire for good lit
erature aided in many ways by some
measure of popular assistance.
The Library has never made an ap
peal to the people of Harrisburg. it
has been making a record. And if
the figures of what has been accom
plished are read it can be seen that
TUESDAY EVENING,
,there is opportunity to back up an
institution that is working quietly,
but constantly, in the very best way
for the benefit of the whole city.
Wo used to think that Mr. Lawson
stayed up nights thinking out those
hell-benders which he is wont to scat
ter like skyrockets through his writ
ings, but now we know he just opens
his mouth and lets 'em flow out.
FOR OaTY BATHHOUSES
ANY study of the municipal budget
must Impress the average Har
risburger with the growth of this
city and the modern character of its
administration. While many things
have been done which should not
have been done and other things have
not been done which should have been
done, distinct progress has been made
during recent years.
There is growing dissatisfaction, of
course, over the log-rolling of the
commission government idea, as it has
worked itself out here, but so long as
the people themselves have an Interest
in the conduct of the city no very
serious breakdown can occur. What
is absolutely necessary here is to con
tinue the constructive efforts which
l.ave placed Harrisburg so far in ad
vance of the average American mu
nicipality. Always we shall hear the
croak of the croaker an4.the lamenta
tion of the pull-back, but these are
sounds to which the ears of our citi
zens have become accustomed during
a long period of years and they are
no longer alarming. These noises al
ways suggest the farmer who was
going to sell a million frogs from a
pond and who shamefacedly admitted
to the prospective buyer that there
was but one frog in the puddle.
So It is with the croaker; his noise
is frequently mistaken for numerical
protest when it is In fact a matter of
lung power Instead of brain power.
It is not reasonable to expect at all
times that our people will agree upon
every item of public improvement sug
gested, but there is certain to be at
all times widespread community senti
ment in favor of a continuance of
those things which make for the pros
perity and happiness of those who
call Harrisburg home.
It is regrettable, for instance, that 1
in the making up of tl.e budget the J
present year no attention was given;
to the public demand for boating and
bathing facilities in the Susquehanna
basin. This demand was insistent and
there is no good reason why provi
sion should not have been made for
a start in this direction. However, it
is not a hopeless proposition and with
the coming of spring we have no doubt
City Council will do something to meet
public expectation in this regard.
Mexican exports to the United States
in 1916 amounted to $100,000,000, in
cluding about a million dollars' worth
of telegraph tolls on false rumors.
SLENDER FOOTHOLD FOR HOPE
JAMES KEELEY, editor of the
Chicago Herald, recently re
turn from a trip to Europe, in
the course of which he was en
abled to meet many men of au
thority and to get an idea of what Eu
rope is planning for an after-the-war
program. He presents his conclusions
! in language of startling vividness:
American business in competi
tion for world trade —and home
! trade—is going to have a battle
| for existence when the hands that
to-day are fondling rifle-stocks and
tossing hand grenades and point
ing cannon muzzles once more
grasp the plow liandl£ and the tool.
England may have slumbered in
conducting war: it is not asleep in
the marts of trade. It is a new com
mercial and manufacturing Eng
land, alive, alert, efficient and bent
on conquest. When the war ends
an army of 8.000,000 war workers,
including soldiers, will be demobil
ized. This mighty force, nearly
half of the wage-earning popula
tion of the United Kingdom, and of
which nearly seven-eighths are men,
will be the industrial army with
which England will fight her trade
battles.
Mr. Keeley addresses his words "to j
the President, the Congress and the 1
people of America." He sums his ar
gument up by counseling Mr. Wilson i
to "appoint the tariff commission and I
appoint it at once." It must have on I
it the best men America's wealth of
business wisdom can producp; they j
should be paid adequate salaries in or-1
der to command their services; they
should be "high-grade, competent and
confidence-inspiring."
If this is the only foothold we shall
have from which to fight our com
mercial battles after the war, we fear
it is too slender to afford much hope.
It has not hitherto been the Presi-1
dent's habit to appoint commissions j
which are "high-grade, competent and j
confidence-inspiring." It has not been 1
his habit in the White House; and it j
was not his habit when he exercised !
the power of appointment at Prince- \
| ton, whether it was a proctor, a fac
ulty committeeman or any function
ary that he was to name. As presi
dent of a university, as President of
the United States, his one thought has
! been to appoint Wilson men. The
tariff commission will be no exception.
