6 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A EEWBPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded 1831 Published evenings except Sunday by THE. TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO. Telegraph Building, Federal Sqiare E. J. STACKPOLE President and Editor-in-Chief F. R. OTSTER, Business Manager OU& M. STEIN MLTZ„ Managing Editor AR. MICHENER, Circulation Manager Execattve Board J. P. McCULLOUGH, BOYD M. OGLESBT, F. R. OYSTER, GUS. M. STEINMETZ. Members of the Associated Press—The Associated Press is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news pub lished herein. All rights of republication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. A Member American r] Newspaper Pub- Asaocia- Eastern office —■ Gas' Building, -( Chicago, 111. Bntered at the Post Office in Harris burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carrier, ten cents a week; by mail, 13.00 a year in advance. Jehovah is my strength and my ihield; my heart hath trusted in Mm, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and icith my long tcill I praise him.— Ps. 88: 7. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1, 1919 GROUNDHOG DAY JUST about the time we had set tled down to the conviction that a!l this talk about the discovery of early blooming hepaticas and the amount of coal our neighbors have saved over the same amount burned last year were clear evidences that the annual "January thaw" had de- J veloped into the actuality of an | honest-to-goodness early spring, j along comes Groundhog Day to up set our calculations and make us think twice about hunting up the seed catalogue and over-liauling the Ashing outfit. Of course this idea of the Ground hog coming out on the second day of February, seeing his shadow and dodging back for six weeks more of sleep during which winter weather shall prevail, northwesters blow and blizzards rage is all tommyrot. We know this because Mr. Demain, our | weather forecaster for lo these many moons, lytfailingly chides us when from time to time some mention of the G. Hog fable creeps into the columns of llarrisburg's most re liable and influential newspaper. We don't blame Mr. Demain. Why should any sane man put his faith iu a mythical groundhog the while ignoring the scientific sharks of the i T'nited States weather bureau? There's nothing, absolutely nothing i to it, and we shall henceforth stigk ' to the twenty-four prognostications j issued each day at 11 o'clock from the little office at the top of* the federal building. On that we are resolved. Still . After all it would be j comforting if to-morrow should turn out to be cloudy. W. L. GORGAS DEATH during year hasj laid his hand heavily upon the j older men who have had I prominent part in the affairs of the j city in the past lia!f_century. The! passing of William Luther Gorgas' yesterday took from life another of I these outstanding figures. As presi-} dent of the old common council, as 1 city commissioner, acting mayor and baijker he had lohg been ac- 1 corded a place among the leaders in municipal affairs. His prominence. In Masonry and his part in the ' erection and management of the great Masonic Homes at Elizabeth- j town also brought him into the pub- j lie eye. lie lived to his allotment •f three-score and ten, and leaves many friends to mourn him. ONE-MAN PERIL THE danger ofr one-man diplom-' acy In Europe is now beginning to be very apparent. The United Btates Senate is properly disturbed over the possibilities of President Wilson getting the country Into a po sition on the German colonial ques tion at variance with the desires of the American people, and burden some and perilous In the extreme. The President has Insisted upon act ing alone for the natiop. He will brook no advice nor will he accept the opinions or suggestions of United States senators who must pass upon the acceptability of the treaties and agreements which he proposes to make in France. And so upon his head alone must rest the responsibil ity for the outcome. But that is a small matter beside .the fact that the whole American may be bound by this one man diplomacy to a course of action that will lead to much expense and no end of sacrifice and danger of foreign entanglements. Senator Knox is quite right when he says the Sen ate wants some knowledge as to what America's share Jn policing African colonies would be before agreeing to go along with the pro- SATURDAY EVENING. gram the President is reported to have agreed upon. We went into the war for the sole purpose of beating l Germany and crushing the power of the Hun to force his will upon the free peoples of the earth. Our young men are im patient to come home, now that work is done. They do not want to be sent into Africa, and the Presi dent has no right to expect it of them. Nor would it be an easy mat ter to recruit an army in America t9 hold the rilie over African savages. And so far as sending n conscript army for that purpose, the thing would be impossible. We must know more about the whole situation before we can judge properly, but Mr. Wilson does not see tit to take anybody on this side of the water into his confidence. CONRAD SEEGER THE death of Conrad Seeger, veteran businessman of Ilar risburg, serves to illustrate the changes that have been wrought in the world of trade within the scope of one man's lifetime. When Mr. Seeger came into young manhood most of the carpet's used iu the households of the country were woven on hand looms from the rags sewed by members of the household. The "rag man" Was an unknown institution then. Nothing went into the rag bag except to come out again in the form of car pet rags, which were carefully sewn into long strings and wrapped tightly into balls to be accumulated until the day arrived when there was sufficient on hand for the weav- I ing of a carpet or a rug. Then the | lot was carted off to the weaver's, i the necessary "chain," or binder, I bought, the colors selected, and the | weaving of the carpet or rug begun on the big hand looms that were I the wonder of every child who be- I held their lumbering but efficient j operation. Nor were the products of thisj crude weaving apparatus inartistic. Indeed, they were highly attractive ; in comparison with the beflowered "ingrain" and Brussels carpets that drove them off the market and their weavers into other lines of trade. But Mr. Seeger was one who found it possible to change his line of operations without getting out of the carpet business when the big mills started to make competition hard and the doubtful tastes of a I fickle populace began to swing to ward the rainbow colors of the new er creations. He was one of the few weavers who retained an inter- j est in the carpet business, and as i president of the Harrisburg Carpet I Company continued prominent in j the business world long after his j companions of earlier years were j laid to" rest and even up to the very day of his own death. LABOR AND POLITICS SAMUEL GOMPERS sums up his objections to the organization of qn American Labor Party in two sentences that ought to con- | vince the intelligent union man of I the folly and futility of such an ef fort. He says: American labor during this war has accomplished three times what England has accomplished without a political party of its own. If labor goes into politics it will have to get votes and la bor will decline frotn a power ful economic unit to a vote catching machine. Mr. Gompers is right. A labor ticket would not win any more in the United States than would a bankers' ticket, or a capitalistic ticket or a trust ticket. We have higher ideals in this country than those based on class interest, power ful though those influences may be in our daily lives. Labor is bound to have a growing and powerful place in the counsels of the nation, but it will not be through a labor party. Rather it will be through both the old parties catering to the labor vote and through the great and growing determination of the American voter that everybody, strong and weak, rich and poor, shall have a fair deal at the hands of the government—nothing more and nothing less. A VETERAN GUARD GENERAL BEARY'S suggestion that the Twenty-eighth Divi sion of the United States army, made up largely of the old Pennsyl vania National Guard units, be in corporated into the new National Guard of the State, is highly pleasing from whatsoever angle it may ho re garded. Very likely many of these men will have had their fill of sol diering, but there will be hundreds of others who will not want to sever their connections entirely with mili tary life, and the thought of march ing and camping once n year with their comrades of yie great war would prove an incentive that would take many back into the Guard. It would be a fine thing for the State to have at its call such a body of men as constituted the Twenty eighth, one of the hard fighting, hard hitting divisions of the American army which met the best the victori ! ous Hun had to offer in the way of j trained veterans, and hurled them ' back across the plains of France to | utter defeat and ignominious sur render. Foreign nations, with this knowl edge in the backs of their heads, would hesitate to pick a quarrel with us, and the very fact that the Na tional Guard was made up of train ed and efficient feoldlers would go a long way toward Insuring peace for an indefinite period. Beware of False Prophets Beware of false prophets, which come'to you In sheep's clothing, but inwardly , they are ravening wolves. —Matthew vll, 15. I MV "PtKKOijlcaiua By the Ex-Committeeman As a result of the dismissals in the State Department of Agriculture Capitol Hill seems to have become tirmly possessed of the idea that persons connected with the State government must not have outside connections especially interests in concerns supplying materials, im plements or anything else which may come within the scope of the work of the branch of the State government with which they hap pen to be identified. Secretary Frederick Rasmussen today refused to make any statement about the resignations asked yesterday and men who resigned said that they are going to leave. E). B. Dorsett, late chief of markets, said that he would take one of some positions offered him. The executive department has let it be known that it will not tolerate appeals from orders of heads of de partments for resignations. In the case of a stenographer dismissed from a department a week ago an efTort was made to have the order countermanded without success. Resignation of Irvin G. Reagan, of West Chester, otherwise known as "Spider." will be asked soon. This is a matter for the trustees of the State Library. Reagan displaced Norman D. Gntiy. of West Chester, long identified with the Library and an expert in publications a year or so ago during one of the outbursts of the Brumbaugh administration. It will be necessary for the Legis lature to pass an act creating the office of deputy commissioner of health as a supplement to the act of 1905 before the powers of the com missioner can be exercised by a deputy according to an opinion giv en to Col. Edward Martin, state commissioner of health. Col. Mar-, tin inquired as to the authority to create the office of deputy. There has been an assistant commissioner, but the opinion holds that a deputy should have the powers of the com missioner in his absence and should have the qualifications of the com missioner. The opinion holds that he should be appointed by the gov ernor. —Few things which have occurred about Capitol Hill in the last three or four years have attracted more attention than the plain statement at the governor's office the other day that heads of departments of the State government are responsi ble for what their forces do and that such matters as the employ ment of a clerk or stenographer are not to be taken to the governor of Pennsylvania for approval. And neither will the governor go out and interfere with removals by heads of departments for ordinary reasons. It is such a refreshing change from the methods ofxthe last three years that everyone is talking about it and expressing gratification. And there is also a great deal of satisfaction heard that talebearers are not en couraged. —One of the first things which it is believed will be brought about will be the placing of every person connected with the State govern ment on a fixed salary. The salaries will be adjusted to meet conditions, not war time conditions, but in keeping with common sense and a salary board will be created which like a board of directors will pass upon such matters as used to be dealt with by departmental chiefs in accordance with orders from the governor's office and the size of their contingent funds. This plan was recommended to the last Legis lature in the thoughtful report of the Economy and Efficiency com mission, which by the way, was juggled before it got to the public, and the legislators thought so much of the proposition that they enacted it in the form of a bill that was vetoed. It is probable that some of the archaic acts governing certain departments will be repealed and the establishments put on a modern basis, the department heads being given a free rein to get results. Some attempts in this direction were made last session, but petty jealousies in terfered and men grown gray in the service were deprived of emoluments justly due them. —lt was a matter of much com ment at the Capitol to-day that this week the State War Board abolished the war service bureau and revoked the appointment of Governor Brum baugh to head it and the Governor also separated William H. Ball, the f(x-governor's secretary, from the State Board of Charities. —There seems to be some heart burning in Philadelphia over the municipal court appointments. Mc- Nichol has always been regarded as a Vare man, while Bartlett has been inclined the other way. —Charges that dead and "imagin ary men" voted in Lackawanna elections were made at Scranton yesterday. AN ANCIENT PRECEDENT (From the Detroit News. A historical comparison with the surrender of the German fleet has been found by the English Bishop o( Durham in the pages of Llvy, the Roman historian of the First Cen tury, B. C., who uescribes the great est naval surrender of ancient his tory by an undefeated fleet, when Carthage gave up her entire battle fleet to Rome in the last of the Punic wars. Rome was the great military pow er of that age, while the opposing force was the naval power, just as Germany and England were before the outbreak of the present world war. Rome was the victorover Carthage, thus defeating the great est naval power of the age. Gorman writers. In comparing the strength of the two ancient powers with that of the two modern world powers anticipated a similar result for a war between Germany and England. Fortunately for the world It was not the sea power which surrendered its ships this time. RESTORATION The hearthstone's light must flame resplendent, higher, For those who hear the bugle call no more, * And throbbing hearts must know again the quiet Of the same Joys love ever keeps in store. The blasted hills must be reset with orchards, The meadows feel the tramp of herds again. The roads and bridges must all be remended And battle fielda be sown once more wfth gram God's temple, too, must be reswept And garnished, Rededlcated to his uses with in crease Of faith that needs no shallow con firmation • Of his speared hands to know the) * Prince of Peace. —Eron O. Rowland in the Boston j HARRISBURG ttiSßtf. TELEGRAPH [MOVIE OF A MAN ARRIVING HOME IN THE DARK AFTER THE FIRST OF JULY By BRIGGS ' : * — 1 (=l3) (™y —-■ __ Y 6<> t t * LEADERLESS DEMOCRACY (From the Philadelphia Press) The cry of the Democrats that there is a Republican conspiracy in Congress to bring about 'an extra session of Congress is much more amusing than impressive. The fact is that it is very doubtful whether it would be good politics for the j Republicans to favor an extra ses-1 sion, even if it were in their power to bring it about.. There are many Republican leaders Vho believe that if Congress does not meet again un til December that it would be bet ter for the p"arty. In the meantime there would appear in very plain view the disastrous results of the Democratic policy for the past two years, so plain that the whole coun- ' try would be bound to recognize boih the situation and the responsi bility. There has beeh no evidence that the Republicans in Congress are try ing to delay matters so that an extra session will be necessary. There has been no filibustering on any measure, although the opportunity is daily and hourly at hand. There have been no obstacles thrown In the way of vital legislation by the Republicans. There has been no long-drawn out debate, no discus sion that was not a fair accompani ment of the bills under discussion. There has been no attempt to block appropriation bills. those measures that must be passed in order that the housekeeping of the nation may j?o on. The truth is that the Democrats have been very laggard in their leg islative methods. One reason for this is that they have been leader less in Washington since the Presi dent sailed away immediately after this session of Congress began. The Democrats in both House and Sen ate have grown so accustomed to looking to the White House for or ders, and to have a legislative pro gram mapped out for them to fol low, that they have beeh very help less when left to themselves. There has been no one to give orders, and the result has been inaction. If an extra sessions is necessary, it will be because the Democrats in Con gress have not had the ability to legislate in season, and have had no leadership capable of accomplishing results. The raising of the cry of Republican conspiracy will not bo fog nor befool the people of the country as to the facts. BIRDS Birds in this part of the country are a common , unrare sight, not looked upon by the most of u as aj thing to be noticed. Therefore, the Bird Club of the Technical High School extends the following few lines to the kind reader who will take the time to read that which follows if he so desires. There are many birds which one may study, but the bird which the I confined city person will notice is the familiar, half-tame birds which ! he see's about him from day to day. j A bird is unosl particular where he | builds his nfcsts and it may be read ily noted in the familiar house wren, which fills every cavity about the place with sticks before it selects one for the nest. Various theo ries have been advanced to account for this tendency in our feathered neighbor, all of which are partly plausible, but none of which account for all the facts. It appears to be a matter of pure selfishness, as if he did not want any other bird to enjoy these cavities —a sort of dog-in-the manger spirit; but his cousins, the marsh wrens, and the tule wrens, of California, nnd others which do not use holes, build a number of these' sham nests in the grass, sometimes quite near each other, only one of which is said ever to be used. Birds go to bed in various ways, and even in the same tree select dif ferent locations on different nights. Thus, turkeys seem to deliberate a long time about ying flup, and black birds sit around and seem to quarrel a long time about favorite berths, but a house wren jumps into a tree crotch like a boy into a cold couclf, has his head under his wing, and is asleep in ten seconds. Why should not a man love a bird? If the palm of one should clasp the pinion of the other, there would come together two of the greatest Implements God and Nature have ever given any creatures to explore the world with; and when the two bipeds gaze at each other eye to eye, the intelli gence in the one might well take off its hat to the subtle Instincts In the other. BY WM. FENRTERMACHER. j Saw in a Planing Mill A member of the Illinois Legisla ture boasts of "a mind of the fiber of steel." Must feel lonesome among wooden heads. —From the Louisville Courier-Journal.' J Map Law for New Era Republicans Ready to Solve Peace Problems in New Congress AS the result of thorough analy- I sis of after the war conditions, the Republicans of the House! and Senate, who will be in control of the legislative branch of the na tional government after March 4, have, in a general way, completed their program for the reconstruc tion of the country. So important is the work of re stimulating industrial energy and finding employment for the millions of soldiers returning to civilian life considered by members in both branches of Congress that there is little doubt in their minds that an extra session will be brought about iiv one way or another as early in tne spring as possible in order to take up all such problems which cannot be dealt with before March 4 because of the pressure of the im portant regular appropriation bills. The tariff, the railroads, the mer chant marine, military and naval protection of the nation for the future, employment, general busi ness readjustment, economical ad ministration, and minute investiga tion of afl government departments, are among the subjects which will receive quick attention and reme dial legislaUon as soon as the new Senate with its Republican majority of two and the pew House with its Republican majority of forty-six have organized. Despite the warning of Senator Penrose and his Republican col leagues on the Senate Finance Com mittee that "it would be entirely without justification to attempt to prescribe for the American people what amount of taxes they shall be called upon to pay in the year 1920," that "no one with any degree of definiteness can estimate the gov ernment's needs or the country's in dustrial prosperity," and that it would be extremely unwise to "lay down a hard and fast scheme of taxation for the future," the