6
HARRISBUKG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded 1831
■ _______________________.
Published evenings except Sunday by
THE TBUDGRAPH riuvriNG CO.,
Telegraph Building, Federal Square.
E.J. STACK POLE, Pres't Sr Editor-in-Chief
P. It. OYSTER, Business Manager.
GUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor.
Member of the Associated Press—The
Associated Press is exclusively en
title'' 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.
Member American
Newspaper Pub
la t ioiwuul Penn
jg. rr, ;a5 Eastern office.
Story. Brooks &
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~ Chicago. 111.
Entered at the Post Office In Harris
burg, Pa., as second class matter.
B >" carriers, ten cents a
CtfiElKtfaSlsisO week; by mall, $5.00
a. year in advance.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1918
/ am among yon as He that serv
cth. —jKSt'S.
MORE WORK; LESS WASTE
ONE day we are told to save every
penny possible—in order to
buy Liberty Bonds and thus'
help win the war.
The next day we are informed that!
the only way to win the war is to keep
business going full tilt—and to do
this we must spend in an open-hand
ed and carefree manner, like the
once famous "Coal Oil Johnny" or
the proverbial "drunken sailor. - ' i
There are arguments on both sides, j
but neither embraces all the troth.
Between the two lies the wise course.
It is true we must save to buy
bonds. But if we save to a point'
where we do not purchase what we'
need, the merchant and the manu
facturer, the factory worker and the
clerk, have that much less money
and they, therefore, have no cash for
bonds. Therefore, it becomes evi
dent that, if business is not to be
stagnated we must not become a na
tion of mere money-grubbing misers.
We in America have tremendous
resources. The surface of our riches
has been scarcely scratched. Here
tofore we have lived extravagantly
and spent wastefully. What we need
now ii to Buy freely what we really
need, but to waste nothing. Waste
has been our besetting sin. Waste
must be prevented. We must labor
more in order that we may save
more and spend more. More work
and less waste, that is the answer.
As between the new hotel and the
Post Office and which of them will be
completed first, our bets are all on the
hotel.
STOP SPOILING THE PARK
THE practice of dumping snow
, indiscriminately In the River
1' ront Park should be stopped.
To be sure, the snow problem is
puzzling those whose duty it is to
keep the streets clear and there is
no reason why the snow should not
be shoveled over the concrete steps,
where it would melt and run into the
river, the residue of mud and street
fifth being left to bo carried off by
the first spring freshet. There are
approaches to the river at Verbeke,
Bcas and Market streets, where
Wagons can get down to the river.
Commissioner Gross should see to it
that this is done. To permit the
dumping of dirty snow anywhere in
the park is to encourage the dump
ing of garbage and ashes there also.
This has happened in previous years
and there is no reason to believe that
the present will be an exception.
Ashes are needed on the river bank
above Maciay street, but there is
no place for them below that point,
where the parking above the steps
has been completed and planted.
This park has cost the people of
Harrisburg a lot of money and they
do not propose to have it ruined by
careless or wreckless persons to
whom parks mean little or nothing.
It may be necessary one of these
days to make an example of those
who flagrantly violate the best in
terests of the city.
THE CANDY INDUSTRY
SOMEBODY has asked why, with
sugar scarce and high in price,
the government doesn't close the
candy factories of the country, in
stead of merely curtailing their out
put. The question is easily answered.
I rom recently compiled accurate
statistics it is shown the candy in
dustry of the United States has ex
panded with great rapidity. Sixty-five
years ago less than 400 establish
ments were needed to supply the
American demand for factory-made
sweets. Their aggregate capital was
a little more than J 1,000,000, the
\alue of the products not much over
$3,000,000. On the basis of a popu
lation of 23,000,000 this meant an
annual per capita expenditure of
only thirteen cents, there being
practically no foreign trade in con
fectionery then. To-day, assuming
that the industry has maintained
during the last two years the same
rate of growth as in the five-year
period, 1909-1914. the Industry 'em
braces over 2,500 establishments, rep
resents the investment of J110.000,-
SOO capital and turns out confections
SATURDAY EVENING, HAKR3BBXJRG QflalSg TELEGRAPH FEBRUARTV, T9T%.
of various sorts having a- total value
of $185,000,000. On the basis of a
population of 102,000,000 this means
a net expenditure of SI.BO for every
man, woman and child In conti
nental United States. To meet the
American consumption of sweet
meats last year required between
$175,000,000 and $200,000,000 worth
of factory-made confectionery—and
this In addition to the vast amount
of cocoa and chocolate other than
confectionery that were consumed
and to the home production of taffy,
fudge and other bon-bons.
