6 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOMB Founded 1831 (Published evenings except Sunday by THE TELEOn AIH PRINTING CO., Telegraph Ilulldlns, Federal Square. ■E.J. ST ACK POLE, Pres't ,5* Editor-in-Chief F. R. OYSTER, Business Manager. GUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor, A Member American Newspaper Pub ' ~, lishers' Assocla ._EgSsgsißS*-°q tion, the Audit ■naMMB Bureau of Clrcu- W|WHjsg*M lation and Penn ggs sylvanla Associ rSllil Al atcd Dailies. sec 23 csi HI Eastern office, 31 Story. Brooks & SS £ "m 3 IJf Finley. Fifth ill H HMK W Avenue Building, aSfcj&jlßt w New York City; Western office, . Chicago, 111. Entered at the Post Office in Harrls burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, ten cents a 'week; by mail, J5.00 a year in advance. WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY SO * He forgctteth not the cry of the poor. —Psalms 9:12. r FULL POWER NEEDED CONGRESS should lose no time in granting to President Wilson the food legislation for which fce has asked and the delegation of the power of food administrator to an individual to be named by the President and whom, we are as sured, is to bo Hoover of Belgium. President Wilson has seen the peril 1 of continued speculation and un controlled exportation. He has back of him in this measure a large ma jority of the food producers and manufacturers of the United States, who are willing to assist the admin istration in its laudable efforts to control supply and price and to abide by the decisions or the agent. rl The only persons opposed are the provision speculators—the men who have driven wheat to $2.50 a bushel and beyond for their own personal | gain. The President very properly has turned upon the protests of these a deaf ear, and Congress, If it is wise, will do the same. The soon- | or the administration of the food supplies comes under the intelligent | direction of Mr. Hoover the more I quickly will the country be assured that it is not going to go hungry next winter and that prices will be fair both to the consumer and the pro ducer. Under a bill now pending in the Legislature, directors of life insur- j "anee companies, banks and trust com- j panics chartered under the laws of this Commonwealth must give notice of their desire to resign from such office. And such resignations shall be advertised by the secretary of the in stitution in a daily newspaper of the county wherein the company shall have its principal place of business. BETTER THAN GOLD THE TEuiSGRAPH is in receipt of a letter from a woman reader relating to the issue of Liberty Bonds now being sold, of which the following is a portion: And why should I. a woman of 67, buy bonds that the Govern ment does not agree to redeem for thirty years, perhaps, when I shall be dead? What good will this money do me then? 1 have a few dollars that I would like to invest for my country, but I must think of myself, too,- I have been told that these bonds are as good as gold, but how could I spend a piece of paper, if I needed some thing badly? Won't you please explain the advantages of Liberty bonds and why we are told they are such a good Investment? Liberty bonds are the best invest ment to be had at this time because of their absolute security. There is no better guarantee in the world of a safe and sure return upon an in vestment than is contained in the written promise of the United States to pay principle and interest on these bonds. The United States is the rich est country in the world and, with our new army and recent alliances, there is no country in tho world that can lay us tribute and so wreck our financial ability to pay. As for "spending" a Liberty bond, why, if the need arises, the owner can dis pose of his bond at any bank at the market price, usually above the figure he paid for it. The Liberty bond is as good as gold, surely, but a SSO or SIOO bond has this advantage over a SSO or SIOO bill or over SSO or SIOO in gold coin—that at the end of a year the bond. If a SIOO bond, is worth $103.50, at the end of two years it Is worth $lO7 and at the end of ton years it will be worth sl35 —if the coupons not be cashed an nually during that time. The SSO or SIOO bill does not increase in value, does not bring in rent, unless it be loaned. The bond pays rent as long as it is held, and it is like ready money because there will be a quick market for it. The banks pay three per cent, on deposits. The United States pays three and one-half per cent, on these bonds and will increase the rate of interest if later it is found necessary to float other bonds at higher rates. Considered from every angle, the Liberty bond is aji investment above par and to be recommended to any body who can put cash Into it. It would appear that the war reve nue measure now Jiggling through Congress was conceived upon the gen eral principle of restricting business