10
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
A. XEWSPJPEH EOS- THE HOME
Founded 1831
i i *
Published evenings except Sunday by
THE TELEGRAPH PRINTING COl
Telegraph Building, Federal Square
E. J. STACKPOLE
President and Editor-in-Chief
F. R. OYSTER, Business Manager
GU&. M. STEIXMETZ. Managing Editor
A. R. MICHENER, Circtdation Manager
Executive Board
•J. P. McCULLOUGH,
BOYD M. OGLESBY,
F. R. OYSTER,
GUS. M. STEINMETZ.
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Associated Press is exclusively en
titled to the use for republication
of all news dispatches credited to
it.or not otherwise credited in this
f<aper and also the local news pub
ished herein.
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Eastern office
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Entered at the Post Office in Harris
burg. Pa., as second rlass matter.
By carrier, ten cents a
Tiu3s;\Sip?."4.> week; by mail. $3.00 a
higw* " year in advance.
God is never in a hurry —tee always j
■ore.— Landrith.
*" 1
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY IS, 1919
MAKING FINE PROGRESS
THE celerity with which Lewis j
S. Sadler, the new State High- j
way Commissioner, has got- j
ten his bills into the Legislature 1
indicates that he and Governor j
Sproul are in perfect accord on the \
importance of getting this great j
public work promptly under way.
Mr. Sadler is proceeding with his
program in a manner that bids fair
to make him the greatest road build
er In the history of Pennsylvania..
He is wasting no time in long
winded discussion. He has back of
him a Governor who knows Pennsyl
vania's highway problems in all their
ramifications. There is absolute har
mony between the executive and I
the highway departments. Mr. Sad- J
ler knows what he wants and he j
has the money with wfitfeh to get it. |
This is a combination that should j
produce results and that with any
thing like favorable weather-condi- |
tions will give the State more new I
roads by the time snow flies in 1919
than ever have come irtto being in |
iny txvo previous years.
Indeed, neither Governor Sproul i
nor Mr. Sadler appear to have any j
regard for the weather. Yesterday, j
with the snow falling rapidly, the j
road builders were as busy in Camp !
Hill as it would hax-e been possible j
for them to have been on a bright
spring day. This decision of Mr.
Sadler to improve,all of the high
ways leading into Harrisburg. assist
ing oie boroughs where the roads
are bad through small towns, is a i
recognition of the fact that this city j
is a" great center for automobile and 1
vehicular traffic in general. Main '
highways converge here like spokes |
in a wheel. All over the State this j
is to be repeated until the automo- i
bilist or the farmer will no longer !
be able to tell when he has crossed j
a borough line by the roughness of !
the roads on the town side. The j
boroughs have been sadly neglected |
by the State. Commissioner. Sadler i
means to remedy this and in that as j
in every other part of the program as |
outlined up to this time he has the '
approx-al of the public.
|
COMING INTO ITS OWN
MILITARY training is coming ;
intd its own. From General 1
Leonard Wood down the line i
there is insistent demand for some
form of military instruction in the
public schools and other educa
tiona institutions. Two or three
bills already have been introduced in
the Legislature on this subject and j
unless w • are to drop back into our
old pacifistlc attitude a million
men in a night—we must give heed
to preparation, and in viexy of what
is now transpiring in Europe we
huve no right to assume that the
era of peace,, good will to men, has
come for indefinite ages.
indeed, the fact that there are
still so many people who believe
that all sxvord.- should be converted
into pruning hooks is the best argu
ment in favor of some consistent
form of military training that will
keep our men "fit for the national
defense.
A WARNING NOTE
SENATOR PENROSE. in his
speech on the new revenue bill
at Washington, sounds a warn
in--: note and indicates the policy of
the Republican Congress when it
shall conte into control. Unfortu
nately two years must elapse be
fore the evil effects of the bill about
to be passed by the Democrats can
be counteracted.
Taxation has reached the danger
point, extravagance is rampant,
waste is evident on every hand.
Industry is being sorely beset, in
dividual incomes are being made
to yield up money to pay for the
pet schemes of theorists or those
using their offices to feather their
own political nests, 247,000 new of
fices have been created —these are
some of the points argued, by the
THURSDAY EVENING
senior Pennsylvania Senator before
the Senate. Tfiey need neither
[ amplification or demonstration. They
are self-evident to even the most
casual newspaper reader.
Democratic officials know they are
approaching the end of their string.