Demo cratic majority is now putting through conference the revenue bill which imposes in advance the amount of taxes to be collected for not only the next but the following fiscal year. Duties to Maintain Industry It is expected that this will Have the effect of turning the attention of the House "Ways and Means Com mittee and the. Senate Finance Com mittee during the recess or imme diately after reconvening to the framing of a tariff bill with duties high enough to adequately cover the difference between the cost of pro duction at home and abroad. It is not anticipated that this will be as great a revenue producer, compara tively, as in former days prior to the raising of many billions for purposes of war. It is true that had the Payne- Aldrich rates been applied to the present law there would have been an additional income to the gov ernment during the period of "its operation of nearly two billions, but revenues from Import duties annual ly would in any event amount only to hundreds of millions The point upon which the Republican mem bers of Congress lay stress is that a •high tariff has always developed and maintained industry, made pos sible the country's higher standard of wages and living, protected the home market as a constant outlet for home production, to this end prevented influx of foreign made goods, produced under cheaper con ditions. and made for healthful in dustrial prosperity. They declare that in 1913, under a Democratic staff, hard times were caused until a year later the war imposed an effective trade barrier, and that now, with that barrier again re moved. there will be harder times than for many years unless a pro tective tariff is soon enacted. This is really the chief remedy which will be put forward by the Republican party to aid the return ing soldier to find work and to keep employed laboring men everywhere throughout the country. Its leaders hold that provision of special public works to keep a small proportion of these men employed is paternalistic and a makeshift to cover other in adequate industrial policy. They will Join in the promotion of irrigation and drainage works, because of the enhanced development of the coun try' thereby, but they will malnjy rely upon the tariff which brought a full dinner pail in McKinley's and Hanna's time to provide work for all. They say that their party pen sioned the soldiers of the Civil War for several decades in the face of Democratic opposition, and that they will continue the most liberal policy toward all those who partici pated in the lagt conflict, and they assert that it *as Senator Cum mins, of lowa, a Republican, who made it law that labor is not a com modlty or article of oommerce, but I they Intend in the new Congress to take care of both the soldier and labor elements in the community through what will become known as the Fordney-Penrose tariff law, and to meet the Democrats in the cam paign of next year on the issue of its results. Should the President veto the bill, they will leave to him the responsibility for the continu ance of the unemployment of which Secretary Morrison, of the American Federation of Labor, already com plains. \lant Modified Privutc Control An intermediate course of modi fied private control has been prac tically decided upon as the plan of the Republican leaders who will have most to dq with the framing of legislation in regard to the railroads. Representative John J. Esch, of Wisconsin, who more than a decade ago helped to frame the Esch-Town send bill, which was largely jncor t porated into the Hepburn rate law and will be chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and For eign Commerce in the new Congress, has worked out a program which may be said to sum up the ideas of his party on the subject. In certain essentials they are concurred in by Chairman Fess, of the Congressional Committee, Minority Leader Mann and Senator Cummins, of lowa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce. To surround the industrial life of the country with adequate defense, the Republicans, who boast of the fact that it was the Roosevelt pro gram of building two first class battleships a year which made the present navy possible,' will build a navy as the results of the peace conference at Versailles indi cate should be built. If the competi tive struggle of history is to continue | in spite of the ideals of the peace makers, the Republicans declare that they will prepare to make the coun try ready for its full share in it, just as they argued for such pre paredness before the war with Gery many. And though the entire ques tion has' been put over for a year in order to await the outcome of the peace deliberations, they are generally in favor of some sort of military training which will not leave the country in as defenseless a state as it was before the war. Julius Kalin, the new chairman of the Military Affairs Committee of the House, and Senator Wadsworth, of New York, the new chairman of the like committee in the Senate, are in favor of universal training for several months of all youths of a certain age, limited by cerfcin exemptions, and it is likely that if the need is seen they will lead their party in putting such legislation through the House and Senate. Last but not least, the Republi cans plan to scrutinize every appro priation in order to keep expendi tures to the most meritorious and without waste or extravagance, and to provide revenues on the most i equable basis. As soon as the two bodies are Called to order and the committees announced investiga tions will be begun of every bureau of every department and of the con duct of the army and navy, at first quietly in order to determine wheth er waste and incompetence are rife, and, if so, then openly and fearless ly to. lay bare the need of remedial legislation. They declare their pur pose to be honest government hon estly and economically administered for the good of all the people, and hold it self evident that if they can unearth dishonesty or waste through their investigation, the result will promote this pupose and at the same time point out a way by which similar mistakes and malfeasance, if any, may be guarded against in future. Appeal of the Little Peoples Came the water sprites who live In the caves beneath the foam; From their regions underground Crept the goblin and the gnome. Came the fairy folk who dwell In a cowslip's bell to lie. And the flying fays who ride On the zephyrs of the sky. All the title peoplo joined By an ethnic impulse stirred, , And they spoke of boundary lines And to mortals sent their word. Recognition just they claimed In their elfin conclave met, And desired an empire fixed Where the moon would never set —MeLandburgh Wilson, In the New York Sun. AFTER THE DELUGE Noah sighted Ararat. "Trouble right off," he sighed; "if that is an island, it needs a- navy, and if it is a mountain it doesn't" — \ I FEBRUARY I, 1919. In Memory of Lieut. Edward Moore I (Lieutenant Moore, son of Dr.' E. E ! Moore, of New Bloomfleld, was killed in action during the closing: days of the war, his death only recently be ing reported.) Somewhere in France where the scenery's gay And a famous river wends its way. Through hills and ravines obscured perchance. By a bluff or a bit of wooded France, Somewhere over there, and the an gels know. Is the grave of a soldier, through and through— Of a boy who went at his country's - call And in sunny France he gave his all. Did we call him a boy? Nay, he was a man And each drop of his blood Ameri can; He sprang from the race who In sixty-one Were among the first to shoulder a gun, And who at the sound of Lincoln's call Marched forth to offer their very all. So, how could he help but to go to France, When the murderous Hun was on the advance. Did he hesitate? Not for a day But volunteered and was oft and away Eager to help put an end to the war, Not counting the cost mid!the bat tle's roar. "Killed in action!" It was thus that he fell . While doing his best in that battle hell. Somewhere in France, among the many brave The angel's keep watch o'er our hero's grave. H. H. H The Cash System (From the Chicago News) English economists have observed that while the English nation never owed more, the English family in dividually never owed less. The war has taught thrift. Let's hope that in America we have profited as much by the difficulties and hard ships that we .went through. It is said that-with the English housewife one reason why she was so anxious not to run up bills with tradesmen was because owing to the shortage of food she was very anxious to keep on the right side of the dealers. If she persistently did not pay her bills and there was a shortage of any sort of commodity the tradesman would naturally sell to some one who did pay the bills promptly instead of to the person with a reputation for slow pay. That condition did not prevail on this side of the Atlantic to any ap preciable extent But many of the factors that produced the condition in Erfgland existed on this side of the Atlantic as well. It was neces sary as a means of economy for many dealers to restrict their credit privileges. This was especially true with regard to food dealers. More over, many housewives found that prices were lower in grocery stores and markets where cash payment was the rule, and this served as an inducement ' to make purchases there. Then once having exper ienced the satisfaction of knowing always that everything in their lard er had been duly paid for they were inclined to continue paying cash Just for satisfaction of it. Anticipating Sea Disasters (From the Scientific American.) When the race between the sub marine and the shipyard was at its height It did not seem to occur to anyone that special provision should be made in the construction of a ship to render it ensier for salvors to raise the ship in cose i, should be sunk. The submarine menace is now past, but even in the time of peace there is a considerable loss of vessels due to the elements and to collision. One of the greatest diffi culties that wrecking companies have to contend with is that of get ting hold of a vessel v(hlch is com pletely submerged. Owing to the construction of a ship, it is neces-- sary to pass chains under It as va rious points, as there is no provision for attaching chains directly to the framing of the ship. Why are not our ships designed with shackles af fixed to the frame members at suit able points, so as to simplify and expedite the work of the diver In making chains or cables fast to a wreck ? • Perfectly Scandalous It's catting to be perfectly scan dalous the way May is flirting with Old Man January.'—From the New York Sun. r . TT-T -1 r Euptttng (Elptf The weather may be an eld and a hackneyed subject, but It la of un usual interest to many people here Just now and they are greatly con cerned about it If It Is going to he mild the rest of the winter they have plans to make and garments fee ar range, but If the winter king Is go ing to make up for lost time they will not buy mothballs Just yet; Street car men declare that Feb ruary Is going to be a pleasant month, basing their contention on the fact that yesterday was a fine day. "The lost day of January gov erns the next month," said & con ductor. He said he hailed from Berks county and as that is the habitat of the goosebone and other prophets perhaps he is right. This idea of the last day of January "gov erning" the next month is an old one and is said to come from early set tiers. Next is the groundhog. His day falls to-morrow, and it is In delibly implanted in the minds of the people of Harrlsburg because of the Capitol fire which destroyed the big building on the second day of Feb ruary, 1897, ono of the worst days, from a weather standpoint ever known In the city. Singularly, the first day of February, 1907, ten years after the Capitol fire, was the date of the destruction of the Grand Opera House. Some Harrisburg peo ple were nervous about groundhog day in 1917, ten years later, but the "rule of three" on fires was "busted" to use the language of a cub reporter who stayed up most of the night to be in on a big Btory. • • Harry G. Proctor, who has writ ten the first book on the achieve ments of the Iron Division in France, is a Philadelphia newspaperman, connected with the Evening Bulletin and well known here. He was ono of ' the newspapermen assigned to the Capitol investigations and is an au thority on Pennsylvania, knowing every county and its towns. He knows Maryland, New Jersey and De'aware equally well. On military matters he is exceptionally well posted and attended National Guard camps and the mobilization in 1916. I rn that year he accompanied the | Fennsylvanians to El Paso and next tar was at Camp Hancock. • • There are some people in Harris b irg and vicinity who are not aware of the fact that the erection of the Penn-Harrls has caused somo new air currents about Third and "Wal nut streets. There are currents where there were zephyrs before and hats and other things have been dis turbed. It is well to watch the way things are going when passing that corner and to be ready to grab head- i wear and garments. • • • It will bo interesting to many Harrisburgers to know that at the annual dinner of the Pennsylvania Society at the Waldorf-Astoria the Harrisburg flag was carried at the head of the procession of city flags of the State. "The city was well rep resented at the dinner by several well-known citizens, who are mem bers of the society. , • • Secretary of the Commonwealth Cyrus E. Woods, has Just received a unique letter from a man who wants to be a notary. The letter reached the Capitol the other day, and the applicant says that he did not send in the paper earlier because ho wanted his commission to be signed by Governor Sproul. He asks that Mr. Woods also sign tho commis sion. Both are required to do so by law. , •' Golfers are generally about as keen ae any people to take advant age of weather conditions, but there has been more golf played on tho links about Harrisburg tho last fort night than ever known before in the middle of January. This week there have been dozens of men on the "winter greens," and they are talking so much about it that they are going to have recruits if the weather mau continues good. • • The last conference held In Har risburg by the State organization of the Daughters of the American Revolution was ten years ago. The first gathering of the kind was held back in 1900 in the old Y. M. C. A. building, and was the largest held up to that time. Mrs. Levi B. Al ricks was regent of the Harrisburg chapter at that time. • • During the course of an address at the D. A. R. conference last week. Mrs. Guernsey, a prominent mem ber of the society, said that patriotic ferver had come to such a height in the United States that It was re garded in some places as unpatriotic to eat frankfurters, or limberger cheese or sauerkraut. Dr. Robert Bagnell, the next speaker, said he begged leave to differ and offered strenuous objec tions to the classification of sauer kraut. He added that during a long period of yearß his wife had striven in vain to make him likett, and now, when he had at least convinced him self that he thought he liked it, he declined to be termed unpatriotic for eating it. Judging from the ap plause there were many, many oth ers in the aristocratic assemblage who had strong leanings toward kraut and pork. | WELL KNQVN PEOPLE | —Senator A. F. Daix, who pre sented the firearms bill. Is one of the active men in the Philadelphia businessmen's organizationa —Senator E. E. Jones, head ef the House Committee on Agriculture, was raised on a dairy farm. —Senator Horace L. H&ldaesaa, of Lancaster county, comes sear being the serfior man on the National Guard list —Senator Edwin H. Fare weed fee be a member of the House and re signed from It in the session of IS9T. —Senator W. C. McConnell nninao from Dauphin county and is now one of the big men of the Sbamokin dis trict I DO YOU KHPT 1 —Ttet tho new State Ogtei was visited by more people tag ever last year? HISTORIC ffAmtTßyirgq ', —The first Senate met in the Xteu pbin county orphans court chamber. Job For Crown Prince "Frederick Wllhelm is wfflhw to do any work the government thinks fit for him." Why not let dig the former Kaiser's graveT— City Journal. -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers