Harrisburg telegraph. (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, December 21, 1918, Page 10, Image 10

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HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
1 A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded 1831
, Published evenings except Sunday by
THE TEIJIGUAFH PRINTING CO.
Telegraph Building, Federal Sgnare
E. J. STACKPOLE
President and Editor-in-Chief
F. R. OYSTER, Butinete Manager
BUS M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor
A. R. MICHENER, Circulation Manager
Exeeetlve Beard
3. P. McCULLOUGII.
BOYD M. OGELSBY.
F. R. OYSTER.
GUS. M. STEINMETZ.
Member of the Associated Press—The
Associated Press is exclusively en
titled to the use for republication of
all news dispatches credited t.o it or
not otherwise credited In this paper
and also the local published
herein.
All rights of republication of special
dispatches herein are also reserved.
Member American
Entered at the Post Office in Harris
burg, Pa., as second class matter.
By carrier, ten cents a
sTfaafifeyltffiorx week; by mall, $3.00
a year In advance.
Give what Thou canst, without Thee
we are poor
And with Thee rich, take what Thou
wilt a\cay.
—Cowper.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 19-J
Disgracing A Great Name
THE ultra radicals of Germany
ought to be the last people on
earth to call themselves the
k ''Spartacus Group." It was Ger
many treachery that prevented Spar
tacus from defeating Rome at the
height of her power and of be
coming one of the great liberators
of history.
Spartacus, a Tliracian, had* been
sold into slavery In Rome after his
Grecian fields had been ravaged by
the invading Roman legions, and on
account of his great strength was
made a gladiator and forced to fight
for the honor of his Roman master.
But though a slave in body, he was
at heart a freeman, and, more than
that, a leader. It was he who or
; ganized the great revolt of slaves,
most of them like himself gladiators,
and the finest, most daring and des
pernte soldiers in the world at that
time. How he became leader of
this army, which put to rout some
of the best legions Rome could mus
ter is a matter of history. His fame
and his armies were growing as he
swept along. He was on the high
L road to becoming the greatest fig
" ure of his time and most noted
L liberator Europe had ever known
when the advice of German slaves
whom he had freed, against his own
belter judgment, finally led him to
inarch against Rome itself, and then,
, after the first sign of failure, the
| Germans detached themselves from
his command and left him to face a
greatly superior army with deplet
ed forces. To be sure, the treach
erous Germans got their just desserts
when the Romans caught them in a
corner and annihilated them, but in
the end their disaffection led to the
defeat of Spartacus and his fellow
heroes after one of the most despe
rate fights ever recorded.
And now comes the German rab
ble to disgrace the martyred Spar
tacus by filching the glory of his
| name. The Germans never did have
the spirit of the great gladiator, in
whose make-up there was no such
streak of yellow as the erstwhile
Kaiseritcs are displaying at every
turn of affairs since the war went
against them.
A "People's League" has been formed
In Berlin, and as soon as we hear that
old E Plurlbus L'num and Vox Popull
are writing for the daily newspapers
we shall be ready to believe that at
last Germany Is safely on the road to
becoming a republic.
OUR SENATORS
POLITICAL considerations aside,
there must be general satis
faction among the people of
Pennsylvania that the State is now
represented In the Senate by two
men of outstanding ability and san
ity. We are passing through the
greatest crisis the world has ever
known and it is highly important
that In the treaty-making branch
of the government there should be
statesmen of courage and vision.
BenAtors Penrose and Knox under
stand the vital character of the
Issues involved and have an appre
ciation of the far-reaching effects of
an Inconclusive and Idealistic peace
settlement. They realise the funda
mental principles at stake and be
lieve experimental theories should
have no place In the peace confer
ence. It is also plainly evident that
the Pennsylvania senators are of
one mind respecting the functions of
the three divisions of our system of
government. They do not propose
to surrender to the executive branch
the responaibilltiee resting upon the
legislative department, and In pur
euance of their rightful purpose
SATIJRBAY EVENING.
to maintain the proper balance
of the governmental machinery
best traditions of the Senate, the
greatest parliamentary body In the
world.
Senator Penrose, for example,
wants prompt action on the war tax
bill, but does not approve the provi
sions for 1920. He is willing, how
ever, to subordinate his views to
the exigency of the situation, with a
view to revision later. In short, our
senior Senator places the needs of
the government above all other con
siderations and urges prompt pas
sage of the revenue bill as a war
| emergency. "Public sentiment," de
; clared Senator Penrose, "has dictated
1 the general policy of the war. It Is
a long Journey from being too proud
to fight, through the transition per
iod of peace without victory, to the
unconditional surrender and the
armistice." His speech was given
close attention and the views ex
pressed demonstrated an intimate
knowledge of the basic things in our
national life.
Benator Knox has likewise, during
the present week, given renewed evi
dence of the breadth of his states
manship and the quality of his mind
in the discussion of the international
problems now pressing for solution.
He has no visionary Ideas of the
part the United States should play
in the adjustment of peace condi
tions, but with a clear grasp of the
points involves, insits that such pro
posals as a lengue of nations and the
doctrine of the freedom of the seas
should be left for careful conside
ration after peace shall have been
re-established.
Both the Pennsylvania senators
have strengthened their positions
this week and given unmistakable
testimony of their safe and sane at
titude upon questions which have to
do with our domestic and interna
tional relations.
We have had enough of theory
and shifting experiment; let us get
down to brass tacks as rapidly as
possible, avoiding the theatrical and
clinging to the fundamentals of a
people's government, without even a
hint of autocracy.
The ex-Ivai9er has an earache and
we wouldn't be surprised if the ex-
Crown Prince is having a heartache
or two.
A STEP FORWARD
THE suggestion of E. Clarke Cow
den, engineer for the City
Planning Commission, that the
site at the corner of Fourth and
Walnut streets, directly opposite
the Y. W. C. A. building, be procur
ed as a location for the proposed
new courthouse and city hall Is
worthy the serious consideration it is
receiving at the hands of those who
have the project in charge. It is
to be hoped some way will be found
to release the land upon which the
present courthouse and jail stand,
so that it may be sold and the other
site bought. There is no more valu
able piece of property in the heart
of the city than that occupied by
the jail and courthouse. It might
be sold for a figure that would more
than buy the larger city hall and
courthouse site and leave money
with which to purchase a piece of
land outside the city, where the Jail,
as Chairman E. S. Herman of the
Planning Commission suggests,
should be located.
This is the business side, but even
more important is the thought of
locating the new building on the
civic center which it is proposed to
create about the newly-acquired
Capitol Park Extension. We al
ready have located on the park bor
der the Technical High school, the
Y. W. C. A., the Majestic Theater,
and the new Penn-Harris Hotel, with
tho prospects bright for other build
ings of a public or semi-public char
acter. By all means the city and
county offices ought to be located
there, too.
We are approaching a period of
great building activity. As soon as
prices recede a little the country
will turn to its delayed building
program as surely as peace follows
war. Reconstruction, improvement
and development are in the air. A
million dollars does not look near
ly so big as It did before we raised
the first Liberty Loan. The people
will not hesitate to endorse any pub
lic project that has merit to recom
mend It and which promises to be
conducted along business lines.
There ought to be no difficulty In
floating such a loan as would give
us the kind of courthouse and city
hall we should have. Now Is the
time to get ready, to make the plans,
to educate the public to the need
and to arouse sentiment In favor
of the desired change. These are
matters for tho Immediate present
and Indications are that the publlo
officials in charge realize this and
are paving the way for concrete
action in the no distant future.
The "Wizard of Ox" strolled into the
Telegraph office to-day, and we put
him right into the paper for the bene
fit of our little friends. Don't fall to
look him up on another pngo nf tills
issue.
Somebody slipped a cog down at
Washington. A Republican was yes
terday appointed Interstate Commerce
Commissioner.
T>ea£cfs,
By the Ex-Committeeman
Commissions for Alexander Simp
son, Jr., and John W. Kephart, elect
ed justices of the Supremo Court
fos a period of twenty-one years and
for Judge William D. Porter, of the
superior court, for ten years, have
been signed by the Governor and
sent by the department of the Sec
retary of the Commonwealth to the
men chosen last month. They will
take office next month.
The certification of election of the
new Governor and Lieutenant Gov
ernor are being prepared at the
State Department and they will re
ceive commissions on parchment
while the official returns of election
of the Senators and Representatives
who wlft sit in the next general as
sembly are being made ready for
presentation on the day of organ
ization. •
The four Congressmen-at-Large
and the thirty-two district Congress
men will be sent certificates shortly.
At the State Department the final
tabulations of the official votes are
being made preparatory to issuing
the statement of the vote by dis
tricts and counties which is to be
carried out within a few weeks.
When these acts are performed the
election of 1918 will be fully re
corded.
—Officials of the State Department
of Labor and Industry refuse to
make any statements about the
sharp criticism of the employment
service made by the president of
the Sun Shipbuilding Company in
which Governor-elect William C.
Sproul is interested. It has been held
here right along that the federal
government had put the state into
the background in the matter of em
ployment agencies and that if there
was anything to say Washington
could probably say it.
—The only thing that seems to
have been agreed upon by the Phil
adelphia charter revisers is that
there should be one council. The
Quaker City is the last to cling to the
two chamber system, which will
probably be returned to thirty-tlve
years from now.
—The Pittsburgh Dispatch insists
that'ha relations of Mayor Babcock
and the Pittsburgh councilmen have
become strained over the budget,
while the Post says they have taken
to conferring "over something in
secret."
—Lackawanna county people are
insisting that the investigation into
the alleged ballot frauds Lc sweep
ing and that an example he made, so
that there will be nothing of the
kind again for a while.
—Lebanon county fathers will
probably have a struggle over water
service in some sections of the
town.
—Taking the first step toward ob
taining power at the hands of the
next Legislature to increase taxa
tion for public school purposes in
Pittsburgh, the board of public edu
cation yesterday, on motion of Mar
cus Aaron, directed its linance com
mittee to consider the question and
report back to the board, with rec
ommendations, says the Pittsburgh
Post.
—A minimum tax of seven and a
maximum of eight mills is favored
by board members who have express
ed themselves, instead of the 6-8
mills limit proposed by the Philadel
phia board.
Congressman J. Hampton Moore,
of Philadelphia, is demanding that
the muddle in the War Department
over soldiers be explained. The Phil
adelphia congressman has been en
deavoring to straighten out some
things about constituents and is
somewhat inclined to be disgusted
with what he struck.
—The mention of Secretary of
War Newton D. Baker as a possible
Democratic candidate for president
does not seem to arouse any more
enthusiasm than the talk of Na
tional Chairman Vance C. McCor
mtck for the same place—now that
the war is over.
—District Attorney Hannum, of
Delawaro county, and liepresenta
tive-elect William Cloud Aelxander,
of Media, had a tilt in the Delaware
courts yesterday and the district at
torney got fined for contempt of
court.
—Philadelphia labor is now de
manding a share in the drafting of
the new charter for that city.
—An investigation has been or
dered into the conduct of the North'
ampton county almshouse. There
have been some charges floating
around which will be probed.
—Lleutenant-Oovernor-elect Ed
ward E. Beldleman was speaker at
an Allentown Masonic dinner last
evening. The new Lieutenant-Gov
ernor is kept pretty busy trying to
till requests for him to speak.
—H. T. Madsen, of the Westing
house plants at Chester, is the latest
to attack the employment service.
He does not seem to think much of
the system followed in this state or
the Federal bossing of it, either.
—The manner in which the Phil
adelphia Public Ledger is criticis
ing the Railroad Administration for
the way it is running passenger
trulnsta Eastern Pennsylvania is at
tracting attention. The Ledger is
hardly what could be called a cor
poration newspaper and it is pre
senting some matters which have
long been in the public mind, but
which many have hesitated to ex
press because of the noisy group of
Federal administration shouters and
the cry of "win the war." The Leg
gcr's remarks will be followed with
Interest at Washington, but regarded
us rank treason In Market Square,
Harrlsburg. Pa.
Emblem of Democracy
[From the Ntcholasvllle (Ky. )N'ews]
The famous Red Cross mule. Gen
eral Maude, who has been spending
her vacation at the C. C. Glass farm
at Camp Nelson, after her various
experiences and travels In behalf of
the Red Cross, will shortly be taken
to her home In Mercer county and
will be the guest ror the winter of
her former host, Phil Chrlstman, who
raised the animal. The auctions of
Maude have brought thousands of
dollars to the Red Cross cause. The
Kentucky colony st Washington has
asked for the mule. and. It 1s said,
will present It to the President.
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH -
THAT GUILTIEST FEELING By BRIGGSI
A COUPLE. OF WOMEW -
PLAVCRi LET Xokj'GO THROUGH" ..
at Th 6 Tee Because You \V|l]/ f )
PLAT So MUCH BETTER than W uf// ( YOO LfFTED/ J
Tb MAKE- A WHALE OF A DRlv/E
'/ ; ' ; 11 4 '
g'f- 11 i&mm-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
Status of the S. A. T. C. Boys
To the Editor of the Telegraph:
The Students' Army Training I
Corps as we look at it, was a great [
organization. We all are aware of I
the fact that the U. S. Military,
Academy, at West Point is the best
and most efficient training that a |
young man cun acquire.
What is an S. A. T. C. school but,
a miniature West Point Academy'.' j
It is based on the same plan, has
the same rules and regulations as
the military academy. Thus the j
government has established minia- I
ture West Points throughout the'|
country. These schools are made up j
of a small per cent, of college bo t ys
and a large per cent, of working
boys who could not for some reason
join the army even though they
wished to. Speaking of the S. A. T. C.
school as a miniature West Point,
what one of these boys was willing
to break up their whole school year,
or give up a fine position, and leave
dependants in a bad way for 2 1-2
months training as a fake West
Pointer? It is plain to be seen that
not one would have been willing.
The Student Army Training
camps have all been disbanded or
must be liv the 21st of December.
We must of course realize the fact
that our government is in a bad
way financially and is preparing for
an international permanent i>eace.
Thus the government has alter 2 1-2
monts successful training and great
progress cast aside the S. A. T. i.'.
cantonments. Yes, she has cast them
aside and we may speak of these
camps as things of past and mere
experiments which have proven suc
cessful.
Let us now consider the standing
of the soldiers in general who made
up these organizations, they are or"
to be more exact were college stu
dents. (I am speaking in general).
After being discharged they are
merely lost sheep. They have been
paid off for the number of days in
camp this month at the rate of $1
per day. Thus they were thrown out
of the camps with from sl4 to s2l
in their possession, and no other
footing whatever. There are some
but few who are able to go back
to college, and see their way clear
financially. There are some who
have no desiro to return, and there
are others, I may say the largest
per cent, who have a great desire
to return to college and complete the ,
year, having successfully completed
the first semester free of charge. But
what is their footing? They have
been thrown out ii\to this wide,
stretch of land with no finances to
back them up.
The largest number of boys who
entered colleges this year through
the S. A. T. C. were boys who did
not have the money to go to college, |
had it not been for this organiza- |
tion. Their minds were filled with
great opportunities which have all
turned out to be false.
They were first told, "if they en
tered the students army training
corps, they would spend from three
to six months at school, receive
a college education while there and
then "be sent to an officers train
ing camp." This proved false, owing
to the cession of hostilities. We may
not expect the government to make
officers of them nor do they desire ,
anv office whatever.
Secondly, they were told that
while at college they would receive
the prescribed college courses,
which would ordinarily prepare
them for professional life and re
ceive military training on the side.
To their great disappointment, they
did not carry college subjects, but
carried subjects prescribed by the
War Department, purely military,
through and through. The upper
classmen were required to drop their
future college courses and carry a
military course on the same basis
as the lower classmen. On what
grounds can this be spoken of as
just, other than a just lie?
Thirdly, we were told if by chance
the war should cease, that they
would be given a full year's college
course free of charge. You see that
this has proven false. No sooner had •
hostilities ceused on the western
front, than plans were laid for the
demobilization of the students' army
training corps.
Lastly, there were those poor in
finance, who Jumped with Joy at the
thought of acquiring at least one
yeur's college education, and im
mediately gave up good positions.
Home who could not afford to do
even this, but with the help of others
left those dependants on them in a
fair way.
This Is the position of the aver
age college boy to-day. All his
bright plans for the future huve been
cast aside and was merely a dream
built Irr his mind by the persuasions
of higher authorities. College presi
dents. its has not, nor will not re
ceive any college education except
at his own expenae, which he can
not afford. The 8; A. T. C. boy on
the whole Is In a bad way to-day.
Having given up some fine positions
The Woman Who Saw
(From New York Sun)
WHILE the bus carried her
down Fifth avenue the Wo
man Who Saw nodded her
head with approval over another
article in the morning paper sug
gesting that Germany be compelled
to replace as far as possible the art
she had destroyed from her own
treasures. But the writer preferred l
that this nrt be selected by a better
judge than the one who bought the
wax Flora which the Kaiser and Dr.
Bode had determined should be an
antique in spite of the critics of the
world. A German savant had spoken,
also the All-Highest, therefoie the;
Flora was antique. Sir Oracle heed- j
ed not the barking of dogs.
Back into her memory there came j
the recollection of the story of her |
small cousin whoso fate it had been j
to attend as a child a "Hochtochter- i
schule" in Hamburg, where her fath- j
er was consul general. Her home in |
this country was in Pennsylvania's;
capital, and from her dootstep the!
child had been üble to look east and ;
see the clock in the dome of the old !
Capitol building, while a glance west |
gave her a glimpse of the shining
Susquehanna.
It was a long Jump from a small
American private school, with initia
tive the desirable thing and freedom;
the keynote of school spirit, to the !
discipline, drill and learning by note i
of the German educational system, j
where even -the position of one's |
hands and the cut of her funny little
apron were rigidly prescribed. But
she was teachable and bright, and
all went well until the fatal day
when the geography lesson had to
do with the capitals of her own j
country.
A-qulver with excitement she
'came to class, for she had something
to tell "Frauleln." The book was
wrong Pennsylvania's capital was
misnamed. And when a yellow
for merely 2 1-2 months of hard
work.
Thus the S. A. T. C. boys are be
ing discharged with very few dollars
in their pockets. N owork and plans
for the future lost.
W. A. H.
Police to Assist Cupid
[From the Chicago News.]
Here's the very latest thing in the
Chicago police department—le bu
reau d'amour.
The reason for this bureau came in
a letter from Alarce de Vermaeull,
the acting French consul In Chi
cago, who asked John J. Garrity,
chief of police, to investigate three
young men, American soldiers in
France, their families, their stand
ing in the community, and so on. Ob
ject, matrimony.
The acting consul explained that
the request for this Information,
following French customs, came to
him from three country women of
his, who have accepted Chicago boys
to be their husbands. Not wishing
to take a pig in a poke, even if said
pig does appear to be A No. 1 in
every respect, these young French
women have exercised native cau
tion in finding out just who the boys
are and all about their families.
"I expect there will be a good
maqy of these requests before long,"
said the chief of detectives, to whom
Chief Garriety turned over the re
quest. "I am going to assign three
detectives to the work and they will
make their report direct to the act
ing French consul. As there will be
more of them the men assigned may
find they have a more or less per
manent Job for a while helping out
j International marriages."
Telephones at North Pole
To the surprise of the Eskimos,
our house in Etah was fitted with
electric lights. A large flash light
over the door welcomed visiting Es
kimos from the south and proved of
great value In loading and unload
ing sledges during the long, dark
winter nights. The electric current,
generated by a beautiful oil engine
and dynamo, was a necessary part
of our wireless equipment.
In my room there wus a telephone
connected with the igloqs of the Es
kimos—another wonder, and one
which caused no end of talk,
A people really living in the stone
age wero enjoying, as though by a
wave of the hand, fwo of the great,
est of modern discoveries. Froin
"Four Years In the White North"
by Donald B. MacMlllan (Harper &
Brothers).
braided Gretchen glibly recited,
"Pennsylvania: capital, Philadelphia
on the Schuylkill," small America
waved her hand wildly, and explain
ed that Gretchen was not right. The
capital of Pennsylvania was Harris
burg on tho Susquehanna. Coldly
"Frauleln" asked her reason, with
a curt reproof for this unseemly in
| terruption of order. "But I live
there," explained the little Amer
ican girl. "And I can see the river
and tho Capitol building from my
house."
Instead of the praise and grati
tude she had expected, anger re
warded her desire to correct a mis-
I take. "Fraulein" supposed she
! meant well, but the book said Phil
! adelphia, and the book was correct.
A German book could not err. There
| fore they would resume the lesson
i and recite according to the book.
| There was a stormy session at
home when an American father
j learned of tho reproof and the con
j sequent punishment of his little
daughter for interrupting a lesson.
In till' ee fashion he hurried
to the ' Hochtochterschue" to in
sist that justice be done.
He, too. however, returned a sad
der and a wiser man. He might
withdraw his child if he desired,
i That was his privilege. But as long
i as she remained in the school she
I would recite as the book said. It hud
I the sanction of the state, and was
not that the sanction of the Emper
or himself? There was no more to
be said. Truly, thought the Woman
Who Saw, as she mused over the
story, there was a devastating thor-
I oughness nbout such a philosophy
that bore fruit in due season.
Editor's Note.—The late Dr. Hugh
Pitcairn, a citizen of Harrisburg,
was consul general several years and
this story evidently refers to his
daughter.
We Dream Too Long
We are apt to dream too long
In the ruddy, changing glow
Ot the hearth light where the pic
tures
In the embers come and go.
We are apt to build too high.
And, once builded, 100 long stand
In the shadow of our building.
Clasping empty hand in hand.
Say we let the embers die,
Set our feet on solid soil;
There is something yet of pleasure
Left to those who dare to toil.
In the struggle and the sweat
Of the doing we shall know
Raptures such as tint the pictures
In the hearth light's changing
glow.
Xnd with laden arms at night
We shall take a happy way
Through the gracious calm, full
hearted,
Like glad children home from
play.
We shall dream and dream full long
Where the pictures come and go.
We shall rest when we have earned
It
In the hearth light's changing
glow.
JAY B. IDEN.
Vote of Britain's Women
[From the London Times]
If there is one element more in
calculable than another, it is the vote
of the newly-enfranchised women.
Notwithstanding the age limit of
thirty years, women constitute more
than" a third of the total electorate
of about twenty million. Indeed, It
is possible that at this election more
women will vote than men, because
of the physical difficulties which will
stand in the way of the recording
of their votes by large bodies of sol
diers and sailors on foreign service.
Nobody, not even the most experi
enced political organizer, has the re
motest idea of the direction in which
the thoughts of the women voters are
turning. The absent voters, too, are
an utterly unknown quantity. Even
the eight million men who were on
tho register for the last general elec
tion have learned so much in tho
war that the party axis of vast num
bers has been shifted to a degree
which cannot be gauged with any
accuracy.
Attaining the Perfect Peace
If the pence conference waits un
til it has all the necessary elements
and factors of peace within its Juris
diction tt Is likely to be swept away
in the midst of Its labors by the mil
lennium. —From the Chicago Dally
News.
DECEMBER 21, 1918.
The Kaiser's Taking Off
[From the New York Globe.]
A Rotterdam dispatch pretends to
tell, on the authority of an un
named member of the late Kaiser's
official family, the story of the lust
few hours in Spa before the ignomi
nious flight to Holland.
The Kaiser, clothes horses for
GOO uniforms, is disclosed, when his
tinsel began to peel off, as a creature
of pitiful weakness. 1-Ie fluttered
about, not knowing what to d. The
vaunts of other days wero ash • in
his mouth. His courage oozed'away.
First he would not abdicate. The
war lord would place himself at the
head of those faithful to him and
perish gloriously, if perish he must.
But his purpose did not hold. Re
flection showed him that it was his
duty to cease to be German em
peror. But as king of Prussia he was
vice-gerent of heaven, owing his
throne to no earthly power. Had not
his ancestor at Komgsberg crowned
himself, the act symbolizing he was
feudatory neither to emperor, pope,
nor people? But word came that
the back roads were not safe, and
the trembling potentate who had
brought death to millions feared for
his wretched carcass. Hypocritical
to the last, he saw that it was his
duty completely to abdicate and that
lie must not go to Germany because
it would he said he'proposed to form
a party favoring his restoration. It
was noble n him to make the quick
est get-away he could to the Dutch
frontier.
The frightened czar was a pitiful
weakling, Lit his finish was one of
dignity compared to that of his
ousin. The czar was at least a man
n his honest devotion to his fam-1
ilj, and bore the personal insults
heaped upon him meekly. The
Kaiser, with the intense selfishness
of a vain man, thought of 1 no one
but himself. He was not even a
gallant private gentleman, such as
the adjutant who came to him to
say he would be one of a body-guard
to fight to the last. Why was the
war? Because a hereditary monar
chical system has given Germany an
unintelligent ruler who was putty in
the hands of some twenty or thirty
war-makers who knew their own
minds. Bismarck was right when he
spoke dolefully of Germany's future
should pressure ever come against
the superficial creature who affect
ed greutness and began his reign by
Insulting his mother, ransacking her
documents to gain possession of let
ters wherein his father had written
down his opinion of his son. Every
thing by starts and nothing long,
dilettante in all the arts and mnster
of none, a poseur and a fraud, the
ex-kaiser is but a simulacrum of a
man. And to think this image for a
long time imposed himself at his
own valuation on many millions!
Germany's Cheap Goods
Sir Auckland Geddes is quite
right, from the British point of
view, in saying that it would be bet
ter to run the risk of Germany's
never paying all her debts than to
let her dump her cheap manufac
tured goods upon the British mar
ket. " It would also be quite right
to say precisely the same from the
American point, of view. Indeed,
we can say it the more unhesitating
ly, from even the most sordid point
of view, because we have no such
vast indemnity to collect from Ger
many as Great Britain has. Of
course we should collect a consider
able sum, but we should not be at
all embarrassed if we were unable
to get a dollar. On the other hand,
we have at least as much reason for
excluding German goods as the Brit
slh have. It was an astounding thing
that a cargo of German toys was
permitted to enter this country a
little while ago, and it was some
thing that should hot be repeated.
The argument that we must sur
render our markets to Germany and
subject our workmen to Hunnlsh
competition, in order to enable Ger
many to pay her debts, is revolting
to sense and to decency.—N. A. Re
view War Weekly.
The Arctic Night
[From "Your Years in the White
North," by Donald B. McMillan,
(Harper & Brothers.)]
At noon of December 21, the
shortest and darkest day of the year,
wo could easily detect a faint glow
of light in the south. The true
darkness of night is a result of the
complete disappearance of all traces
of twilight, which occurs when the
sun reaches a point of eighteen de
gress below the horizon. Our lati
tude was 78 degrees 20 minutes,
therefore the sun at this time was
only about 12 degrees below the
horizon. •
Eiipntng (Eljat j
Pennsylvania's memorial to her
soldier and sailor sons In the great
war—the monumental bridge to be
built as a part of the plan for Im
provement of the surroundings of
the State Capitol—ls being made In
model form for the Legislature by
Arnold W. Brunner, the architect'
of the park extension plans. Mr.
Brunner is at work on the details
of the plans at his offices in New
York where the model Is taking
form under his personal direction
and It is expected to .complete it
within the next six weeks. The
model Itself is to be something
unique as the famous architect Is
devoting much of his time to the
proposition. The model will show the
eastern end of the park extension,
the Capitol and the park to be laid
out on It together with the "Peo
ple's Court" and the mall being in
another model. The brldgo model
will include the pylons which will
contain the chambers for the tabletH
to contain the names of the soldiers
and six of the spans ut the western
end. The two will be shown togeth
er which will indicate just what Is
planned for the civic center of the
Commonwealth. The preliminary
work for the bridge and for the
changes of the highways is well un
der way now. Surveys and tests
have been made on the bridge site
and the city authorities are prepar
ing for their share in the Improve
ment which will consist of ap
proaches.
People at the Capitol are taking a
great Interest In the bridge planß
and are also speculating on the ef
fect of plans being discussed for
removal to Harrlsburg of various
state ottlces now in Philadelphia. If
these ofllces are ordered removed to
this city next year hs seems likely,
it may lead to the construction of
the lirst of the office buildings
planned for the Park Extension by
Air. Brunner. One of the men most
familiar with the plan of govern
ment of the state is authority for
the statement that the rent which
the Commonwealth pays for offices
outside of the Capitol in Harrls
burg, Philadelphia and other places
where are located offices which
could be moved to Harrlsburg, would
in live or six years pay the construc
tion of an office building whllo the
maintenance of such a structure
would not be a fifth of the present
annual rental charge. This problem
of housing departments has been un
der consideration for several weeks.
The old Stur-Independent building,
in South Third street, Is now being
remodeled by the owners with the
plan of leasing it to the Department
of Agriculture so that it can bring
all of its bureaus under one roof.
This department's ofllces are scat
tered from the cellar to the attic of
the Capitol and the State Live Stock
Sanitary Hoard and laboratory oc
cupy buildings in the park extension
district which are to be razed this
ne> year. The old Boyd residence,
lately used as a temporary post of
fice during the remodeling of the
federal building, and also by the
draft headquarters shipping de
partment is being studied as a place
for certain health department offices
now in Philadelphia, including lab
oratories. The building formerly used
as the United Evangelical printing
establishment is now occupied by the
automobile division of the State
Highway Department Eventually,
when the new state museum and ed
ucational building is constructed in
Capitoi Park extonsion the Public
Service Commission will consolidate
its bureaus in that building. They
now occupy rooms in four buildings
outside of the Capitol. It Is pos
sible that the Internal Affairs De
partment may take the third floor
quarters vacated by the Department
of Agriculture and the Insurance
Department be consolidated in the
Internal Affairs suite.
"Will tho people of Harrisburg be
for Christmas clubs next year?"
asked one of the city's busiest mer
chants this morning repeuting a
question put to him. "They will.
There has been more money mado
available for Christmas buying this
■month than we ever knew in Har
risburg before, bar none, and it is
all due to the sav ing clubs. Many
people made more money this year
than before and they saved it in
chunks. Next year they will not be
making as much money, but they
will be keener on saving."
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE 1
—General Ricligrd Coulter, who
has been in command of debarka
tion points in France, is reported
on his way home.
—E. T. Totesbury is home from a
visit to Southern states.
—Col. Asher Miner, who com
manded the old Ninth Pennsylvania,
later an artillery regiment, is on his
way home. He was wounded in
France.
—John Kendrick Bangs, the hu
morist, is out with some rather start
ling comments about reformers as ho
found them in army work in France.
He does not like the professional
type.
—J. Benjamin Dimmick, of Srn'cn
ton, in charge of American Red
Cross work in parts of Switzerland,
has written several Interesting let
ters to people in Scranton.
—John Durkan has been re-elect
ed president of the Scranton Pro
tective Association.
DO YOU"KNOW
—That Harrisburg's military
record for tills war is going to
be a most impressive one?
HISTORIC HARRISBURG
When the first bridge was built
over the Susquehanna here it was
as notable in its way as the new
Memorial bridge will be when
finished. ,
Congress in Various Lands
Any legislative or lawmaking body
may be called a congress or parlia
ment, but different countries have
different names. France has a Na
tional Assembly, with two houses
called Senate and Chamber of Depu
ties; Germany has an upper and
lower house, Bundesrath and Reich
stag; Belgium has Senate and ChaiVi
ber of Representatives; Spain has
a Cortes with two houses, Senate
and Congress; Denmark has a Regs
dag, wi(h upper house called Land
thing and lower house called Folke
thing; Italy, a Parliament with Sen
i ate and Camera di Deputatl, or
Chamber of Deputies; Sweden, a
Diet with First Chamber and Sec
ond Chamber.—Pittsburgh Dlspatoh.
A War Paradox
It is one of the remarkable fea
tures of this remarkable war that
the country which first threw down
its arms and asked for peace Is the
only country that is still fighting.
The war in Russia still continues on
several fronts.—Springfield Union.