They are loading the public reck
lessly with taxes. They are spend
ing money extravagantly while tjiey
can. After them the deluge. After
them, also, the Republican party,
with two years of Democratic fi
nancing to hamper and restrict the
new constructive policy. But Sen
ator Penrose is sounding the warn
ing ntfw. Tho people are learning
early to whom they must attribute
the hardships of taxation about to
be dumped upon them. The Sena
tor's protests will be, of course, in
vain. The gigantic appropriations
will be pushed through without
pruning. But it is at least encour
aging to know that the next Con
gress is -pledged to save as much
money as possible, instead of spend
ing as much as the country can
stand without actual bankruptcy.
HE'S OFF AGAIN
THIS is a letter to all officers and
employes throughout the postal
service of the United States
from Albert S. Burleson, postmaster
general:
I desire to express to all the
emffioyes of the Postal Establish
ment my appreciation of the
splendid way they liave perform- ,
ed during the past year. Never
have they been more loyal, never
have they labored so incessantly
or. pertornied their duties more
promptly and efficiently, notwith
standing the fact that thousands
of them have responded to the
call of their country and have
been withdrawn from the postal
service, and many others attract
ed by alluring compensation of
fered by industrial and commer
cial enterprises have been sepa
rated from the service, thereby
forcing the Department to en
list the aid of Inexperienced help.
The Postal Establishment of the
United States, in the face of tho
great difficulties created by the
war. continued to give an efficient
postal service practically without
curtailment or restriction. From
reports received from the Audi
tor for the Post Office Depart
ment. from the hundreds of Post
Oftioe Inspectors in the field, from
the Superintendents of t*e Rail
way Mail Service throughout the
country and from postmasters of
all the larger cities comes the
same story—that the postal ser
vice has been and is being main
tained at a standard of efficiency
the highest known in its history,
when one considers that this has
been accomplished in the face of
the fact that war activities have
been imposed on the service, tre
mendous in their burdens, it is
little short of marvelous that you
have been able to discharge your
duties so satisfactorily. For this
wonderful "result the American,
people are indebted to the hdn
dreds of thousands of faithful
postal workers who have labored,
hard without the glare of the
spotlDtht and with no recompense
save the knowledge and satisfac
tion that comes with the con
. scipusness of duty well per
formed. I send this word that
you may know that the head of
this Department is not unmindful
of what you have done, but has
the keenest appreciation of your
unselfish efforts and the arduous
ana important tasks you have
performed.
It's a fine, high sounding bit of
literature and we wish it were nil
true: but f it is not Fo fa t ■aa the
efforts of the men are concerned
Mr. Burleson speaks gospel. They
have done wonders under condi
tions that have been most. discour
aging and disheartening. , What
ever of- the oldtime efficiency is
left in,the Post Office Department is
due to their loyalty and devotion.
They have worked long hours with
under-manned forces at pay which
would have attracted only the riff
raff of the labor world if offered by
any employer other than the gov
ernment. Many of them did leave,
and small blame to them, for they
saw others earning two or three
times as much for half, the effort.
But when Burleson says that
the "postal serx-ice has been and is
being maintained a standaVrl of
efficiency the highest known in its
history," he makes an assertion that
any person who sends or receix-es
mail is in position to disprox-e to
his own satisfaction. There nex-er
was a time when the postal serx-ice
was so bad as it has been since
Burleson took charge, ut doxvn
the working forces and began his
campaign of demoralization. Ask
i the first postal employe you meet
what he thinks of Burieson and hi"?
inefficiency.
FIERY CHARIOTS
CONSIDERABLE testimony has
been offered recently by officers
1 in the aviation service to the
effect that the airplanes sent over by
j Mr. Baker's department were fire
! traps, or. as one officer expresses it
i "gamins coffins."
It is said that the Liberty Motor
was an excellent piece of mechan
ism, but that it would have been dif
[ ficult to pick a worse machine than
the De Haviland. The fiery chariot
S which wafted Enoch heavenward
i had nothing on the planes that were
! constructed under the supervision of
j Colonel Deeds, whom Hughes re
i commended for court martial, but
1 whom Baker lauded, saying, "his im
agination peopled the sky with air
planes." What few planes Deeds
| was able to deliver apparently did
j something to de-people the army of
j aviators.
SKY'S THE LIMIT
THE President's demand for a
$700,000,000 navy at once, made
just as the question of general
disarmament was being discussed,
wotfld indicate that the conferees
are not playing table-stakes.