Here is a vast and important in
dustry, employing thousands of peo
ple and paying heavy tatfes. It would
not be just to wipe it out to tide us
over a temporary shortage. It has
been curtailed forcibly in its opera
tions in order to conserve the domes
tic supply, but it would not do to
cut it off entirely simply that each
of us consumers might have a spoon
ful or two more sugar each day.
WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT
The fierce fires of jpatriotism
have fused the country into a solid
mass as to the end to be achieved,
but they have not burned out
self-seeking ambition or desire
for personal aggrandizement.
Nothing which has as yet come
into the world has done that and .
probably nothing ever will.
There has, however, so far been
a wholesome and welcome absence
of party spirit and partisan ma
neuver. It has been absent,
though only in abeyance. It
should remain absent and In abey
ance. It can be kept so. but only
by the self-abnegation of the
President and by his breadth of
vision and of action. The power
comes from the people. The use
to be made of the power is in his
(winds. The people furnish it, he
directs it.
Through his direction will suc
cess or failure come. Awe-inspir
_ ing is his responsibility. TheTeo
ple will follow him in compact
and unbroken mass so long as
they believe lie is thinking and
acting solely for them and regard
less of party or of self; that
neither haughtiness of spirit, nor
pride of opinion, nor personal ad
vantage, nor party advantage is
adulterating the purity of his pur
pose or interfering with the suc
cessful prosecution of the war.
So vital is this that the Presi
dent should leave nothing undone
to deserve and preserve this con
fidence. He must leave no plaus
ible ground for inciting suspicion
in the minds of the people that
such is not the ease. ..uspicion
that such is not the ease will im
pair his power and conviction
that such is not the case will de
stroy it. His mind must be open
to counsel. Hd must "\/elcoino
well-intentioned criticism. He
must draw to his side the ablest
aids the country affords. His Ms
ion must be unobstructed by per
sonal or partisan considerations,
and bis heart and spirit must hold
but one impulse—the victory of
America.
No, dear reader, this is not the
plea of a Republican Senator for u
coalition war cabinet. Nor Is It the
argument of a Republican newspa
per for the creation of a war coun
cil.
It is from a speech recently made
by former Secretary of War Garri
son, an ardent Democrat, but a man
too big to permit party politics to
adulterate his patriotism or to in
terfere -with his ideas as to the
proper prosecution of the war. Mr.
Garrison knows that this war Is not
a one-man or a one-party job. How
long will it take for some others to
learn what the people know and
what they want?
AN INDEPENDENT PRESS
COMMERCE AND FINANCE,
one of the best-known and
most reliable business publica
tions o£ the United States, has this
to say concerning conditions that
have forced even the powerful New
York newspapers to advance their
price to two cents:
What should have been clone a
year ago all tHo one-cent daily
newspapers of New York did last
week—wont to two cents. If they
hadn't done FO some of them
would have been forced to the
wall. The cost of white paper
and delivery to newsdealers was
noarlv twice as much as the pub
lishers got for the one-cent paper
from the dealer, which was sixty I
cents per 10) copies. Necessarily, |
the newspaper was dependent up
on the advertiser for life. That the
advertiser has dictated to the
newspapers in some instances is
acknowledged. How could you ex
pect it to be otherwise when the
newspapers were drawing three
quarters of their support from ad
vertising? ,
This not only was an unhealthy
but an ominous situation. The
newspaper was not free. The ad
vertisers could destroy any pub
lication that offended them.
Of all the great newspapers in
New York only two have ben
making am - profit. One came near
hreakinc even. The others had
constantly increasing deficits.
The two-cent rate will give a
profit. from circulation and will
lessen th:- thralls in which the
publishers have been hound to the
advertiser. It will curtail the cir
culation of some sheets, particu
larly those of many thousands of
circulation, most of whose read
ers are persons wuo have to
count their coins carefully and to
whom two cents for a paper may
seem a good eal of money, but
it will make for better news
papers.
This-sums up pretty well, from an
unprejudiced and unbiased author
ity, the reasons why newspapers that
are honest with their readers and
themselves have been compelled to
increase prices to two cents the
copy or ten cents the -week.
The newspaper is a business en
terprise just as much as is the gro
cery store. Nobody has a right to
ask that the newspaper be published
at a loss. No newspaper publisher,
unless he be immensely rich and
prompted by some selfish or politi
cal motive, can now afford to sell
a paper for a penny.
The purveyor of the penny paper
cannot collect legitimately enough
from the advertiser to pay his ex
penses, and his circulation gets more
and more costly the more papers he
sells. Every increase in circulation
makes his losses heavier. The more
papers he puts out the worse his
situation.
The Hian who buys a penny paper
is accepting a gift from its pub
lisher. Now it so happens that it is
neither in accord with business prin
ciples nor human nature to give
something away day after day un
less the giver has some object in
view. In the case of the penny pa
per It may be that it is controlled
by some big business, desirous of a
voice, or some politician so anxious
for office he is willing to spend thou
sands of dollars keeping himself be
fore the people, or its publisher may
have some sort of propaganda to
spread, usually political. In any
event, the man who buys the penny
paper must be content with an in
ferior product and to have his news
censored for him and his editorial
comment adulterated to meet the
biased views its self-centered pub
lisher desires, for one reason or an- I
other, to foist on the reading public. I
Under these conditions it is not
to be wondered that two-cent news
papers are surpassing the penny
sheets in circulation. There is
nothing mysterious about it. The
people want all the news there is
to print, well edited and presented,
and they wont an editorial column
that knows no control save what
those responsible for it honestly be
lieve to be solely for the best inter
ests of the public.
fotitCct Ck
By the Ex-Commlttceniau
Twety-five thousand nominating
! petition blanks are now being print
ed at the state printers for the
spring primary and it is expected
that twithin a fortnight the Secretary
of the Commonwealth can begin
distribution of the papers to the
prospective candidates for state
congressional and legislative nomin
ations for circulation under the pri
mary acts. Thero are six forms
this year because of the statewide,
superior court, congressional, state
senatorial and legislative nomina
tions.
Under the law none of these
papers can be circulated or signed
before March 2 and they must lie
filed for members of state commit
tees.
State wide nominating petitions
require 100 signers in each of five
counties; papers for congressmen or
senators 200 signers in the district
and for members of the lower branch
of the legislature 100 residents of
tho district. The state committee
papers require 100 signers of the dis
trict and each senatorial district is
entitled to two members.
In years gone by there has been
a rush to file nominating petitions
on the closing day, but the secre
tary has called attention to tho ad
visability of filing early so that de
fects can be cured and petitions not
be invalidated by matters discover
ed too late to correct.
expect (he ab-1
sence of Governor Brumbaugh fromj
the Cnpitol to be marked by some
strenuous doings. The Governor left
the city last evening and it is re-1
ported that ho is going to Florida or!
some other southern state. No one
at his office will say where he has
gone or when he will return. When
the Governor goes away changes are
made at the Capitol and places tilled.
As the administration leaders In
various counties have been making
up lists of the men they want flred
and hired, some action may be ex
pected.
—Senator Sproul's announcement
has again been deferred, but the
Senator is busy getting around
among people and accepting invita
tions. It is said that he will have
headquarters in I'ittsburgh as well
as Philadelphia.
—Highway Commissioner O'Neil
said this morning that his headquar
ters would be opened next week and
in full blast. This evening, he said,
he would speak in Rod Lion. He
was in Carlisle yesterday and says
he met many people who were in
terested in his candidacy.
—ln its account of the meeting
of the Philadelphia Republican city
committee, the Philadelphia Record
shows the way the Democrats hope
by calling much attention to the ar
rangement made by Senator Vare
for discussing the attitude of his or
ganization on the liquor question.
"In the near future we will have a
gubernatorial campaign to deal
with," said Senator Vare, to the
committee, "and the situation ought
to be gone over by you men with the
members of your ward committees,
so that you can learn their senti
ments on the different candidates.