The picture of Industrial combat to
follow the war has not been over
drawn by James Keeley. But he
loses his sense of perspective when he
attempts to portray Woodrow Wilson
as saving the situation.
Unfortunately all that effort of the
Pennsylvania electors will be wasted.
NOT IN THE SQUARE
HARRISBURG Is sorely in need of
public comfort stations, but the \
middle of Market Square is no i
place for them. The Square is not big |
enough to accommodate buildings in \
the center and to place a comfort j
station there would result In much ad-1
ditional and unnecessary travel over
that already crowded highway.
The growth of automobile traffic has
made Market Squa.-e all too small for
the vehicles It is now called upon to
accommodate, even without taking
away more of its very limited space
for building purposes, and the crowd
ing is bound to Increase as the city
grows and wagons and autos Increase
In number. There is ample space for
public comfort stations in more se
cluded sections, even more centrally
located than Market Square from the
x>oint of pedestrian travel. ,
AINT IT A GRAND AND GLORIOUS FEEUNG By BRIGGS
AFTER You HA.VE ASKED - AMt> wTH A view To
Thc HAUGHTY AGEMT BUVIfJG, You AS* HIS
Twe NUMBER OF LORDSHIP THE price
cylinders The car has that tvus^- EH ' VJGS
You ADMIRE
AMD You reach Vou Pull out a |P^" m '' T ,T
3>ou>nl IKJ Your WAD LjKs. A GRA-ND AMD
Oeakis an/d This Juvr To GLO-Rtous FEElini' :
SPG c^ fJ6>e
"~P t?VKC If Ctfo,Kta
By the Ei-Com ml I tprmin
Claims of Penrose men that supreme
court decisions cited by the Pittsburgh
Gazette-Times yesterday prevent U.e
Governor reappointing any State offi
cial rejected by the Senate on a vote
on confirmation were disputed by ad
ministration people to-day who con
tended that the questions had never
been squarely determined and that
next summer would be a good chance
to try it out. This indicates that
chances for harmony in the Legisla
ture are going glimmering, just as
the Democrats who got together in
Philadelphia yesterday expressed the
hope that the Governor will have
plenty to think about during and after
the next legislative session. On the
other hand the administration people
plan to make some wholesale re
movals at the Capitol and say that
the Penrose organization will have
anything but a cake walk In naming
the next Republican State ticket. The
old Philadelphia fight is to be dragged
through the Legislature and the next
campaign.
The Gazette-Times article attracted
much attention at the Capitol and
there were many comments upon the
prospects ,for a fuss. The Philadelphia
Public Ledger says that the Governor
lias apparently made up his mind not
to make appointments until the close
of the session and the Philadelphia
Record says that the Governor will
not be impeached because Republican
leaders know that would mean a
Democratic Governor.
—Senator Penrose has decided to
ask the advice of Republican State
leaders as to a legislative program and
has invited a number to meet with
him at Atlantic City Thursday. Re
garding this meeting of the "War
Board" the Philadelphia Inquirer
says: "Senator Penrose and those most
intimately affiliated with him have in
dicated a disposition to await de
velopments in the call for impeach
ment proceedings, while the Demo
crats have been demanding immediate
and drastic action. There is no doubt
that the call for an inquiry into the
charges that there have been delin
quencies if not more culpable phases
of maladministration in several de
partments of the State government
will be taken up by the members of
the Legislature and others who have
been asked to meet Senator Penrose
at the seashore and that assignments
will Ue made of subcommittees that
shall formulate resolutions and pro
pose acts of the Legislature which will
be part of a general campaign to
further the reform movement which
Senator Penrose insists he will press
to a successful conclusion."
—Speaker Baldwin's mail is assum
ing big proportions and the post office
at Chadd's Ford is showing the effect
of having a prominent citizen in its
midst. Many of the speaker's letters
come from members of the Legislature
seeking appointments on committees
or places for constituents in the legis
lative patronage.
—The selection of Representative D.
J. Neary as the member of the House
slate committee from the Vare district
lias set the Vare men in Philadelphia
buzxing as Neary is not friendly to the
Vares at all and Ills selection is taken
to mean that they will not get much
consideration.
