12
f HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
' A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded 1831
,'li. ' ' =
< Published evenings except Sflnday by
THE TEl.%£illM'H PRINTING CO.
Telegraph Building, Federal Sguare
E. J. STACKFOLB
President and Editor-in-Chief
F, R. OYSTER, Business Manager
GUS iL 6TEINMETZ, Managing Editor
4. R, PICHENER. Circulation Manager
Execatlve Board
J. P. McCULLOUGH,
BOYD M. OGELSBY.
F. R. OYSTER.
GUS. M. STEINMETZ.
Jfember of the' Associated Press—The
Associated Press Is exclusively en
titled to the use for republication of
all news dispatches credited to it or
net otherwise credited In this paper
and also the local nAs published
herein.
Jl.ll rights of republication of special
dispatches herein are also reserved.
m Member American
v| Newspaper Pub-
Assocl
a edi Jljj Eastern office.
uSlff Q&& B Avenue Building
~ Chicago, m!"
Entered at the Post Office In Harri3-
bcrg. Pa., as second class matter.
By carrier, ten cents a
week; by mail. $3.00
a year In advance.
Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
—Lowell.
■=-= i
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1818
I !
ANTIQUATED AND COSTLY
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS of
Pennsylvania are evidently de
termined that the present an
tiquated system of assessment shall
be abolished at the first oppor
tunity. Under casting laws there
ig in each Duuphtn county dtstr ct
and in each of the wards of Harris
burg a realty assessor for county .
purposes who is elected by the
voters. With scores of men esti
mating property values, the results <
are just what might be expected. It
is said the cost of county assess
ment in Dauphin under the present
system is about $15,000.
Some time ago the commissioners
©f the State, in convention at Pitts- ,
burgh, adopted a resolution urging
the next Legislature to abolish the
election by the voters of real estate
assessors and substitute therefor the
creation of the office of county asses- (
sor, with assistants, to be named
either by the county commissioners
or county court or both in Joint con- 1
ference. Almost any system would
be better than the present crude
arrangement. The same Lcgisla- 1
ture should also wipe out the exist- <
lng system of tax collection, which ,
is not only expenslvee, but lncon- |
venicnt and unsatisfactory. Now is ,
the time to introduce practical re- (
forms with a view to efficiency and (
ecbnpniy. 1
In order that Belgium and France ,
should be in position to recover from (
the awful devastation of the war. Ger
many ought to be compelled, under I
the peace settlement, to send back to (
the devastated regions all the ma- ,
chtnery that may be necessary to give
Northern France and Belgium the op
portunity to restore their own in- 1
dustry and recover in some measure 1
their lost industrial life. It was the
full intention of the Bun not only to
steal all the machinery that he could
lay his hands on, but to destroy what .
was left in order to prevent any com
petition after the war. He should be
and all tlie materials necessary for
the rebuilding of France and % Bel
gium. even to the demolition of plants
made to disgorge eVery bit of the loot,
end buildings in Germany.
FULL STEAM AHEAD
X~rj ITH real public spirit the City!
\A/ Council und City Solicitor Fox j'
* are meeting the expectations of! :
tlto community with respect to the j
great monumental viaduct at State 1
street and the incidental treatment
of the Capitol Park zone. Harris
burg is more than ready to do its '
part in co-operation with the State
at all times. 1
The widening of Third and Wulnut
streets is the first step and there
is definite assurance that the un
sightly poles and wires in the same
district will go in the near future.
It is a pleasure to all who are inter
ested in the progress of. the city to '
observe the evidences of a rapidly- I
reviving public interest in the un-1
dertakings which were more or less j
put aside during active hostilities. I
Hardscrabble, necessary changes 1
in the park zone, especially the com-!
pletion of the parkway under the
Reading railroad near Paxtnng.and
all the other matters which have
beqn among the Improvement plans
will now go forward under full
pressure.
While the city is preparing to ,
speed up 'lts civic activities so as <
to provide employment for all re
turning soldiers und those who may 1
be thrown into idleness In the reduc
tion of war industry, the State, j
through the Board of Public
Grounds and Buildings, has also de
cided to go ahead with its bridge
building program and with the con
struction of highways.
Also, there Is a disposition 1 every- 1
where on the part of individuals and *'
corporations to get busy, so that the .
time lost while war was the chief
t '•
-_ r. • ■ - ■ ' *
/
* , • . * *V#
THURSDAY EVENING .. . . HARRDSBURG CftftflV TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 12, 1918,
> business will be made up in the addl
[ tional energy that should be thrown
, into normal activities.
It is not Improbable that the Kaiser
has tried to end his cursed life, but it
may be doubted whether A has enough
, nerve in his yellow makeup to kill
: himself. As the circle of retribution
narrows-about him the poor imitation
of Nero becomes more and more ut
terly contemptible.
JOINT PUBLIC BUILDING
COUNCILaiEN und county com
missioners took a long step
j forward yesterday when they
j got together In a seiious effort to
i j erect a joint City Hall and Court- j
1 house. For years the need of such
a "building has been evident. For
a long time a joir.t home for the
city and county seats of government
has been discussed. But though
there have been urgings, there has
been no'action until yesterday.
The Courthouse Is not only anti
quated and tpo small for the growing
needs of the community, hut it Is little '
better than a flretrap. Experts whoj
have looked it over have expressed
wonder that it has escaped so Ion?.
Fire in a single section would sweep
It from one end to the other. Hun
dreds of thousands of dollars worth
of records that could not be re
placed If destroyed arc In constant
danger of flames. Every property
owner and taxpayer in the city and
county would be the loser If-the
Courthouse should be burned.
Beside, the county ought to have
three courtrooms and modern ac-
I commodations for the many who
, use the building. The present struc
turn is too small. Insanitary and in
j convenient for the county's uses, and
it is a mere makeshift so far as the
city is concerned.' .
No municipality of Harrisburg's
size has offices so widely scattered.
Part of the officials ore quartered
in the Courthouse and the remainder
in office buildings for sauares around.
They ought to be concentrate!. <
Hundreds of dollars a year could be |
saved in rentals, to gov nothing of 1
time, comfort and convenience, ifl<
they were all under one roof. . 1
The logical solution to the prob
lem is a joint building. Counctlmen i
and county commissioners are on
the right track. They will have the j
support of everybody who knows
anything about the rna'ter. The next j
conference ought to he most Inter- j
and producthe of helpful i
suggestions. i
I
Mayor Keister will have the ap- j
proval of the entire community in his i
determination to squelch bootleggers •
and the rrooked trafficker in booze. It J
is bad enough under ordinary condi- 1
tions to suffer the operations of these J
crooks, but it is infinitely worse at a i
time when soldiers are returning to 1
their homes and should be saved the
drink temptation in this period of re- (
action. Mayor Keister and the en- '
tire police force should 'be on their i
toes to promptly punish every infrac
tion of the law. and. If necessary, a J
few additional detectives, who are not 1
known to the bootleggers, might be (
employed with advantage for the next f
few weeks. '
i
A JUST CLAIM
i
WHEN the United States en- <
tered the war the Shipping j
Board requisitioned about j
285,000 deadweight tons of Nor- 1
wegian shipping contracted for or
under construction In this country. J
The claim of the"Norweg!ans for re- t
imbursement was deemed exbesslve
and as a consequence no payment J
whatever has been made to them. 1
The enormous destruction by Ger
man submarines of Norwegian ton- (
nage makes it imperative for that t
country to replenish her shipping '
facilities as soon n? possible, and t
the withholding by the United t
States of payment for the shipping
that we took from her is a very t
great handicap. I
It ought not to be difficult for J
the Shipping Board, with the mil- t
Hons at Its disposal, to arrive at £
some sort of understanding with {
Norway. A considerable portion of i
the sum she claims should be paid 1
hre, and the balance could be made j
the subject of fourther exchange of t
views. The President and his Sec- (
rctary of State should find time, in <
the midst of their peace treaty ac- f
tivitles, to see to It the Just 1
debts of the United States to ]
friendly foreign Nations are <
promptly liquidated in order that '
our present amicable relations with [
those countries may be Continued.
Great Britain stood between Ger
many and the world with her magnifi
cent fleet, and It could hardly be ex- ,
pectbd that she would consider for a t
moment any change In policy which t
would deprive the Island empire of her <
only big stick. Most Americans will '
agree that John Bull has been a {
mighty good friend of Unfile Sam in
this big shindy.
" 1
If President Wilson has spurned an 1
invitation to visit Germany, as we 1
are advised through wireless news 1
.channels, he has manifested an ap- '
preclatlon of American sentiment |
which sonfe people were beginning to I
believe he failed to properly senae. 1
l>oea iuU
j By the Kx-Committeeman
i Mercantile appraisers will be
, chosen in most of the counties in
Pennsylvania this month, the choice
in those not under special acts be
ing in the- hands of county com
missioners. The appraisers will as
sume their duties next month and
.! Auditor General Charles A. Snyder
J has served notice that he will close
' | ly scrutinize their returns on busi
•) ness during the coming year,
i J " r ' >e General says Jte will
'j demand more than mere formal
i statements by the heads of firms
I as to business done and that if the
i reports do not show increases pro
portionate with the business believ
ed to have been done this year in
many of the counties of the state,
especially where there were activ
ities "speeded up" because of the
war, he will have his own investiga
tions made.
The mercantile licenses were a
1 big share of the license revenue of
the state last year.
—Men active in Pennsylvania
politics say that some determination
in regard to the speakership will be
! reached between now and Christ-
I mas. While not much is being print
j ed in t/ie newspapers about the mat
j ter it looks as though the tide was
turning in favor of Representative
Robert S. Spangler, of York. Rep
resentatives George W. Williams, of
Tioga, and John W. Vickerman, of
Allegheny, will not be candidates,
but probably support Spangler, who
is a "dry." The men who fought
Spangler for renomlnation must feel
pretty cheap these days. /
—The speech of Governor-elect
Sproul in regard to the Philadelphia
city charter seems to have met with
much favorable comment. The met
■ ropolitan police Idea has been gen
! erally commended.
—From all accounts the dinner
given to Governor-elect Sproul at
Washington last night by Congress
man J. Hampton Moore was a gath
ering which may have dome wide
effects. The new Governor intimat
ed that he wanted an end of fac
tionalism and the belief is that he is
intending to prevent a row over the
Philadelphia mayoralty. Senator
Penrose was one of the chief speak
ers and the Vares and many of their
friends were on hand.
—Harry T. Wills, chief engineer
of the Y'ork fire department, has
been asked to resign, taking effect
January 1. The prlnaipal complaint
is claimed at York to have come
from the State Fire Marshal's De
partment, Wills being a deputy fire
marshal and his alleged failure to
make out reports of fires occurring
in his Jurisdiction is given as the
chief cause for his dismissal. His
successor will In all likelihood be
George S. Kroll, a former president
of the State Firemen's Association,
who is president of the Laurel Fire
I Company and a deputy internal
revenue collector.
—ln his speech at the Five
O'clock Club in Philadelphia Gov
ernor-elect Sproul, says the Phila
delphia Inquirer, "took occasion to
smilingly comment upon the fact
that of all the positions which he will
be called upon to fill there jg none
for which he has had more' names
submitted to him than that of Lieu
tenant Colonel upon his military
staff. There are several close per- i
sonal friends of the Governor now
serving in that capacity and their
reappointments are assured. There
are some who may be classed as
t>urely personal selections of Dr. *
Brumbaugh and who are not likely
to expect to be reappointed. There
are others who for one reason or
another may think they should be
permitted to continue to wear the
uniform which came to them large
ly through personal considerations
or the friendship of some one else
who is potential politically or oth
erwise. They may be kept guessing
for a while."
—Dr. Edward Martin, much men- i
tloned for Commissioner of Health,
has been made emeritus professor i
of surgical physiology at the Uni- I
verslty of Pennsylvania."
—John F. Short, United States 1
Marshal for Western Pennsylvania,
who has been ill, has returned to 1
his office. 1
—ln an editorial on Governor- 1
elcet William C. Sproul and chances 1
for social welfare legislation, the
Philadelphia Public Ledger re- 1
marks: "No Governor in recent I
years has taken office possessing the i
widespread confidence of all clusses t
in the same degree as the Governor- I
elect. This confidence is based on a <
knowledge of his character and i
ability and a realization of the ex- <
tent of his experience at Harris- i
burg." I
—Scranton is now having its se
ries of raids by Federal agents to <
clean up places which city officials t
did not eradicate.
—Norman M. Badorf has been 1
made Burgess of Lititz to succeed '
G. G. Diehm, elected to the Legis- 1
lature. i
—The manner in which the teach- <
ers and their friends are going after 1
the salary increase ns a war emer- I
gency measure is commencing to f
make legislators sit up and take no- '
tlce. It will cause some figuring by I
the state fiscal officers. 1
—Fred T. Mac Donald, of the Au- <
ditor General's department, chair
man of the Chester county Repub
lican Committee, has taken the in
itiative for the formation of a
marching club of Chester county for
the Inauguration, and there has been
a hearty response to his call for or
ganization. The famous West Ches
ter Pioneer Corps, No. 1, which has
participated in many inaugural pa- !
rades and took part In historic pres- '
identlal campaign demonstrations
has been Invited to act as escort to 1
the citizens' delegation from the 1
county. This is recognized as one '
of the best equipped and best drill
ed marching organizations in Penn
sylvania. Their uniforms are re- '
splendent with color and back in t
the days of James O. Blaine, "the I
Plumed Knight of Maine" the West *
Chester Pioneer Corps cut a big <
ogu re in all of the important politi- 1
cal processions held in Philadelphia
and vicinity.
£
"Made in Germany" \
Senator Lodge proposes that we 1
shall follow the example of Canada, 1
and compel every tradesman who 1
sells goods obtained from Germany
since the war to advertise that fact
conspicuously in his shop and on f
his stationery. That is an.aftmlr- '
able plan, the only better one-—per- '
haps not practicable—being to make *
it a penal offense to sell such goods <
at all. We already require all im- <
ported goods to be -plainly marked i
with the name of the country from
which they come. Senator Lodge's
proposal would be merely. $ logical (
and highly desirable extension of c
the same salutary principle. Let •
It J>e enacted, as it certainly should t
be and the public will do the rest, i
N. A. Review's War Weekly (
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS ARE THE HARDEST ByBRIGGS
I HATE To Take a " MAOEL ti STucrc oM *\
FELLOWS. <SiRL AWAY -SDAe o* J Good eveoi!d<i\ /hollo / excuse we \
FROM HI r-A • vuHtraj He's r " Shc >s<iEe / MABCL- nJUST EPDie- / A moment ]
A lOLDTCR IN ( ** CALL'/ \~ 1 HEAR TUEL I
Too- BUT y lar J \
( / Vo ° ' f Yss 90T \j
/ .TOE .it' fBoY-COfvE / HE LSN'T / J 0 - (j SACK j / u l)K ,r, Rf ; 0
I Right UP- / To fro~ PRAwce- /
I CM uOw . JOC I'M .STAY \ -Won'T Yoo J I YEARS Ae
/ WM6H DID ijBov -OH Joe V Jtay?"*- • .The hardest
\ Ybu fie T IM- SO HAPPY. PICAS* CER / / N0 \ V J
The Competent Farmer
The competent farmer has finished
his chores
And has finished his dinner as
well.
He is through for a time with the
world out of doors,
And he loafs by the fire for a
spell.
The logs erickle-crackle; the sparks
fly in flocks;
Aspiring smoke heavenward goes.
The farmer for ease is displaying
his socks
And a pair of inquisitive toes.
The competenent farmer has autos
and sich
But he'd rather have comfort than
style.
In dollars and happiness both he is
rich
Ay, peaceful the close of a hard
working day—
But out In the gathering gloom
An owl sings a mournful and sinis
ter lay
That breathes of dispair and the
tomb.
The farmer Is making his
plans
. Fop the morrow 'as gravely he
smokes.
The children's bright faces he lov-*
ingly scans
And smiles at their innocent jokes.
He knows what he owns, dollars,
% acres and flocks,
And he loves every critter and
fowl; t
And he don't care a darn for the
holes in his socks
And he doesn't give a hoot for the
owl.
GRIFF ALEXANDER. ]
THE PATH OF WISDOM
(From the Kansas City Star.)
The appeal made by Gen. Leon
ard Wood In his address to the
Kansas City Bar Association last
night for universal military train
ing and adequate preparedness for
war, was, in fact, an appeal for
peace.
"This is the end of the present 1
war," General Wood said, "but I j
do not believe there are any so
Utopian as to believe this Is the
last war."
The trouble which this country
will encounter, even in the light of
the war Just closed, is that there
are too many Americans who are
so Utopian ns to believe that this
is the last war. It was this dream i
of universal peace which found us
in the unfortunate condition which I
General Wood pictured when the j
war came upon us unprepared*to the I
point of being ulniost Jielpless.
It was our failure to heed the !
counsel of such wise fnen as Gen
eral Wood, and our willingness to
follow the advice of those who
hoped and that there
would be no war, which found us
wholly unfit to enter upon a war
which we ourselves declared. -
Unless we take heed now to such
counsel as General Wood gave in his |
Kansas City address last night we .
will again drift into the future, j
aimlessly and purposeless as to any
security the conditions we ■
faced in April, 1917, when we
found it necessary to go to war and
unable to meet the emergency.
LABOR NOTES
Canada has a woman professional
undertaker and embalmer.
It is planned to build a Ave or j
story modern office building as a j
labor headquarters at Tucoma, '
Wash. Office space for all the unions |
In the city, with auditoriums and 1
halls for regular and committee 1
meetings, will he provided.
The State Council of Defense has '
issued an order fixing a daily wage j
jjcale In South Dakota. The order ,
provides that ten hours of field work i
shall constitute a standard day. The [
order shall not apply to permanent j
labor hired by the month or year.
The Montreal (Canada) Trades ;
and Labor Council has protested j
against the opinion expressed by*Blri
Robert Rorden, Dominion Premier,!
that strikers come within the oper
ation of the Idlers' acL and can be I
prosecuted.
The Central States Co-operative
Society has Issued a call for a con
sumers' co-operative convention to
be held In Springfield, 111., starting
September 24. One of the purposes
of the meeting will be to - start a |
campaign of education among
workers.
Aberdeen (Wash.) Centrul Labor
Council has asked that the State in
dustrial Insurance act be-so amend
ed that men working on boats after
they are launched he given the same
nrotection accorded workers In oth
er industries in this state.
,
The New Industrial Creed
THE following creed was adopt
ed by the business men of
the country in Atlantic City
last week:
"The convention heartily endorses
in letter and spirit the principles
of the Industrial, creed so clearly
and forcibly stuted in the paper
read to it Thursday morning by
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and
urges upon all units of industry
where they may not now be em
ployed—the application of such
principles. Without approving or
rejecting his particular plan or
machinery, the pririciples advanced
by Mr. Rockefeller hre as follows:
"1. Labor and cupital arc part
ners, not enemies; tlieir interests
are common interests, not opposed,
and neither can attain the fullest
measure of prosperity at the ex
pense of the other, but only in as
sociation with the other.
"2. The purpose of industry. Is
quite as.much to advance social
well-being as material Well-being,
but in the pursuit of that purpose
the interests of the community
should be carefully considered., the
well-being of the employes us re
spects living and Working condi
tions should be fully guarded, man
agement should be adequately rec
ognized and capital should be just
ly compensated, and failure in any
of these particulars means less to
all.
"3. Every man is entitled to an
opportunity to eurn a living, to fair
wages, to reasonable hours of work
and proper working conditions, ,1
a decent home, to the opportunity
to play, to learn, to worship, and to
The Horseshoe Won
I The print of a horseshoe in soft
| earth will always have the power
to stir a young Missouri soldier,
even if he lives long enough to for
get the sounds of war. •
"I don't know yet how I went
through a shelling on .Friday, the
13th, without getting hit," writes
Lieutenant Lawrence Settles, of
Fayette, with an artillery company
of the 89th Division.
"The Roches had been putting
j over a lot of high explosives. We had
'been digging in at night, keeping in
| shallow shelters all day and trust
, ing to luck. 1 know one thing, how-
I ever—a little jest about the super
stition of the old horseshoe
I my life once <tn that day, unyhow.
[ "My sergeant and 1 picked out a
low fold in the ground for tenipor
j ary shelter and were proceeding to
| ward it, when I saw the print of a
horseshoe in a shell hole.
"Well," I said, "as this is Friday,
and the 13Hi, Sergeant, let's sit on
the old horseshoe.
"We crept in and a minute later
I the low fold we had first sturted for
: was blown to the winds. That was
I one time, you can bet, I was not
i ashamed of having been supersti
tious."
No Bolshevism For America
[From the New York Herald]
The conviction of I. W. W. leaders
a few months ago has been followed
by a chastened tone among the more
extreme socialists and Bolshevist
! agitators, which would seem to in
j dicate realization on their part thatt
| the United States has little use for
] them or their doctrines. The reason
I for this is plain Bolshevism has been
i able to gain a hold only in those
'countries where the governments had
i not ut heart the true interests of the
masses of the people.
j NEW ENGLAND APPLES
[From the Boston Post],
It will perhaps surprise a good
| many New Englunders to learn that
1 today for the first time In 30 months
a shipment of the fine apples of this
, section will leave- for port of Boston
; bound for England. Owing to the
■ embargo our government placed on
the frlut In February, 1917, no apples
j have gone across since then. It is
I a good|y cargo of apples that slides
lout of the harbor to-day—l3.UUo
barrels of them, ail selected fruit.
A Crystal Trick
!■ [From the Brooklyn Eagle]
1 Dissolve in hot water as much alum
1 as it will hold, and placo In the *o
' lutlon any object you* wish to cover
with crystals. 'Set the solution in
a uulet place and in a few hours
crystals of alum will be deposited on
jail the objects. In this Way baskots
made of Irtui wire may be covered
| or dried grasses may he made to Iqok
|as tf laden wltli frost.
V
love, as well as to toil, and the re
sponsibility rests as heavily upon
industry as upon government or so
ciety, to see that these conditions
and opportunities prevail.
"i. Industry, .efficiency and initi
ative. wherever found, should be
encouraged and adequately reward
ed, arid indo.ience, indifference and
restriction of production should be
discountenanced.
"5 The provision of adequate
means for uncovering grievances,
and propiptly adjusting them, is of
fundamental importance to ,the suc
cessful conduct of industry.
"6. The moat potent measure in
bringing about Industrial harmony
and prosperity is adequate represen
tation of the parties in interest; ex
isting forms of representation
should be carefully studied and
availed of insofar as they may be
found to have merit and adaptable
to the peculiar conditions in the va
rious industries.
"7. The application of right prin
ciples never fails to effect right re
lations; the letter killcth and the
spirit maketh alive; forms are
wholly secondary while attitude
and spirit ttre -alt important, and
only as the parties in industry are
animated by the spirit of fair play,
justice to. all and brotherhood, will
any plans which they niuy mutually
work out succeed.
"8. That man renders the greatest
social service who so co-operates
in the organization of industry as
to afford to the largest number of
men the greatest opportunity for
self-development and the enjoyment
by every man of those benefits which
his own work adds to the wealth of
civilization."
| POILU
I [The Phila. Evening Public Ledger]
I Since the latter part of 1914 the
French common soldier has been
I called a doughboy. The word poilu
| means hairy. It cdmes from the
1 French word poll, meaning origin
| ally the hair of an animal. It is also
| Sometimes used to mean the beard
lof a man. When the soldiers were
j in the trenches they let their beards
) grow and they did not shave when
they wept home on leave. Their
friends called <them "poilu," or hairy,
just, as we In America are in the
habit of calling a thin, slender boy
"skinny" in a jocular way. When
the slender boy appears his play
mates say, "Here conies skinny," and
when friends of the soldiers saw
them shack home in their villages
they said, "Here comes hairy."
Some of the I'fench dictionaries
give "brave" or "strong" as a derived
meunlng of poilu because the nmn
of great physical strength is usually
hairy. But the application of the
• word to the French soldier in the
great war arose from its apt descrip
tion of his unshuven state. , The
French speak of tjielr "brave poilus,"
which they would not do If they were
using poilu as a synonym of bravo.
Why Meat Is High
One does not need to be a patri
arch to remember the happy days
when he could buy tlie choicest por
terhouse steak for twenty cents a
pound, and otjicr meats In propor
tion. But those who think the war
is responsible for all of the Increase
would do well to realize that had
there been no war at all we might
be as badly off. In the last fifteen
years the estimated rlB In popu
lation is about 20 per cent, .but In
the same period there has been a
decrease of two per cent, in the to
tal of beef cattle hfire. The result is
obvious In the Increased cost of
meat, of shoes and leather.
Nor is beef the only meat supply
that has not increased in proportion
to the population. It is only a part
of the whole agricultural problem.
"Back to the lund," or import laj>or,
sums up the possible alternative so
lution. And how many uro really go
ing back to the land?— Washington
Star. \
Old Mystery Solved
A commercial traveler, on leaving ;
a certain said to the pro
prietor: "Pardon me, but with what
material do you stpff the beds In
your establishmentT'
"Why," said the landlord proudly,
"with the best straw to be found in
the whole country.'V *
"That," returned the traveler, "le !
very Interesting. I now know w.hence |
came the' struw that broke the j
camel's back."—Ttd-Bits, London. I
The Law
We know tha> the law ]s good. If!
a man use It lawfully.—l Timothy,
I. e. i
Clear Up Cyclop's Riddle
[From Phila. Evening Ledger]
The most singular of all mys
teries—the loss of the great collier
Cyclops—ls dismissed in a few uni
forming lines in Secretary Daniels'
extensive report of American naval
activities in the war. The naval de
partment professes total ignorance
concerning the fate of this valuable
vessel and its human freight
Unless the government is hiding
something—a proceeding wholly in
defensible now that hostilities have
ceased—its attitude now puts the so
lution of the riddle squarely up to
Germany. If she knows the answer
she should immediately be made to
disclose it Just as she has revealed
the location of mines and shown her
hand regurxling submarines.
Not only the relatives of those
sailorswho disappeared with the ship
but the public in general has a right
to information on a subject unparal
leled in modern sea annals. Henry
Hudson, adrift in a small boat in a
bay that now bears his name, was
presumably shipwrecked. So was
the diuinllcss Frenchman
adventurously expisudog>tlui*Fju:i&.-
Back fifty years ago a vessel that
failed to reach port could be au
thoritatively asserted to have fallen
a prey to the perils of Iceberg, fog,
reef or stoini. But waves do not de
stroy staunch up-to-date craft such
as the Cyclops. Icebergs are non
existent in the Tropical Atlantic,
where she vanished. Echoes of a col
lision would reverberate.
There is the faint possibility that
she was captured, but in that case
something would almost certainly
have been heard from the prisoners
by this time. The hope that there
are survivors is scant indeed.
But unwarrantably meager is the
Navy Department's handling of the
case. If it has conjectures it should 1
divulge them, and following those
should come rigid inquisition of the-
German authorities until the truth is
i knowji.
WISE SAM GOMPERS i
j ItFrom the Philadelphia Bulletin.)
, Forty leaders of organized labor
j in New York City, including some of
j national reputation, listened yester
l day to a protest from the lips of
I Samuel Gontpers against the pro-
I posed plah for the creation of a
I Labor Party as an active factor in
nutiona! and state politics, an<i ad
journed without faVoralile action.
The president of the American
Federation of Labor, of native
| shrewdness and ability, which has
: been markedly developed by long
I years of experience, deserves at
j lentive ears from who. are
1 younger in their service find who are
quite apt to borrow their ideas-from
, abroad, rather than to form niem
, on the basis of their own knowledge
and best Judgment as to cond,tions
| in the United States.
There have been "Labor" parties,
I under one name or another, in the
United States, but hardly their"
names are to be found 'on the reo
] ords to-day, much less any list of
their activities. Labor's interests,
however, have not been neglected
Either of the greut political factors
is, in itself, a labor party,dependent
upon workers for its strength,* and
if they were not representative of
labor ID their organization, -would
necessarily be mindful of Its cause
| as a matter of practical politics.
Mr. Gompers knows the potency
lof labor as a factor in American
j politics, and doesn't propose to sac
! rlflce It by the separation and isola
tion of that force for independent
- actipn.
***** , /
TRADE BRIEFS
i The leading Portuguese merch
! ants of Bahai completed the organ
, ization of the Portuguese Chamber
!of Uonimerco and Industry. The
| object of the association is to pro
mote and develop 'commerce and
I Industry und to establish better re
, lutions between Brazil and Portugal
[ Food products and chemical pro
! dufcts are the needs of a man in
I France.
| in the Province of Bengal, India,
- 26,486 animals died of contuglous
I (lisrases during the year %917-18, as
: against 8,415 in the previous year.
! Cotton and woolen clothes are the
needs of a man in France. •
A wholesale merchant in Switz
erland is in the market for cotton
goods, textiles and miscellaneous
goods. These goods are desired for
the wholesale trade for the island
of Cyprus and goods are to be'
shipped direct.
I Spark plugs and motor- parts of
j different kinds are desired by a~
! man In Arabta. '>
As the demands for klleuyu' grams
in South Africa Is Increasing, the
Union Government has issued a
pamphlet dealing with its rtiaract*ri
istlcs and • advantages as a cattle
. fodder.
iaroutttj (Eljat
The days when the newspapermen
sent to a strange town for a atory
bought a cigar for the hotel clerk
or tried to buy tigs from the grocer
byway of opening the way for local
information are passed and now a
man can get a line on a community
by glancing through a telephone
directory. And he can get started
without setting tongues wagging.
Some newspapermen have told how
they got to know the names of the
"main people" by lying In bed read
ing the telephone directory In their
room in the hotel ornamenting the
big town quite a few mtles away
from the place where they had to
go to work. And by the same token
you can get a line on the way your
town is growing if you only use your
wits and cease thinking that news
papermen people have uncanny ways
of finding out things because they
use their eyes. It used to be said
that Leonard H. Kinnard made the
Bell Telephone directory here im
pressive for its lists of names be
cause he studied the city directory
first and got to know what the town
looked like. Now the telephone
directory gives you a pretty fair
line on how Harrlsburg Is growing.
I don't mean by the number of sub
scribers, but by where they live. It
was quite a shock the other day in
hunting a number to find alongside
of it a street address, which by the
simple process of recalling what
numbers began at the streets which
have names and putting it beside
the numbered street, gave a loca
tion which a year ago was the mld
dio of a l|eld. And then you get
on Uerry street which makes yau
think you are out in West Philadel
phia where the march of the num
bered streets is so fast that the en
gineering corps have to put on extra
power in the mornings to catch up
with them to start work. Or you
will find that a number devoted to
memories of a store where you
bought some things you liked a few
years ago is now a tier of flats and
that a corner out on Allison Hill
where you got out of an automobile
one evening two summers ago and
bought ice cream at a Sunday school
class festival is new a drugstore.
The'days have come when wo are
commencing to refer to numbered
streets in the twenties and thirties
without wondering where they are
and putting just a bit of local pride
into the enunciation of the high
number when we have a stranger ,
With us, but there is more than one
Harrisburger who has felt like tak
ing to Wlldwood when a visitor finds
that he does not know the strepts
or the numbers of the attractive
section known as Cameron extension
and that his recollection of Twelfth
street stopped when the days it did
not go much below Lochtel Hill
school. I know two men of affairs
In this city who bought a nice din
ner for some one else because they
insisted that a certain number would
be a brickyard. That was a few
years after George Shreiner got busy
in the section above North street
and east of Fifteenth. The last
recollection some people have of a
big property near the Reservoir is
that there used to be an orchard
somewhere near there where they
forgot p:.rt of the decalogue a few y
hours after attending Pine Street
church services. That it is Bftllevue
park and one of the most pleasant
sections may serve to bring this
iMirm-fr long ago a rather
active businessman who .was look- w
lng over a layout of the city tn City
Engineer Cowden's den figured out
that a certain street corner was
right in the middle of the Calder
farm and that it is now Cloverly
Heights. ■
• • *
•
Sonic of the biggest magazines in
t.he country carry advertisements of
indispensable office appliances made
in Harrisburg and I casually .men
tioned the address given as the office
jto a friend last evening and he in
j formed me that there was no such
| street. But there is, physically and
I officially, and what is more there is
! A plant which is a great asset to
! Harrisburg and as fit a subject for
| local pride as Harrisburg engines,
I boiler plates, book binding machin- '
Cry or any of the other things which
we have been making here for years
and which sent our fame around
the world before the Columbian
Exposition. " People are just com
mencing to refer to Schuylkill,
Wiconisco, Mahantongo and other
streets in the upper part of the
Tenth ward the way they did some
twenty or more years ago when the
downtowner used to ask where Camp
street came in and what was the
idea of cutting a street through a
furni and calling it Seneca. They
are gradually getting out .of their
heads that Pentwater is not the
name of a trolley park but of a
highway that will be lined with
homes some day before long. Pak
tung avenue brings up the thought
Of oi>e of the most charming resi
dential sections with plenty of shade,
a wide roadway and handsome
homes instead of the idea of a merry
go round. Some people would be#
surprised to know that Royal Ter
race is built up instead of tacked up
on the side of a real estate office
and that darkest Sibletown is now
a Balkan community and already
giVinjj signs of a change. Reily
and the other uptown streets have
Jumped the railroads and cleared
Paxton creek and are getting ready
to scale the bluff where we almost
got a college for Harrisburg about
two decades ago. Things are going
to move around this city when the
Brunncr plans start working and
there will be a new list of develop
ers who will take up the work of
GusWildman, Baughnian,
Girvin Grove, young Joe Shearer,
Gettvs 'Alec Miller, Shirk, Strohm,
Chris l.ong, and the other builders .
who added many an attractive house
to Harrisburg and turned vacant lots
Into telephone numbers.
The moral of this lecture is that
there may be pleasant days coming
this month after all and a Sunday
afternoon walk is a mightly aid in
getting to know your own town.
f TOL KNOWN PEOPLE |
. —Morris I* Cooke, former dlrec- *
tor of public works of Philadelphia,
has written a book on civic affairs.
H. G. Hinkle, the Altoona city
manager, is now working on plant
to readjust the olty's business to
chdnged conditions and new laws. >
[ DO YOU"KNOW
That sonic of llarrisburg's
plans for municipal improve
ments gave the idea to towns
in Western Canada?
ftISTOIUC HARRISBURG
Members of the Penn family re- A
sided here for years after the French
and Indian war and were on inti
mate terms with Harris and Maclay,