All the candidates proposed for the
Republican nomination for Govern
or are friendly to this committee,
and the way ought to be canvassed
before this committee endorses can
didates for the Governorship or any
other state office." Observing that
this state of affairs was "a healthy
condition," Senator Vare took up the
question of whether a candidate
should be accepted or rejected be
cause of his views on the liquor
question. "This committee is not
built on a liquor platform," he con
tinued, "and we will not hesitate to
support a man for state office or in
local districts because he is known
to be opposed to the liquor. If a can
didate has the proper qualiflcations
for the office which he seeks and the
people of the district want him, so
long as it is for the best interests of
the party we will support him."
—As a matter of fact the Demo
cratic state organization is about as
badly off in spite of the enormous
number of federal officeholders as
it has been in years, and this ac
counts for the attention being given
to Republican affairs by the Record.
The row brewing between the Humes
and Guffey forces in Western Penn
s\lvania and the insistence with
whrch some anthracite region men
are demanding General C. R. Dough
erty, of Wilkes-liarre, for Governor
are tabooed subjects with Demo
cratic newspapers, although the
Pittsburgh Post is rather fe&rful that
if the two western factions get into
a fuss that the state bosses may
force the Democrats to nominate an
eastern man. What is making the
Democratic machine clank, however,
is the liquor issue on which the
bosses themselves are divided.
—The Republican city committee
of Philadelphia yesterday referred
the charges against Magistrate "Bill~-
Camplell to a committee Instead of
firing him. The plan Is to make
C'amptell the goat for the Town
Meeting movement, but as long as
there is a chance for him to return
and be good he will not be rattaned.
It will be noted that Senator Vare
is becoming very much of a pacifi
cator.
—Stories of a row between Mayor
Smith and Director Wilson were re
ceived with much salt here to-day.
—The }'rrk County Republican
Club, of York, has gone on record
favoring '-lie candidacy of only those
aspirants for Republican nomina
tions for the State Senate and House
of Representatives who favor the
pr.rsase of a local option law and
the rdoptirn by the State Legislature
of the t-rohibition amendment to the
constitution of the United States.
—Signs of more trouble loom at
Pittsburgh where Council seems dis
A GREAT DEAL CAN BE DONE WITH THE IMAGINATION BY BRICGS
posed to usurp power. A $6,000 city
job, presumably for Franklin P.
Booth, former director of the sup
plies department, was voted for yes
terday by the councilmanic finance
committee and inserted into the
19It' budget. Tho new job is to be
in a now division of investigation, to
be in sole control of Council, taking
the place of the Bureau of Efficiency
Standards and eliminating the place
of chief of efficiency standards, now
held by Peter P. Shevlin.
• —John M. Carr, a Hazleton law
yer, lias caused it to be heralded
abroad that he is a candidate for
Republican nomination for Con
gress at large. So is Isador Sobel,
former postmaster of Erie.
—B. F. Ruth, the Heading coun
cilman who has been kicking tip all
kinds of fusses, is former Bull
Moose leader of Berks and wants to
be mayor of Reading.
TWO-CEXT NEWSPAPERS
"New York publishers held to the
penny price through a period of
great stress, in tthich costs of every
kind were steadily mounting. They
rejected the overtures of Philadelphia
publishers, who urged them, months
ago, to abandon the penny price.
They continued to play with that
sort of fire which leaves the most
cruel burns—economic Are. Day by
day they continued to sell their man
ufactured product at a price which
did not meet the cost of the raw
materials." But says the Kditor Ilnd
Publisher, they have accepted the
inevitable and all have gone to two
cents.
It was understood that last year
the Federal Trade Commission sent
representatives to New York in an
effort to induce the publishers to go
to two cents as a means of conserv
ing news print, and after Philadel
phia papers raised they sent delega
tions on several occasions to try to
bring about the increase, but to no
avail, although all the papers did
raise prices outside New York.
Advertisers, local and national,
have favored the higher price for
newspapers, and notably the Asso
ciation of National Advertisers has
gone on record as advocating it. tak
ing the ground that any loss accru
ing to circulation as the result of in
creasing prices is to be considered
really beneficial rather than detri
mental to their interests.
The advertising director of a great
New York Department Store says:
"At two cents I firmly believe that
much duplicate circulation would be
eliminated, and the results remain
from every point of view unchanged,
"Then circulation will mean some
thing. The paper at two cents will
be more highly prized, more thor
oughly perused, and if it has an in
fluence and a following, more effect
ive in its education of that following.
"And, above all, in these days of
strenuous endeavor to reduce waste
duplicate circulation Is uneconomic.
Paper is high, forests are becoming
depleted, distribution costs are rising
and the endeavor to sell two papers
where one would suffice Is not a
practice to be Encouraged.
"In many lines an increase of
turnover or of production results In
a reduction of overhead. Not so
with the newspapers, every copy of
which means loss.
"The cure for this evil, I believe,
lies in the raising of the price of the
newspapers to the reader, so that
cost shall be covered.
"The consumer pays the advertis
ing bill, whether he realizes it or not
but we in this country have in the
past preferred indirect taxation to
direct: like"the ostrich, if we could
not see, we feared not.
LABOR NOTES
San Francisco Labor Council is as
sisting the newly-formed Film Ex
change Employes' Union to secure
recognition from the film exchange
managers. The new organization in
cludes inspectors, shippers, poster
handlers and bookers.
In Great Britain the labor party,
a trades union congress and the
great co-operative societies, repre
senting together not much less than
half the population of the United
Kingdom, are working In close al
liance. v
The Kansas State Laundry Board
has abolished the provision which
allowed an employer to extend the
work day to ten hours whenever he
saw fit to declare an emergency. The
Board orders that the straight nine
hour day be put Into effect."
In Germany the first step to In
duce the government to fix minimum
wagta was taken in January, 1911,
by the conference of German home
workers, which in a resolution re
quested the government to fix by
legislation minimum wages for home
workers, so that in order to earn a
living they would no longer be
forced to work excessive overtime.
THE PEOPLE'S
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AS TO BANKRUPTCIES
7 o the I'.citot of the Tclegroph:
e have failed to see any article
in your valued paper of the bank
ruptcy of the Charles E. Bard Player
Piano Co. some three or four weeks
ago at Elizabethvllle, Pa., where he
finally located. The company was
organized in this city and was lo
cated here for some time. Previous
o this Charles E. Bard was superin
tendent of the C. M. Sigler Player
Action Co.
Y\ e have also failed to see any
article concerning the bankruptcy of
the M. Sigler Player Action Co..
January 30, 1918. Both of the above
firms are now bankrupt and the bus
iness public is certainly entitled to
some information concerning them.
The heads of these action com
panies certainly were not backward
about taking up your valuably space
when the companies were organized.
It would make very interesting read
ing to all those people who were
promised a gilt-edged Investment,
if they would come across.
The writer does not consider a
lawyers' notice of bankruptcy, in
very fine type, an item of news to
the business public.
A CITIZEN'.
COMMUNITY SINGING
To the V.iiitor cf the Telegraph:
For several months past many ar
ticles have appeared in your paper as
to the needs, uplift, virture and gen
eral results of community singing.
The writer has read the numerous
articles with pleasure, and is person-
I ally much gratified that so much in
terest, has been demonstrated along
that line In this city.
When coming to this city about a
year ago, it was a great personal sur
prise to learn, that a city which has
shown such decided progress in civic
improvement should be so far in the
background in social center and
community work. Having come to
this city from Wisconsin, a state
foremost in social work, it was rath
er a disappointment not to find the
school houses open as social centers,
and at least one thriving community
chorus.
In a city of this size we should
have at least four or five large com
munity choruses. •
In the city of ITarrisburg, where
there are so many fine musicians,
excellent choir directors, and accom
panists, it would-seem that enough
enthusiastic, unselfish musicians,
willing to Rive their time and train
ing for betterment and public good,
might get together and co-operate
THE DIFFERENCE
Since a great many parallels are
being drawn just now between the
position of President Wilson and his
Cabinet and the position of Presi
dent Lincoln and his Cabinet, it is
just as well that there should be no
mistake about the facts.
President Lincoln, who entered
office with the Idea that war might
bo averted, made up his Cabinet of
three former Whigs and four former
Democrats. He himself had been a
Whig. Extreme Republicans re
garded the Cabinet with distrust.
The Secretary of the Navy, Gideon
Welles, was still a Democrat on
everything but the slavery question.
The Secretary of the Interior Ca
leb B. Smith, was an amiable gentle
man and a personal acquaintance of
the President's, who had served in
Congress with him. But he proved
to have no great executive capacity,
and his tenure of the office was soon
terminated for that reason. The Sec
retary of War, Simon Cameron, was
a man of great political influence
and bad considerable abilities, but
they did not lie in the direction of
administration. He was patriotic
enough, but his vision was narrow,
and under him the War Department
was not well administered.
In less than a year after his ap
pointment, Cameron was obliged to
leave the Cabinet. In appointing his
successor the President did not ap
point a former Whig or a former
Democrat. He appointed a man who
was still a Democrat and a violent
opponent and virulent personal critic
nf himself. This man, Edwin M.
Stanton, had cut the President to
the heart with his bitter abuse; he
had described him as "the original
gorilla," and on one occasion he had
insulted the future President open
ly, refusing to be associated with him
in a lawcase. He had given his
reasons for this refusal in the most
cutting, blistering terms. As a Dem
ocrat he had been associated with
the Buchanan wing of the party, the
one which Ljncoln held in detesta
tion.
He was appointed solely because
the President believed him to be
possessed of great executive capa
city, and in spite ot fhe fact that
hi* personality was disagreeable and
offensive. Later on the President
with each other and formulate plans
to do something worth while along
this line. We may think much, write
much und talk much, but the writer
thinks it is time to do much.
To do this work there must neces
sarily be some expense, even though
the musicians in charge donate their
services. There must be the pur
chase of community song pamplets,
which may be secured at small cost,
and a small amount to cover neces
sary printing. So far as the writer
can think, this is about all of the
expense attendant to starting this big
movement for g-ood in this city.
Of course these choruses might
meet in the open air, in the summer,
but with the present zero weather,
one must realize that either the use
of churches or school auditoriums
must be donated for this purpose.
Such an enterprize must have a
backing, as such work is usually
started by a university or some or
ganization. Having had experience
aiong this line of work, and know
ing just what it means to the pub
lic and community at large, it is
without hesitation that the writer
asks that either the Chamber of
Commerce, the Civic Club or some
public-spirited person or persons,
send a check to the Harrisburg Tele
graph to start and maintain this very
important branch of civic and social
work In this city.
So much has been wrtten on the
wonderful influence of community
singing that it is rather unnecessary
to say more. However, there is one
thing we should keep well in mind,
namely, that if the government of
the United States thinks such work so
important to those in the service of
our country, as to appoint chorus di
rectors for the camps, then it is just
as important to teach people to sing
in the masses, in their homes and
in their own city.
In' this day and age every thriv-
I ing city has its small choruses and
its big, 'get-together community
chorus. It is a matter of much in
terest to know the splendid work of
Dean Nevin, of Kansas Universtty,
who has made a state sing; Prof.
Peter W. Dykema, of the University
of Wisconsin has made the entire
state of Wisconsin sing; Harry Barn
hart has made New York City sing,
: and our nation's capital Is doing
! wonderftil work in community sing-
I ing.
People of Harrlsburg, let Harris
burg sing.
SALOME W. SANDERS.
232 Maclay St.
February 8, 1918.
had occasion to appoint a comnjan
der of the Army of the Potomac. He
not only went out of the ranks of
his friends and supporters, but he
appointed a general who was openly
critical of him and who was sup
posed to have considered the idea of
making himself a dictator and rele
gating the President to obscurity.
This general was Joseph Hooker.
The President did not appoint Hook
er because he relished the language
and attitude of that general, but be
cause he thought Hooker would do
more toward winning the war than
other officers who were more friend
ly politically and personally to him
self.
There can be no actual parallel
between conditions in 1861 and con
ditions to-day, for the reason that
in 1861 Cabinet changes removed
the occasion for the particular kind
of criticism that is heard to-dav.
There was criticism of the Cabinet,
but it was plainly seen to be un
just, and it was, therefore, ineffect
ive. There can be no actual parallel,
for the further reason that in 1861
the President did not confine the
conduct of the war to those person
ally or politically In agreement with
hTm, and this made Impossible much
of the criticism which we hear to
day.—Prom the New York Times.
Might Be Wrong Again
All we hope now is that the fel
low who predicted an open winter
won't spoil matters by prophesying
an early spring.—From the Detroit
Free Press.
Calls With the Dawn
I hear your call and gladly hasten
on,
I feel you near, the groping In the
gloom;
Your faint, first summons hailed me
with the dawn
As it stole upward from your
lower room.
I scent your fragrance as of some
wild rose,
I hurry though my spirit throbs
and quakes,
I'll greet you when I get Into my
clothes,
You war-free, Helnz-proof tacl;
of buckwheat cakes. v
.. .—William Grant
Over tta *7o[a
*~pt>v>uu
j
Pennsylvania golfers, with the
first break of fine weather, cast a
hungry eye on the beloved links.
Even distant Fulton county is seized
with the golfer's fever, says a country
correspondent from that region.
"Josh Orner, our local humoristi"
he reports, "says that one o' these
tine days lie's goin' to th* city an'
wear a fountain pen and play that
cornfield pool at one o' them country
clubs."
Wc always fancied Bellefonte as
an aristocratic, ancient town famed
for its wealth, social caliber and gov
ernors. Now it appears you have to
look sharp up there to escape the
bears. Jack Bickens nearby Belle
fonte the other morning was awak
ened by a crash of his kitchen win
dow. A large black bear had walk
ed in and was leisurely masticating
the day's rations of mush and milk.
Things certainly happen out In
Greensburg. The janitor of the
public school building was sweeping
out the primary room the other
evening when he spied a bit of news
paper which informed him that he
was heir to half of $600,000 fortune
from an ancient uncle whom he had
not heard from in 40 years. Thus
we learn not to spurn the job of
janitor.
OUR DAILY LAUGH
PERHAPS THEY At,l., HAVE 'EM
"Why did you camouflage youl
dog?"
"So I can get by the janitor. The}
don't allow dogs in our apartment.'
ALL PREPARED.
I">e Aapp—Xice dog! Have you
tausrht htm any new tricks since )
was here last.
Peggy—Oh, yes, if you just whislV
■n
MISUNDERSTOOD.
"I hear that Burrorws ha* come In
tor some money."
"Then he'll have to go out without
It as far I am concerned."
A KICK.
Mr. Squirrel—Here, you get awaj
from here. It makes my wife nerv
ous to see you hanging wound!
Etaptttag (Efjat
With the coming of spring, thou
sands of persons In Pennsylvania
will turn their attention to the ma
ple sugar Industry. Old residents
are firmly of the opinion that the
extreme severity of the present win
ter presages an early spring. All
agreo that, the harder the winter,
the stronger the flow of sap when
the spring thaws Anally set in, and
the more hardy of the early plants
push their way through the scat
tered patches of snow and ice tn
the woodlands. The flow of maptta
sap will not wait for the real spring,
of course. Very shortly there will
be more warm days, and the sap will
begin to mount upward in the trees.
This year, sugar men are convinced
that the season will open early;
more than that, it promises to bo
one of the best In recent years. The
sugar crop promises to be an excep
tional one.
• •
Practically every county In tho
state produces a sharo of tho tasty
maple product. It will perhaps sur
prise many to learn that this state
is famed for the quantity and qual
ity of maple syrup produced. Tho
banner counties, strange as it may
appear, lie in widely separated sec
tions of the Keystone state. It is
the trip of a lifetime to take a
Jaunt through Somerset county dur
ing the early spring, just about the
time nature is beginning to shako
oft the lethargy of a winter's nap.
Weeks before the ground is in con
dition for plowing, country people
everywhere are busy on the "sugar"
season. During tho weeks imme
diately preceding the early thaws,
there is much work to bo done. All
equipment must be overhauled and
put in ilrst-class order; for when tho
season linally opens, it comes with
a rush. Not infrequently every
available person on the premises
works from daybreak until well in
to tho night. On an exceptionally
line day following a severe freeze,
in a country where sugar trees aro
numbered not by tens and hundreds
but by thousands and tens of thou
sands, it is almost a physical im
possibilty to collect the saccharine
liquid as rapidly as it flows, with
steady, rhythmical drip, into tho
containers. In the sugar belt,
camps are established at convenient
points and regular routes aro fol
lowed in making collections. Tho
process of transforming inaplo sap
into syrup and sugar has been
greatly simplified since the adoption
of evaporators, which make possi
ble, rapid "boiling down."
• • *
Conditions in Somerset county aro
duplicated in certain north tier
counties. Just as it has been pos
sible in the past to secure flaky,
fragrant sugar and delicious "candy"
at unheard of prices in Somerset and
Berlin, prices in Towanda, Sayre
and Kast Sinithfleld have been
equally alluring. While sugar niak
{ lng is commercially important' in
Somerset and Bradford counties,
scores of Harrisburgers who spent
their early days in Elk, Blair, West
moreland or Clarion counties will
recall with a thrill of pleasure their
experiences of other years, when
sugar-making time represented three
weeks of back-breaking toll, but
every day was a day of unalloyed
pleasure. In those days the "spiles"
were fashioned from hardy elder
bushes, and the sap was boiled in
on iron kettle over a hickory-wood
fire. The task of collecting the sap
fell to tho able-bodied boys of the
home. Not infrequently tho great
kettle with Its yawning mouth was
placed near the house, in order
•that the women folks might super
vise the boiling process without too
much inconvenience to themselves
as they went about their other du
ties, but often the house was re
moved a considerable distance from
the source of supply.
In the early days, maple syrup
was extensively used as "sweeten
ing" for sassafras tea. Sometimes,
when the flow of sap was unusually
strong, every kettle and pan about
the place would be pressed into
service, while In the woods crocks,
buckets, boilers and even washtubs
garnered the sparkling water. Some
times the kitchen range would bo
covered with a miscellaneous assort
ment of vessels while the sap was
being transformed into syrup. In
one Armstrong county home it -was
the custom to leave a larpe pan of
well-boiled sap on the kitchen stove
each night during the sugar season.
One night, the boys of the home,
upon their return from town, each
took a hearty pull at tho big pan
before retiring. Knowing well the
location of every object in the
broad, old-fashioned room, they did
not trouble themselves to light a
lamp. The "syrup" on this par
ticular occasion seemed to have lost
its flavor. One after -another tho
young men disgustedly sampled tho
liquid and went to bed. Next morn
ing they were horrified to learn that
their sister had "switched" pans.
Instead of thin syrup, each had
taken a good swig of dirty flish
water. , , ,
Pennsylvania will not only have
a 'record-breaking maple sugar crop,
but one which will be very valuable
in the present shortage of sugar ac
cording to men at the Capitol who
have been hearins from various
counties whore the tapping of trees
will soon begin. The state forestry
authorities are being asked by many
people for information as to the
way to get the sugar. Last year the
production of the state according to
the Department of Agriculture was
1,000,000 pounds of sugar worth
from fifteen to eighteen cents a
pound and 400,000 gallons of syrup
worth from $1 to $1.15 per gallon.
From all accounts reaching the
Capitol there will be much activity
in the woods this year and in spite
of the cold and snows men have
been out looking over trees.
| WELL KNOWN PEOPLE "
—Judge M. B. Stephens, of the
Cambria county courts, says some
of the foreigners ought to turn at
tention to getting English names.
—Rear Admiral Francis T. Bowles
says that much of tho criticism
about Hog Island is far fetched.
—J. B. Hutchison, who goes from
the Tyrone to tho Conemaugli di
vision, comes of a family long iden
tified with the Pennsylvania rail
road.
—J. Aldus Herr, the Lancaster
farming expert, says that farmers
will be fine buyers of war bonds
when prices of feed and things on
the farm get adjusted.
—Dr. J. P. Kerr, Pittsburgh coun
cilman, has returned from a visit to
Camp Hancock.
DO YOU KNOW
—That ITarrlsburg makes tons
of sausage every week?
HISTORIC IIARRISBtmO
The young men of the town used
to have rifle ranges back of the
old state arsenal which was la CttpU
i tol park.