6 f HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NBWSPAPBR FOR THB HOMB Fomndtd iJji Published evenings except Sunday by THB TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO., Telegraph Building, Federal Square. E.J. STACK POLE, Prts't Sr Edilor-in-Chirf F. R. OYSTER. Busintss Manager. GUB M. STEINMETZ, Managitie Editor. Member of the Associated Press —The Associated Press Is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches 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. t Member American Eastern office. Entered at the Post Office in Harris burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carriers, ten cents a • week; by mall, $5.00 a year in advance. TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1918 Only one life, it will soon be past; Only what's done lor Jesus icill last. DISCUSSION NOT WANTED IT was scarcely to be expected that the resolutions of the Harrisburg Democratic Association calling for "a free, unbossed, old-time Demo cratic gathering" in the form of a State convention to discuss merits of candidates for the important State offices to be filled this year would be received with uproarious acclaim at the headquarters of the regnant faction of the Democratic party in Pennsylvania. But the treatment 1 given to. the idea has been colder than the weather. The men about the headquarters say that they had not heard of the proposition until It was enunciated at the meeting of the State Capital Democrats and that they now have nothing to say. Lead ers have ignored the scheme entirely and most of the Democratic news papers give the action of the meeting inside page mention. The truth of the matter is that the Democratic bosses of Pennsylvania do not want a discussion of the merits of men suggested as candi dates in advance of the primary by iiny convention or other assemblage which can be considered as in any way representative of the minority party of the Keystone State. All the discussion necessary will be held at the National Capital, where the Democratic ticket for the second largest State in the Union was framed up just about four years ago, and where it is the plan to have less than half a docen men sit around a table to make it up for the men of Penn sylvania thig year. The fact that the voters repudiated the slate made by the Democratic bosses In 1914 by over 125,000 votes does not seem to have carried its lesson to these Bourbons. They are going to sit down and parcel out the nominations again and the result will be the same. The Harrisburg Democrats might as well have spared their thought, time, paper and Ink. No conventions or other gatherings are wanted this year or any other year while the present clique runs the Democracy of Pennsylvania. There is no need for discussioii. The so called leaders will meet, tag each other, run over to the White House | and then telegraph the news to wait ing Pennsylvania. v TIIE TAGLESS TAGGED need be no sympathy # wasted upon the man who tries to run an automobile to-day or '■ 80-morrow or any day this week with 1917 tag and gets arrested. He has had his chance. For weeks the newspapers have been filled with f urgings by Highway Commissioner J. ' Denny O'Neil for owners of motor vehicles to get their licenses for the new year. Plain notice was given that all applications made within 'a reasonable time would be filled and the tags in the hands of the proper persons so that they could be dis played wnere the law directs on New Year's Day. To take care of , the late comers the Automobile Di vision remained open last night until I midnight. It is estimated that 100,000 out of the 300,000 vehicles in the State were registered for 1918. Some people ire going to get Into trouble. It will be their own fault. The law requires licenses to be displayed on the first of the year. Thrfre is no use in hav ing a license Bystem if it does not start on a designated date and is en forced from that time. And there Is g* no excuse, in view of the ample V notices given, why anyone should W not have a tag. SHOES, SHIPS, SEALING WAX GEN. CROZIER, Chief of Ord nance, was the first witness heard by the Senate Committee which) is making an inquiry into the war activities of the Administration. He wds asked what his branch of the service did in the way of prepar ing for the inevitable war in the in , v terval between the departure of von Bemstorff and the actual declara tion yf war. "There was a great deal J TUESDAY EVENING, KARRISBTJRG ifSßb TELEGRAPH JANUATTTT, TTO of thinking and discussion," he re plied. The era of thought and discus sion at Washington is not yet over. After nine months of war, after our troops have