10
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Pounded iS]i
Published evenings except Sunday by
TUB TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO,
Telegraph Building Federal Square.
KJ, STACKPOLE, iVfi'l ana Editor-in-Chief
11.I 1 . R. OYSTER, Business Manager,
GUS M. STEINMETZ. Mana s ,n t Editor.
c Member American
Newspaper Pub
jfWr'J-E! lishers' Associa
tlon. The Audit
Bureau of Clrcu-
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■ sylvanla Associat
es! S3 SSS gfl Eastern office,
m nrmm iW* Story. Brooks &
IMB KB! M Flnley, Fifth Ave-
,lU ° ew
People's Gas Build-
ing. Chicago, 111.
Ehtered nt the Post Office in Harris
burg, Pa., as second class matter.
By carriers, ten cents a
week: by mail. J3.00 a
year in advance.
MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 12
It is a small thing to a wan tchether
or not his neighbor be merciful to him;
it is life or death to him tchether or not
he be merciful to his neighbor. -GEORGE
MACDO.NAI.D.
WRONG, MR. ZIMMERMAN! I
* I
MR. ZIMMERMAN is wrong in,
his assertion that Germany |
"has said the final word to the |
l.'nited States," and that "The decis-j
ion now rests with President Wilson." j
Mr. Zimmerman will realize that the i
last word rests with the Kaiser, so!
far as precipitating war between the
two countries is concerned. One of
these days an armed American mcr
, chant ship is going to pop a three
inch shell through the thin steel hull
of a German submarine, and then it
will be up to the Kaiser. Germany
will have to take the initiative, be- 1
cause we will not. It will not be nec- j
essary for us to do so. We shall
go on and on. sinking every;
submarine that sticks up its threaten- I
ing periscope within reach of an |
American gunner and if Germany
doesn't like that it will be very dis
tinctly for her to say what she means
to do about it.
KANSAS CTTY AND US
SAYS the Kansas City Times, !
advising its readers to vote for
the new charter for that c^y:
Kansas City is doing something j
for you every day In the year. Can't
you give ten minutes to-day to
something for Kansas City?
To be sure, this was a special plea
for a special day, but the sentiment
applies quite as much to Harrisburg
every day of the year as it does to
Kansas City on one particular day.'
There is not twentv-four hours in the
twelve months when the city of Har- :
risburg is not doing something for
each one of us. Do we ever pauscftn
our personal activities to do a small
service for the city? Do we?
When we think about the city at
all it is nearly always either in a
purely impersonal manner or in a
fault-finding way. Nevertheless, the
city of Harrisburg renders to its peo
ple the cheapest service they receix-e.
It is said of American cities that they
arc extravagant and wasteful, but
even so there is nothing cheaper In'
American life than the things that
city taxes buy. Pause a moment and
consider. Where does the average
Harrisburg man get so much for the [
money he pays as from the municipal
government in filtered water, paved
streets, street lights, parks and play
grounds, sidewalks, health regulations
and in a hundred other ways, for the
taxes levied? Very plainly, nowhere.
But if the city is not giving yon all
you think you ought to have, if you
believe it to be wasteful of its reve-.
nues and generally inefficient, have'
you ever done anything to remedy the
conditions of which you complain?'
Unless you are an exceptional citizen
you have not. Don't you think it is
about time you did something for!
Harrisburg? Like Kansas City for its
citizens, Harrisburg is doing some
thing for you every day of the year, j
Wha are YOU doing for Harrisburg? l
SASSAFRAS SEASON
O sassafras,
0 sassafras. sft.
Thou art the goods for me,
\nd in the spring
1 love to sinß
O sassafras of thee!
So writes a timid Harrisburg versi
fier who sends his poetic efforts to
the Telegraph for print, but who be
lieves in "art for art's sake" so ar
dently that he yearns not to see his
own name published so long as space
is given to his literary effort. When
spring gets into the blood it is apt to
break out in several ways; one is
poetry and another is after the fashion
that our mothers used to try to pre
vent when they fed us up about this
season on sulphur and molasses and
rinsed our "innards" with steaming
cupfuls of that very sassafras of which
our lyric correspondent so feelingly
0 sings.
We confess we never before taw a
poem dedicated to sassafras, but we
know of no reason why there should
not be one among the English clas
sics. Sassafras is a poetic drink. It
is a delight at one and the same time
to the eye, nose and palate. Pink,
aromatic and delicious, it has more
claims to distinction than many an
other beverage that has found favor
with convivial spirits of literary lean
ings. "Look not upon the wine when
it is red," is a warning familiar to all,
but one may look upon the sasaafras
when it ia pink as much as three
MONDAY EVENING.
times a day and again before retiring
without any other effect than the feel
ing that thereby he has reduced the
necessity of the usual two bottles of
spring tonic to one. It is at once a
mealtime drink and a springtime med
icine.
I It Is a popularly accepted
; that "an apple a day keeps the doctor
away," and It Is a huppy solution of
[ the rapidly diminishing apple supply
that sassafras, that implacable foe of
the spring fever germ, comes looming
cheerily across tho landscape just in
'time to engage the rapidly gathering
• hosts of baccilli in deadly combat.
| But nobody gets the fullest pleas
i ure out of sassafras by simply buying
' one of the little bundles that lie neatly
jtied with a cotton string on the mar
i ketstalls these days and taking it for
: medicinal reasons alone. Sassafras to
Ibe perfectly enjoyed must, like all
other things worth having, be worked
' for. The way to do it is to shoulder
i a pick, pickaxe or grubbinghoe and go
! out In the woods where the bright
I green bark of tho sassafras betrays
I the full flood of spring-sweet sap
{within, dig out a few big roots, waslf
'off the mud in a nearby stream, shave
] off the soft, yielding bark and bear
j the treasure home. We judge our
i poet friend must know his sassafras
in that Intimate fashion, so lovingly
does he sing of it.
THE FALL OF BAGDAD
THE fiyi of Bagdad, after a cam
paign as brilliant and as pic
turesque as any In the history
of the British army, Is more than a
mere military achievement. It is the
I beginning of the end of Txirkish over
' rule In the East and the collapse of
| the Germanic dream of a Berlin to
i Bagdad railway, with all that would
j have meant for the ambitions of the
Hohenxollerns,
Few cities in the world have such
a hold upon the popular Imagination
as Bagdad, scene of the exploits of so
many of the immortal characters of
the "Arabian Nights Entertainments"
dear to the heart of every boy who
has read these remarkable tales and!
of fond memory for those of maturcr |
years who, In carefree days, have been.
transported on their magic carpet!
from the prosaic life of the present j
back to those times when Sinbad the :
Sailor recounted his remarkable ad->
ventures, to the amazement of his stay- ;
at-home fellows on the banks of the;
Tigris. Here It was that Haroun el 1
Kaschld played the beggar to learn the J
truth about himself and his subjects;
from the people themselves, and it!
was from his throne in the city which
he did so much to build that he sent
out his armies to conquer the country'
for hundreds of miles about. Its streets I
have echoed to the clanking tread of I
the warriors of Alexander, at its gates !
the Mongols knocked with mailed lists
that would not be denied and through j
j its narrow and tortuous highways the
Tartan hordes swept on to ravage and
to victory.
For centuries—ever since the days
of Nebuchadnezzar and probably before
the walls of Babylon were raised, if
historical discoveries and references
r.re to be believed —Bagdad has been j
at intervals a center of oriental learn- '
ing and trade. To its markets the
riches of all the East were brought for j
exchange and from its halls of learn- '
ing the scholars of ancient times hand
ed down their secrets and their lore.
As the hub of trade it became also
the center of royal plottings and
! covetlngs and for centuries, until the
supremacy of the Turk in IC3S, it was
the very heart of the maelstrom of
carnage and looting that deluged ail
that part of the East in blood. The
i entry of the English yesterday was
unlike anything Bagdad has known in
its long history of military occupa- 1
I Hons. For the first time the rights of
the inhabitants were respected, sack- i
ing and massacre were unthought of
and the populace could place itself
1 under the protection of the conqueror
with no misgivings as to the safety
cither of people or property.
I The effect of the city's fall will be
two-fold —first to hearten the English
people at a time when a triumph for
their arms will do much to inspire
afresh their will to sacrifice, and sec
ond, the rehabilitation of the prestige
ef the fame of Great Britain through-
I out the entire East.
GOOD WORK
SINCE the elevation of Chief
Wetzel and the reorganization
of the department the city po
lice force has been doing effective
work. The raids of Saturday illustrate
the point. Breaking up "dope" dens
easily might be dodged by a lax police
; department, and few people would be
jthe wiser. Neglect of that kind would
' not be likely to attract public atten
tion. This fact, however, has not de
terred Chief Wetzel and his detec
tives from going after the offenders.
I Everybody concerned in the raids is
Jto be commended for the thorough
; ness with which they were conducted.
"SOMEBODY LIED!"
TWENTY-FIVE Princeton seniors
make the shameful confession
that they have never kissed a
girl. Mr. Sullivan, the Telegraph's es
teemed and talented cartoonist, has
missed a bet. He ought to have used
this bit of news to illustrate a picture
of his new comic series—"Somebody
Lied."
MOVIE OF A HANDY MAN AROUND THE HOUSE By BRIGGS
/THCRSM r HF ) f~.~~ — f ri * NoT >J. _ fT~NEW6a\n /]
I "DOOR BU-/J NO % WO- ] ) 0 P~—.. /a£% "VL KNEW •'■JM
What a Child's Cry Did |
A rich man in Boston, passing a J
shabby house in a lowly quarter of,
the town, heard a child moaning. He j
went in. The child had the toothache, j
The poor family could not afford to j
take the child to a dentist and so it'
suffered and cried.
In that way James Forsyth, the kind j
hearted rich man, discovered that'
there was no provision for free dent- j
istry for poor children. He set aside j
% million dollars to found a dental I
infirmary for children, but died before '
it was begun. His brothers, John and
Thomas, added million dollars to
this and thus established a founda
tion fund of 2 million dollars for an
infirmary. Before it was finished John
died and Thomas Forsyth added 2 mil
lion dollars more, making a total en
dowment of 4 million dollars for the
Forsyth Dental Infirmary.
The leading men of Boston gathered 1
at a great banquet recently to honor
Thomas Forsyth and to give him a
loving cup. The Governor of the
State, the Mayor of Boston, thg presi
dent of Harvard and others made
speeches, to which Mr. Forsyth replied
that the future of the country depends
upon its children; they cannot give
the best service when they grow up,
unless they have good health: and they
cannot have good health without good
teeth.
This is true. More and more the
public is learning the value of mouth
hygiene. Free dental infirmaries, free
dental clinics and mouth inspections
[in the schools are growing in favor,
i But the first free dental infirmary
j in the world was founded by the For
' syths in Boston and it was all the re
! suit of the agonized cry of a little
I child touching the heart of a good Sa
maritan.—Kansas City Star.
The Food Problem
I-isten to the words of a man who
for forty-three years has been han
dling food for countless people. I pre
sent you the opinion of George H. Mc-
Kay, superintendent of the Reading
Terminal Market:
i "Just as sure as the sun shines the
next great trouble in this country will
be on account of the scarcity of food,
whether the war continues or stops."
What is the matter with our coun
try? Mr. McKay knows very wjm.
I Our farmers do not increase their
I crops as fast as our population grows
to eat the crops.
j What answer does he give? We
need to educate more farmers and
. fewer loafers.
Of the twenty eastern, middle and
1 southern States. Pennsylvania stands
first with its agricultural output, but
Pennsylvania yields less than tlO for
every tillable acre in the State.
Put as much science on the farms as
iyou put in a hat factory and then
what? What I heard the president of
Stetson's say about their product—no
i advance in price in a decade.
Whence cornea such science? From
the schools and colleges which know
how to teach it.—Glrard, in the Phila
delphia Public Ledger.
Ready to Mobilize Bakeries
That the War Department has been
for some months conducting a survey
of bakeries near and in the great
wheat producing states, with a view to
j mobilizing their resources for war use,
was revealed at a meeting of the ex
ecutive council of the National Asso
ciation of Master Bakers. A number
■ of bakeries have been already approv
ed for war service, it waS said.—Chica
go Tribune.
Magpies in Picardy
i The magpies in Picardy
Are more than I can tell.
[They flicker down the dusty roads
And cast a magic spell
On the men who march through Pi
cardy,
Through Picardy to hell.
A magpie in Picardy
Told me secret things—
Of the music in white feathers,
And the sunlight that sings
| And dances in deep shadows—
He told me with his wings.
I He - told me that in Picardy,
An age ago or more, s
While all his fathers still were eggs.
These dusty highways bore
Brown, singing soldiers marching out
Through Picardy to war.
He said that still through chaos
Works on the ancient plan,
And two things have altered not
Since first the world began—
The beauty of the wild green earth
And the bavery of man.
—"Tipcuca." in the Westminster Ga
lette.
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
By the Ex-Committee man
Prospects are that the session of the j
Legislature, and consequently the pol- j
itics of the State, will not be harrow- i
ed up this week by any new moves in
regard to investigations or by any!
further outbreaks on Philadelphia city
bills. It is intimated pretty broadly j
that the Republican organization in
Philadelphia feels strong enough to j
defeat the proposed reform bills and
that it will do so after giving a hear
ing on the measures.
It is not likely that anything will i
be done regarding a date for adjourn- I
ment this week. The revenue commis
sion has to act before much can be
done on essential bills.
The situation in regard to investi- i
gations is summed up this way by the:
Philadelphia Inquirer to-day: 'The'
matter of the proposed probing of the
Brumbaugh administration will prob
ably not be taken up by the Senate 1
this week. The Governor's veto of the j
Sproul resolution calling for an in
vestigation into alleged violations of
the law when it reached the Senate i
was received and action thereon post- '
poned for the present. In view of the
fact that Senator Penrose, who has
been most insistent in urging that a
probe be made, has not had an oppor
tunity to confer with his leading sup
porters in the Legislature, no plan
of action has been finally agreed upon.
While the senior United States Senator
is still demanding that the proposi
tion for a probe be pressed, he has
not submitted to his associates any 1
program of action. It is understood j
that he expects to hold a conference I
with a number of his friends in the
j Quaker City at the end of this week
upon the subject."
—The Pittsburgh Gazette-Times
I says that a bill to make school boards
1 elective in Philadelphia and Pitts
burgh, as they are in the rest of the
| state, is to be presented.
' —The Philadelphia Ledger does not
like Senator Vare's statement that he
will oppose the proposed Philadelphia
reform bills. The Ledger says that it
' doubts whether the people of the city
: "will accept" the Vare dictum.
! —Westmoreland county "drvs" -ire
putting up a big fight to cancel some
of the licenses in that county and the
usual battle in court is ahead. The
! Lycoming and Center county courts
have clipped the number of licenses.
! —The City of Chester is considering
; annexing Marcus Hook and Eddystone
! boroughs which would make it a rail
' nlcipality close to the Erie and Wil
' kes-Barre class.
—George T. Oliver will preside at
i the annual banquet of the Press Club
in Pittsburgh this month and several
congressmen are expected to be amor.g
I the speakers.
j —Lancaster Democrats are lookir.g
for a large time next month when
; Vice-President Marshall will be the
j chief speaker on Thomas Jefferson.
1 —The Philadelphia North American
! says that Senator Lynch, of Lacka
; wanna, is "defending as best he can"
I his bill to abclish the nonpartisan
I feature of second-class city elections.
-—The name of Ex-Congressman D.
I F. Lafean, of York, is once more being
| heard for public service commissioner.
I —After waiting for eight weeks
i United States District Attorney E.
' Lowry Humes, chief Democratic ring
master and possible candidate fcr
lieutenant governor or somthing else,
has fulfilled expectations and drawn n
i new corrupt practices act. It is in
| town and ready for legislators to gaze
j upon. It has more teeth than a fox
I trap and is said to be so drawn that
|.not even a Democratic candidate for
mayor can enjoy working under It. Mr.
Humes' bill is claimed to meet condi
tions in Pennsylvania as seen by inen
who do not have control. It will be
much discussed.
—The Philadelphia Record assails
the plans for the convention hall in
Philadelphia as too small by half.
—Senator C. W. Beales, of Adams,
will tike his seat as Senator to-night.
His term as Congressman ended last
Monday.
—The condition of Senator Ma"feee
was said to be serious to-day. He has
been suffering from pneumonia.
—Lorßne borough has voted $20,000
for new schools.
—Elkins Park, Ogontz and adjoin
ing places want to merge into one
post office.
—The Philadelphia Press says that
a good plan would be to increase the
DENMARK MAY FIGHT GERMANS
DENMARK is not likely to get
drawn into the European war
unless her closest neighbors,
Norway and Sweden, are drawn into
the whirlpool," remarked H. Jantzen,
of Copenhagen to the Washington
Post. "But if the progress of the
great tragedy should eventually engulf
us. then Denmark's fortunes will in
evitably be cast with the Entente
Allies. Denmark has not forgotten nor
forgiven the war of 1864. as a result
of which Schleswig-Holstein was hand
ed over to Prussia. In the earlier war
of Schleswig-Holstein. the Germans
aided the Schleswi g-Holsteiners
against the Danes, and eventually
Prussia became the possessor of the
country.
"Schleswig-Holstein is a country
with, an area of about 7.200 square
miles and has a population of more
Governor's salary and to wipe out the
discretionary expenditure fund.
—Senator Vare is quoted in Phila
delphia as saying that there is noth
ing of importance before the Legis
lature "outside of local option and one
or two other subjects that cannot be
passed.'' The local optionists expect
to make their fight here next week,
but will not get as much attention
from the south end of the building as
before.
—Pennsylvania postmasters are still
listening carefully for news of reap
pointments now that Acting State
Chairman GufTey has said that there
will be no changes unless "serious ob
jection" is made. The latter term has
an ominous ring and being used by a
Democratic politician is capable of
various meanings. Many are witching
to see the outcome of the row over
trie Reading post office.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer of yes
terday contained an interesting arti
cle from Media regarding the Sproul
boom, which it says the Delaware men
are determined to launch.
—Men prominent in politics for the
last ten years are expected to come
here next week to attend the biennial
dinner of the Legislative Sons of St.
Patrick. There have been so many
demands for tickets that the commit
tee has fixed March IC as the limit
for acceptances. The dinner will be
; held the night of March 20.
I —Mayor Harvey, of Hazleton, will
l not be acandidate for renomination
i but the rest of the Hazleton officials
I will.
—Mayor Smith, of Philadelphia, is
opposed to the wiping out of ward
lines in councilmanic legislation.
A Pacifist
I am a pacifist with all the accent on
the fist:
I want to grab the tail of some dern
thing and give a twist
to it that will make that there
thing flop right up into the air
And come to earth all spraddled out,
and go away from there!
The way a dog gos down the street
with a can on its tail;
II want to make some nation tear its
whiskers out an' wail.
And get down onto both its knees and
promise to be good.
And stay in its own yard and mind
its business, like it should.
I have always been a pacifist, not
quite the Bryan kind,
' I've always kept the Bible's good
commandments in my mind,
I've always turned the other cheek,
the way I have been told —
I From front o back the Bible's right,
and like refined gold—
But after a guy has come down upon
that other cheek,
I Believe me, that is where I rise and
bust him on the beak!
And use his ears for hand holds whilst
I shake about
Until his teeth are shaken loose and
both his eyes pop out.
And now. that Uncle Sam has turned
his other cheek and got
Not only what he thought he would, a
swift Jaw breaking swat.
But a kick 'neath the coattails that
has lifted him a bit,
I've got a brick in either flst, and I
am feeling fit!
I may be old. I may be fat, but I know
this, by cripes!
I am standin' in the shadow of the
good old Stars and Stripes!
And there are others with me and
before the game la played
We will pat some foolish nation in its
fat face,- with a spade.
—Judd Mortimer Lewis In the
Houston Post.
_
MARCH 12, 1917.
than 1,300,000. It is from Holstein
that the cattle or that name come.
"Denmark even if it could, would not
reclaim both Schleswig and Holstein
but it would like to regain Schleswig,
or the northern part of the country.
Schleswig is largely Danish in popula
tion and temperament, while Holstein
is German in its sympathies. The
Danish people naturally have been bit
ter against Germany and nothing prob
ably will ever placate them.
"With a population of close to 3,-
000,000 Denmark has a standing army
of 80,000 soldiers and the total
strength of the army has been mobil
ized ever since the beginning of the
war. We have not lost nearly so
much shipping in the North Sea as has
either Norway or Sweden, but Den
mark is inalienably tied up with her
neighboring nations."
Labor Notes
Bakers' and Confectionery Workers'
International Union is growing. The
membership is now 22.252, an in
crease of 346 in 30 days. Sick and
death benetlts were paid out amount
ing to $4,443.
The Argentine Government is dis
tributing seed grain to farmers in cer
tain districts, payment therefor be
ing secured by charge against live
stock and agricultural implements of
those receiving the seed.
Frisco Building Trades Council has
endorsed a proposed amendment to
the mothers' pension law which will
permit a widow with minor children
to own her own home and still re
ceive a pension from the State.
Ninety tlioysand lives will be saved
yearly and a money loss of a billion
and a half dollars prevented if plans
now completed for accidental preven
tion by representatives of medical
colleges, industrial plants and the
Pennsylvania Bureau of and
Industry prove successful.
Texast unionists expect action on
the eight-hour law, minimum wage
and workmen's compensation, in ad
dition to many other labor meas
ures.
OUR DAILY LAUGH
DISPATCHING BUSINESS.
Counsel
eYour honor, you
neglected to aak
the prisoner if
she had any
thing to say as
to why sentence
should not be
pronounced?
asmuch as the
prisoner is a
woman we will
omit that for
mality in order
to dispose of the
case In some
reasonable time.
THE CRI
TERION. jjj j
Edith says
•he'll never
, marry a man / py >
i unless he Is a
| thoroughly cul- ]/ A,
tured gentle
man. \ H
I know, but I yi ;; j
suspect that '1 V "
she'd consider a
far bank ac- '' jj |
count as the Ifl
best evidence of i j
culture and
breeding.
OF COURSE!
Do you think
war will ever be
A / J abolished?
\ /[ H * Think! I
J I I *\ know. Why, sir,
J \ \ • we are going to
1 | K abolish war if It
LI / |\ I takes every last
| k man on the face
HL J I M of the earth.
lEbenittg (Efjal
According to the report of the State
Water Supply Commission on floods
and their effoct upon industry, busi
ness and daily life in Pennsylvania,
the flood control works in Wildwood
Park are the only system of the kind
in the whole State. This statement,
which Hounds rather remarkable tn
view of the wide discussion of tho
subject of flood control in various
parts of tho State and the urging of
the Stato Commission that munici
palities and communities take up the
matter, is contained in a voluminous *
report on liood dangers discovered *
by the engineers of the commission
in making the water inventory. Tho
statement is made that, "Too much
stress cannot be laid upon the neces
sity of planning and building flood
control works in anticipation of the
recurrence of great floods rather than
deferring such action until conimuni
ties have suffered irreparable losses
and are financially unable to con
struct remedial works. Flood con
trol works were built above Harria
burg in 1908 on Paxton creek at a
cost of $115,000 to prevent inundation
of the city from that source, which
is the only system of its kind in the
State.'
• • *
This statement is quite, a compli
ment to Harrisburg and is an object
esson to the rest of the State because
!f there ever was any city which suf
fered periodical floods from a stream
it was Harrisburg and the erratic
waterway starting out in Lower Pax
ton township. A good many people
recall how the city used to wake up
after every hard rain to find tho
creek cavorting over on Cameron
street and the inhabitants of Sibic
town taking to the hills. Harrisburg
lost a good many dollars before it
awoke to the fact that the flood wa
ters could be controlled and when it
was done It was all so simple that we
all wondered why it had not been
done before. The Hood control and
the Paxton creek interceptor were
several times pronounced failures and
wastes of money but just after the
flood control was finished there was a
tremendous thunderstorm with il
rainfall that ordinarily meant a tor
rent pouring through Cameron street.
Hut nothing happened down town,
although Wildwood park resembled a
lake. It was not for a week that the
lake was down to the normal condi
tion. After that there was not much
said about the flood control and Pax
ton creek is now a rather respectable
waterway and it is only when the
Susquehanna gets out of its banks and
the water backs up that the Paxton
creek gets troublesome. Gut just Im
agine what things would have been
like if the city fathers and the pub
lic spirited men who took up the call
for public improvements had not con
structed that flood control. The pre
dictions that tho creek valley would
be an important manufacturing part
of the city have been abundantly
borne out and the plants of the Har
risburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Com
pany and others testify to the value
of the flood control.
* • *
Another interesting thing about the
report is that it gives some figures on
floods in the State which show that
i our forefathers were just as badly
i damaged by them as we have been
but that the wonder is that we did
not do something to prevent them
long ago. The Susquehanna has been
one of the worst offenders and there
are records of rampages on which it
got to tho great destruction ol - nrop
erty as early as 1784 with others in
, 1807, 1810, 1850, 1805, 1889, 1902 and
11904, that of 1889 being the worst.
The famous "pumpkin flood" of 17Sii,
I which occurred the year after Harris- '
i burg was laid out and got its namo
because it was in the fall when tho
pumpkins were ripe and thousands of
them were carried down stream,
seems to have been all along the Sus
quehanna, as the Wilkes-Barre rec
ords show great damage at that time
and so do those at Sunbury. Singu
larly enough Pittsburgh had a flood
given the same name and for the
same reason. It occurred in 1810 -fend
flooded an area as great as that of
the flood of 1907. Pittsburgh records
have been kept for 159 years anil
show no less than 185 floods with
eighteen feet of water or more. There
have been 160 bad floods in that city
in sixty years. So there are some
places worse off than Harrisburg. .
• * *
A warm Saturday afternoon can
bring out the jitneys at a rate that
nothing else unless it be a circus tan
do. There were jitneys by the dozens
running ail over the city on Saturday
afternoon and they would be one
after another on Market street hour
after hour. Probably more appeared
than at any time since the holiday
shopping and it was notable that
some of them had signs that you
could see a block away. The jitney
appears to hibernate in Harrisburg.
At holiday time there are plenty of
such cars, if the weather is good, but
their appearance the rest of the win
ter seems to be more or less regulated
by the weather. There are some cars
which have been running regularly all
winter and seemingly on established
routes, bfit the number which come
i out when the going is good seems to
be greater.
• * •
A couple of farmers who attended
the Yerbeke street market on Satur
day declared that they were not go
ing to bring as much produce to mar
ket as they have been doing because
they have to cart It home again. One
man complained that he had been
bringing butter for j ears but that
people would not pay the prices asked
all over the market and were turning
to oleo more and more. Another
said that he had taken home four
dozen eggs because of the objections
of housewives to prices.
William V. Van Inglien, the Phila
delphia artist who Is being consid
ered for decoration of the Capitol
corridor, was here a few days ago. He
painted the lunettes in the south
wing.
1 WELL KNOWN PEOPLE
—Dr. Sheldon W. Funk, the State
lecturer who says that boys should
have shorter hours on the farm, owns
some of the finest orchards In the
State.
—Ellis S. Lewis, chosen to succeed
the ':ite Tohn W. Bteacy as president
lof the York Trust Company, Is well
kliown here.
—Mrs. Abigail Geisinger, who has
made so many benefactions to Dan
ville. is ninety years of age. -
—William H. Miller, prominent '
Media banker, declined to serve as a
member of the Delaware County
prison board any longer.
—Eugene V. Debs has been deliv
ering a series of lectures In the east
ern part of the State.
—C. H. State chemist for
years, takes a whack at the Jones
cold storage bill as one which should
not be enacted for the benefit of the
people.
I DO YOU KNOW
! 1
Tliat llarrlstHirg steel Is cmplo.ml
in new buildings in Philadelphia?
HISTORIC HARRISBURG
In the old days when there was a
flood in the Susquehanna the small
streams which Intersected the city
used to flood the streets generally.