14 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Pounded IS3I Published evenings except Sunday by THE TEI.EiiH APH PRINTING 10, Ttlcgrnph UulldlnK, Federal Hqnnre. 'E.J. STACK POLK, I'res't & EJitor-in'Chief F, R. OYSTER, Business Manager. GUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor. 1 Member American SgW Bureau of Clrcu- SRjfc latlon and Penn- BBju sylvanla Assocl- Bl H Eastern of nee, lira Story, Brooks & Entered nt the Post Office in Harrls burg. Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, ten cents a week; by mall, J5.00 a year In advance. FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 18 Be swift io hear, slow to 1:19. FOREST EIRE PREVENTION THERE is nothing difficult about forest fire prevention. The method that has reduced the woods fire loss in Massachusetts and many other States of the union was invented in Pennsylvania, but it Is not in use, so far as can be learned, in a single county of the State. Suc cessful firetighting depends upon catching the flames in their in cipiency and this can be done by means of observation towers erected every few miles throughout the country to be protected, from which forest rangers, equipped with glasses, can scan the landscape for long dis tances. This system of patrol and supervision was devised by the State Forestry Department and used first | at Mont Alto, but very little of that nature is being done In Pennsylvania ( now, although the tower system has been put to good service by various State governments elsewhere and by the United States. ( The State Forestry Commission is , scarcely io be blamed for this condi- t lion of affairs, for it cannot operate f without sufficient money. The tre- 1 inendous loss by timber fires will continue in Pennsylvania just so long as this penny wise pound foolish policy of the Legislature is continued. . Every lire costs hundreds of dollars more than intelligent and effective s protective measures, not to mention 1 loss of much needed lumber and the 1 wiping, out of new growth for years i to come. Our law appears to be < framed on the assumption that small ' fires do not count and are not to be < fought until they have swept hun- f dreds of acres and have become a ' serious menace to improved prop- 1 erty. We have the means and we 1 have the money, but until our law- ' makers give more thought to pre- 1 vention legislation the State will be 1 swept, as it is being now, by fires that 1 ought never to have gotten beyond 1 the acre where they started. 1 If this thing keeps up, the English soldiers will have to go back a mile or two every time they want to cross the Hindenburg line. THE CITY'S OPPORTUNITY MAYOR MILLER has an inti mate knowledge of all that concerns the development of Harrisburg and may be trusted to use his best endeavors to still fur ther provide for the introduction of efficiency methods in the local ad ministration. It Is highly important that the reputation of Harrisburg as a modern and up-to-date municipal ity shall be upheld in the further ance of every movement which will tend to the bettermcift of residential conditions and the beautiflcation of the city from every standpoint. Housing conditions should have se rious consideration and the work of the City Planning Commission ought to be supported with enthusiasm. While we are entering upon a great war and the public mind lias been in a measure distracted by the preliminary stages of preparation, it is generally agreed by those who appreciate the underlying conditions that there is no fear of such a busi ness depression as marked the en trance of England and Prance into the world conflict. For this reason there is no necessity for any falling down of municipal activities either In the improvement of the streets, the care of the parks or the develop ment of any of the necessary plans for the health of the entire com munity. The Commonwealth is go ing right along with its share of the making of the Capitol Park zone and the city must co-operate in ev ery way possible. Mayor Miller and his associates in the City Council should brush aside all other considerations save those ■which affect the best interests of the people. The trifles of politics and faction should be set aside and given no weight in the decisions which must be reached regarding matters of vital concern to the community at large. When the experts brought here hy the Chamber of Commerce to study our traffic problems shall have submitted their conclusions imme diate steps ought to be taken to put Into force and effect, any Important recommendation serving to better conditions which have been in gen eral respects most deplorable. Mayor Miller himself has studied many of these problems and will be able to co-operate in making effec tive reasonable and practical regula tions, especially in the much dis- t FRIDAY EVENING, HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH MAY 18, 1917. I turbed business district; Heads of I the several departments have much to do and while manjf of the more vigorous young men of the city will be serving their country at the : front or in camps there are still , hundreds of others Yfhrt should be a\*allable for service In these de partments, , It Is, in short, only necessary for t a pulling together to achieve results which will be satisfactory to the community and creditable to those . who are In charge of the conduct of municipal affairs. 