been six months in France, the ratio of thinking and dis cussing to doing is almost at the sa cred figure of sixteen to one for which Mr. Bryan once fought so valiantly in the fiscal world. It will be "some time next summer," Gen. Crozier admits, before our army will i have measurably made up its defi ciency in cannon —and even then we shall have no calibers larger than six-inch. To-day we are dependant wholly upon the French and the English for the guns which our men are using against the Germans, and even after next summer we shall be dependent for the heavy guns, if we use any of them. Of course, cannon are not to be bought in the market like shingle nails; and the difficulties experienced in suddenly expanding our tiny mili tary establishment to di mensions are not to be underestimat ed. But thinking, discussion and the making of card catalogues will not win this war; and when one has to contemplate fifteen months of prec ious time passed before our troops can be only partly equipped with guns, it is evident that Congress has begun none too soon to make dili gent inquiry into the conduct of the war. THE K. OF C. DRIVE TO-MORBOW the Knights of of Columbus begin their drive for funds with which to main tain recreation centers in the Army encampments. The Y. M. C. A. and the Knights of Columbus are the only organizations doing this kind of work by authority of the govern ment. The sum they ask is very modest, in comparison with other I requests of the kind, and they de serve the support of the public, both because they themselves worked nobly and contributed generously to ward the success of the Y. M. C. A. drive and because their "huts" will be open to all soldiers, whether or not they are members of the order. Men of all sects and faiths are rep resented on the committees in charge of the campaign, as on all the others that have preceded it. Harrisburg and Dauphin county al ways respond to the call for aid in war work of any kind and there can be no question of the success of this latest phase of war giving. PARTY HARMONY FROM all quarters of the State come insistent demands of Re publicans for harmony in the party. County and district leaders and workers are practically a unit in urging that steps be taken to place the party organization in first class fighting shape for the impending campaign. The Republican press is also a unit in pointing the way to I efficient organization and co-opera tion. In his Tunlchannock speech W. D. B. Ainey, chairman of the Public Service Commission, made this decla ration; Political bickerings and mean ingless factional quarrelings have no proper place in the future of the Republican party in this State. There are so many oppor tunities for service that for us to spend our time in contentions over nonessentials is to betray our State. If we are to make a worthwhile contribution to our country we must take stock of ourselves. The economic problems whieh con front us call for the largest vision. If we have disagreements—and doubtless we must disagree some times— these Hisagreements should relate to fundamentals. We must recognize that the Commonwealth was not created, nor is it main tained, to serve political parties, or foment factionalism. Political parties may be separated by di vergent views as to great prin ciples, but these parties are onlv important as they serve the State. Factionalism that serves only personal ambition is lost effort. We must devote ourselves to the task of elaborating a program designated to meet the needs of the new problems that are facing us. It is upon the basis of our ability to subordinate the non essentials and emphasize the es sentials in our political affairs that we must rest our claim for continued recognition at the hands of the people. Mr. Ainey has clearly set forth the vital need of the Republican party at this time in Pennsylvania. We cannot go on inviting disaster through factionalism and the promo tion of personal animosities. Now is the time to get together, to forget the past so far as it relates to party differences, and to combine for con structive and vigorous party action. Mr. Ainey has voiced the general sentiment of the Republicans of the State and it should not be difficult j under the circumstances to start the new year with a clean party slate and a determination to pull together for victory in 1918. IN A NUTSHELL THE Saturday Evening Post of current issue sums up in a sin gle paragraph the cause of news paper and congressional criticism of the administration's conduct of the war, when, speaking of the cabinet, it says: That organization is doing an enormous work; in many respects doing it very