8 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH /< NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded IS3I Published evenings except Sunday by THE TBI.EGKAPH PHINTIXG CO., Telcsraph Bulldlnic. Federal Square. K. J. STACKPOLE, Pr/i'( ana Editor-in-Chief K R OYSTER, Business IManager, GUS M. STEINMKTZ, Managing Editor. AI —- IrjK, Chicago. 111. Entered at the Post Office In Harris burg. Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, ten cents a week: by mall, $5.00 a vi Ss®o^ v ' year In advance. TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 0 1 take pleasure t'n infirmities, in re proaches, in necessities, in persecu tions, in distresses for Christ's sake. — II COR. 12:10. TIIE P. R. R. REPORT THE annual report of the Penn sylvania Railroad deals in such stupendous figures that it is comprehensible to the layman in only a general way. "We are told that the gross operating revenues were $4 43,- 000,000 for 1916, or an increase of $68,000,000 over the revenues of the year previous, and that the gross in come was $145,000,000, a gain of near ly $27,000,000. These are figures not easily grasped by the mind not train ed to large financial considerations, and may bo passed with an exclama tion of astonishment for the magni tude of the operations they represent. But there is another feature of the report more easily understood. It deals with dividends. "With the earn ings of the company at floodtide and sufficient money on hand for a ten per cent, dividend, the declaration of which would have sent the stock up on the market and made easy pick ings for some of those on the inside, the management chose rather to keep the stock on a conservative six per cent, basis and to turn the remainder of the earnings back into the rteas ury for. the betterment and extension of the property. There Is a lesson in this for other railroad directorates. It is this kind of policy that has made the Pennsylvania the greatest rail road in the world. We in Harrlsburg may well rejoice over the admirable situation in which the Pennsylvania Railroad finds itself with the submission of this report, for the prosperity of this city fluctuates with the fortunes of the great rail road system upon the earning power of which so many of our people de pend for their daily bread. When the Pennsylvania is busy and traffic is being operated at a profit, Harris- j v bur s also ls busy and we have work | aplenty and money more than ordi- ' nary. But every one of us feels the pinch when empty cars begin to fill the sidings and Industrial conditions require the company to retrench. Every Harrisburg man ought to read carefully what President Rea has to say concerning freight rates aqd taxes. Too often we are tempted to look upon the railroads of the country as treasure boxes of unlimited wealth, from which we may dip and dip and never touch bottom. In reality, they require the most careful attention and most scientific management if they are to keep out of the hands of the re ceiver, into whose tender care so many of the roads of the country have fallen during the past two years. WHY BERNSTORFF WEPT WHEN Bernstorft was informed that relations between the United States and his country \ had been broken off he wept and there , was a general feeling that it was be- ; cause he had endeavored and failed ] to keep the peace between Germany! and this country. Now it is reported' that the former ambassador is to tc , demoted and removed from the diplo- ! matic service because he permitted the Zimmermann note to fall into the! hands of President Wilson. Might it not have been for his own ruined fu- j ture that the German representative \ shed tears when it was borne in upon ; him that the American government at last had found him out? Ol'R SECRET SERVICE PROBABLY we shall never know 1 how the United States gov-1 ernment came into possession of the Zimraermann letter, the pub- | lication of Vhich set the world j agog last week and the effects! of which will have far-reaching re-I suits upon our international relations | for a long and important period in the history of the nation. But the tale would be as interesting, probably, as the most exciting story of interna tional plotting and counter-plotting ever written. Most probably our sec ret service had a iiand in bringing the document to the eyes of the Presl \ • \ TUESDAY EVENING, dent. The hint is thrown out that this is only one of a series of papers bearing upon our relations with Ger many with which the White House is at least familiar. The world has much of the efllcacy of the German spy system, but for the sec ond time since the outbreak of the war Americans have shown them selves to have outwitted their breth ren from across the seas. These things indicate that Washington is by no meatus so much iu the dark con cerning what foreign diplomats and others of their kind are doing in this country as some may have believed. THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH IF President Wilson lives up to the precepts of his own inaugural message he will have no ground to complain of lack of popular support. The people want (o believe in him, they want to follow him, and his speech of yesterday, following his clear-cut statement to tho American people concerning the "little group of wilful men representing no opinion but their own" who conspired to the humiliation of the nation before tjie world, rings with a tono of lead ership of the type such as the coun try has a right to expect in< the crisis through which it is now passing. Americans will he only too happy to believe that the President's brave words are a forecast of just as em phatic and decisive action. They will hope and trust that what has appear ed in the past to havo been wavering on the part of the President was in reality mature deliberation, that what has looked like uncertainty was in ! reality statesmanlike trimming of the nation's sails to meet a change of wind. President Wilson prays that the na tion "will be purged of faction and division, purified of the errant humors of party and private interest, and shall stand forth in the days to come with a new dignity of national pride and spirit." And to ^ FOR Vouß • , K\ BANKRUPTCY s<\ T*"\ last MONTHS You y'Y Hf) COURT f > BANK DISCOVER CDK v f BALANCE You HAVE | :=^ x AMD #• 94*.9 2. Wg tIH.I/'-l CANCELLED MORS TIIAM 'IWWFEJFCL. JBMII Starting Newspapers A newspaper is as distinctly a busi ness proposition as any other com mercial organization. It is unfortun ate, however, that politicians and oth ers with "money to burn" sometimes acquire by purchase, start new or otherwise gain control of newspaper properties and make use of them in advancing their own selfish personal and political ambitions. It then often happens that more newspapers are saddled on a community than the community-and the advertisers therein can profitably support, and more than are needed to fill the community's news, political or publicity require ments. A case in point is the present news paper war in our State capltol. A new newspaper has been launched by Vance McCormick, ex-mayor of Har risburg and just now chairman of the Democratic national committee. Mc- Cormick is also owner of the Harris burg Patriot, a good morning news paper which admirably fills its field and which has become a necessity to both readers and advertisers. The new paper has been named the News and is endeavoring to make a place for itself in the evening field, which was already well filled by the Even ing Telegraph. The Telegraph com pany recently purchased what re mained of the one-time successful Star-Independent, also an evening paper, which was compelled to sus pend because of restricted business due to an over-crowded field, and to the recent enormous increase in the cost of production. The chief income of a newspaper is from advertising. All advertisers really want to do is to cover the field thoroughly with as little expense as possible, and it is a question whether or not the News will be able to con vince Harrisburg advertisers that they can do so in that city better and cheaper with three newspapers than with the two old papers. At ar.y rate, it will be a long time before the new newspaper can be self-support ing. In the meantime large amounts of money will be expended and the use of much capital required, for in these days of paper famines and high costs the publishing of newspapers is an expensive business to say the least. To justify their expenditure there must be some ulterior point to be gained. In some quarters it is under stood that McCormick has not lost Ms ambition to sit in the Governor's chair and that his new newspaper has been started and is being built to further that desire. Be that as it may, it looks as if Harrisburg is to have a demonstration of whether there is a real field there for another news paper. In the last analysis, public opinion, demonstrated through, the visible approval of readers and adver tisers, is judge and jury of newspaper successes, regatdless of any backing of millions and the brawn and brain which millions can buy. We will watch with interest the career of the News. —York Dispatch. Out-Looking [The Ohio State Journal.] When the Republican party revives and moves forth to conquest as of old. it will be inspired by a new purpose and turned toward a higher destiny thun it has for the past few years. The old materialistic issues have gone and their places are being filled by ideals that look to character and spiritual power. The old question of "how much is there in it for me," and how are my constituents to fare in tl>3 deal, will be changed to how are my neigh bors to prosper and how Is the whole country to be benefited? The old devil of selfishness that is spoiling all high endeavor will be driven out and his place be taken by the spirit of good will, candor and justice. There is going to be a change and everybody knows it who keeps his eyes open. This age of grab and plunder, of political oppressiort and insincerity, will soon pass away. You can read it in the people's thoughts and feel it in their hearts. And when that time comes, and we are entering the new era, a lot of the old time leaders like Penrose, Snioot, Gallinger and others, who hold so close to tradition and con formity that they cannot realize that, humanity is moving forward and taking new positions heretofore un known to politics or to dollars and cents, must get out of the road and give to American destiny a better chance to reveal and establish itself. The problem ls not near as much what the government shall do as what it shall be. r His Evident Purpose Out In Connecticut they claim to have discovered a four-eyed frog. Must have been built for the purpose of navigating a road held In favor by motorists. —Rochester Democrat. Swiss i\)od Problem Simple [From the Jacksonville Times-Union.] We presume that when Switzerland reduces rations It will simply make the holes in the cheese bigger. "~PoCttcC£. tK By the Ex-Committeeman President Wilson's second term starts off with the Democratic machine in Pennsylvania facing some of the worst post office tangles known in years and conditions among the clam oring faithful irritated to an extent, which threatens to jar the organiza tion in the only two surely Democratic districts in the Keystone State. While the Democrats have been rejoicing over election of Democratic Congress men in two Allegheny county districts where there have been some unkind things said about the attitude of soni?- State Administration leaders, there has grown up in the sure Democratic dis tricts a demand for a share of pat ronage which has brought Congress men Into direct conflict with National Committeeman Palmer and his pals. In several other districts there havo occurred ructions which while appear ing minor have caused observers to wonder whether the Democratic ma chine will not skid a bit when it tries to put over the slate at the State primaries next year. In Reading there is an effort to throw out the present postmaster, a protege of Ex-Congressman Rothermel and put in the veteran, John F. All - backed by Congressman Dewalt. The latter candidate's friends declare there Is no precedent for a Democrat serving two consecutive terms just be cause a President was re-elected. In Bethlehem Palmer has opposed the choice of Congressman Steele just as he did the effort of Ex-Congressman Casey to put in his brother as Wilkes- Barre postmaster. In Birdsboro there is a race to get the place made vacant by the death of the postmaster and In several small Democratic towns the incumbents are being asked to give t.ome one else a chance. Altoona, where the Democrats liaye been build ing up a new machine, has a scramble on for the only federal place in the county worth while. There are enough post offices unfilled in the Stale to make trouble without this new idea of putting in new postmasters for the second Wilson term being started to worry the patriotic Palmer and his pals in the year before a State elec tion. No wonder Palmer is so vociferous for an investigation of tl>e State government to make political thunder and the newspapers controlled by the Democratic bosses are yelling for economy in the State government. Democratic internal conditions are something to hide. —The old-time rivalry between the Republicans and Democrats of York which goes back to the days when each tried to outdo the other In cam paign parades is cropping out again. Some time ago the Democratic Club had a big banquet with some Wash ington topllners. To-morrow the Re publicans will dine with Lieutenant Governor McClaln and a number of congressional and State leaders as speakers. —Every time there is 'a bond issue election in the coal regions there IJ a row raised, it seems, and nine times out of ten charges of fraud at the polls Is made. The proposition to give Ashley $130,000 for a badly needed new high school has -*heen taken into court". The plans and con tract will he held up in consequence. —With the return of the Third Field Artillery from the border next week Democratic State Chairman W. L. Mc- Laln will be home again to find the Democratic State machine jingling from a lot of loose rivets and gener ally shaken up as the result of being steered by Acting Chairman "Joe" Guffey, whose brother is now post master in his home city of Pittsburgh. In addition the Democrats are gen erally held to have met all expecta tions and to have thrown away chances to make a record in the Legis lature while the State leaders have stirred up a lot of needless quarrels. In the language of a Luzerne man: "It's a shame to stack 'Bill' McLufn up against such a fall of rock when lie has been down serving his country." The Higher Faith "Trust thyself." Every heart vi brates to that iron string. Accept the place the Divine Providence has found for you, the society of your contempo raries, the connection of events. Great men have alwayß done so, and con fided themselves, 'childlike to the ge nius of their age; betraying their per ception that the Eternal was stirring at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their be ing. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest spirit the same transcendent destiny; and not pinched in a /corner, not cowards fleeing be fore a revolution, but redeemers and benefactors, pious aspirants to be noble clay plastic under the Almighty effort, let 11s advance and advance on chaos and the lark.—Emerson. ( ——^ CODIFING AND CLARIFYING DECEDENTS' WS L I [The Ohio State Journal.] THE Philadelphia Evening Bul letin in an issue the other day had this interesting comment on a State Commission: "Delving in the intricacies of the law of decedents' estates is the hard est kind of work for the average law yer. No branch of the law has been de fined to-such hair-splitting technical ities and finely-drawn divisions as that surrounding the disposition of estates. Setting out to condense, codify and clarify even the Pennsylvania law on thifi subject is a task big enough to cause any one to pause before under taking. "It is on just this sort of a difficult, complex and tedious work that a Pennsylvania Commission has been engaged for more than a year. As in all commissions, the chairman finds no end of labor, no matter how dili gent his associates may be. That's the rule of commissions. And the one over which Judge John Marshall Gest, of the Orphans' Court, presides is no ex ception. "Judge Gest, it appears from some of those close to him, has taken up the task of revising and codifying the Pennsylvania laws on the subject of decedents' estates in a thoroughly workmanlike manner. His reputation as a scholar and student is assurance EDITORIAL COMMENT HE NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT [Toledo Blade.] It wouldn't be fair to pass Senator Stone's bill to punish newspapers that lie and let senators who lie to the newspapers go free. WHAT WAS IT SHERMAN SAID? [Springfield Republican.] Among examples of ruthlessness, exhibit A. enter James B. Elmore of Alamo, Ind., who admits that he is writing a poem on life for the Univer sity of Chicago. LET'S BEGIN ON THE EGG KING [New York World.] Senator Thomas, of Colorado, a plain Democrat, remarks that "the way to deal with the food situation is to take those who corner food sup plies by the throat," this, of course, in a legalistic sense, which is true. One food extortioner in jail would do more to reduce the high cost of living than 40 legislative committees or commis sions. ERA OF RAPID TRANSIT [Grand Rapids Press.] A Louisiana man has been given 30 minutes in jail for slaying a neighbor. If this Improvement in Southern jus tice continues one can soon shoot a friend and get back to work without missing more than one street car. OF COURSE HE WILL [lndianapolis News.] If Von Hindenberg is going to pun ish, by removal or otherwise, the In competent officers who led the Ger man troops to slaughter at Verdun, he should begin with the crown prince. The Plainsman (Cale Young Rice, in the Bellman.) I'm out again In the great spaces, Far from men and the little places, I'm out again where the heart faces The lone plains and the skies. I'm out with the wind no hand can saddle: Out and away from wants that addle; Out where the striding sun can strad dle The world. And oh I'm full of scornful pities For dwellers In streets and narrow cities: For the trade-songs, and trade-ditties They chant. And I wish I could smite out of crea tion The lie they call their civilization— A lie that Is but soul-dissipation. Soul-deceit and cant. I'm out again id the great spaces, Far from men and the little places, I'm out again where the heart faces The lone night and the stars. And I wish I knew how to untether All pent lives to the wide world weather. And say. "Come, come, let us ride to gether. Away." For one hour's sense of the Infinite prairie Is better than, all the years men bur£ In crowded walls, sad, mad, or merry Or vain. And one star's light has more of Heaven, Has more in it of the great God-leaven, Than the seventy myriad lights and seven. Cities beget, for gain MARCH 6, 1917. that when the Commission's report is presented to tho Legislature some time during this session the lawyers of the State will find it worth study ing. "Although the judges frequently spend more hours in study and re search than litigants commonly credit them with doing, it is not often that one will find a member of the judic iary who works steadly seven days a week. That is what judge Oest has been g for several months, it is said, in order that his extra-judicial labor of serving the Legislature may be well performed. "Prom the centre of the State, Judgo Baldridge, of Hollidaysburg, comes down twice a week; from the western end ex-Speaker Alter also comes from Pittsburgh, to attend the sessions of the Commission in Judge Gest's office. These three, along with Samuel D. MatlacK, the Secretary of the Commission, constitute tho active workers who are preparing one of the most Interesting bills to go before the present Legislature. But, while they have a SIO,OOO expense fund to draw on, the three members of the Commis sion receive no compensation for their work other than tho professional re pute that may come from having par ticipated in an important step in the State's lawmaking." Labor Notes Pennsylvania liad 21.539 employes Injured in January. Switchmen in Nebraska demand a semi-monthly payday. One hundred years ago laborers earned 50 cents a day. Domestic servants at Duluth, Minn., have formed a union. Laundry Workers' International has 8,000 members. Denver (Col.) unions will build a la bor temple. Union printers at Jacksonville, Fla., get 45 cents an hour. The several unions of garment workers at Toronto, Canada, will amalgamate, This country had 3,323 strikes and lockouts in 1916. Food prices in Vienna are 177 per cent, higher than in July, 1914. Restaurant work in New York state employs almost 20,000 women. There are 41,430 miners employed in the coal mines of Ohio. Union longshoremen in New York city are paid 40 cents an hour. Women attired in overalls, employ ed as machinists and working side by side with members of the male sex, have become such a common thins in the great factories of the East that tho International Association of Ma chinists has submitted to a referen dum vote of its affiliated locals a reso lution making women eligible to mem bership in the union and entitling them to all the benefits and privileges of that organization. OUR DAILY LAUGH Bug: My, the i ft!r in these t njvjtSS York subway* ls CAPACIOUS. That man i/ SL Brown la fright- JLrft fully shallow. to He took dinner at my house la*t lEtattmg (ttljat A conversation between two farm ers, residents of two of the great agrl cultural regions of Dauphin county, Lower Swatara and Lower Paxton townships, is filled with significance . People not only in Ilarrlsburg junii nearby boroughs. These two farmers were concerned over a prol. leni which may have a serious oot ' supply next summer, liotn are land Owners and each oper ates a good sized farm. The Lower swatara man comes from a section which is well nigh as famous Sis Lan-fl raster county for fertility and the care with which land has been hand led. Lower Paxton is a district which IPV n, . ore Hrlven to raising the staples, llie Ijower Swatara man declared that he lived in sight of the smoke from .Steelton and that the wages paid to the men at the big plant made it worth while for men to work in Steel ton und ride to and from their homes in the country. He said the natives of his district who did not own or leaso farms were working in the mills or about the furnaces and that ho could not keep colored labor for the same reason that the native sons went to steel ton *t ol ' 'work and that foreigners, who know more or less about farming because of their home environment simply scorned the wages offered for agricultural work. The Lower Paxton man said he could not. be sure of a worker on his farm because of the wages to bo had .in Hnrrisburg mills or on the railroads and that men cama to Harrisburg every day on trolley cars who had never had a job oft a farm until two years ago. Ho summed up the situation for both of them i "Now if the men are all working in the city or on the railroads what are we going to do if a war conies on? It will mean that the young fellows will be snapped up for work to , ,a,