1 ' Harrlsburgers should show a nclgh ; borly spirit and go to Steelton to morrow for the big celebration. It • will be well worth seeing, SCHOOI, PROGRESS rr is pleasing to note that at least In ono respect the Harrlsburg school district Is making progress. While a majority of members of the school board insist upon a build ing program that will glva this city about sixty per cent, efficiency dur ing the next generation, Superintend ent F. E. Downes is urging upon the board radical changes for the im provement of teaching conditions, to the end that the children of the city may be better Instructed and a high er degree of scholarship made pos sible. Particularly important are his recommendations for the appoint ment of supervisors of physical ex ercise, social centers and evening schools. Superintendent Downes has laid before the board a highly important paper in the special report published elsewhere in this newspaper to-day, but it Is almost too much to hope that the board, as at present domi nated —meaning, of course, the ma jority who so outrageously betrayed the interests of the taxpayers In the matter of the high school loan— will have vision and thought enough for the welfare of the school district to adopt the program so well out lined. The school officials and school teachers of the city are doing amaz ingly good work under most dis- j couraging conditions. With so much : inefficiency and utter disregard for J the public welfare in the governing , body, it is all the more pleasing to note these evidences of devotion to 1 the school system and desire for its Improvement. Fortunately the fall . elections are not so far away, when existing evils in some degree at least 1 can ,be corrected. i Between the Yankees of the East and the Yankees of the West, the Ger man submarines are worse off than ' the historic gentlemen who found } themselves between his Satanic j Majesty and the deep blue sea. , "PASSING THE RUCK" AS a classic example of "passing j the buck" the new revenue bill , offered to the House of Repre- j sentatives by Chairman Claude , Kitchin, of the ways and means com mittee, is entitled to first prize. In 1 its interpretation of the Constltu- t tlonal provision, "all bills for raising | revenue shall originate in the House 3 of Representatives," the House need ) go but one step farther—write, "Be it enacted" and let the Senate fill in £ the blanks. The present measure is a • pitiful confession that the Demo- * cratic House has surrendered its c function as the revenue-originating body, and has turned that preroga- 1 tive over to the United States Sen- 1 ate, to have, to hold, and to assume responsibility thereunder. The most vicious provision of the ! new bill is that which places "a duty 1 of ten per centum ad valorem in ad- 1 dition to the existing duty" on 'j dutiable imports, and ten per cent. 1 or. free goods. Some crystal-gazing 1 dopester on the comhiittee estimates ! that this will produce $200,000,000 \ additional revenue. Probably it will, < but at what cost? j Using the calendar year 1916 as , a basis, sixty per cent, of our im- 1 ports consist of crude materials for 1 use in manufacturing, and manufac- j tures for further use in manufactur- , ing, while fourteen per cent, consist t of manufactures ready for consump- 1 tion, eleven per cent, consist of ] crude foodstuffs and food animals, ; and fourteen per cent, of manufac- ' tured foodstuffs. In short, the American manufac- j turer is to be shaken down for an ' additional duty of ten per centum ad ' valorem on the materials he runs | through his mills, which make up 1 sixty per cent, of our import trade, • while he gets less than a protective j rate on his manufactured products, which comprise fourteen per cent, of our import trade. Then he is mulcted for an excess profits tax and every 1 other tax which the mind of a Dem- ' ocrat can' conceive. It was through no fault of the Republican members that such a blunderous provision was adopted by the committee. They were simply outvoted. The provision reflects Chairman Kltpliin's determination to "make business pay for the war." The measure finds few champions on either side of the House. Damned with faint praise it will be present ed to the Senate where it will be consigned to the wastebasket, and a new bill drafted, which can not be worse, may be better, and will re lieve the House of its responsibility. If the tariff is to figure in the rais ing of additipnal revenue, as it righteously should, the speediest and most effective method is to enact the old Republican customs rates, en bloc, and incorporate them in the new bill. That will provide an ad ditional $200,000,000 and give us some sort of commercial prepared ness pending the post-war tariff re vision which all agree must come about. REAPING THE WIIIHIAVINO TTTHY shouldn't American genius yy devise the means to combat the submarine? American genius invented the