efficiently; and. on the whole broad view, petting steadily forward with it. On the other hand, it is absurd to claim that the Government is organized as it would have been If anyone had deliberately and disinterest edly organized it to undertake the vast task of this war, or that it has not blundered and wasted time. It contains some very In conspicuous abilities, while some of the most conspicuous abilities in the nation are excluded from it. People don't like that. That is precisely the situation. There are little men in big places, while really big men are left with nothing to do, as in the case of former Presidents Taft and Roose velt, or side-tracked, as was General Wood. All this for the sake of poli tics, while the life of the nation is at stake. As the Post intimates, Lord Northcliffe's view of Lloyd George might apply to President Wilson, to wit, that he is nn able man with two or three able men about him and the remainder "mostly shirt fronts and rubber stamps." 'foUtic* LK By the Ex-Committeeman Men active in political affairs are discussing with great Interest the possible effect of the decision of Judge Aaron S. Swartz, of Mont gomery county, that a ballot is not invalidated by the voter marking the party square and also marking a candidate in a column. The vet eran Montgomery judge gave the de-cieion, as noted yesterday on this page, in ruling on election of a justice of the peace in Hatfield bor ough. He held that the Democratic candidate for justice was elected be cause one voter had marked the So cialist square and then voted for the Democratic candidate for justice. There was no Socialist nominee for the office. The place hinged on that one vote. Application of this decision would restore about 22,000 votes to the Town Meeting party nominees in Philadelphia, it is contended by some, and defeat the so-called Smith-Vare ticket, because many voters marked Town Meeting and then voted for District Attorney Rotan. The effect may be to stir up the Philadelphia contest again and to have the matjter reviewed In the higher courts. It is noted by various newspapers that Judge Swartz has seldom been reversed. —The silence with which the sug gestion of an unbossed convention to discuss merits of candidates for state offices in advance of the primary has been received by the Democratic machine leaders is being much commented upon. The weather is a more pleasant topic about the Democratic state windmill than the VanDyke resolution just now and the refusal to discuss the subject seriously rather indicates that it has? been placed on the list of topics which must not be talked of under pain of being declared un true to the faith. —The Democratic bosses who are to meet on_the banks of the Potomac this week to write down the names of the men the Democratic voters of Pennsylvania are to accept as can didates for 1918 will hardly call a convention, but intimate that the meeting of the state committee, which will be held after the primary will answer all purposes. —Newspapermen and men who follow politics say that the signs nre that the conference on the banks of the Potomac to make a slate for Pennsylvania will likely insist upon Vance C. McCormick, Democratic national chairman, running for Gov ernor again. Some hold that it is the presidential plan to have Mc- Cormick with the prestige of the chairmanship, what ever that may amount to. try his luck again in the Keystone State and if he wins to enter the presidential lists, as Patti son tried to do. Others think that the national chieftains are sending McCormick to Waterloo in order to clear the path for the President's real choice. —Hugh Evans, appointed chief clerk in the Lackawanna register of wills office, is a brother-in-law of Federal Judge Witmer. —John A. Eckert, Jersey Shore editor, has been appointed mercan tile appraiser of Lycoming county. —Scranton firemen have started a campaign for a raise in wages. —Tax Receiver W. Freeland Ken drlck, of Philadelphia, occasioned considerable surprise In political circles yesterday by announcing the appointment of Daniel Wade as deputy tax collector to succeed James E. Herron, who was dis missed after 20 years' service be cause of his failure to support Ihe "50-50 ticket" last November. Mr. Wade was active in Democratic, af fairs for some years. In VII 3he was the fusion candidate for Tax Re ceiver against Mr. Kendrick. It was reported at the time that he was put on the fusion ticket at the Instance of Michael J. Ryan. —New Castle is to lose its last So cialist office holder this week. W. V. Tyler, city councilman, and for mer mayor, who held on to a city job longer than any other member of his party, swept into office during the upheaval here six years ago, is finishing his term. He held the office of mayor for four years and was elected a city councilman two years ago. Tyler was out for re-election last fall, but was turned down. —Auditor General A. Snyder, who yesterday confirmed the reports that he dismissed five Powell appointees from the office of the Allegheny county mercantile appraiser, will take up the question of what changes to make in the office of the Philadelphia register of wills where the Auditor General has some appointments. Mr. Snyder was not here to-day, but there were intimations that he would an nounce his decisions by the end of the week. The action of the Audi tor General is likely to be followed by some moves here. —The fact that January 1 came without a number of people being given •fralklng papers at the Capitol created some surprise to-day. Mr. Snyder had given Information that he would not pay certain attaches of the State Insurance Fund after January 1. Indications are that the Fund's officers are going to stand pat with the backing of the Attor ney General. LABOR NOTES Twenty-five per cent, of the total number of munition workers in Eng land are women. Montreal, Quebec, fur workers have Improved conditions, securing an in crease in wages, 48-hour week and full recognition of their union. Female operatives In the shirt and collar industries of Derry, Ireland, will make a demand for a war bonus. The eight-hour day Is being estab lished in New Bedford, Mass., cotton yarn mills by Stationary Firemen's Union. Belfast (Ireland) Corporation lias decided to grant a war bonus of $125 to each employe receiving a 'salary of $2,000 and less. St. Louis, Mo., metal polishers have had wages Increased from 40 to 50 cents an hour; work week reduced from fifty-four to forty-nine and a half hours. Women convlctß in Alabama are sold to contractors for 15 cents a day and housed In filthy stockades. A city ordinance has been passed at Orange, Tex., which provides that all contract work for the city shall be done by union IT HAPPENS IN THE BEST REGULATED FAMILIES BY BRIGGS I UStCfO MARY- THC HCAOeRSI \ I, ~ _ ~ ) .op TWuS "PAPER Think \*J6 . "AnD I'M <3OfM6 To/ \FimF- FINE- VOJ HAPPY P— i ARE AS HAPPY AS A PAIR CUT DOWU OU MV / r r VEAR MARY-/ MAPPY KJEW AMD J I IF I R happy wew Year Joe / ■show we. ARe . _.— —=/ happen TO C,EJY \"Y EW yJ - SA E 7l> / -K&rr V"= LM V\ * I YOU DEAR/ KMOUJ BUT- IM I IMA WE A' * AJ ) . 60IHG r^>OrrJ&>,[ Yes > jT>J* E UkJA£ri/-^Ox. rDo You EXPECT ME\ fOw — OM? - Yoo r H(N \ All Risht / SfiH? 1 -Shouux STAY UP There - f AMT> RESOLUTIONS-. I S^ Se A<S-LOM6~AS YOO &)ANT TO. YX M R TTT T ,RT/ ''/ I Yoo ARE. SO PERFECT |T MeAM s NOTHING WHAT LET 7u SET AVAJAV _Y ; y oU HAVG. To [T- \ 5©- evER To ME. I'LL / <AMTH IT (MAKE RESOLUTIONS '. _J fOH | < GO WJHEPE I AM J Over tta A tale of extremely hard luck comes from Erie where the chief of the fire department killed a twenty five pound turkey with Jcindness. Keeping him at a fire engine house the turkey was so completely fed that when they were about to assassinate him for New Year's Day he wabbled around a few moments and dropped dead. If the moving picture censors of Pennsylvania want to do the public a good turn let them provide muzzles for those who insist on reading out loud the explanatory text on the screen. "Our gunners got the range at last and dropped a shell right in among 'em; when I looked again they was gone!" "For good?" "Well, miss, they went in that di rection!" Harrisburg might take a hint. In Allentown prisoners sentenced at police court and transients are to be put to work chopping kindling wood which will be given to the Associated Charities for distribution to the poor. John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism, once said: "Make all you can; save all you can; give all you can." He is man's best friend. "Clinging desperately to cakes of ice in the Conestoga creek, near Peoples bridge, for more than one-half hour on Christmas afternoon, August Ellis, aged 50 years, of Sunnyside, was rescued from his plight by neighbors, who were attracted to his predicament by the sharp, prolonged barks of a faithful dog." Hostility of the younger members to German led to an epoch-making step by the Reformed Church con sistory at Leesport, made up chiefly of Pennsylvania Germans, when It announced that there will be no more German preaching at services. At one time all the services were in German. The State Press One of the most amazing develop ments of the war is the recovery of Belgium. Let us not pity her. A nation that rises above overwhelm ing woes is not a nation to pity. She should rather be admired for her virile strength. Man for man, Bel gium's soldiers are the biggest, phy sically, on the western front. Their spirit is beyond praise. To-day af ter holding Germany for three years their army is "vastly larger" than when flung back into the last re maining corner of their territory.