The Philadelphia Democratic
Club had a grand time lambasting the
Republicans last night at the celebra
tion of Jackson Day. Chairman Lank
said that because the election boards
in that city are Republican there were
something like 31,000 votes not
counted for the Democrats.
—The battle between the Armstrong
and Magee factions for strategic posi
tion for the Pittsburgh mayoralty con
test has started off with the veto by
Mayor Armstrong of the SIO,OOO ap
propriation for the Lake Erie and Ohio
Ship Canal, a Magee project and one
boomed by the Governor. Krom now
on Allegheny county will furnish Its
share of political fusses and they will
be reflected in the Legislature.
E. S. Stine of Pottsvllle, has been
re-elected steward of the Schuylkill
county almshouse.
—E. R. W. Searle, former clerk of
XTnited States court, has decided he
will run for judge In Susquehanna
county.
—Joseph R. Grundy was almost as
severe as some of the administration
lenders in use of language about him
in his references to Governor Brum
baugh yesterday at the meeting of
the State Manufacturers. The Bristol
man said that Brumbaugh dictator
ship had been overthrown. What some
of the administration people have
said about Grundy is plenty.
—Speaking about the naming of a
McNlchol man on the House slate
committee from the Vare district the
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
Philadelphia Press says: "In the other
Congressional districts Speaker Bald
win also has appointed as members of
the Slate Committee representatives
allied with the Penrose-McNlchol fac
tion. He has asked all to confer with
him on Saturday afternoon by which
time it is believed the appointments
which the Slate Committee will make
will have been decided upon by Sena
tor Penrose and the "war board," of
which Speaker Baldwin and Senator
McNichol are members, and which will
hold a conference tit the Shelburne in
Atlantic City on Thursday afternoon."
To the City Unbeautiful
They are gone! O! implacable City,
'Twlxt a night and a night.
With no pang of regret or of pity,
You have slain them outright.
Tho their beauty besought you to
spare it,
To keep it forever and wear it
For your own and your children's
delight,
You have fattened your greed and you
merit
The squalor your streets shall inherit.
In their innocent glory and grace,
They, the primeval lords of the place,
Ere your earliest highway was trod.
Had grown old in the service of God;
And with arms lifted up, as in prayer.
Gave him thanks for the sunlight and
air.
For the nourishing moss at their feet;
And the thrushes that made their re
treat
In the heart of this Eden so long.
For their lodging gave tribute of song.
E'en the violets, dotting the sward,
Breathing perfume of prayer to the
Lord,
Paid in full for their leasehold; but
you—
In the service ot' Mammon, you grew
To a huddle of houses and mills.
Spreading squalor through hollows
and hills.
Till your grimy arms reached through
your smoke
To this grove of the Poplar and Oak.
They are gone! O! implacable City,
'Twixt a night and a night,
With no pang of regret or of pity,
You have slain them outright.
Tho their beauty besought you to
spare it.
To keep it forever and wear it
For your own and your children's
delight,
You have fattened your. greed and
you merit
The squalor your streets shall inherit.
—T. A. Daly.
Tolstoy's Moral Struggles
Count Tolstoy's diary, the forthcom
ing publication of which his literary
executor has just announced, records
his early moral struggles. In "My
Confession," at the age of nineteen, he
speaks of his youth in these terms:
I fought duels to slay others, I
lost at cards, wasted my substance
wrung from the sweat of peasants,
punished the latter cruelly, rioted
with loose women, and deceived
men. Lying, robbery, adultery of
all kinds, drunkenness, violence,
murder * * * There was not
one crime which I did not commit.
The Hrst entry In his diary was
made by Tolstoy in the summer of
184 7. He was less than 19 years old,
but already concerned with the moral
aspects of life. The Immoral ways In
which a young Russian aristocrat of
those days was trained by his gov
ernors and parents early reacted on
young Tolstoy's mind. The gulf be
tween the religious principles pro
fessed by the people surrounding him
and the foul deeds practiced by them
every day stimulated his thought.
Tolstoy early became acquainted
with Franklin's autobiography and en
deavored to emulate the American's
mode of living. He also tried to abolish
the vices from which he was suffering,
—
Business Situation Reviewed
[Christian Science Monitor.]