to increase revenue. Instead o{ spreading the levy upon all classes and businesses fairly, the purpose I seems to ha to impose the burden up an certain sections. The proposed tax ou advertising and the increased WEDNESDAY EVENIN postage rates upon second-class mat ter is a discrimination against news papers which, under present condi tions, is little short of confiscatory. FIVE PUBLIC SERVIQE WHEN tho Capitol Park Exten sion Commission shall con- clude its labors to-morrow the people of Pennsylvania will be jus tified in observing "Well done, good and faithful servants." No official body has ever performed a public service more faithfully—with an eye single to the best interests of the Commonwealth—than this com nis sion. Its work was difficult beyond ordlmiry understanding. The ac quirement of several hundred prop erties, tho investigation of titles and the transfer of ownership from the individual to the State involved all kinds of difficulties and demanded a high type of business diplomacy. The story of of the country the past week guarantees that by the use of cer tain exercises—at EDITORIAL COMMENT It seems that the Russians are de termined to prove that they need a Czar after all.—Savannah News, Bethmann-Hollweg must love his country very much or he would not consent to be the goat.—Chicago Daily XewS? Furthermore, if John Barleycorn is a square and fair fighter, why does he always hit his opponent un der the belt?—Dallas Xews. When it comes to limiting the power of the Kaiser wo place more dependence on the Allies than on the Reichstag.—Boston Transcript. In Memoriam Armed with your fragrant flowers of spring, Fresh in their vernal opening, And lay down your arms, for peace has come; The roar of the battle, the beat of the drum Are stilled for the soldiers beneath the sod, Their bodies their country's, their souls with God. Halt! Lay down your arms on their camp ing spots, Roses and lilies, forget-me-nots. And smile through your tears in the shine of the sun Tnat never shall set on tho deeds they have done. Halt! Lay down your arms! Lay them gently where The Angel of Peace shall find them there, And the sleepers shall smile in their dreams to know That a grateful nation remembers them so. —W. J. Lampton, in the New York Tribune. A Memorial Day Thought When I was a child, I lived in a quiet, tree-shaded street in this very city where now I am writing this. And, late in May of each yeur, when the ailanthus trees were in blosom, the street put. on fresh curtains and redwashed the brick pavements. The cobblestones were swept, too, and then the procession came. I was twelve, I think, before I began to get a lump In my throat as the long line of veterans went by. It was a long line then. I did riot know exactly why I cried, except that those men and those tattered flags stood for something very sad. I know now, but It has taken years to put it into words, and in those years the line has shortened to a handful. Even the one-armed drum mer has gone now. The street, which was rough and hard to march on in those days, has been made smooth for their feet; but few arc left who can march to that quiet God's-acre on the hill above. now I know why. as .a child T wept. Those men had fought for something that was a part of me, like my mother, or my home: for my country. Many years later I again saw marching men. But now the men were young and there vere no flags and no drums. They were marching into battle and they were not fight ing for my country. But they were flghing for the Ideal on which my country was founded, for humanity against oppression and cruelty, for the right of a man to labor in his own field, for the prin ciple that honor is greater than life. I saw them living and fighting, and I saw them dying, I saw strange nations, men of different tongues and different colors, gathered together and becomijig as one, against a common foe. And then I learned this: that the world Is now but one great nation, drawn close by the creed that all men are brothers; and that in the midst of that great na tion of the world had broken loose, something terrible, something that must be killed or the world dies.— Mary Roberts Rinohart in "The Altar of Freedom." Charles M. Schwab says:— Nothing is, so plentiful In America as opportunity. There are more jobs for forceful men than there are force ful men to fill them. Whenever the question comes up of- buying new works we never consider whether we can make the works pay. That is a I foregone conclusion if we can get the 'right men to manage them. BETSY, THE INTERNATIONAL GUN, SIEGE American Gunner Saved the Day for the Allies When He Rigged Up a Rusty English Cannon Barrel THEODORE MARSHALL INGI.IS In the Washington Post. F' these days of world-wide con flict, when big guns of apparently perfect workmanship are accept ed by governments only after the se verest tests, it is encouraging to know that in times of special stress it may be possible for even an ama teur gunmaker to contrive an effi cient weapon for defense. During the now historic siege of Peking, which lasted from June 20 until August 14, 1900, the foreigners besieged in and around the British legation suffered for lack of any heavy guns. Their munition supply consisted of riiies, two machine guns and an Ital ian one-pounder cannon. These had been brought into the legation quar ters by a small band of allied mar ines rushed from Fort Taku to Pe king, a few days before actual siega of the legations was begun. In their haste to obey orders, the Russian marines brought, shells, but left their cannon behind and these shells, so useless in theimselves, seemed only to aggravate the pover ty of the situation. After June 23 the Chinese mount ed several big guns on the city walls, and hastily erected scaffoldings, and began firing upon the besieged for eigners. Had their marksmanship been anything but the poorest, the first few hours would have ended the fight, for there was only the tiny one pounder to "talk back," and this fact the Chinese soon discovered. Chinese Gun Fire Told However, enough shells hurled even in "hit-and-miss" fashion to ward a stationary mark will do an immense amount of damage. Day by day, after the Chinese opened their big guns, the cordon of ma rines aird civilian volunteers drew closer around and into the British legation itself. The French and Ger man legation quarters, which formed part of the cordon, suffered heavily from bombardment; many marines were killed, and several buildings within the British legation lines were partially or wholly demolished. It was in this desperate hour that Mitchell, a young American gunner —a hardy little chap, with a "never say die" glint in his blue eyes—an nounced: "I can make a to fire at them pesky Chinamen." There was already an old Italian gun car riage on the ground, and Mitchell proceeded to make the gun barrel by wrapping a piece of brass piping with heavy wire, but the siege au thorities. fearing that this makeshift gun would explode, forbade him the privilege of using it. Thereupon Mitchell sat down beside his creation in the depths of chagrin and dis appointment, and was sitting thus when a Chinese boy passed by. Spy ing Mitchell and his discarded in vention, the boy cried out. "I can get •— I can get —like that!" and rushed excitedly away. A few moments later he returned with two other Chinese boys, drag ging between them an old rusty can non barrel, which they had found in a Chinese junk shop included within tho lines still held by the besieged. Assembling the Big Gun This cannon barrel proved to he of English make, and had been used by the English in the Tal-Ping re bellion of 1860-1864. Mitchell was overjoyed with the Chinese boys' "find," and proceeded at once to make his big gun. The gun barrel was mounted on the old gun carriage and . bound there with wires and heavy ropes. To avoid a very possible disastrous explosion, the military authorities ordered Mitchell to take his gun outside of the big legation gate for a first trial. Mitchell did so, and it was decided to train the new gun on the base of a high scaffolding which supported one of the enemy's cannon some distance away. Mitchell had named his gun Betsy, and Betsy was a queer looking con trivance as It stood poised ready to shoot at one or both ends or burst In the middle, no one knew which. Its rusty old English body strapped [to the Italian gun carriage was as. truly allied then as now, but in a tew moments Betsy assumed inter national importance. The Russian shells, filled with German powder, were rammed down the gun's black throat, a Japanese fuse was attach ed and a second later Mitchell, the American gunner, touched it off from the British legation grounds. With mingled hope and fear, the besieged, at a safe distance, waited for Betsy to ,speak, and Betsy did. It was no lisping first syllable, and there was no mistaking the Inflection In its tone. It shot out the word "war" in a wheezy, gusty roar that made the listeners jump, while smoke begrimed Mitchell laughed and shouted, "She didn't bust, did she?" No. Betsy didn't "bust," and a few more shots sent the Chinese cannon stand to the ground. At once the gun's popularity was- assured, and it was apporpriately named "Betsy the International." Betsy Saved the Day After its first trial Bety was taken laboriously and by night up the long ramp of the city wall to the top and into the trench barricade of the American marines. These brave boys, their little band lessening every day, still held the strip of city wall over looking the British legation. A short distance farther along on the wall and facing the Americans rose a formidable Chinese barricade, and from this vantage ground the enemy's shells were doing the great est damage to the legation quarter. It was decided to turn Betsy loose on this opposing barricade, and, ac ccrdingiy, its iron mouth pushed through the American barricade of mud and brick and Mitchell fired jit. The first shot pierced the Chinese barricale, the second wrought total havoc, and the Chinese imperial sol diers, swarming out in disorder, were swept with a rifle volley from the Americans, who by this time were rc-enforced by British marines. Never again during the siege were the Chinese able to occupy this bar ricade from which shelter they had inflicted such damage upon the im prisoned foreigners. Again and again, until his arm was shattered by a Chinese bullet and he was sent to make a slow recovery In the Improvised siege hospital, did Mitchell fire his gun from the Peking Wall. Betsy's tone continued to be a peculiar, gusty roar, and every time it reverberated over in the be sieged quarters there was always a cry of "Just hear our little Betsy!" Bra've Betsy continued to serve, without even a backwnrd kick, until the allied relief army lifted the ter rihle siege one memorable day In mid-August. When this victorious army real ized the horrors and hardships that the besieged had undergone, they stood appalled. But who '-in say what additional "war'.i rlesolution" they would have found had brave Mitchell not had the courage and ir>""ity to contrive "Betsy the In i lcrnanonal'." A Memorial Sleep, heroes, sleep,— Free from all care, No more of war's alarm, Nothing can bring you harm— Tranquil and deep. Sweet your repose, 'Neath Heaven's vault— Disturbed not by rattle Of skirmish and battle— And earthly foes. Trouble and grief , Mar not your rest; . No more "on guard" to stand, Deaf to all stern command— Walt no "relief." Flag of the free, They followed thee! Now o'er their lonely graves, Weve. oh wave for the braves, Triumphantly! O'er the green sod, Strew sweetest flowerj. Brave spirits gone to rest, Evermore to be blest— Hufe with their God. •—By John W. Morrison, Harris burg, Pa. MAY 30, 1917. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | Receipt Books For Charity To the Editor of the Telegraph: We wish to thank the many mer chants and manutacturers in the city and county for their generosity in aiding us with the Polyclinic Hos pital Benefit Cook Book, and we sin cerely hope that each and every housewife will assist the same worthy cause by purchasing a copy of the book which contains the best known and home-tried receipts furnished by the ladies of Dauphin county. Starting Monday, Way 28, young ladies will make a complete canvass of the city and county for the sale of the book, and it is hoped they re ceive the assistance necessary to make the project a most glowing success. Ladles' Auxiliary Polyclinic Hospital. Death in Flanders I met with Death in his country. With his scythe and his hollow eye,' Walking; the roads of Belgium. I looked and he passed me by. Since he passed me by in Plug Street, In the wood of the evil name, I shall not now lie with the heroes, I shall not share their fame, I I shall never be as they are, I A name in the lands of the Free, ! Since I looked on Death in Flanders I And he did not look at me. —L.ord Dunsany in the Saturday Re view. The Soldier's Good. Nothing but good can befall the soldier, so he plays his part well. Come out of the ordeal safe and sound, he has had an experience in the light of which all life thereafter will be three times richer and more beautiful; wounded, he will have the esteem and admiration of all men and the approbation of his own con science; killed, more than any other man lie can face the unknown with out misgiving—that is, so long as death comes upon him in a moment of courage and enthusiasm, not of faltering or of fear. * * * Never have I regretted doing what do ing, nor would t at this moment be anywhere else than I am. I pity the poor civilians who shall never have seen or known the things that we have seen and known. Great as are the pleasures that they are contin • uing to enjoy and that we have re nounced, tiie sense of being the in strument of Destiny is to me a source of greater satisfaction. Alan See ger. Going Up! Half an inch, half an inch, Half an inch shorter— Whether the skirts are for Mother or daughter. „ Briefer the dresses grow, Fuller the ripples flow. More whisking glimpses show —• More than they oughter. —Fairview World. 1 OUR DAILY LAUGH EAGER TO i PRACTICE. MK •'! My boy, you want to pract|co I know, dad, hut I haven't i|! What do you mean by that? jnllm - Jf It you'll let flillrV tr.a have tho (5 i i *ti > I aeed I'll see 1H jrarPJflb' how long I can n e , 1 roas than ever known ir „ 1 d £ ws of Harrisburg. The nr ~ b . unt 'nff an< i other emblems tim^ a V? Vf> strength at the time of the Spanish War is as noth ntS- c °f n P. ared to the wave of patri vparo ?i! asr n , OW - In tho last two when tho Cr ] Is closer to the people's heart,'