blamed thing to begin with. Wiftit is that old say ing about sowing the wind and reap ing the whirlwind?'' Iti Rjr the Rx-Oommittccman Failure of sorao of the best ad vertised Democratic leaders to ap pear here this week to urge the Legislature to act favorably upon the Democratlo platform leaglslatlon In being much discussed about the Capitol and pointed to as indicating: that the Democratic ringmasters themselves do not take their own propositions seriously. The Demo cratlo members did not all attend the hearings and have not been very busy in getting tha bills reported out. The whole Democratic campaign this session lias been puzzling. Time and again chances to do things were passed up and it has been apparent that a division exists which is liable to lead to a row at any time. Some of the moat influential Democratic legislators did not even go around to hear United States District At torney E. Lowry Humes make speeches In behalf of the Democratic bills and the fact that Roland S. Morris withdrew at the end of the first day and allowed Humes to bear the burden of the big bills lias at tracted comment. The Democratic legislation is de cidedly shop worn in uny event, hav ing been out since 1913 and the lack of interest demonstrates that it is only intended for political thunder. —William H. Connell, chief of the bureau of highways In Phila delphia, resigned yesterday because he can make more money elsewhere and be free from politics. Connell is one of the ablest men In the Phila delphia city government and has not had a bed of roses. —The failure of the House to act on the appropriation bills yesterday has made a number of legislators tired and there are indications that there will be some explanations de manded of the printing authorities. —Members of the House of Rep resentatives who have been shout ing for action and going home on Wednesdays may be given a chance to display their eagerness for work next week. There is talk of three sessions a day to get bills passed and even of holding a Friday ses sion. The appropriation bills will be given right of way and then the biennial scramble to get bills on the calendars will start. —Bets were being made at the Capitol to-day that the Legislature would take a recess the latter part of this month and reconvene June 4 and then stay here until July. —State administration leaders in the Legislature are doing their best to get the June 14 closing up date adopted in the Senate, but there is little chance of it being done. —ln spite of a great, deal being printed nowadays about third-class city legislation there does not seem to be as great a stir over the bills pending in the Legislature as re ported. In general, sentiment among legislators is against the nonpartisan system of electing councilmen and if the bill to repeal the nonpartisan feature of the second-class city law goes through next week in the House there will be a renewed ef fort to strike it from the third-class city law. —Mayor Smith and Councilman Baiziey, of Philadelphia New Year's Day fame, had an interchange yes terday at a meeting of the Inde pendence Day celebration. The Mayor said that the councilman was largely occupied in handing out "hot air." —The appointment of a judge for Schuylkill county to succeed the late Judge C. N. Brum is said to be scheduled for late this month. Gov ernor Brumbaugh has declined to discuss the matter. —The new Lehigh Judgeship bill will be in the Senate next week. Pre dictions that it would pass were being heard to-day. —The Philadelphia Ledger to-day predicts more guerilla warfare. It says: "Another fight in the House between the McNiehol and the Vare factions, it is said, looms up as the 1 result of the affirmative reporting by the Judiciary General Commit tee of the Heffernan bill to make it almost impossible for any employe of the Department of Public Safety in Philadelphia to do anything more of a political nature than mark his own ballot, 'as speedily as it reason ably can be done,' 011 election day. The bill, backed by the McNiehol wing, aims to nullify the political in fluence of the nearly 7,000 police men, firemen and other employes of this department, now controlled by the Vare forces. Under its provi sions it will be unlawful for any such employes to be within fifty feet of a polling place on election day, except to mark his ballot. He is specifically forbidden to attend any political conventions; to serve as a member of any political com mittee or organization, or attend their meetings: to take any active part in political campaigns; to can vass precincts; to influence voters or to Interfere with the conduct of elections in any way. It was passed on first reading to-day and should reach the debating stage next week. As originally introduced It made violators liable to a fine and im prisonment of five years." He Was Far-Sighted An ambitious colored ' man had quit his job and was being granted a new one with another concern, when his employer asked him if he could be ready to commence work in two weeks. He replied: "I fear dat would be difficult for me to be ready in two weeks, but I could be ready in one week shore." "How's that?" asked his employer. "Well, in one week I can finish de garden work," was his answer, "but if I Is homethenone week more de missus would' be rushin' me Into the middle of house-cleaning." The Christian Herald. Sight-Proof Walls A row of villas in Suburbia were going up apace, and when they were almost finished the builder u.nd his foreman made a tour of inspection. The former left his assistant In one house and went into the house ad joining. "Han you hear me?" called the builder, tapping on the dividing wall. "Yes." "Can you see me?" "No." The builder rejoined the foreman, beaming with satisfaction. "Now, them's what you can call walls!" he said.—Exchange Strange Warriors Wrecked [From the London Globe.] Melbourne —A telegram from Port Darwin, Australia, says that the Bathurst Island natives report the wreck recently of a large boat in which were six men, the survivors of a ere'". These men were wear ing helmets and svords. They are of dark complexion, and cannot speak English. They are living on natives' food. Bathurst Island is a fairly large island on the extreme north of the Australian continent. The Days of Real Sport . By briggs I_———, , _ ' ' 'GotN 1 ' XSSS* Comes m Lookit BOOKS AND MAGAZINES THE THRILLING STORY OF BELGIUM'S HEROIC WOMEN The only American woman mem ber of the Commission for Relief in Belgium has written a book that should be read everywhere in this country. It is entitled "Women of Belgium Turning Tragedy to Tri umph," and was written out of Mrs. Charlotte Kellogg's own personal ob servations and experience in that smitten country. The introduction is by Herbert Hoover that great American through whose tireless ef forts as chairman of the Relief Com mission, the deplorable condition of the Belgium people is being alle viated. Mrs. Kellogg's husband had charge of Belgian Relief at the Brus sels headquarters of the commission, and her opportunities for eight months were such as no other wo man has known. She has given to the world, therefore, a most inti mate view of women's work, and courage, and sacrifice, made neces sary by the desolations of war. This unique volume is not a "war book" In the sense that it details horrors of battle, but rather it cov ers a period, a tragic history, a marvelous philanthropy. never known before. It recites the splen did courage and the noble service of true human brotherhood and sis terhood. To read it is an inspiration and a delight, even if many of its pages are brimming with pathos. You can help the hungry and home less Belgians by ordering a copy, for not a cent of the profits from its publication goes to author or pub lishers or any one else except the Commission for Relief in Belgium. | It has 2 30 pages, is well printed and illustrated, is bound in cloth and will be sent to any address, post paid on receipt of sl.lO, by Funk & Wagnalls Company, 354-360 Fourth Avenue, New York City. Buy one, five, a dozen, copi&n, and distribute them and you will befriend the des titute and starving while you bene fit and inform yourself. STORIES OF IRELAND The reader who is tired of the work-a-day world, or who finds him self longing for the little emerald isle across the sea, can get there in ima gination at least if he will follow Daniel Corkery through "A Munster Twilight" (Stokes). All that haunt ing glammor and mystery which is Ireland has been pressed into its pages. The people are true Celtic, the stories are that curious blend of tears and humor which poverty breeds. Here one may read of the daring servant who plowed "the bed of the saints"; of the cripple who sold his body treasures to pay his neighbor's rent; of the little Lady of the Glassy House, who was so frail she passed away at the crash of a falling jug. They read like the tales that world-worn peasants might whisper about the fireplace. Peace Without Germany? A profusion of possibilities make their appearance with the publica tion of hints from European capi tals which time tnay dissipate into mere rumors with diplomatic intent for momentary purposes or evolve into something substantial. First was the suggestion that Austria is not averse to a separate peace with the Allies, preliminary to the more positive statement that Italy, if she sees fit can make peace with Aus tria, the rather direct assertion be ing made that Austria has let Italy know that a separate peace would be far from difficult and that actual conferences have taken place in Swiss territory between representa tives of the two nations. More im portant, however, is the intimation that other Entente Allies will put nothing in the way of an agreement between Italy and Austria, in fact will encourage it, to divide the strength of the Central Powers. Still another report attempts to include Turkey in an agreement with Rus sia and an alignment with the Allies, weakening Germany's power in that direction, and giving shape to the new Europe while the war continues The possibilities which these hints bring are so vast that the mind al most staggers at the swift changes that may be wrought within the next few months if the rumors are fixed on facts. The disquieting element in the situation Is the failure of harmony in Russia, of which Ger many has no doubt taken full advan tage. German secret agents and mischief plotters have been busy there before and since the resolution, and having found separate peace out of reach the Germans will resort to every means to kep Russia divided —Pittsburgh Dispatch. About Time [From the Baltimore American] Whatever else happens, this war threatens to make ducks and drakes of the divine right of kings. WATERED ANCESTR A MAN tackled me for a job the other day. After enumerating his various accomplishments he wound up with a llnal claim that was intended to impress mo with his importance once and for all," writes "Sid" in the June American Maga zine. "Ho said that he was a di rect descendant of Bishop Umpte ump—the most learned man of his time in England. I asked what time that was, and he said that it was about 400 years ago. I told him that —allowing 25 years for each gene ration—he must be the sixteenth descendant. 'No, not the sixteenth,' he said, 'but the fifteenth.' 'AH right,' I said, 'call it the fifteenth. Now let's take a sheet of paper and see what your creoentials really are. Let's see—you had one father and one mother, two grandfathers and two grandmothers, four great-grand fathers and four great grandmothers' eight great-great-grandfathers and eight great - great - grandmothers— and so on.' "Carrying the multiplication back to the fifteenth preceding generation I showed that at the time the bishop lived, my friend, the applicant, had exactly 32,768 ancestors. In other Constitutionalizing Wilhelm The German Reichstag professes to be occupied with a wonderful plan for reforming the political or ganization of the enpire and estab lishing a modern constitutional gov ernment. The outside world will be pardoned for adopting a Missourian attitude regarding this matter. It may be possible tw institute a gen uinely representative government in Germany under present auspices, but it doesn't look very probable. For one thing, the German nation doesn't seem to have awakened yet sufficiently to demand the necessary reforms with a voice powerful and unanimous enough to command obedience. For another thing. Kai ser Wilhelm himself doesn't reveal any convincing symptoms of en lightenment. And he happens to hold the key to t<ie situation. The Kaiser has never admitted that he is subject to the existing constitution, which places little limi tation on his autocratic power. How can he be expected to yield to a con stitution that really clips his wings? "There is only one will in Germany," he used to say before the war, "and that Is my will." It has been Ger many's good fortune to be ruled by a monarch deriving his authority from God alone. The first thing to do is to revise the Kaiser himself. —The Erie Dis patch. Humiliating Confession "We have the most unscientific and the most inadequate tariff pro vision that ever was written in the books and the most inequitable pro vision, hut I am going to do like a lot of Republicans nd Democrats— I am going to shut my eyes and vote for it." That is the humiliating, inexcusa ble confession made by Claude Kit chin, leader of the Democratic ma jority in the lower House or Con gress on Thursday last when the war revenue bill was reported from the ways and means committee. The recognized leader of the Democratic party is simply telling the world of the incompetency of his party and its leaders. A frank but pitiable acknowledgement of the generally admitted fact that the Democrats are incapable of drafting or enact ing laws for the country under great stress. —Greensburg Daily Tribune. Altoona's Celebration Gee whiz! Great Jehoshaphat! What a parade! Talk about the Harrisburg pa rade—it wasn't in it with the Blair county demonstration of Saturday— and we didn't see the Harrisburg affair, either. Neither did we ree the War Gov ernors' parade, but it is generally conceded that Saturday's procession was the greatest ever held In Al toona. Everybody has reason to feel proud. Chief Marshal Feltwell ought to be the happiest m*n in the county, for It is no small honor to be the directing head of such an assem blage of patriots as gathered last Saturday. Likewise the airts and the cap tains and the lieutenants and final ly, the marchers, for while there must be a head of a parade, there must likewise be some folks to do the parading.—Observer, in the Al toona Tribune. > words the bishop was only one of the 32,768 human being who were his forebears at that time. ' 'You have mentioned the bishop, but what about the other 32,767?' I asked. 'lt seems to me that I ought to hear something about them if 1 am to judge you by the good blood wheh you say is in you. The bishop was all right. You're lucky to have as much of him in you as you have. But the bishop's stock has been con siderably watered. I don't believe he would recognize you. What about the rest?' i "That is the trouble with this heredity game—if ywu carry it back very far. Old Mother Nature is a wonderful leveler. She won't let geniuses or boneheads breed in a straight line. To the weak she fre quently gives a child of incredible talent —to keep the neighbors from getting abusive. To the brilliant and favored of the earth she often presents a choice of ivory in the Shape of a dull son. Apparently the idea is to carry the race forward to gether and not to play favorites. "Another feature of the scheme is that it keeps us ail interested. Sur prises abound on all sides. There is no telling where the next giant is coming from." Labor Notes In normal times the French eat 580 pounds of bread a person an nually. Bavarian women are organizing for work on the same plan as their Prussian sisters. Women are working in the fields of North Dakota because of an acute labor shortage. One machine has a capacity of cutting a thousand celluloid combs a day. Women farmers and laborers In the United States number a million and a half. An organizing campaign Is to be conducted among the sailors on the Great Lakes. Portsmouth (England) has the largest automatic telephone exchange in the world. At present 10,000 Canadians are engaged in lumbering operations in the British Isles. Two unions of barbers with a mem bership of 250 have been organized at Montreal, Canada. On May 14 at Seattle, Wash., Or der of Kailroad Telegraphers will meet in convention. Employes on the electric line be tween Toronto and Guelph, Can., have received an increase of $3 a week. A 25 per cent, increase has been granted the thousands of women en gaged in the Nottingham (Eng.) lace Industry. International Shingle Weavers' Union of America will hold its an nual convention at Everett, Wash., May 15. In the future chfld labor permits In Arkansas will be amended to com form with Federal permits. The Wistful Days What is there wanting in the spring? The air is soft as yesteryear; The happy nested gieen is here. And half the world is on the wing. The morning beckons, and like balm Are westward waters blue and calm. Yet something's warning in the spring. I What is it wanting in the spring? O April, lover to us all. What is so poignant in thy thrall When children's merry voices ring? What haunts us in the cooing dove More subtle than the speech of love. What nameless lack or loss of spring? i Let youth go dally with the spring. Call, her the dear, the fair, the young; And all her graces ever sung Let htm, once more rehearsing, sing. They know who keep a broken tryst, Till something from the spring is missed We hove not truly known the spring. —Robert Underwood Johnson. Tyrus Is So Modest Ty Cobb didn't want to seek any notoriety by wiring the president, offering his services in the war. So he just sat down and gave an inter view of a column and a half to the newspapers covering his family his tory since the sixteenth century and Justifying his recent fight with Charley Herssog.—Kansas City Star. OUR DAILY LAUGH OUTSIDE TFTB 4$ Pen Jab— M y pay's short r was late one fl ;|k morning and JL jjfci the boss docked His Wife —I P lyV ■ ■ think that's a A ■ I sharne - There's ) ■ I a. law against • £ 3 J docking horses * ' and there \\ should be one Vf to protect the . iWt P 1 SOMETHING I j/'V FOR NOTHING? j J/\ Why are all the waiters in \ I this place so dis< courteous? "™~ What do you j-' expect? This is a non-tip res- |lßlill Y^ x 178 Sn.ENT > f/- if OMEN TS. tfL -end - ■ Yes " sir ' it s an 1 * \ Jl'Jwi old saying and a 1 ' \ /'MM, t rue one, money lilSlj Hum d'Edbroke . JD With me. it \w V ° C " without IMPORTANT CONSIDER A- Youth A[/ woman ought to Ij /ffjl 'f t ]j be able to cook \\ Zl[Fi# and keep house. / Afcmw Father—Don't f\ Wr % bother about A that, son. Be- I|| || V fit fore you marry S?{M I v3r^3* * girl make up St A your mind I IAI whether she can /A J] | Ret on with a I I J jPJki servant who U will do the I B-l ■ I CHILD WI3- I Lp— tI ■ Mable: Auntie 1/ do you expect to go to Heaven 1 when you die? J Mable:*lt will — ' JBJIL ■ an awful >y V I dead place if all r^|V\W 1 I the people go Ili (*\ J who ex- THE MAN My wife and ? the 11 r1 s / V planned th o Mr ////dfc'Xl summer cam- 'J? paign in April an this year. \BjL at Palm Beach for some pre- n 'JllllK 1 liminary man- r M 1 11\ euvers. I B Abating Qlfjal It la interesting to recall In thesa •lays when Increase of production of foodstuffs is the slogan, that It Is not so many years ago that farms within a dozen miles of Harrlsburg were noted throughout the State as mar ket gardens, or "truck gardens," aa Ihe expression goes, and that gome which were famous are now devoted to general farming and not doing any too well at that. For years the city and Its surrounding towns iwere supplied by vegetables grown within n'ni'iitv f J he , Ca P ltol dome and the qua'iU was known far and wide. 4 The markets were filled with' local produce and Dauphin potatoes vi C (l with those of York county. The de- E?,nJ?. Mont of . the railroads and the building up of the produce business from other States clianged all that and in recent years many of the vegetables sold on the semi-weekly market clays were unloaded from ex press cars only a few hours before the market opened. As has been pointed out this spring the Islands in the Susquehanna below this city were famous for their watermelons, cantaloupes and other vegetables,and there are farms within easy trolley distance of Harrlsburg which for potatoes and cabbage and other vegetables could not be beaten but which of late years have been turned into wheat and corn or else allowed to be used for pasture. There has been a decline In the vegetable rais ing in this section and It is said that In the main there are farms near Harrisburg which are running down in the matter of drainage, fences and other details, to which so much attention used to b given andl In which great pride was taken by their owners thirty or forty years ago. The stock reason given for the change in the methods is the same as given for the diminution of cat tle feeding in farms about Harrls burg it does not pay. Tn times gone there were many cattle raised on farms near here and they command ed a ready sale, but the number has diminished steadily, although the price of beef has advanced. Now we are. sorry that our farms are not back where they used to be. Thursday seems to have become visiting; day at the State Capitol be cause it is the day upon which most of the tourists appear to strike the buildingr. Yesterday there were scores of visitors from all over the ■ i ? and they were all frankly disappointed that the J legislature had adjourned so earlv in the day. Many of the visitor's had brought along their lunch and ' had planned to sit in the galleries and watch the lawmakers at work while enjoying the provender. • * * It's odd how sometimes the hest & ent ', ve measures are defeated light alongside the places where they are started. Yesterday after noon a squad of visitors to the Cap itol stopped at one of the drinking Mml", t n 'i i" U i e first floor corridors and not being familiar with the bub n hf,, If ? 5 apparatus and not liking its tendency to spatter one's face when not handled properly, one of the number Invested a cent in a paper drinking cup. They passed it all around the crowd, each one using it. And when they were about to walk away some one began reading the signs on the transoms near where they were standing. "Depart ment of Health" read the one bent on seeking information. A Philadelphia friend tells this story on precautions. It seems that he was taking a walk In West Phila uelplua when he noticed a verv * young boy with a mouth organ, which seemed to be In demand among the members of the group with whom he was standing. Finally a bigger boy came along and said: Say, gimme that mouth organ, the way you're passin' it around we'll all be gitting disease next." ♦ * The two sons of Charles E. Shaf fer, connected with the State print ins office, and residing near Dau phin, Walter and Charles, are both determined to be aviators in the United States service during: the war with Germany. Walter is taking lessons in a school of aviation in New York and Charles has entered the services of the government and has gone to Fort Leavenworth, to be assigned first to the mechanician corps, but intends to take up flying. • "They come naturally by it," said Mr. Shaffer to a friend the other day. "When I was a boy I conceived what I thought to be a device that would overcome the forces of gravi tation sufficiently to let me soar with the birds. I hitched myself up in the apparatus, much after the manner of the late-lamented Darius Green, and mounted a stable in the rear of my home to float out over a cherry tree in a neighbor's yard. Unfortu nately I went down instead of up, wrecking the cherry tree and the friendship that existed between two families previous to that event, to say nothing of accumulating as choice a variety of cuts and bruises as ever a small boy acquired in as brief a time." • • • Taking automobile trips to see th* forest tires is among the favorite forms of diversion just now. The fires are to be seen along the rldgei in Perry and Dauphin and to peopl* who have not experienced their tei rors they are a great attraction. few days ago a party started out x> see a fire and the warden in charfe made them work for six houis. Under the law he has a right :o do so. WELL KNOWN PEOPLE —Ambassador Frederic Penfldd, who is a Phlladelphian, will write a book on his experiences in diplo macy. —Prof. Louis W. Raneer, of State College, who has been called to Port# Rico, is well known to many peopla here. —H. B. Heywood, of Conshohock en, has been elected president of the Montgomery county publishers. —Col. Lewis E. Beltler. the active man in the defense commission work was private secretary to Daniel H. Hastings during his term as governor and before that secretary to Edwin S. Stuart when mayor of Philadel phia. • —Col. James W. Archbald, engi neer of the Glrard estate, has given \ip National Guard work because of demands on his time on coal lands. DO YOU KNOW ' That Hnrrishnrir ranks high as a food distributing center for central Pennsylvania? HISTORIC HARRISBURG— —John Adams paid a Visit to this place when vice-president and was given a reception by the townspeople at the Lee tavern. Pew! A writer says that nearly every American family could keep a pig on what goes into the garbage can. Maybe. But did the writer ever try keeping a pig within the city limits!? —Cleveland Plain Peale%
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers