8 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER POR THE HOME Pound td itjl Published evening! except Sunday by THE TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO, TtkCltfk BalMlag, Federal Sqaare. E. J. STACKPOLE, Prts't fr Editor-in-Chief F. R. OYSTER, Busigiu Manager. GUS 51. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor. Member at the Aesoclated Press —The Associated Press is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dlu> atc)>e * credited to It or not otherwise credited In this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of republication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. i Member Ushers' Assocla- Eastern office. Story, Avenue Building, Finley, People's Entered at the Post Office In Harrls burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, ten cents a 4buk'l week; by mail. $5.00 a year in advance. - MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1917 Because right is right, to follow right Were wisdom in the scorn of conse quence. —Tenntsox. THE ITALIAN SITUATION THE success of the German drive on Italy will have a mighty in fluence on the future of the war —but It will not be decisive. Germany overran Servla, but Servia is not crushed. Germany overran Roumania, but Roumania Is not crushed. Germany overran Belgium, but Belgium is not crushed. Germany invaded Russia, but Rus sia is not crushed. And the final decision of this war will be along the western front, where the unconquerable French, British and Americans are preparing for the final great drive that will end somewhere beyond the Rhine—pos sibly in Berlin. Cheer up, the worst is yet to come —for the Kaiser. AT THE FRONT TELEGRAPH readers were thrilled Saturday evening by the graphic and complete account of how American troops went into action on the French front. It is a bit of reporting that will go down in history. Nobody who read it could fail to have a clear picture of how the Americans behaved as they start ed for the trenches, nor the manner in which the first American artillery shot of the war on land was fired. Two things stand out clearly— first that the men fully realize the seriousness of the business upon which they have entered and sec ondly, that notwithstanding this they went into action cool as cucumbers and keen to do their part. Calmly it is decided to send the case of the first shell back to the President. With equal deliberation American and French officers indulge in a luncheon on the field near the batteries in celebration of the ad vent of America on the fighting line. The incident reminds one of Dewey's "you may fire when you are ready, Gridley," and of his suspension of the fighting at Manila while his men partook of breakfast. That's the kind of spirit that wins. The Hun is going to lind the Amer icans an entirely new factor, while the Hun himself will be an old story to the Americans. In other words, while the United States troops are called upon to face an enemy whose strength and weaknesses and manner of combat are fully known to every man in khaki, the Germans have yet to discover the mettle and the tac tics of their adversaries. That is a big point in favor of the Americans. Also, the Americans are fresh and keen to fight. Their' support and morale are of the best. The( Ger mans, on the other hand, are tired from the constant pounding of Haig and Petaln, war weary and lacking in adequate support from home. All winter they will be subject to the rattle and bang of the allies' sledge hammer blows and it will be a won der, Indeed, if in the fighting that is to take place all along the western line next spring, when a million Americans are at the front, if the boys from the States do not find some vital weakness in the Ger man line through which the first plunge toward Berlin can be made. "ECONOMY NOT PENURY" UNDER that caption an advertis ing agency writes the Telegraph begging this newspaper, among others, to point out the folly of ruining all legitimate business to make way for war work. There is good horse sense back of this appeal. The war is not going to laat always, and we must be as ready for the great Industrial battles of peace as we are trying to make our selves for the war we are now en gaged in waging. Lack of "prepared ness" has delayed our participation in the war. The French and the Eng lish have stood between ourselves and Germany, but there will be none to stand between us and our rivals In the contest for commercial su premacy which is to follow. Yea, we must be economical, and true economy will be vastly beneficial MONDAY EVENING, to us as a people, but we must not be penurious. We must live our lives as nearly normal as is possible. We must save where ever we can, but we must be careful not to over do it; not to ruin the businesses and indus tries upon which we will have to de pend for prosperity when the war trade ceases. ONE CASK TO APPEAL IF there is anything in the argu ment that one of the reasons the general assembly gave the Public Service Commission authority to regulate utilities was to prevent burdens upon the public either in the form of unjust rates or waste ful competition, it would seem that the decision of the commission that mergers of competing telephone companies can not be approved un der the constitution adopted 4\ years ago, is one which should be reviewed by the superior court. It is a case wherein there is a difference, of opinion among the commissioners themselves and about which law yers disagree. It presents the ques tion whether situations arising out of conditions unforeseen by the framers of the organic law of Penn sylvania are to be regulated by Im plication or whether public interest shall govern. The commissioner in the minority in the case writes that the people in the territory covered by the two telephone companies are confronted with a "twice the pay and half the service" proposition, which the ma jority report of the commission candidly admits when it declares "the operation of the competing lines of telephone in this particular district is uneconomic and wasteful." The majority holds that the consti tution and the acts passed in pur suance thereof prohibit consolida tion of competing telegraph lines and that courts and legislatives have classified the telephone with the telegraph. The minority holds that things coming into existence since 1873 and forming so vital a part of daily life as the telephone should not be arbitrarily placed un der the same restrictions as t.he telegraph. The telegraph was the chief mechanical means of long dis tance transmission of information known when the constitution was adopted and for convenience in In corporation of companies for tele phone development they were classi fied with the telegraph companies by exercise of "latitudinous power." No one can foretell' when thj people of Pennsylvania, who are rather weary of continual attempts to amend the constitution, will or dain a new constitutional conven tion and no one can foresee what new utilities may spring from the minds of Inventors, especially in an hour like the present, when the genius of America has been sum moned to devise new means of na tional defense. Ideas conceived in the crisis of war may be applied in astonishing ways to the arts of peace, just as the Prussian mind perverted the achievements of civil ization to the prosecution of war in its most diabolic form. The pro gress of science in annihilation of distance has been so marvelous that within a decade we may be employing hourly things as little thought of now as was competition in wireless telephoning or aero plane express service in the day of the Columbian Exposition. The habits of economy that the most ex travagant people on earth will have ingrained in them when this war is ended will be such as to refus to stand for what is patently "bad business" in industry, government or utilities. • Quite regardless of whether two telephone companies, two cold stor age companies or two sewage dis posal companies are involved, this case would seem to present a ques tion which should be taken before the appellate court. KEEPING OUR BOYS FIT THE letters from the Harrisburg boys now in the service of their country which have been print ed from time to time in the Tele graph have aroused more general in terest than any matter that has come through regular news sources. These letters are full of picturesque detail and breathe the very atmos phere of the military operations. Above all else is the optimism of these youths who have gone into the service with their eyes open and with patriotic devotion to their country which constitutes one of the bright est phases of the war. Now that our troops are on *.he very firing line in Europe, we shall have a keener appreciation of what these young men who have gone out from the hemes of Central Pennsyl vania and from every other part of the country are doing for the great cause that concerns all civilization. As the real situation is being forced home upon our people the concern of all good citizens In the welfare of the men in camps and at the front grows with the increasing knowledge of the difficulties and the perils and the hardships which en viron them. It ought not to be nec essary, under those conditions to urge the generous support of the great movement under the direction of the War Work Council, which contem plates recreational and other facili ties for the welfare and comfort of our soldier boys who have left com fortable homes In obedience to the call of their country and in pursu ance of a high apd lofty purpose. Harrisburg has been most gener ous in all campaigns for subscrip tions—the necessary campaigns which have been inaugurated since our entrance Into the war. A few men some months ago in this city subscribed over $12,000 for the maintenance of war work activities, but the need is now so great that a fund of <35,000,000 is being raised In the United States for this work and the city of Harrlsburg and Dau phin County together will be .asked for $50,000 of this amount. We believe that what is so ob viously necessary for the mainte nance of the morale of the troops, their comfort and efficiency ought not to require special urging at this time. We must fight this war to a successful finish and to do so we must see to it that our own soldiers are kept fit fMiictU By the Ex-Committeeman Practically the whole state is wait ing for two things growing out of the Philadelphia situation and they are expected to have a big effect not only upon the election of next week in the Quaker City but upon the making of state tickets next year. There are other developments of state-wide interest in that city as a result of the primary but these two are the greatest. The matters referred to are the decision of Judge H. A. Davis on the nominating petitions of the Town Meeting party, which is due to-day. and the request of the leaders of the Town Meeting to the Governor to detail state police to Philadelphia for election day. In the nominating petition battle in the court on Saturday things were rather favorable to the Town Meet ing party and its lawyers claim that Its candidates will be on the ticket. The request for state police is made in a letter which denounces the Philadelphia city police and puts up to the Governor for the first time whether state police should be used in city elections. —While there are many interest ing things going on in Philadelphia and there are signs that citizens are aroused there have been so many crusades undertaken in that city lately that it will take great work to overcome the regular ticket. The Vare organization is on its mettle and working day and night. Dis trict Attorney Rotan has started an investigation into thfe operations of magistrates and has issued a de mand on the mayor that police be taken out of politics, pledging him self to ask the next Legislature for a law which will place the force on a basis as that in London or the state police of Pennsylvania. Senator Pen rose has endorsed Rotan's stand, as have the Philadelphia newspapers. —The Town Meeting party has named candidates for council and prominent men such as A. Merritt Taylor have taken the stump for it. It is recognized that it is going to take hard work to defeat the admin istration in Philadelphia. —Congressman W. S. Yare and other Philadelphians are making an energetic protest to Secretary Baker against the dismemberment of the First and Second City troops of the First Cavalry. They are also pro testing against the dismemberment of the Third Regiment. —People here read with much in terest the merging of newspapers in Hazleton. That city now has one morning and one evening newspaper. The morning paper will be the Standard-Sentinel and the evening paper the Plain Speaker. —The Philadelphia Press has this Interesting editorial reference to the proposition to impeach Mayor Smith: "There is some merit in the 'recall' and its powers can be invoked under our present law by impeachment. If the people of Philadelphia realize as they should the enormity of Mayor Smith's action and shake off the un intelligent superstition that asso ciates national issues and local elec tions and will vote in sufficiently large numbers for the Town Meet ing candidates government by thug gery and murder will secure a much deserved rebuke In this city." —Chief Clerk George D. Thorn, I of the Department of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, has been com pelled to have a reprinting of the list of city and county-wide nominees in the state for the use of the sol diers on election day owing -to late reports made. It is expected to have the newlilts ready to deliver to the commissioners to take the votes who will meet here to-morrow afternoon for instruction and to receive their supplies from Secretary Woods. Gov ernor Brumbaugh will address the commissioners. —Designation of Captain George C. Lumb, deputy superintendent of state police, is expected to be made shortly as acting superintendent dur ing the leave of absence given Colo nel John C. Groome, the superinten dent. The names of several men have been heard as possible selec tions, but it is said to be the inten tion of the Governor to maintain the traditions of the force. —The mayoralty campaigns in Pittsburgh and Scranton, where the state administration people are tak ing as big an interest in the results as in Harrisburg will enter upon the final week with lines tightened. The candidates and their orators are scheduled to make many speeches and various charge# are being made already about the nominees. —"The Insider" in the Philadel phia Press has this to say: "My old friend 'Jimmy' Sheehan, he of the funny stories, is likely to receive the swiftest calldown of his gay life one of these nights when he tells a crowd that Senator McNichol will surely support the entire Republican tick et with all his resources. 'Jimmy' alleges that he has full authority from the Senator for his statement. I have heard men who are closer to McNichol than Sheelian is declare that he has never made any such statement and, as for authorizing any one to speak for hipi, all who know 'Jim' McNichol will agree that he has always talked for himself and never has delegated any person to speak for him politically. —A Philadelphia dispatch from Wilkos-Barre says: "Judge Fuller and his friends have made it per fectly plain to the rank and file of the Republican party that Shea, Emanski and Gallagher have lined up as a Democratic ticket, making the nonpartisan Judgeship campaign nonpartisan in name only. Repub licans have taken notice of this and Judge Fuller is now very properly linked as a candidate of the Repub licans, carried along by all the lead ers and supporters of the party." —Anent the Schuylkill judgeship, a Pottsvllle dispatch says: "Non partisan though the office may be, nevertheless there will be some par tisanship thrown into the campaign. It is conglomeration. Judge H. O. Bechtel is a Democrat. Judge C. E. Berger is a Republican. John Rob ert Jones is a Progressive, and James J. Bell a Democrat. Hence there are two Democrats, a Republican and a Progressive. Judges Bechtel and Berger start out with having the Re publican and Democratic organiza tions with them. That gives them prestige, which was proved at the HARRISBITRG TEEEGKXPH! OH, MAN! ... t • o 1 Herbert! WW- I ti-. v 1 It"* -p __ _ HAVE YOU DONIS . ; FIRONV TMC OOO* " TV,r | "TYA- tva vESSf^TT - * ' 0-V't"°". IYa-V,- W#Lff . " " \ f —I —" ~~ ~ 1 t— '' 1111111 111 (i > | MUST tell \ D'D i TELL \bo I j' I r- l&s&z,/ rs^^L \ DID" lTs A / MUST HCA I — \ YoO ,