Looking out upon the year 1917,
various views are expressed as to what
it holds In store for the world's busi
ness. Although peace Is not yet In
sight, there is a strong tendency, in all
lines of trade and industry, to shape
things in preparation for peace. In
this connection, It Is Interesting to note,
the opinion is gaining ground that,
after the war, tho tinuncial and com
mercial readjustment will not be so
disturbing as many have expected.
That there will be a readjustment, a
shrinkage in commodities prices, and
a capital and labor realignment
throughout the entire world. Is in
evitable. No one knows how drastic
this will be, or exactly what effect it
will have upon conditions, so that an
clement of caution has entered the
situation to-day, and this element is
constantly becoming more pronounced.
Quite the Fashion
[Cincinnati Commercial Tribune]
Secretary Baker says that the deficit
in the War Department Is "only" $25,-
000,000. That's nothing. Deficits are
the fashion at Washington under
Democratic extravagance.
THRIFT AND HAPPINESS
GO OFTEN
By S. W. Strauss, President American Society For Tlirift
J
WHILE the saving of money is
not by any means the sum
total of thrift, it plays an
Important part even in the develop
ment of a thrifty character. As a
matter of fact, the reflex influence
on one's character caused by saving
money is probably of more real value
than is the amount of money saved.
Some people have a misunderstand
ing of the meaning of thrift. Many
believe apparently that to be thrifty a
man must be miserly, close-fisted,
parsimonious. The thrifty man is
the happy medium between the
spendthrift and the miser. He saves
his money wisely and spends it wise
ly. The miser saves unwise
ly and spends not at all.
It is just as essential that one spend
wisely as that one save wisely. In
times gone by we have witnessed the
ill effects of hoarding money—mil
lions of dollars have been withdrawn
from circulation and a financial
stringency has been precipitated, be
cause the people hoarded their funds
in periods of public fear. Therefore,
there Is just as much to be gained
in studying the question of spending
as in studying the question of saving.
Under 110 circumstances, however,
is a man ever justified in not saving
something. Do not be a miser, but
be sure to save something every week
or every month of this year.
The thriftless spirit is observable
on every hand in America. In the
matter of straw for example—the
thrlftlessness of the American farm
er is in uncomplimentary contrast
with the farmer abroad. The Euro
pean agriculturist knows that straw
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Never Too Late to Mend
Harrisburg, Pa., Jan. S, 1917.
To the Editor of the Telegraph:
Yes. the drys are winning and the
wets as they are styled will in due
course have to throw >ip the sponge.
I say who Is responsible for this
change? In one instance the saloons
for permitting men to drink beyond the
limit, regardless of consideration that
in most cases wives and children are
the real sufferers.
Another instance, the man who can
not govern himself devoid of thought
or consideration If he is single for his
own life and his surroundings, if mar
ried with no consideration for his wife
and children. Yes, the daddy In whom
their all in life depends, the guardian
tfcat should lead them good examples.
What, in the beginning. Is causing
this fascination in many cases?
By study, as a commercial man,
traveling over the country for years,
my personal acquaintance and knowl
edge of nearly all the cities of Europe
has helped me to come to a more defi
nite conclusion. Let all municipal au
thorities In every city and town pro
vide public comfort conveniences where
people mostly congregate in different
parts of the cities; they can be built
underground out of the way of the
traffic by having subtvay entrances. A
section for men and one for women,
they would pay well from the small
charges which would be willingly paid
for clean towels, hot water, boot clean
ing, etc., and reserve special toilets
where a charge of a nickel could be
made.
I emphatically assert that thousands
upon thousands of men daily uro re
luctantly compelled to enter saloons
and out of a feeling of courtesy buy a
drink; by this medium the taste is
created. Millions of glasses of beer
and other Intoxicants are Oißposed of
dolly to the people who are reluctantly
compelled by force of nature to seek
such places for there is not always a
railway station or a hotel near.
I say thousands of men have created'
through this one instrumentality that
burning desire for intoxicants.
L>et us create a law compelling every
restaurant and lunch room to provide
such conveniences free and properly
kept. Make it Imperative under a heavy
penalty.
Many people are to-day suffering
serious allmentß through this deficiency.
Take thla city, what a boon to the peo
ple to have one In the center Qf the
square and a paying proposition In ad
dition.
Yours sincerely,
URUCE GREEN.