— Altoona Mirror. We haven't of course been living under a perfect form of government, no people ever has or ever will, but we firmly believe that our form of government has been the most near ly perfect, with all its Imperfections, that any people have yet had the privilege of enjoying.—York Ga zette. The next step to be expected is the taking over of the mines by the gov ernment so that they may be operat ed with maximum efficiency and to Insure an equitable distribution of the product throughout the country and at fair Instead of present exor bitant prices which are in some cases resulting In one hundred per cent, dividends.—Pottsvllle Republican. Starting on January 7 Lancaster and Altoona will provide the foun tains of contrast between a city rule by seat warmers and one under business direction, and thus we will be provided the direct evidence upon which to base a verdict finding that the seat warmer is either a public good or a public evil. —Lancaster Intelligencer. Locomotives belch huge volumes of smoke that are hurled by the winds over houses and through streets. That is the annoying fea ture that ought to be stopped. But there Is an economical feature. This black smoke, destructive of private property, means the willful and wicked throwing away of fuel, and If the railroads will not of their own accord prevent the waste, they should be forced to.—Philadelphia Inquirer. REST ATTAINED BY FAITH For we which have believed do en ter Into rest.—Hebrews lv. t. When the Fate of Prussia Rested in a Vial of Poison ON the evening of August 12, 1759. Frederick II of Prussia, soldier, statesman and first Teutonic ruler to dream of a pan- Germany, gave way to despair for the first and only time in his career. For five years, with the financial aid of England, he had been fighting the allied armies of Austria, Russia, Saxony and Sweden —the first five years of the Seven Years' War which changed the course of history on three continents and the high seas. His army utterly routed at Kuners dorf in the afternoon, after appar ently winning the victory In the morning, Frederick's grasp on mili tary scieflce showed him that the war was over—that the following up of the day's battle meant an end to all his dreams, a partition of his domi nions among the enemy allies and the wiping out forever of the Prus sian nation. No wonder, then, that he wrote to Finckensteln, his minister, that night; "I have no resources left, and, to tell the truth. I hold all for lost. I shall not survive the ruin of my country. Farewell forever." No wonder that he turned the command of his army over to Gen eral Finck and departed with the vial of poison he had kept in readi ness to end his own life rather than submit to capture. That he fully in tended to commit suicide that fate ful night nearly all historians are agreed. History's Course Changed Over Night Had Frederick drunk the poison, the entire course of the world would have been changed. There would have been no German Empire to threaten Christian civilization with domination one hundred and fifty years later in a war eclipsing all previous conceptions of human con flict. And, of immediate conse quence, there would have been no FreiTs?lck the Great, for Frederick II gained this title as a result of the Seven Years' War. Destiny had other plans for the chief actor in the drama, however. The Austrians and Russian armies which at Kunersdorf had killed, wounded and captured 18,500 of Frederick's men, leaving him only a bare 3,000, failed to follow up their advantage the next day. Frederick took new hope and the war dragged FARM LOAN BANKS [Philadelphia Press.] | When the farm loan bank experi ment was formally launched by Con- I gress at the bidding of the Adminis tration, it was heralded as a need that long existed and a boon that would work wonders. So far it has decidedly failed to live up to the glowing promises that were made for it. It has now struck shallow water and a whirl in the money current, and the Secretary of the Treasury had to plead to Congress to help it through the rapids. Congress was asked to come to its relief with one hundred million dollars now, and a similar* amount next year. The Sen ate has responded by granting the first request, but refused to give any assurance for next year. This action makes it evident that Congress has very decided doubts