. TOO MUCH PUBLICITY
IT is x a question whether we' are
not giving too much space in
our thought and in the press to
alleged Bolshevism on this side of
the ocean. These malcontents thrive
on publicity and discussion; they
perish without it. It is their food
and drink. Prompt action by the
courts and the civil authorities will
i tend to shorten the period of un
rest_owlng out. pt the noisy actlvl
■ "• • m
ties of the uncanny buzzards of evil
which are getting more attention
than they deserve.
. IK
By the Ex-Committee man
Cumulative nominations or the
running of a candidate on more
than one party ticket will be stop
ped by this Legislature and a bill
to forbid the practice which has
grovAi up in a number of counties
of the State will be presented short
ly. State Chairman William E.
Crow, who .remained here tonight
to see his law partner, E. Ray Shel
by, take the oath of office as public
] service commissioner to-morrow,
said to-night that the demand for a
law. which would stop "party raid
ing" had become very strong.
"From what 1 have heard from
persons who have discussed changes
in the election law I am satisfied
that there is a strong sentiment
throughout the State in favor of the
enactment of such Legislation as
would prevent party raiding" said
the State Chairman. "If the inte
grity of the primary is to be main
tained and one party stopped from
raiding another, this State should
prohibit a candidate from receiving
more than one party nomination.
Some States, including West Vir
ginia, have such a law and 1 am
hopeful that this Legislature wilt
decide that every man seeking an
office, whether it be high or low,
must be content to go before the
people as the nominee of one party."
People who have been here have
been anxious to prevent party raid
ing at the primary, which has been
productive of the same candidate
on three and some times four tickets
in the big cities and in some of
the hard coal counties especially.
There is, however, no intention of
trying to prevent fusion after a prl
livquiries made here the last few
davs have indicated that some peo
ple have been seeking in re
gard to a move to repeal all the_non
partisan laws. The stand by Go -
ernor William C. Sproul in tax or of
repeal of the judicial non Partisan
law has not been even criticised
among the Legislators jnd pOT
judicial nominations will be author
ized as soon as the non partisan act
is repealed. The idea would be to
have the party nomination system
return this P falh Whether the whole
non partisan system goes
on the third class city people.
There has been a sharp division of
opinion among third class city offl
cialsrand legislators on the retention
of the non partisan system foi elect
niavors and councilmen and many
criticisms of results have been heard.
Last session the advocates of the
non partisan system succeeded in
preventing any change after* a
strenuous contest. The attitude of
the third class city representatives
in the general assembl> would be
watched with interest in the two
second class cities where mOV f 3haN A
been heard of from time to time to*
return to the partisan system of
electing city officers,
The Philadelphia Inquirer says
regarding appointments: "The se
lection of Mr Clement fs a purely
personal one. He and the Governor
have been intimate friends for
years. While the Governor -was
president of thi tnton League Mr.
Clements served with hlm o " th i ®
board, of directors, of which he is
still a member. He cannot be cla-s
--ed as identified with .either of the
Republican factions in Philadelphia
Tiolitfcs. He was treasurer of the
Citizens' Committee which directed
the campaign for Mr. nom
ination for Governor. M r \ Clem
ent's term will expire dan" g the
Sproul administration, which may
mean that he will be reappointed
for a term of ten years xxhen his
present term nuns out. Judge Mc-
Clure, who is named to succeed
himself, is a stalwart Republican of
the old school."
The Philadelphia Record takes
a whack at Philadelphia charter re
vision plans this way: "The sug
gestion of the charter revisionists
of twenty-one councilmen to be
elected by Senatorial districts, rep
resentation to be based upon the
number of assessed voters in each
district, is an improvement on the
original suggestion to elect five of
the councilmen at large. But it is
not the right suggestion. If we gre
sure to have a paid council of txvtfn
ty-one members, each of the twent
ty-one members should he elected
by the voters of the section of the
city in which he resides. This plan
would offer greater possibilities of
popular representation in councils
than the one now suggested."
When Judge Thomas J. Baidrige
granted 4 7 liquor licenses in Blair
county he refused three, reducing
the total by one as compared with
last year. Regarding rules, the
court" merely warned landlords not
to relax any old rules. including
sale by the bottle. 11 o'clock clos
ing, observance of Memorial Day
and Christmas, no music in J>ar
rooms and no free lunches. No ref
erence was made to reducing the li
cense fee at license court. He re
ferred hotelkeepers to the Legisla
ture for relief.
—The Granger interests are lining
up to fight the bills to reduce or
abolish the licenses for the sale of
oleomargarine in Pennsylvania and
there will be an interesting time
here next Tuesday when the Mc-
Curdy bill to cut down licenses "will
be given a hearing by a House com
mittee. The Pennsylvania Farmer
opens the fight this way: "As was
to be expected, the oleo interests
are seeking to destroy the bars to
further substitution of their goods
in this state. Among the first bills
introduced in the Pennsylvania leg
islature is House Bill No. 22 which
proposes to reduce the retail license
for sale of oleo from SIOO, as at
present, to $lO. It would also re
duce the restaurant and hotel li
cense for use of oleo from" SSO to
$5. The bill was referred to the
judiblary committee rather than to
the agricultural committee, and it is
likely to receive favorable action in
committee. The first effect of this
bill would be to release oleo trade
from its regular chanilels and in
crease opportunity for violation of
the Federal tax law. It would per
mit the sale of oleo by every huck
ster. pedlar and Junk store, where
restrictions on proper labeling and
sale of the uncolored oleo would be
practically impossible of' enforce
ment. It would not cheapen the
retail price of the product but it
would open the way to more gen
eral substitution of oleo for genuine
butter. The bill should be defeated,
but It will require vigorous protest
from the farmers to accomplish Its
defeat."
BARRIBBURG TELEGRAPH!
OH, MAN! By BRICGS
1
f ■ I I *
r WHV ROOBie E>o You Thim*) /wait TiLL I PhO|o6\ f J** UAFG HAS ALWAYS h<?LLO BEAR- HELLO
ID tet Yoy CO To A HOTEL/ / "Th£ WIFE YOORG / MoaJEV- LISTCaj DtAft
?ssr £"2S"ZJX! ?55f?l I ~V a s^li L ' ?';
No! iT will NOT . But" Lii T ero DEAR- / 'what'toiSay!/ wsll what I>O Too KiUouj/V
B£ all RhSht- jont' Yes vYes i kwovaj h n ~ f ABoUT That'.'? 1e wiee • i \
You PARC BRlr*G HIM BuT LUTEM- HEKj <> f f \ ;FOlkS BLEW 4*j:Towo -ToDat
- he' IL The PO.wt- YOU 1 . • • \ W Wfßf FULL\OP- THeA.WPe /
£g-j- J,J O ' \ /
BOOKS AND MAGAZINES
"Dear Folks at Home" (Houghton
Mifflin Company) is not quite ade
quately described by its sub-title*
"The glbrious story of the United
States Marines in France as told in
their own letters from the battle
fields to 'Dear Folks at Home.'"
For the book includes letters not
c from the masculine marines in
France,' but from a most appealing
petlicoated marine over here. "Cor
poral Martha" was a young woman
of tact and presence of mind, but
now and then here military title
made complications too intricate for
chicalry to solve. "I have diffcult
situations to handle sometimes.
Bill," writes Corporal Martha. "For
instance: The other day the lieuten
ant and I were waiting to go down
in the elevator. Now, here's the
question. If lam a lady and he is
a gentleman, I go in first. If he's
an officer and I'm a corporal, he goes
in first. It all depends on how you
look at it. I didn't know how he'd
take it, so I thought I'd wait and
see what he'd do. 1 guess he thought
the same thing. So wq both stood
there eyeing each other up on the
right oblique. Then he stepped for
ward and I stepped back. Then he
stepped back and I stepped forward.
Tiien we both stepped back. I was
getting pretty dizzy by. that time.
I guess he was too. Then we both
squeezed in at the same time. 1
guess that's what they mean by
military tactics.". , .
Major General Clarence Edwards |
spfttks thus of the 101 st Engineers, j
the personel of which is the subject [
of Captain Carroll Swan's "My Com- '
pany" (Houghton Mifflin Company): i
"They could build roads which were j
the wonder of ourselves, not to say ,
anything of the French, and they
could bring up a support for an in i
fautry regiment, going through, that |
made us want to shout for the glory
of it. These were the boys who, ■
when I had occasion to call for ten '
volunteers for some particularly dif- i
ficult piece of work, would force me
to ejiminate one hundred afid sixty,
in order to get the ten. Thus, you
can see that, when I say the 101 st
Engineers was the best engineer
regiment in France. I am not boast
ing. The regiment is a fitting exam
ple of what universal military train
ing can do and will do for the-youth
of the couqjrv."
•
Prohibition and Revenue
(Pittsburgh Gazette Times.)
It is not a bad sign that the hys- j
teria lately observable in those I
solicitous of the public revenue'i
which would be lost through cxtinc- 1
tion of the liquor traffic has sub
sided. That signifies that common ,
sense is coming into its own. So .
far as states and municipalities are |
concerned, there*- need be no >fear |
that they will not find ample means.l
without imposing hardships on the
taxpayers. As for the Federal Treas
ury the income and profits tax fea
tures of the revenue law give prom
ise of making up all that is lost
through reduction of income from
excises.
It is certain that prohibition will
have far-reaching beneficial results
on general business. Vast increase
of volume in certain \,ines is assured,
which means that these will profit [
more and consequently yield more j
to the public treasury. Clothing in |
all its branches and household goods
and furnishings of all kinds will be I
in* greater demand than ever before,
i The money that men now spend for.
liquor will not be hoarded. It will
be usefully employed. There will j
be fewer shabby-genteel people on !
view. The money which they have
appropriated for liquor would have
been better spent for clothing; when
we have prohibition a good share
of it will go to the clothifg mer
chant. Thousands upon thousands
of households are 4n want of new |
furniture, of carpets and draperies |
that could not be bought because i
too much'of the family income went t
to the groggery. That leak being
closed the homes will be refurnish
ed. The benefits will be felt through
out the retail and wholesale trades
and in manufacturing circles as
well. Think a few minutes about
the range of business that will grow
through new found ability to gratify
individual desires for comforts and
the evidences of self-respect. Think
of the new Joy in life of those who
will get what they need and desire
and which they could not have while
beer and whisky were claiming a
large share of the family funds. The
necessaries can fill the treasury as
well AS can liquor. And they will
do so. - ...
The New Attorney General
George J. Brennan, who writes,
the "Who's Who" column in the
Philadelphia Inquirer, presents this
interesting story about William I.
Schaffer, the attorney general:
Pennsylvania's protest against the
attempt of the Wilson administra
tion to force an ( increase- in the
rates for' telephone service, so elo
quently voiced by Attorney General
William I. Schaffer, before the Dau
phin county court, evoked from
Henry Graham Ashmcad, the vet
eran historian of Delaware county,
a tribute of esteem and admiration
for Governor Sprout's official legal
adviser, which came from the heart
and covered the full period of the
career of this live wire of the new
administration.
"The example found in contem-,
plating the obstacles which have con-'
fronted the pathway of distinguish
ed men in their rise to positions of j
commanding eminence," said Mr. |
Ashmead, "will ever remain an ob- j
ject lesson to youth struggling for;
prominent place in the fierce battle;
of life, presented in every field of!
hunjan endeavor. This . lesson is'
taught-in the life story of all sue-j
cessful men and will be found in
that of William Irwin Schaffer, now;
in the limelight as Attorney General
of the Commonwealth. His early life!
is identified with Delaware county, j
although his natal place was Ger
mantown, Philadelphia, where he
wa% born February 11, 1867. When'
he was a mere child his father en-1
gaged in business in Chester, on thej
site of the present Crozier Building, j
the home of the Delaware County
Trust Company. His rudimentary
education was acquired in the pub
lic schodls of that city but at fifteen,
owing to heavy financial reverses in
his parents' business enterprises, he
was compelled to rely on his own
endeavors and he began his active;
career as a newsboy vending the
Chester Evening News and the Ches-1
ter Times on the streets of that city, i
Yet he m never abandoned his pur
pose to" acquire an education and |
with that object in view every spare!
moment, day or night, he devoted
to studious application in mastery
of useful knowledge. Professor
Charles Foster, then superintendent!
of the Public. Schools of Chester, i
pleased with the lad's ambition, dill-1
gence and attractive personality, of
fered to hear young Schaffcr's les
sons at night, which proposition was
promptly and gladly accepted. Pos
sessing indomitable will, a quickness
of perception, and a tenacious mem
ory, he absorbed and digested his;
studies with rapidity, so that as &i
youth he was noticeable for his abun
dant vocabulary and conversational
abilities.
[ "When seventeen he fentered the
office of WiUiam B. Broomall. then
the recognized leader of the bar of
Delaware county, and his studious
habits secured him the confidence
of his preceptor, who, many times
before Mr. Schaffer was called to
| the bar, gave to him the manage-
I ment of litigations in minor fribu-
I nals.
"During his first year as a student,
' almost without any tuition, he
! taught himself shorthand writing
I and was soon recognized as an ex
| pert stenographer, an acquisition
i that later in life in his large Y>rac
| tlce, he found of utmost importance.
He was admitted to the bar of Dela
ware county on February 11, 1897,
the. twenty-first anniversary of his
birth, and when twenty-two he was
admitted to practice before the Su
preme Court, the youngest man in
j half a century who has received
that honor.
"About the time he was licensed
J to practice," continued Mr. Ashmead,
"Chester and Its neighborhood were
turmoiled by a series of fires which
had succeeded each other with
slight intermission until finally the
police announced that the depart
ment had traced the outrages to
some young men. whom the officers
termed 'firebugs.'. The latter were
arrested. Indicted and brought to
trial at the March criminal court of
that year. The accused had but lit
tle means. Mr. Schater as a young
lawyer who had yet to win his spurs,
was retained with a trifling fee to
defend one Morton, one of the ac
cused. This mn was generally be
lieved to be a remote descendant of
John Morton, the signer • of the
Declaration of Independence. Mr.
Schaffer in his address to the Jury,
which consumed more than two
hours in its delivery, made most
effective uje of his impression and
during his speech (now one of the
historic incidents connected, with the
court house at Media) he held the
undivided attention of every one in
the room. It was a notable-maiden
effort. Even the late Judge Thomas
J. Clayton, who presided at the trial
spoke of it as "as clever an argument
as have listened to for a long
time.' Schaffer acquitted his client
and from that moment he was looked
upon as a young man with a brilliant
futu re.
'lt was early, his practice,"
smilingly remarked Mr. Ashmead,
"that. Mr. Schaffer taught, members
of the bar to be careful how they
monkeyed with a wire'." On
one occasion when an opposing, law
yer. himself of little wbight, alluded
disparagingly to Mr. Schaffer, the
latter, in a stage whisper, heard
throughout the courtroom, merely
remarked. "I have learned to betteve
that there is much in Sancho
Panza' dictym, 'that it is a waste of
lather to shave an ass'."
Auditor General Charles A. Snyder
has been giving officials who for
years have been having their own
way in departments at Harrisburg
some hard jolts and has broken sev
eral cherished traditions in checking
up expenditures of State funds
which he contends are unwarranted.
Junkets of subordinate office holders
to conventions of various kinds in
all sections of the country he con
tends have brought about a practice
which has served to lower the dig
nity of the Commonwealth. Men in
very minor capacities in different
departments of the State government
have been sent as representatives of
Pennsylvania to contentions in
which the sentiments and policies of
other States have been voiced by
leading public officials. It is declar
ed that these trips have been par
celed out to favorites of department
heads who find it inconvenient or
undesirable to go themselves and the
result has been that while individ
uals have had a good time, the State
has suffered in prestige through lack
of proper representation.
The Auditor General has served
notice that he will not countersign
warrants for the expenses of trips of
this character unless he shall be as
sured that the expenditures are
proper and {hat representatives of
the department concerned occupy
positions that justify their assign
ments. ' •
He has called a hall upon the
practice of State officials figuring in
lecture tours while traveling at the
expense of the State.
1 A roundup of officials responsible
for the collection of taxes due the
Commonwealth is now being made
by the Auditor General with a view
to promoting efficiency of adminis
tratipn and to Increasing the rev
enues. He is particularly interested
In the collection of mercantile taxes
and charges that in many 'counties
individuals, firms and corporations
which should be taxed, are relieved
of payment of taxes through poli
tical influence or personal 'favor
itism.
Letter to Hie Editor
To the Editor of the Telegraph:
I was literally shocked' when } !
learned that, one of our members of
the Legislature introduced a bill to
destroy our Sunday law under
which we lived for so many years
and were happy hs American peo
ple of this great Commonwealth.
And now after we have grown old
in years must we. with sorrow, go
down to our graves that our Sab
bath is destroyed for our childrfen
and the coming generation. Shall
we throw everything open on Sun
day for pleasure, any man who at
tempts to do anything of that kind
has no respect for God or man and
is not a good American citizen. We
as patriots of America love our state
and our nation—and should follow
the example of our forefathers that
this should be a moral and christian
nation. We have cheerfully fought
during the Civil that this
nation should live of the peo
ple by the people and for the peo
ple? We still love the flag under
which you and I live and we should
endeavor to uphold it. We should
endeavor to make this country a
better place to live in, and that
more morality might exist amohg
us as a people, so that the world
might look upon us as a Christian
nation, as we profess to be, and
they might take example. ,
AN OLD VETERAN.
r 'FEBRUARY 13, 1919. 3
SUFFRAGE FOR POLITICS
(From the New York Times.)
With all respect to the poetical
expressions of Mrs. Catt that the
nation is "dishonored," and so on,
by the temporary failure of the
Senate to recommend the Suffrage
Amendment to the Legislatures, the
'woman minority has won. Its
j triumph is but postponed. The high
' considerations of right that inter
ject themselves every time into
| these sacred considerations of polit
ics need not longer concern us.
1 The things is put practically, to a
; practical generation. The Demo
-1 crats have blundered politically.
| The farther-seeing Republicans in
the next Congress will hike advan
tage of that mistake. To all the
mysterious unknown world of "wo
men," they will open,#by the sub
mission of the Federal Amendment,
that opportunity of politics that
some women wish.
The essentiality of the whole
"movement," the gradual conquer
ing by a small minority of the pub
lic, the degradation of an agitation,
fifty years ago altruistic and gen
uine, couldn't be expressed bettor. I
Nobody carep whether it is to the
advantage of the national polity to
have woman suffrage or not. .The
point is: Who saw it first. Demo
crats or Republicans?
Millions of women on whom this
privilege—for it is no "right"—has
been foisted have yet to utter their
opinion upon a change in their rela
tions to the state as to which they
have not been consulted. "Women"
will do or think so and so. That is
the assumption of the brave politi
cians of the Senate. Women! There
is a multitude of women not repre
sented and not vocal by the leaders
of a minority.
The jelly-backed politicians will
amuse themselves, according to their
wont, with this great change in ttte
fundamental law. Is it right? Is it
wrong? Is it desirable Foolish
questions. Should each state deter
mine for itself the political status of
its women? Idiot inquiries. Was the
Democratic or the Republican party
mqpt congenial to the great "re
form?" How many votes are thole
in it?
This is all, this is all that any
thing, apparently, amounts to. Even
in the Southern states, which, before
the passage, of the Prohibition
Amendment, might have been re
garded by the unwary as in the
last stand of state rights, there was
no united opposition. Their votes
were divided. Their utmost oppo
sition was but a trifle. They are
not sincere or earnest about it. It
is a matter of political finesse. The
future of states and of a nation that
regard these deep-lying problems xs
pawns of politics may well call for
some thought.
THE TENTH STATE
(Pennsylvania Farmer.)
The United States Department of
Agriculture has computed the total
value of farm products in this
country in 1918 at $14,090,769,000.
This is over a hqlf billion in excess
of any previous year. Pennsylvania
ranks tenth in the list of states in
the value of its farm products. The
farm crops of the state are valued
at $459,929,000, as compared with
$407,612,000 in 1917. Illinois leads
all states, with lowa, Texas. Georgia.
'Minnesota and Ohio following in the
order named. New York state fol
lows Pennsylvania in rank, with the
value of her season's crops placed
at $447,216,000. It has long been
the general assumption that the
great farm production Is in the Mid
dle Western and Great Plains states.
The ranking of Pennsylvania and
New York ahead of Kansas, Ne
braska, the Dakotas, Wisconsin and
Michigan may even surprise some
of our eastern farmers. Our farm
ers have been producing the goods
even though they may not be mak
ing much noise about it.
LABOR NOTES
A chimney sweep told the Seven
Oaks, (Eng.) Tribunal that his aver
l age earnings were S3O a week and
he made a little profit on soot.
The Massachusetts minimum wage
commission has established a mini
mum rate for women employed in
retail millinery workshops.
A new find of coal seams in the
Irish Midlands promises to give an
abundant yield and relieve the coal
situation in Ireland. '
The New York Bureau of Muni
cipal Research finds that cost of liv
ing in New York has increased 53
per cent, in four years.
A Rotherham, (Eng.) postman
hfa walked 153,000 miles during his
46 years' of service, and recently
celebrated his golden wedding.
lEbttttttg CEttyat
Benjamin M. Nead, the president
of the Dauphin County Historical
Society, whose researches and writ
ings have added so much to the
store of local history not only In
Dauphin, but in Cumberland and
Kranklin counties, has called atten
tion to the fact that the Lafayette >
cannon which was reported as again'
"discovered" at the State Arsenal,
was presented to the republic right l
after the conclusion of the Revolu
tion. in reality the cannctn once
more "discovered" is one of three I
and with its companion pieces and'
two others from- another war re- 1
pose on a trestle in the State Arsenal
yard. State military people say It!
has been there for years and was (
never stowed away in the basement.
of the Arsenal at all. Mr. Nead. '
who gave the history of the cannon
in the address he delivered at the
annual meeting of the State Fed
eration of Historical Societies during.
his presidency, worked out the his
tory of the pieces and sets forth ■
the fact that the cannon that was
"discovered" again and the other
four pieces used to be in the State
Capitol Park. The trestle which
held them was climbed over by many
a juvenile Harrisburger and terrible
battles were fought in imagination
by boy gunners who "manned" the
old cannon which faced toward the '
Cumberland hills.
Mr. Nead says that when the War
for Independence ended three can- ,
non, appropriately marked and all ,
Tine, were presented by Lafayette to
the Continental Congress at Phila
delphia. The so-called Lafayette
cannon, with the arms on it, was
one of them. When in due course
the State of Pennsylvania succeeded
to many things which the Congress
possessed the state officials became
trustees for the old French pieces, 1
which had been brought over by
Lafayette when he came to the aid
of the struggling colonies and fol
lowed the migration of the capital
of the Commonwealth from Philadel
phia to Lancaster and then to the
banks of the Susquehanna. They
were placed in the Arsenal which
was originally built in the park
where our grandfathers and great
grandfathers looked them over.
When Scott captured most of the
Mexican cannon at Cerrogordo he
sent two t(j/Pennsylvania and the
five pieces were mounted on a trestle
and placed on the west side of the
Mexican monument built in Capitol
Park. This monument which was
later moved to its present locntlon
was surrounded with a fence made
of muskets of the Mexican War.
This fence was taken apart when the
monument was moved and the mus
kets were packed away in the cellar
of the present Arsenal, which re
placed the Capitol Arsenal some
years after the Civil War. Mr. Nead
gives a detailed description of the
pieces, including those taken In
Mexico and makes a plea for the
! State is so rich and which it is
the hope of everyone interested in
the story of the Keystone State to
have gathered together and the parts
they played told to the children.
When the new buildings are erected
in Capitol Park provision will be
made for an enlarged State Museum
in which can be grouped many ob
jects which would cheerfully be pre
sented to the State if suitable and
commodious quarters were available.
Legislative news flies, but It does
not always fly with accuracy. Last
evening a gfrl at one of the moving
picture places was compelled to halt
in the midst of sales of tickets to
take her part in this:
"Will the show be put on Sunday
night?
"What are you giving. We don t.
show Sunday."
"Guess, you'll be selling tickets
hero next Sunday all right."
"Say, go on. How many " What's
biting you?"
"New law allows Sunday movies.
"Ain't come here yet."
"Aw, call up the Capitol and find
out."
The epidemic of chicken pox which
exists in some wards of the city
is civing the usual amount of an
noyance to Dr. J. M. J. Raunlck,
the city's health officer. One man
threatened to appeal to the State
if his neighbors were not compelled
to observe quarantine because of
prevalence of the ailment, dust the
contrary view was held by another
man who stormed because he did
not think a card should be put up.
Observers of traffic on the Penn
sylvania and Reading systems say
that there is considerable coal
moving now than there was last
January in spite of the demands due
to thg winter conditions. The Penn
sylvania has been sending east huge
trains, its movement being helped
bv the open winter, while the Read
ing traffic, which is helped out by the
"U. S. A." engines, seems almost
like a continuous procession of coal
cars over the bridge at Vine street.
Sizes of the coal cars appear to have
materially increased, too.
• • •
Just as an illustration of the way
some of the counties of Pennsylva
nia are going at the perpetuation of
what their sons did in the great war,
it may be said that in Warren coun
ty a historical organization has pub
lished an illustrated book of what
Warren county did in various lines of
war activity. It contains not only
the names of all the men sent out
under the draft, but a photograph of
every draft contingent that went out
from Warren county. Names of men
who enlisted are also given and the
book shows what an alert and vlg
orous county can do. The book is the
first in the field.
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE
—Auditor General Charles A.
Snyder was Lincoln Day orator at
two places yesterday.
General Richard Coulter, who
has refused to run for Congress in
Westmoreland county, comes of a
noted Democratic family.
Dr. Newell Dwiglit Hillis, speak
ing in Pittsburgh, said that Roose
velt, was in reality a great seer.
—Attorney General W. I. Schaffer
had a birthday yesterday, but only
a few friends knew about it.
Major E. Dowry Humes, who
is after the Bolshevlkt for Wash
ington officials, comes from Craw
ford County and has been Legislator,
Giuardsman and Federal attorney.
| DO YOU KNOW ~
That llarrisburg lus had floor
mills within its limits siiice It was
put on the map?
Historic llarrisburg
—ln 1815 the borough fathers
passed an ordnance prohibiting pigs
in the streets. Pork was up and
everyone was raising hogs.