8 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded iijr Published evenings except Sunday by THE TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO., Telegraph Hiilldlnc, Federal Square. *. J. ST ACKPOLE, & Editor-in-Chief V. K. OYSTER, Business Manager. GUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing 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. I Member American Newspaper Pub lishers' Assocla- Bureau of Circu lation and Penn sylvania Associ ated Dailies. Kattern office. Story, Brooks & Avenue Building, Western office. Story, Brooks & Finley, Xntered at the Post Office In Harrls burg. Pa, as second class matter. , By carriers, ten cents a week; by mall. $6.00 a yoar in advance. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, ltlS ' . — Verily I say unto yon. Whosoever mhall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. —MATT. 10:15. WANTED—A PRACTICAL HEAD THE conditions which now exist in the Water Department as a result of a mistaken policy of economy are so serious as to justify the greatest care possible in overcom ing a situation which involves peril for the whole community. The penriy-wise-pound-foolish theory of municipal administration invariably leads to troublo and while there may be temporary popularity In "saving at the spigot while losing at tho bung" in the end comes adverse criti cism, and worse. In the present instance, the wel fare of the city is at stake and there ought never again to arise such a situation as confronts Harrisburg by reason of the policy of reducing wa ter rents at the expense of necessary equipment and expansion of the pumping and reservoir facilities. We are assured that every effort Is now being made to place the pump ing station in first-class shape, but until the broken machinery shall have been replaced and the equip ment is up to the requirements the people are bound to be more or less nervous over a possible shortage of tho water supply. It is not improbable, however, that out of this serious development may come a realization on the part of tho people that it is up to them to give a little more attention to the selection of proper officials to conduct the nec essary business than has been the case in recent years. And the pres ent municipal body must learn the lesson right here that trifling with the vital welfare of the community will not long be condoned by the peo ple. In the reorganization of the com missioners for 1918 the apportion ment of duties must be made with reference to fitness and nothing else. Whoever is placed at the head of the Department of Public Safety, which Includes the water works, should have at his elbow a practical assist ant who will give his whole time and attention to tho proper supervlsloiv-of this important public utility. After the experience through which we are now passing there will be no excuse for any further failure and no expen diture, however large. Is too big to be made when necessary for the protec tion and safeguarding of the health *nd security of the community. MUDDLING O.F course, the newspaper or In dividual who has the temerity event to express a difference of opinion regarding any feature of the present administration at Washing ton will be accused In certain quarters of lack of patriotism, but unless there Is a quick change of front regarding many thingß that affect the Interests of the people, there will bo a whirlwind of protest before the year Is much oldor. It Is perhaps reasonable that fhe enemy should be given no comfort through criticism of military effort or lack of preparation, but when It comes to civic administration, as In the case of the revenue measures and tho regulations growing out of their enforcement, the people have a right to be heard. And they are being heard with great frequency nowadays, especially with reference to the muddled Interpretations or lack of interpretation of the Income tax features of the revenue laws. Since the turn of the year bankers and lawyers and the people gen erally have' been wondering how they are to construe certain provisions of the war tax law and even the spe cial representatives of the govern ment sent out through the country to help the taxpayers make proper returns are unable to clear up mooted questions growing out of the apecl'tl tax features imposed under the war revenue measure. If It Is difficult for experts to tell what a law means and what is re quired of tho people, how under the heavens are the people themselves i . •.! : -7 —_— . 1 ■ THURSDAY EVENING HABHI6BURG TELEGRAPH fANUART 3, 1918, to determine theso matters? Too They have all been making so much many "worthy" Democrats may he I money that the average is possibly muddling the situation, perhapi. STAND IW HOOVER FARMER PRKSIDENT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT'S endorsement of Herbert Hoover comes at a time when the federal food controller is sorely in need of popular sup port. He,, has been subjected to un mercifully severe criticism at the hands of the congressional probers and is in danger of losing that confidence which the public has reposed In him. Mr. Taft points out that Mr. Hoover, in accepting the controllership, was actuated only by the highest patriotic principles and that while his orders have worked some hardship they have been of Inestimable value in conserving the food supply not only of this country but of the allies as well, and that as a result the country has been saved a disaster of the first magnitude. Unquestionably, Hoover has made a lot of enemies. He has also made a number of mistakes. But as a whole what the former president says of him is true. It must not bo forgotten that Mr. Hoover is a man of inde pendent means and that he is now working without salary, save the dollar a year which the government allows in such cases as his. As a re sult of his splendid efforts in Bel glum, where at the outbreak of the war he saved the people of that stricken country from starvation, he became acquainted as no other man in the world was, or Is, with the food supplies of the world and he early recognized the necessity of food con servation In this country for the per iod of the war. He has done a mar velous work and has Induced the people voluntarily to do many things in the way of "wheatless" and "meatless" days and the like, which governmental mandates were requir ed to bring about In other countries at war. It is worth while to know that not one of his acts, so far as the con gressional inquiry has developed, is open to suspicion and that in almost every Instance his judgment has proved to be sound. The opinion of Mr. Taft is that no mere personal antagonisms should be allowed to stand between this na tion and the successful prosecution of the war, and he chides those who place their selfish interests before those of the nation as a whole. This is a proper view and if it were work ed out in practice at Washington, there would not be so many blun ders, nor so many little men in big places. RAILROAD CONTROL GOVERNMENT control of the railroads of the country c! a -Ingr the war will determine once and for all the question of government, ownership of these great public transportation agencies. It must nor. be forgotten by the people that the very thing which the law has prevented—the pooling of traffic facilities—is now being done under government direction, with the result that embargoed freight is moving with increasing activity everywhere. Practical patriotism has beon demonstrated by the railroad offi cials all over the country. The vol untary act of the 693 railroads of the United States In merging their competitive activities for the period of the war and the uniting of all in one continental system was a fine exhibition of constructive patriotism by the great transportation agencies. Co-ordination of the nation's car riei-s was the only solution of the big problem. Freight congestion will rapidly disappear under this sane treatment of an increasingly serious situation. Thousands of cars have been saved for general traffic by the pooling of coal and lake ore. We must remember, as we go deeper into the war, that it is not possible to do in a war period the things that were possible and .-eas onable in peace times. Nor should we forget that the railroad corpora tions have been hampered almost to the limit of utter demoralization by regulations that even the govern ment found It necessary to eliminate in the Interest of the fullest use of tho transportation systems of the country. We must realize —everyone of us —that the United States Is in this war to the finish and that it is in conceivable there will be no mis takes. We are putting the power of the country in high gear for a smashing blow at the Prussian menace and It will be necessary for all of us to cultivate all the patience possible, even to the extent of al lowing to pass unnoticed many of the utterly bone-headed things that are done In the name of govern ment. But it can hardly be expected that people will shut their eyes to purely political maneuvering under such conditions. ' ONE IN TWENTY-SEVEN ASSUMING that the state of Pennsylvania has 8,000,000 peo ple and that there are 300,- 000 automobiles or trucks or other motor vehicles, that means one for each twenty-seven persons, to be lib eral. And yet It is not one of the States where automobiles are really numerous. A year ago it was esti mated that there were 8,500,000 automobiles In the whole United States or one to each twenty-nine persons. That number must have materially Increased in the last year, just as the registrations at the State Highway Department showed a gain. It may be added that the bulk of the cars in the UnltejJ States last year were owned in the big agricul tural States of the West and the group of threo States just to the west of Pennsylvania, which are the center of the car-making industry. Some of those States had a car to every eighteen or twenty persons. higher now. But Pennsylvania Is doing fairly well to have one car for every twen ty-seven persons. It means that all of us will get a ride some time dur ing the year anyway and that Com missioner O'Nell will have a constant flow of money through licenses to lteep up the main highways. T>EA*C* u By the Ex-Conunittecman Men who have been following the course of the controversy between Auditor General Charles A. Snyder and the officers of the State Insur ance Fund over the Auditor General's desire to audit the fund are of the opinion that the matter will go to court and that a general opinion as to the powers of the Auditor General will be given. The act of 1810 gives the Auditor General authority over all public accounts. The Attorney General has held in effect that the fund is not a public account. The next move will be made by Ihe Audi tor General. Next week argument wil be heard in the Supreme Court on the "re cess appointments," mandamus ac tion and it is possible that before this suit is decided that another em bracing in a broad way powers of the Auditor General, will be inau gurated. Mr. Snyder's charges that the fund administrative charges were exces sive, were denied in a vigorous state ment by W. J. Roney, manager of the fund last night. —County Treasurer Edward D. Frlebertshauser, of Allegheny, has announced that he had appointed Edward M. Kenna, ex-legislator, to succeed Samuel J. Grenet as county delinquent tax collector. Mr. Kenna Just has completed his term of serv ice as mercantile appraiser, a posi tion in which he was elected by the county commissioners. Prior to his selection for mercantile appraiser, Mr. Kenna had served as police mag istrate, having been appointed to that position by Mayor Joseph G. Arm strong soon after the latter entered upon his term as city executive," says the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times. "Mr. Kenna has been active in politics for many years. The position he now takes Is regarded as the finest in the county. Among those who served in it before Mr. Grenet were Archibald Mackrell, Max G. Leslie and Dr.,E. R. Walters." —Ex-Representative William Walsh, Vare leader of the Fortieth ward, will succeed City Treasurer elect Frederick J. Shoyer as a mem ber of the Philadelphia Board of Registration Commissioners. Gover nor Brumbaugh will make the ap pointment this week, Mr. Shoyer having tendered his resignation pre paratory to assuming his new duties next Monday morning. The office of registration commissioner pays $3,- 000 annually, while that of city treasurer pays SIO,OOO. Mr. Walsh is a member of the Republican city committee and a friend of the Gov ernor. —The job of chief of police of Pottstown which has been going begging has finally been filled by ap pointment of Harry L. Swavely. —Conrad G. Graeber, new deputy revenue collector for Northumber land county, was formerly deputy county treasurer and is a very active Democrat. —Wllkes-Barre will get more po licemen and a pistol range for them to practice in. —The Philadelphia North Amer ican attacks the city administration for failing to establish the two-pla-- toon police system. —Judge Groman, of Lehigh coun ty, has ruled that owing to the war Lehigh should not go to the expense of a new courthouse. —Williamsport women are insist ing upon a woman being chosen as city treasurer. ' —The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Senator W. C. Sproul will make announcement of his candidacy for governor within a week. The Bul letin says that notwithstanding the apparent agreement of the factions on Sproul there will be a continua tion of the warfare in Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh Gazette-Times inti mates that announcements will be made before long. —George W. Acklin, Collector of Customs for Pittsburgh district, died a few days ago. He was well known among Democrats of the state and frequently attended conventions jnd other meetings. There are a num ber of deserving Democrats at Pitts burgh willing to become his succes sor. —Frank H. Anderson, well known to a number of Harrisburgers, re tires next week as Burgess of Wil kinsburg and was given a watch by his policemen. —Turner W. Shacklett, the new Postmaster at Erie, has been re warded for much Democratic serv ice, including some hopeless runs for Congress. Shacklett attracted some attention at Democratic state gatherings here by his fervency. He was a national delegate once. —Western Pennsylvanians are ex pecting the visit of Senator Penrose to Pittsburgh next week to be very important. The Senator will spend four days In Pittsburgh. —District Attorney Nevin A. Cort, of Westmoreland, has named W. T. Dom, formerly District Attorney, as his first assistant; Robert E. Best, of Jeanette, as second assistant, and Paul L. Feightner, of Greensburg, as county detective. James B. Galla gher, re-elected Clerk of Courts, and W.Dick Hunter re-elected Prothono tary, will make no changes in the personnel of their office forces. —Fred L. Roberts, secretary to Mayor Joseph G. Armstrong, of Pittsburgh, has been appointed Su perintendent of the Bureau of Rec reations by Director John Swan, of the Department of Public Works. The appointment becomes effective immediately. W. F. Ashe has been Superintendent of the Bureau until about six months ago, when he en tered the federal service as a super visor of recreation camps near the various cantonments. Since that time Roy D. Schooley, chief clerk in the Public Works Department, has been acting as superintendent in connection with his regular duties. Mr. Roberts has been in the city service for fifteen years, entering as private stenographer to the then Di rector of Public Works, E. M. Blge low. —lt is interesting to note in these days when Democratic organs claim to be the last bulwark of the free dom of the plain people against the corporations that Joseph F. Guftey, chairman of the Democratic state ■committee, has been elected presi dent of a big gas company of Pitts burgh, which has been figuring in complaints made against Its rates before the Public Service Commis sion. He is the operating head of several gas companies. He is also director or manager of a water works and a trust company and some more gas companies. —Judges throughout the state who A HANDY MAN AROUND THE HOUSE .... BY BRIGGS HEaJRV I Y£S I A irvir:COUPLA \ A MtfcEji " u To MR*r[ f \ OH - H 800-r six AND * / CAM 0 CORM - BETTER. MARSHES FOR .SURE"/ POONDS WILL. BE IOP APPLEO / VCAMMA TOMATOES A F A F6VU Miwures \L J PLEKJTV | 6UCSS , \ POUMDS OF / - WOM'T Ibv CALL I 1- — S -AMD -SEKIDUP / HOW BOUT ] -PEACHES \ / T/P THE MARKET 1 ( A HAM - Yes- /" \ A WICE_ YES- Yes I / VES * FOUR.OP F-IV/E I APPLES ?J THEY'RE I- AIOD A T~ "Y " ~ **%' (Vbu "BET - I'LL OH Ves - SOME\ I I'VE <3T MORE ES* WE'LL U/AMT" \ WAFOT 'BOUT BREAD - "BOTH ] | BOXES COMLFJ' T *J> SOME .SALT. OH f \7E*J POOWO-j KIK/DS- / i PUT EM A 26 "P6UWD CHe£se?\° r cHeese " LOAV/ES OP ■\ SACK I 6UC65 / - A TUB EACH--,! _ AT ' OF OTTER THIAIK THAT'LL Y' have been re-elected are in some cases taking the oath in private and in others are not waiting for the first Monday of January to come around. One of the interesting things is that Judge Robert B. McCormick. of Lock Ilaven, will /take two oaths in six weeks. He was named to succeed the late Judge H. A. Hail and will begin his own term on Monday. —There are some suspicions that ex-Senator Walter Merrick, of Tioga, may take it into his head to run for Congress. —Representative John Siggins, Jr., of Warren, one of the young legis lators who made good at the last ses sion, will be a candidate for renomi nation. EDITORIAL COMMENT"" Allies can stand another Verdun, •but can Germany?— Wall Street Journal. The country may submit to a pork less day, but Congress—never!— New York World. It Is feared that when Russia finds herself she will know what It Is that she has discovered. —Kansas City Star. Daniels hopes that we will not hate the Germans. But we can dis like them.—Philadelphia Public Ledger. An optimist is one who reads eag erly about Senate Inquiries into the shortage of necessities. St. Louis Globe-Democrat- The deep-seated democracy of the Bolsheviki is indicated in Trotzky's announcement that if they don't have a majority in the Constituent Assembly they will overthrow it.— Chicago Herald. The State Press Intelligent people in France and Britain discovered long ago that the German system operates by arousing all possible Internal dissensions in every nation at war with Germany. The American citizen or the alien who devotes much of his time to de nouncing alleged evils here at home while carefully protecting ism and kaiserism from his venom should be kept under close scrutiny. Whether he is actually in the pay of tho kaiser is not especially important. He is doing and saying what the kaiser Is willing to pay to have done and said —that Is the important fact. I—Newcastle News. Censors of tho Public School Board of Philadelphia are at work on the German textbooks eliminating the atrocious stuff that tot years has sung the praises of the kaiser and of the damnable "kultur" which has been made the vehicle of empire building with the sword. But wh,v bother to scissor and mutilate? Why not throw the books out altogether? Why not, indeed, banish the study of German from the schools? Germany is an outlaw nation. Its one thought is domination through brutality. When this war id over Ger man will not be spoken except among German people. The lan guage will never be heard of in diplomacy. The world can get along very well without it. Throw it out! — Philadelphia Inquirer. Meanwhile, the allies must fight unUl the military power o£ the Teu tons is crushed and the kaiser Is ready to submit peace proposals that mean something.—Altoona Mirror. Both Sweden and Spain have has tened to show their friendly and sympathetic feelings for Germany, that of the former almost openly avowed, and that of the latter scarce ly concealed, by their acts of en couragement to the false, faithless and perjured Bolsheviki government of Russia. Sweden and Spain have made their choice, so have America, France and Great Britain. When the war Is ended there will be a frantic scramble to secure the friendly ac knowledgment of these allies In whose hands will rest the destinies of the world. But when those nations recognize their friends It is not like ly that Sweden and Spain will be on the list.—Lancaster New Era. Statistics from the most dependa ble sources agree that the death toll In the present war is nothing com pared to former wars of any note. It has been ilgured out that the num ber of men killed in action or died of wounds in the present war is at the ratio of only 1.l per cent. At the battle of Shiloh the Ninth Illi nois lost 63.3 per cent.; the First Minnesota, at Gettysburg-. 82 per cent, and the Sixty-ninth New York, 1,000 out of 1,200 in twenty minutes. —Lebanon News. ! Kaledines and the Bolsheviki BY A. J. Sack, Director, Russian Information Bureau, Woolworth Bldg., New York City. FOR the last twelve years, since the Russian Revolution of 1905, every average American citizen lias known at least one Russian word, the word "Cossacks." I have just ended a speaking tour through the United States, and after addressing during the past five weeks, fifty seven meetings in thirty-two states, with an attendance of about 65,000, I have learned that every average American citizen knows now at least another Russian word, the word "Bolsheviki." The Cossacks led by General Kaledine, are now fighting the Bolsheviki who endanger the very existence of the Russian Re public, and the purpose of this state ment is to interpret for the American public the real meaning and signifi cance of these two factors in Rus sian life. I will begin with an explanation about the Cossacks. People in this country have been accustomed to consider the Cossacks A counter- j revolutionary power. The ground for this presumption lay in the fact that the Czar's government had used the Cossacks extensively for suppres sing revolutionary uprisings in Rus sia for the last two, three decades. It must be said, as a matter of fact, that the old government sent against the revolutionists, not only the Cos sacks, but all other units of the army as well. The entire army, as long as the Czar's government was able to control It, was used in Russia as a counter-revolutionary force. The up risings in part of the Russian fleet, in 1905 and 1906, were suppressed partially by the other part of the fleet which had not joined the revo lution, and partially by the artillery at the fortresses of Kronstadt and Sveaborg. The famous revolutionary uprising at Moscow, in December, 1905, was suppressed by a few reg iments of Infantry which came down from Petrograd. On the other hand, there is a ver sion that the revolution in March,- 1917, started in Petrograd after a Cossnck shot a police officer who had just before killed a student for try ing tp make a revolutionary speech. And the Cossacks in Petrograd were the first military unit to join the revolution. About two weeks after the revolution the first All-Russian Cossack Congress met in Petrograd, and It is very timely now to recall the resolution unanimously adopted at this Congress. "The Congress of the Cossacks' Delegates of all Russia has faith in the administrative genius of the Russian people, which more than once has manifested itself In the darkest moments of our national history. The Congress firmly be lieves that the Provisional Govern ment, pursuing a domestic policy based on the consent of all the or ganized democratic forces, and a for eign policy in complete harmony with the Allies, will be able to guide Russia into the paths of liberty and democracy. The Cossacks of all Russia, inspired with a deep demo cratic spirit, are ready to render all their support to the Provisional Gov ernment in its work of eradicating anarchy, preventing a counter-revo lution, and safeguarding freedom of election to the Constituent Assembly so that it can be a tru- expression of the popular will, and thus be In strumental in making Russia a true democracy." While some people in this coun try are still inclined to consider the Cossacks a counter-revolutionary force, JJie Russian democracy, with the exception of the Bolsheviki, whose opinion on this point or any other should not be taken too ser iously, think otherwise. The .All- Russian Council of Worklngmen and Soldiers' Delegates received the dele gation from the Cossacks' Congress with exceptional kindness and gave them seats among the presiding officers. All the Cossacks of Russia now fol low General Kaledlne, whose name only recently became known in this country. In Russia Kaledlne's name became well known during the war as the Commander of the Eighth Army. General Kaledlne acted then against the Germans in the same manner as he is now acting against the Bolsheviki. He Is always very slow, taking his time to prepare a plan, and the necessary measures for its accomplishment, but when he strikes, it is almost always a mortal blow. After hearing many things about Kaledlne from the Russian officers who have fought under him, I would say that Kaledlne may be called the "Russian Tank." His movements are slow but sure and •effective iu reaching the objective. It is possible that in tho fight against the Bolsheviki Kaledine will have the backing of all the construc tive forces of the Russian democracy. There was a definite report that the Constitutional Democrats are sup porting him, and it Is not impossible that he has also the support of all the Socialist factions opposed to the Bolsheviki. There was a report that five secretaries of the Kerensky cab inet, led by the moderate Socialist, Prokopovich, have joined General Kaledine, and it is probable that he also has the support of such prom inent leaders as Plechanov, Prince Kropotkin, Avksentieff, Madame Breshko-Breshkovsky, Tseretelll and others. It must be said most emphatically that Kaledine is not a counter-revo lutionist, and his object, as far as we know, has nothing to do with any plan for the restoration of monarchy in Russia. General Kaledlne's pro gram was fully expressed in his re markable speech at the National Conference In Moscow, an'd now is the time to make the people of the United States acquainted with this document. General Kaledine was one of the most impressive figures at the con ference. Tall and powerful, he spoke commandingly, emphasizing every point of his declaration. "Having heard the report of the Provisional Government regarding the difficult position in which Rus sia finds herself," began General Kaledine, "the Cossacks of the twelve regions, the Don Cossacks, the Cos sacks from Kuban, Tersk, Orenburg, Yaitzk, Astrakhan, Siberia, Amour, Transbaical, Semiretchinsk, Enissey, and Ussuriysk, hail the decision of, the Provisional Government to lib-1 erat'e itself finally in matters of na-| tlonal administration from the pres-1 sure of the various class and party, organizations, which, together withj other causes, have brought the coun try to the verge of ruin. "The Cossacks, who have never | known what serfdom means, the Cos sacks who have been free and inde-| pendent since time immemorial, who have always enjoyed a large degree of self-government, who have al ways adhered in their own life to the principles of equality and frater nity, are not intoxicated by the new freedom. Having received It anew, having regained the freedom which the Czars had taken from them, the Cossacks, whose strength rests in their common sense and in their sane conception of the fundamental principles of statesmanship, have ac cepted the new freedom with dig nity and calmness, and have imme diately proceeded to put it into life, by creating In the first days jf the revolution, military committees elected on a democratic basis, suc [ ceeded in co-ordinating the princi ! pie of liberty with order." Note—Mr. Sack a few months ago delivered an address on Russia be fore the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce. LABOR NOTES The British Association of Marine Engineers has requested the govern ment to supply each vessel with a motorboat, to prevent prolonged ex posure of shipwrecked sallorß. The state-use system in New Jersey Is replacing the old plan *>f contract ing for the labor of convicts, accord ing to the annunl report of the State Labor Commission. Under this plan the Commission supervises all work performed by the inmates of New Jersey penal Institutions, and allots the work to be done by the convicts which is for the state. In a report covering three years of progress officers of the International Union of United Brewery Workmen show that during this period wages have been Increased $10,503,820 and the working time reduced 4,558,212 hours. These gains were obtained through the signing of 623 contracts for 579 unions located in 447 cities and affected 51,885 members. Pennsylvania State Department of Labor and Industry has issued a let ter and poster to all employes of women in Pennsylvania, calling at tention to th* growing number of women workers in the state, due to war conditions, and pointing out that In the present emergency the state laws relative to women's labor con ditions and hours have not been changed. Men's wages are suggest ed as a fair basis of compensation for the women. Ouer tfa Ik "~P MVIUU The biggest baby ever born in Penn Yan, N. Y., came as a New Years' gift to Mrs. Charles Granston. It weighs eighteen pounds and )t is said Food Administrator Hoover has already cast a wary eye at Baby Granston. • • * Story is told of a Pennsylvania woman whose son served in the Spanish War, and whose feats of heroism she was fond of reciting. "Yes, indeed", was one of her boasts, "he fought in the Battle of Vanilla and was all over the Hallowe'en Islands." • • • • Most patriotic hen on record be longs to Carl Smith, near Flndlay, Ohio. Recently she stole a nest, laid sufficient eggs to cover it. and then settled down for a three weeks' repose. Seven chicks were hatched with the thermometer 18 dgrees be low zero. And she is now starting a new family. * • • The wife of a workingman in the Midlands (England) was describing a quarrel between two other women, and her final comment was as fol lows: "If 'er'd •said to 'er what 'er said to 'er 'er'd 'ave killed 'er or 'er 'er!" • * • At a meeting at Seward, Neb., the pastors and teachers of the German Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod in Nebraska adopted resolu tions of loyalty to the United States, and recommended the cessation of German language instruction in all parochial schools of the state for the duration of the war. One of the leading parochial schools of the state, located here, will drop Ger man language instruction to-morrow and It is expected that other schools will adopt the same policy. OUR DAILY LAUGH A GOQD IDEA. Nell—What New Year's resolution j jiro you going to make this year? I Bell—l haven't decided —I want jto make one that can be easily I broken. A WISE FISH. I She—l wonder why this gold flsl never grows any. He—The Intelligent little creatur *nows there would be no room foi him In that small globe. NO DOCTOR NEEDED. "Did the doctor put you on a •let?" "He didn't t*ve to—Hoover did It" ffopftfttg (Stfsi People who have been ebeervteej the railroads hi this section since l Uncle Sam took control Bay that tlioj first signs of a speeding up of freight traffic can be seen and that the In crease in coal traffic is commencing to be notable. A few tremendous coal trains have passed through tht* city, but a larger amount Is golnpri by Enola and from all accounts they are only the forerunners of a *reatl movement of coal as sidings ancli lines of the Pennsylvania railroad all' through the soft coal country have for weeks been filled with cars of coal. There have also been many* cars standing on sidings along the. Northern Central between this city and Sunbury, some of it within tan talizing distance- of Harrlsburg. Tho Reading's coal traffic over the Sus quehanna, which is far larger than many people realize, is commencing to grow and there are long trains of ccal from West Virginia and tho Connellsville district coming into Harrisburg, split up at Kutherford and sent on to th% eastern states. Some of these trains are considerably longer than the usual winter size of coal trains, it has been customary to cut dowji trains in winter, but coal is being handled now in as long trains as can be moved. Similarly the empty cars are being rushed back to the coal lields in very big trains. When the new arrangements for handling freight are perfected there will probably be a volume flow ing through Harrisburg every twen ty-four hours that will make some of the rush periods of 1917 seem like dull days. An interesting theme for discus sion now in view of the Government's taking over of the railroads is Just what will bo done by the Public Service i 'onunissioH with complaints against the railroads. There are a couple of dozens of cases pending which if they are decided now will probably be with some directions that at a future date certain things bo done. Tliis has been indicated by or ders which provide that applications for grade crossing abolition may be renewed without prejudice after the war or that new construction can bo undertaken two or three years hence. But what is interesting many is what will be done about the complaints of violation of the full crew law. Operation is a matter for the Gov ernment and there is no telling what the future may bring forth in the way of manning trains or running railroads for that matter. Federal control probably sets aside state laws. • Members of tho Harrlsburg Re serves will resume their drills at the City Gray's Armory tomorrow night when two of the companies will meet and go through the manual of arms. Tho other companies will meet Tuesday night. It is planned to -take up interior guard duty this month, a line ofwork In which the Reserves will be given plenty of practice as it will the duty they may have to perform if called upon in an emergency. Plans nre also being made for indoor practice at the range in tho Armory. Men who have been observing the Susquehanna river say that the Ice will probably be as thick aa during the winter ot' 1912 when the mercury did some celebrating by going down to "ten below" in February and trees and hedges were killed by the cold. Ice was reported that spring as eighteen inches thick and some Which was called "two-foot ice" was talked of. In any event the ice that spring was pretty heavy and only the gradual thaw prevented even more setious trouble than occurred during the famous "ice flood" of 1904 When Middletown suffered so severely and the tremendous cakes of ice jammed the Susquehanna so that the Columbia branch of the Pennsylvania had to be dug out. Speaking of those severe winters it is interesting to note that the pro longed cold spell which the country has been enduring the last fortnight is very unusual. In severe winters recently there was a succession of short cold waves such as those which sent mercury down to zero last win ter, but they never lasted very long. The cold snaps of those winters were very hard on people but they v/ere able to get coal and to keep warm. The intense cold killed much game, ns coveys of quail were found frozen and bird life was hard hit generally. The probabilities are that many birds will not be able to sur vive the cold weather of the last week because the snows have cov ered the ground and the birds have had to meet terrible cold in an un dernourished condition. It was this condition which prompted State Game authorities to issue the appeal to people to feed the insect destroy ing birds as an economic as well as sporting proposition. • • • From all accounts there will be considerable curtailment of the usual winter banqueting in Harrisburg this year because of the war and the conservation movement. Such din ners as will be held will have menus in line with the war and there will be things eaten which can be classed ns anions: tlie nonessentials, while "war breads" and similar things will be introduced byway of variety. The annulment of some of the banftua which have been annual features or Harrisburg life will make a differ ence, but everyone is looking for ward to enjoying them all the mora when the war is over. wau KNOWN PEOPLE —B. Dawson Coleman, the Leban on Iron manufacturer, has been named as a director of one of the big Philadelphia Savings funds. —E. K. Morse, the transit expert, has recommended both elevated and subway lines to relieve Pittsburgh's problem. . —John A. Brashear, the Pitts burgh scientist, took time off to make the New Year's address at the Y. M. C. A. ' —Samuel Frederick Houston, who becomes president of one of ttom Philadelphia banks, comes of a fam ily long identified with that business. —H. P. Armsby, of State College, has been elected a vice-president of the American Association for Ad vancement of Science. | DO YOU KNOW ] That Harrisburg Is sending tons of tin plate to factories for manufacture of Army supplies? HISTORIC HARRISDtJRU The first steamboat run on the Susquehanna was in the thirties and it ran to Sunbury from here after.* many vicissitudes. ▼ COLD COMFORT Anyway, we're glad the railroads are to t>e run by a director general from the treasury rather than by a brigadier general from the quarter master's department.