i about how the experiment is working out, also that there will be a very watchful eye kept upon the farm bank system. There were many pre dictions at the time the law was passed that the proposed system was too cumbersome and tnelastlc, and that It would fall of carrying out its advertised purpose. At the outset, the government advanced the capital for the most part for many or all of the farm loan banks. This was done with the express provision that as fast as convenient the government would get out, by selling its stock. This meant that the government would take the early risks, showing private capital the way and giving It time to observe the project and be come satisfied that it Is safe and profitable. This important fact has yet to be shown. Some of the banks In which government capital Is Invested are understood to be losing money and to a considerable amount. The re turns have not met expenses. Conse quently there has been no demand on the part of private capital to buy out the interest of the government In these banks. The government can not get out until the system proves itself from a business standpoint. So Congress was asked to make good for the government, and provide the money for the purchase of farm loan bonds that at present have no active market Unless the system on, the odds still all against the Prus sians. At the close of 1761, worse became worst when England, certain now of victory in America'and India and sure of the mastery of the seas against France and Spain, withdrew its financial support from Prussia through the decision of the new king, George 111, to seek peace. The end to Prusia again seemed imminent. Then the tide turned with the death of Elizabeth of Russia, Jan uary 5, 1762. Her nephew, Petei;, of Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, ascended the Russian throne, and as he was a "poor silly* creature of coarse and brutal manners" thoroughly imbued with a high admiration for Frederick the Great, his first act was to con clude peace with Prussia, and his next to place the Russian troops at Frederick's disposal for use against their erstwhile allies, the Austrians. Soon Sweden followed Russia's lead and signed a treaty of peace with Frederick, as Rumania has fol lowed the Russian Republic's lead in making peace with Germany in the war now raging. Established As Empire Builder Only once after that was the ul timate triumph of Frederick threat ened. That was in July, when Cath erine, consort of Peter of Russia, deposed her spouse, locked him in a castle and seized the throne, becom ing Czarina Catherine 11. A few days later Peter was strangled by her admirer, Alexus Orloff, and his death was announced by Catherine in a decree in which she said: 'God finally permitted him to de part this life." But if her first impulse was to turn against Frederick, she thought better of it, and confirmed the peace with Prussia. And while she with drew her troops from the front, they were permitted to remain for a time as noncombatants to make a show ing at Burkersdorf which convinced the Austrians that they were hope lessly outnumbered. Winning that battle, Frederick permitted the Rus sian army to retire. It was a bit of Eighteenth Century camouflage of which the Prussian ruler was mas ter. A truce with Austria came when winter threatened, and Frederick, having added to his dominions, es tablished Prussia as the ruling Ger man kingdom, and himself as an em pire builder. good in another year, it must face a very insistent demand for its elimina tion or a very radical change in its provisions. SONG OF THE NEW YEAR I heard the bells at midnight Ring in the dawning year; And above the clanging chorus Of the song, I seemed to hear A choir of mystic voices Flinging echoes, ringing clear, From a band of angels winging Through the haunted atmosphere "Ring out the shame and sorrow, And the misery and sin, That the dawning of the morrow May In peace be ushered In." And the thought of all the trials The departed years had cost, And the blooming hopes and pleas ures That are withered now and lost; And with joy 1 drank the music Stealing o'er the feeling there As the spirit song came pealing On the silence everywhere: "Ring out the shame and sorrow. And the misery and sin, That the dawning of the morrow May in peace be ushered in." And I listened as a lover To an utterance that flows In syllables like dewdrops From the red lips of a rose. Till the anthem, fainter growing. Climbing higher, climbing on Up the rounds of happy rhyming. Slowly vanished in the dawn: "Ring out the shame and sorrow, And the misery and sin, That the dawning of the morrow May in peace be ushered in." Then I raised my eyes to Heaven, And with trembling lips I plead For a blessing for the living And a pardon for the dead; And like a ghost of music Slowly whispered—slowly sung— Came the echo pure and holy In the happy ahgel tongue: "Ring out the shame and sorrow, And the misery and sin, That the dawning of the morrow May in peace be ushered In." —James Whltcomb Riley. Written January 1, 1877, and pub lished In the Indianapolis Journal, January 10, 1877. Published in book form only in Riley's Biographical Edition. EDITORIAL COMMENT Don't put the If In thrift.—Boston Herald. These young chaps who feel that they must wear one of those swagger belted trench-overcoats might be re minded that they can get one, free of charge, from their Uncle Samuel. — Nashville Southern Lumberman. Trotzky is now said to be worth $500,000. Probably it is meant that lie has ricked up that amount some where. However, we take back the implication Trotzky is probably worth $500,000 to the Kaiser—Chi cago Daily News. Dernburg gives good advice to the German diplomatic staff when telling it to show some respect for the prob abilities in telling a lie. "Our lies," he complains, "are clumsy and Im probable," which statement may be taken as expert testimony.—San Francisco Chronicle. Russia's reds appear to be giving the people the blues. —Nashville Southern Lumberman. The German hope of changing the name-spelling to Palesteln is gone forever. —New York Morning Tele graph. The British will soon fix It so that a man can go from Jerusalem to Jericho without falling among thieves.—Erie Dispatch. The trouble with The Masses was that its editors tried to camouflage themselves with the letter "M."— Philadelphia Inquirer. As an opportunity for the German Crown Prince to show his ability, the war may already be said to be a failure. —Columbus Dispatch. OUR DAILY LAUGH I A GOOD PLAN. * Her husband ) lets her have her own way in It's a good don't want to do half as many | things she used .11 to when she / I l|M thought he was going to object I \ i ntjßF to her doing I mWhHH some of them. I EXCEPTION WE ALL Children (f should be seen J \ ijT and not heard. Hh I fl Not exactly. If I I I" If you say other l\ A \ I people's chll -1 dren should be i il I I seen and not ) heard 111 ag:r * # iru-Buv A U.S. IN LIBERTY w>w> ( BONDS. gave up your cola you'll A find It best, fSeL- LV Said Wise Old Mr. Kent, Ihe thriftless fellow, Il V can't Invest \JI(/ [ The money Vml I 1 he has . THE CHANGE. ITo How's your 1 x coal 1 /■Mi queer About iUW that. A little pile a few years ago that used to HIB; Slide in the JNMr corner and re- Mmf mind me to or mW der more is con* JHvl sldered a full bin nowaday* f&ntbtg CMjat New Year's Day has always been what one might term some occasion in Harrisburg, but the average man does not know that the day has an unusual , significance for the city which is the capital of Pennsylvania and the queen city of the Susque hanna. It was on January 1, 172t>* that John Harris got his first war rant for the land on which he later established Iris trading post and which was subsequently the first for tified place on the Susquehanna. It is a fascinating story about the way the land on which this city stands became the property of the sturdy Yorkshire man who planned to make it a city before the French and In dian war broke over the province and brought the warcry of the sav- ages close to the stockade around his house. Penn's people dickered with the Indians for the banks of the Susquehanna as early as 1695 and while the land below the First Mountain was formally sold to the Penns some ten years later, there was always a question whether the Indians who sold it had a right to it as they happened to be the ones on top in a series of tribal wars that had made this section a battleground for a century before Penn came. The land above the mountain was not deeded to the Penns until Harris time. It is said that Penn advised his friend Harris to locate on the Susquehanna because he had heard that the French had post on the west bank, about where New Cum berland is situated, and that there was a ford in the river which had been used by Indians from time im memorial, and which was a veritable cross roads of trails. It did not take Harris very long after he arrived here, either in 1717 or 1718, the for mer date being generally accepted as the date of his arrival, to appreciate the junction of the Cumberland and Lebanon valleys, as they are today, and the natural situation of the pres ent site of Harrisburg. It is sup posed that John Evans, who came to the Indian village hereabouts to ar rest a bad Indian in 1707, told Penn something about the place Harris came and built his stockade and 192 ! years ago today received his first i warrant or deed for the land on which his son laid out the city which was to bear the family name. The location of Indian villages about here has always been a sub ject of delightful study for the boys of Harrisburg and Indeed of a num ber of Its men. The late Governor Pennypacker, who knew all about this section, insisted that there were Indians living alongside the kno'l which is now Capitol Hill a couple of centuries before Penn came and that if there had not been fights between the factions of the Susque hannas and troubles of the irruption of the Shawanese from the South that the white men would have had trouble getting the ford. As an evi dence he pointed to the fact that the Penns did not get the lands above the mountain at Rockville until long after they had the banks below the gap. There was a well-established Indian village at the mouth of the Paxton which is now Lochiel and one that spread from the ford, which ex ists just above Paxton street to the run that rambles under the houses of the Fourth ward and It is not too much of a stretch of the imagina tion to have the Indians using the knoll that is now the Capitol for sig nal fires. Maybe they had war dances there. There have been many there since the Red Man faded away from the banks of the Sus quehanna. The district above Reily street was an Indian burying ground. Discovery of bones, stone hatchets < and other things in digging cellars proves that. There have been a number of instances where men dig ging for foundations for Front street homes, opened graves of Indians who had been so long buried that the bones crumbled soon after being un covered, but beside which were found Indian implements. • * * Weil-authenticated Indian villages existed at Middletown and Millers burg as well as here, and Duncan's island was a regular Indian capital. It was fought over many times, if the presence of arrow heads and hatchets tells anything. Harris pre empted it in 1733, but the Indians made such a fuss that he gave it up. It Is one of the traditions of the river that Duncan's island had some mys terious meaning to the Indians, and that if they could not dominate it because of their tribal ructions they would not let the white man farm it. It was not until 1745 that it was even surveyed, and then the Indians objected. Later on a great mound was found on the island which when used to build a dam was found to contain many bones of Indians. It is supposed that it was a burial place after one of the big battles. Even now there are many finds of arrow heads made on the island and it was a fighting plave as late as the French and Indian war. People who lived on the island did so at peril of their lives for years. West Bank Indian villages were about the mouths of the Yellow Breeches and Conodogulnet creeks and where Lc moyne now stands. The latter vil lage is well established by things found In the fields of the Hummel farm fifty years ago. The mouth , of Sherman's creek was the site of a big camp of Indians. • * * In trading days New Year's Day was a big occasion at Harris ferry and the custom of observing the day was given renewed impetus when the town began to grow after the Revo lution. After the erection of the county in 1785 Harrisburg was noted for hospitality and thirty five taverns are reported by a French traveler. These were places of much celebration on the first day of the year, according to stories that have come down, and the observance of the day must have been rather bibu lous. And it may be added that old account books show that some of the first families had a lot of wine of Maderia on hand about that time of the year. waL KNOWN PEOPLE —Mayor-Elect A. T. Connell, of Scranton, likes to tell of the days he spent In the Klondike. —D. W. Kuhn, the fuel adminis trator In Allegheny county, threat ens to bring suits If people do not shut off the lights which they ar® ordered to extinguish at night. —Dr. R. V. Mattison, the Ambl*.. magnate, has retired from the eletw trie business to give his time to aS>. bestos manufacture for the Govern ment. ■—A. M. Masonhelmer, Carbon county clergyman, has been as chaplain of the Laurytown aim?* house in the Middle Coal field poor district. —John E. Heyburn, who will re tire soon as sheriff of Delaware, plans to go to France. | DO YOU KNOW [ < Tlint HaiYlshurK site was vis ited by Penn's agents as early as 1708? HISTORIC HARRISBURG Every Harrisburg church was of fered .for the use of the Legislature when this place was chosen as tht capital,, - ■ -
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