1814 Green Street,
Harrisburg, Pa.
It Is
"Isn't that gazelle over there a cuto
little creature.'
, "Oh, Isn't it a dear." j
JANUARY 9, 1917.
iis not relished by his stock. How
ever, instead of wasting it, as is the
case with so many American farm
ers. the European chops it up and
mixes it with beets, mangoes, or
other foods, and makes them thus so
palatable that the stock relish it.
A recent United States government
report states that 15 per cent of the
straw produced in the United States
is burned. In many districts there
are no cattle, and remoteness from a
suitable market makes the sale of the
straw unprofitable. It is suggested
that in such districts the introduction
of a few cattle would be a good
stroke of business.
This shows also how thriftlessness
tends to keep up the present high
price of staple products. We never
can get away from the law of supply
and demand. We cannot waste our
food and have it. Therefore, the
more we waste the higher prices we
will have to pay.
Various persons strive at times to
make political capital out of food
prices, but we should not be so much
alarmed over these prices as the fun
damental conditions that make these
prices possible—that Is, thriftlessness
both at home and abroad. The Euro
pean war is the most monumental
example of thriftlessness in the
world, and because of this fact it is
all the more necessary that Ameri
cans learn to be thrifty. Resolve
that during the year 1917 you will
lay aside a certain sum of money
each week or each month.
If every wage earner in America
laid aside but a dime a week the
total would reach over {200,000,000
this year.
1 EDITORIAL COMMENT 1
Compulsory military training Is popu
lar among those above the age of lia
bility.—Wall Street Journal.
The French arifty has adopted the
poncho. Now If they would only adopt
Pancho!—Pittsburgh Gazette-Times.
If the King of Roumania had it to do
over again, probably he would choose
some other form of physical exercise.
Dallas News.
The German navy officers would wel
come peace. It would give them a
chance to engage in some war practice.
—Philadelphia North American.
OUR DAILY LAUGH
HE WAS WISE. / V *
He has lived nT
a ripe old age. Tgi 'jy JlSf .
Then, It Is MM ILL
■afe to assume J j
that he never \ /' iHIHy
rocked the boat, II
drove In an au- /} i lllk
tomoblle race H--U-V
or went after j It, iSfc,
aviation reo- //|jf\
CONVINCING.
That author
|S|i has a. moat coil-
Mvinclng style at
i] Yes. But you
ought to have
heard the agent
B W who sold me the
•
KNOCKER.
Tompkins has
knocked about
the world quite
a bit, hasn't he? 7-...
Yes, and he's JUV IJTIJ},
knocked about K aWliQ^
everything in It, j —J ~Mg Ju!]
Doctor—Heart seems dicky; and
you say you play games a lot. What
game mostly?
Recruit Well—er—mostly solo
whist! —Passing Show,
lEtomng QHjal
The meeting of tho Pennsylvania
electoral college In tho hall of the
Houso of Representatives yesterday
while a ceromony tbat was more or
less formal and sanctioned by custom,
was of great interest because of the
historic signlllcance of a century of
such meetings within the precincts of
Capitol Hill. It attracted little atten
tion because Harrisburg and the State
departments are used to meetings of
inoro or less Importance and yet every
motion was made in accordance with
what was done many years ago and
' the college at the outset followed the
procedent of that of 1913 and adopted
tho procedure of the preceding col
lege. There was another fact of in
terest in that Provost Edgar P. Smith,
of the University of Pennsylvania, sat
facing the great allegorical painting
of Pennsylvania by Abbey In
which is depicted the tlrst provost of
tho educational institution and beside
the provost yesterday was William
Wayne, a former legislator #nd a de
scendant of General Anthony Wayne
who is one of the striking figures of
the mural decoration. D. E.
who sat for the district containing
Franklin county, lives within a short
distance of furnace and mines of
Tliaddeus Stevens, who is also shown
in the painting.
• •
The members of the college were
more or less mystified by the solem
nity of the procedure and by the fre
quent Intervals for communications
ns everything had to-be done on certi
ficate from the Governor who sat In
his office and sent no less than half a
dozen letters as he was required to
do. Another thing which was out of
the ordinary was a request that the
secretary of the Commonwealth file
the proceedings in his office. The sec
retary is not required to do so, but It
is a courtesy which is as binding as
law and the transactions of 1917 will
be placed with those of 1817. Another
thing which interested the members
was that they were paid $3 a day, as
provided by an act of seventy-eight
years ago which allowed that much
for services and it was figured as
pretty good pay In those days. Three
cents a mile mileage Is another an
tique provision.
Former Congressman Horace B.
Packer, of Wellsboro, Tioga county,
who was in Harrlsburg attending the
meeting of the Pennsylvania electoral
college yesterday, is an ardent ad
mirer of the Capitol City. The Con
gressman, who was at one time a
member of the State Senate and the
author of an important law simplify
ing legal processes in Pennsylvania,
has had a long public career but he
takes more pride in the fact that he
is now a member of the borough coun
cil of Wellsboro and as such has done
much for the improvement of his
home town, than he does in any other
office he has been called upon to till.
Wellsboro, since he began to take an
active interest in public imurovements,
has become one of the most attractive
of interior towns in the State. The
wide main street has been beautifully
paved and lighted and the center is
occupied by a well-kept grassplot.
Congressman Packer is a great travel
er and he has brought home to Wells
boro municipal ideas from all over
the country. He believes in making
public works not only useful but beau
tiful and he is one of those who is
urging cities, counties and the State to
add a touch of architectural beauty to
all of tho bridges built for public use.
He is also a good roads advocate anil
one of the best brick highways in
Pennsylvania runs out from Wclls
•boro. Congressman Packer met many
old friends while in Harrisburg yes
terday. it fell to his lot to act as one
of the tellers for the electoral college,
and it chanced by odd coincidence
that his colleague was ex-Congress
man A. F. Cooper, who served with
him in Congress.
In connection with the meeting of
the electoral college in Harrlsburg
yesterday it is interesting to note that
it was the fifth time George D. Thorn
and James C. Deinlnger had acted as
secretaries. Mr. Delninger did all the
engrossing for the meeting of the
electoral college in 1897 and four
years later he and Mr. Thorn were
chosen as the secretaries. They have
been systematically re-elected and
have handled all of the multitudinous
details. As the college works on a
system which was laid down in 1839
and the procedure has increased In
stead of diminished it is some task
to iret things in running shape. Chair
man David B. Oliver, who in spite of
his 8:! years Ih very vigorous, com
plimented the secretaries upon the
manner in which they had worked out
the details.
• • •
Deputy Attorney General Horace W.
Davis, who sat in the college as a sub
stitute elector, took occasion to per
petrate a joke "I have now attended
three colleges," said he; "Washington
and Jefferson, George Washington and
the Electoral."
* • *
Thousands of people watched the
ice move off tlie river yesterday and
these can now understand why there
K a large deposit of sand and river
coal from Independence Island north
ward to Kelker street In the middle of
the rlvcr. Mere the Ice Is plle9 high
for a considerable distance, showing
that the current sweeps onward along
the Cumberland and eastern shore line
leaving a large body of quiet water
immediately north of the big Island.
Of course, this peninsula Is likely to
be scoured out with the next high
flood by a change of current, but for
the last two or three years there hus
been developing quite an extension of
Independence Island northward.
[ J WELL KNOWN PEOPLE
—Senator W. C. Sproul, who Is an
alumnus of Swart hmore, has been one
of Its largest benefactors.
—O.. Laßar, well known to many
hero, has been chosen president of
the Northampton county prison In
spectors.
—C. F. prominent Pliila
delphlan. is planning a visit to the
West Indies.
—S. J. Hughs, the llazleton _ city
clerk. Is acting as pastor ol' a church
In that city.
—C. F. Gramllch, for years active
In the Btate organization of the G.
A. It., was given a loving cup when ho
retired after 88 years' service in the
office of the recorder of deeds in Phil
adelphia.
| DO YOU KNOW
That Harrlsburj; tin plate l
used for mess kits for foreign
armies?
HIHTORIC HAHRISBI'RU
Back In early days there was a great
rivalry between Harrlsburg and Sun
bury as the point of crossing of traf
fic for Western Pennsylvania.
Long-Felt Want
[Seattle Post Intelligencer]
It IH to be hoped that when Port
land gets its razor factory running. It
will turn out a razor with a strong
handle, so that the housewife can get
I a firm grip on It when opening a can
[of tomatoes.