8
HARRISBDRG TELEGRAPH
A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME
Founded 18S1
Published evenings except Sunday by
THE TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO.
Teltcnfk BstlSlnK, Federal Sgnarn
E. J. STACK POLE
President and Editor-in-Chief
F. R. OYSTER, Business Manager
GVS. M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor
A. R. MICHENER, Circulation Manager
Executive Beard
J. P. McCULLOUGH,
BOYD M. OGLESBY, ,
F. R. OYSTER,
GUS. M. STEINMETZ.
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titled to the use for republication
of all news dispatches credited to
it or not otherwise credited in this
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t Member American
lation Penn-
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year in advance.
MONDAY, MARCH 17, 1919
TT/ien the fight begins within him
self a man's worth something. — ROß-
EBT BROWNING.
DR. SCHAEFFER
WITH the death of Dr. Nathan
C. Schaeffer, State* Superin- !
tendent of Public Instruc- I
tion, there passes one of the fore
most educators of the United States, j
whose tenure of the officer of. Super- j
intendent of Public Instruction in '
this State was a record. Dr. Schaef- i
fer was noted as editor .and author, j
speaker and publicist as well as !
an educator. He represented the [
connecting link between the forma
tive days of the school system and
the changed conditions resulting
from the world war and governmen- :
tal experiments in industry and
utilities.
Dr. Schaeffer had an abiding love
for Pennsylvania and his services
was conspicuous. He was one of
the men who helped give the Com
monwealth its beautiful State Capi
tol and his voice was always raised )
for better buildings for the youth i
of .the State. It is a melancholy I
coincidence that lie passed away on !
the first anniversary of the death !
of A. D. Glenn, long his right arm, j
and on that of the burial of Henry I
Houck, his friend and co-worker for ,
many, many years.
WHERE THE BLAME LIES
THE other day a railroad man
said: "The trainmen are pretty
sore because Senator Penrose
and Senator Knox helped prevent l
Congress from passing the .railroad j
appropriation bill which the Presi- j
dent wanted put throuph."
Our friend was mistaken. Neither
Senator Penrose nor Senator Knox
had anything to do with the failure
of Congress to pass the railroad bill.
The Republican caucus refused to
have anything to do with the filbus
ter that killed this measure. Both
Senator Knox and Senator Penrose
would have voted for the railroad
bill if it had not been talked to death
by a few Senators who should have
known better.
And if President Wilson is as
anxious about railroad legislation as
lie pretends to be. the way lies open.
All he has to do is to call a special
session of Congress and it will be a
law in ten days.
Why does he not do so?
Because he. is playing the same
kind of vicious, partisan politics as
the few wilful Senators who killed it.
The President is just as much to
blame as any Senator for the plight
in which the railroads, and conse
quently the railroad men as well as
the country-at-large. find themselves.
WEATHER QUESTIONS
TWO questions we would pro
pound for the consideration of
weather-wise souls who may
peruse these lines:
First, was last week's snow the
"onion snow?" Second, was yester
day's disturbance the semi-annual
equinoctial storm?
We confess ourselves puzzled and
we imagine we are not alone. Street
cars were full of "onion snow" dis
cussion Friday, and courageous in
dividuals who ventured forth yes
terday to service found as much In
terest In the thpory of the equinox
and it* attendant disturbance as in
the text or the Sunday school les
son. We speak as one in authority,
having participated in sundry de
bates and discussions of the several
propositions.
(jt course, we might ask the of
ficial weather forecaster, Mr. De
main, about it; hut if one mentions
"onion snow" or "equinoctial storm"
within the confine* of his weather
dispensary in the Federal building
one should stand near the door if
one would escape having an ear
bitten off or being thrown out the
nearest window—and it's a third
story window, at that. For Mr. De
main believes no more in "onion
snows" or "equinoctial storms"
than he does in Ground Has: day. or
MONDAY EVENING,
the "heavy fur on the muskrat," or
the goosebono theory of detecting a
hard winter. He'd just as soon ac
knowledge the existence of Santa
Claus 'or put his faltji In a pow
wow doctor. That's how scientific he
la.
Mind, we don't say he isn't right.
Most likely he is. But tradition dies
hard and the weather has a most
reverse and dismaying habit of pro
ducing a most vicious storm round
about the date when the days and
nights are equal, to-morrow's
that day. Ergo, yesterday's disturb
ance in popular belief is the "equi
noctial storm." It might have come
two weeks earlier or two vfeeks
later, and it would have been all
the same far our purposes.
The "onum enow" is an equally
variable event. The last snow is al
ways the "onion snow." Therefore, it
may be the middle of May before
we will know positively that last
Friday's visitation was the regular
honest-injun "onion enow" of the
year only a miserable make-be
lieve. Be that as it may, it certainly
did make lot of darn fool conver
sation.
DOING A GOOD WORK
COUNTY COMMISSION ERS
STINE AND CUMBLER are
doing an excellent work in the
equalization of property assessments
throughout the county, and they
should be encouraged to continue
what they have so well begun.
Partisan politics has no place in
the fixing of land valuations, and
those who are attempting to make
a campaign issue of the assessments
'now'being levied are placing party
(advantage above public welfare, and
they ought -to be ashamed of them
selves. , |
criticism of the majority!
members of the Board of Oommis- |
sioners is unjust. The Recusations '
*|
I have been proved false. They were'
| based solely on the minority mem- j
jber's desire to be re-elected, backed
I by an unscrupulous political machine
|and its purveyors of misinformation, j
| Messrs. Stine and Cumbler have |
'added more than a hundred million j
dollars' worth of assessable prop- j
1 erty to the books of the county. I
This will produce enough revenues j
to give us the good roads, the j
bridges and the new Courthouse we '
need, without costing the individual |
taxpayer one penny. Not only that, |
but they have raised assessments j
where they were too low and low
ered them where they were too !
high. They have been as fair as it |
is possible to be in the difficult
business of fixing valuations that'
> . i
are varying almost constantly, and j,
the taxpayers will be enriched by J'
hundreds of thousands of dollars as j
a result. They are going quietly
along with their work, regardless of
the fact that Commissioner Wells,
playing his pitifully petty game for <
re-election, is obstructing where he 1
should be helping. They need not ■ j
be disturbed. The voters know the j'
facts and appreciate what they are •
doing.
ECONOMIES HIGHER UP
THERE is much talk of re- ;
trenchment in railroad circles
these days and railroad forces ;
have been reduced to a point that '
to the outsider looks like serious \
interference with the effective and
efficient operation of the roads. But i
we haven't noted that any of the
high priced regional directors and
others who came into office with the
taking over of the railroads have
been dropped from the payrolls. No.
indeed, the overhead expenses for
luxurious offices and well-paid rail- '
road commission attaches must be
kept up even if the freight and pas
senger service must suffer and work- ,
ing men be furloughed by the thou- i
sand. 1
Which gives rise to the question
where are the loudly v heralded eco
nomies of which we heard so much
when the railroads were taken over?
What has been the result to the
passenger and the shipper of the
short-cuts and eliminations of com
petition that were to speed up traf
fic and lower costs to the public?
Does the answer lie in the deficits
that began piling up the day Mr.
McAdoo took hold and have con
tinued ever since? Isn't it soon
time the administration gave an ac
counting of its stewardship and ans
wered the questions that are in the
public mind?
BUSINESS OR BUST
MIL.ES of editorials and special
articles have been written
about the possibilities of
Pennsylvania in regard to agricul
ture and the grand opportunities
have been dinned into the ears of
thousands - and thousands from
platform and pulpit, train steps and
box beside the grocery stove. The
farmer harf been farmed and the
theorist has wasted money.
The outline of the bill to reorgan
ize the Department of Agriculture,
just issued, shows that the Sproul
administration intends to apply that
eminent business sense with which
the Governor is credited to making
the department devoted to food pro
duction of real use. He would take
up lost motion and abolish the mon
ologist for whom the passing years
mean nothing. Starting in with the
danartment administration I /self ha
proposes to "put It on a Business
plane and give it the funds to make
itself essential. The alternative is
spelled "abolition."
Ix
flKKujtcaxfa
Bj tho Ex-Committeeman
Early action i& expected on the
administration bill providing for a
commission to make a study of re
vision of the Constitution of Penn
sylvania by the Senate committee in
charge and it is possible that the
measure may be reported out this
week. Since the bill calling for a
commission to report in 1921 was
presented a number of letters have
come to the Governor's office com
mending that position and it is not
believed here that there will be any
opposition to the bill. The various
bills providing for constitutional re
vision, elections on the subject of
revision and a constitutional conven
tion which have been presented to
the House will probably he aban
doned.
Prompt action is also expected on
the other administration measures,
especially those making changes Ju
the business methods of the State
government which were introduced
in the Senate by Senator William E.
Crow. Others which will embody in
the form of bills some of the rec
ommendations of the last Economy
and Efficiency Commission will be
presented soon.
The House this week will have the
Brady bill changing certain regula
tions for the primary and providing
for a new registration system for
Philadelphia before it.
—Appointment of Charles H.
Kline and Stephen Stone to the Alle
gheny county bench is commended
by tho Pittsburgh Gazette-Times
editorially.
—Governor Sproul's State art
commission plan is meeting with
general editorial support in the
State, some of it quite enthusiastic.
The Philadelphia Ledger, which had
had some adventures with Art Com-
I missions in Philadelphia, favors the
j plan, too.
—Commissioner Roy Hatfield and
! Register of Wills R. C. Miller will
j be candidates again in Montgomery.
j —Although the bill for an additional
j judge in Lehigh is not yet signed,
| the politicians are figuring oii candi
dates. among them Congressman A.
G. Dewalt, State Chairman L. H.
Rupp, who don't want to run: ex-
Senator M. A. Henninger; ex-Rep
■ resentative C. T. Reno and Senator
jH. W. Schantz. Fred E. Lewis is
I the only leader opposed to the
| Evans bill for the judge.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer says:
"If Governor Sproul succeeds' in:
ham-stringing the profiteering pro
pensities of the coal price gougers, |
that fact alone will go a mighty long j
way toward justifying his adminis
tration of the affairs of this State."
—Luzerne county has established
a 3.6 mill tax rate on a valuation
of $320,000,000.
—Anent the Brady bills Odell
Tlauser says in the Philadelphia
Press: "It seems likely that the
Brady bills will be fought out on
their o.wn merits without any con
nection with the charter revision
bills. Probably they will produce
factmnnl disturbances, but there Is
a lot of that to be expected as a
side-show without prejudice against
a final settlement on charter revision
acceptable to all parties."
The Philadelphia Bulletin in
Penn's column says regarding the
mayoralty of that city: "At the
present time there are very few cit
izens who openly aspire to the May
oralty. There are now perhaps
fewer of them than there have been
on any like occasion since the first
'Bullitt bill Mayor' was elected.
There were fifteen to twenty of tliem
at the outset of the canvass on that
occasion, and they included some of
the ablest Philadelphians of the day.
Possibly there will turn out to be,
this spring and summer, as many
candidates as there were in 1887."
—The general impression about
legislative halls is that the nonpar
tisan acts governing juducial and
second class city elections \will be
repealed within the next month and
that the proposed abolition of the
system in third class cities will take
a long.step as a consequence. The
opponents of the repeal in the third
class cities are getting very busy.
—From all accounts the biennial
row between the attaches of the
Legislature from the two large cit
ies has broken out. Some of the
Philadelphia men have refused to
work until men from jvestern dis
tricts came here and the filing of l
bills in the House is said to have
—The Philadelphia Press in an
editorial on th bill for compulsory
voting says that it would not work
out, but that compulsory registra
tion would be a good thing. The
editorial says: "We should like to
see this b'ill pass so far as it bears
on registration. Every possible voter
should be registered. The assessors
try to do this but their list is largely
guess work. It is easily padded and
has been padded in the past and the
operation of the personal registra
tion law makes it largely superfluous.
It would be altogether superflous if
the present registration was made
compulsory. It is no hardship on
citizens to compel them to register
once a y enr and under compulsion,
this registration would then include
tho whole body of voting citizens.
France's Heroic Dead
Paris-, according to a dispatch from
that city, is divided in a matter of
sentiment touching the memory of
France's heroic dead. There is talk
of laying out cemeteries in the battle
fields, to be "Plains of Silence," but
others prefer that "the fields be
planted with trees to grow into
mighty forests a.i an everlasting mon
ument to the dead of the great war "
We believe the high feeling for
beauty, coupled with sound sense,
both qualities so highly developed
in the French, and finally move them
to favor the second of the two sug
gestions.—Philadelphia Record.
A civ Tank Insignia
The Tank Corps
shoulder badge is
in the form of a
triangle composed
of three equal
sections of red,
/g£|:?r\ blue and yellow,
/ - ' •-* respectively. The
reason assigned
for its adoption
was that the corps combined the
functions of artillery, infantry and
cavalry. This insignia supersedes
an earlier one designed in the
image and likeness of the tank
itself. i
HAHRIfiBURG TELEGRAPH
WHEN A FELLER NEEDS A FRIEND -> BY BRIGGS
wl4e(V A FEt.t-eg MfCES A FRiCmI)
< |S.
.yf WHY OF COURSE YOO \
y jr can HAVS YOUR OLD JOB \ , X' x
X BACK. ALL I Hftve To X
/ DO IS TIRE THAT GIRL . XX \
/ YONOER. ' LET HeR ' X
/ YOUR JOB Bemuse \
/ N£EDED> THE fv\OHEV SHE 5 / \
/ * COMPETENT BUT fLL LET I \
Business in This State
[From the Phila. Press.]
However merchants and manufac
turers may feel about the future,
thet'e is one class of business men
tvho have every reason to be optim-
I istic. They are ihe farmers, whose
broad acres are now carpeted with
the beautiful green of winter wheat.
For every bushel of grain which the
farmers harvest from these fields
they are assured of a market of
$2.26, because Uncle Sam has guar
anteed to pay that price.
A ride across Pennsylvania by
daylight discloses that the wheat
tlelds are more numerous than us
ual. One of the Lancaster county
farmers who boarded the train said
that all farmers in his section had
sown as much whfiat as usual and
many of them had town more. The
growth of the crop is farther ad
vanced than usual, but the farmers
are .not apprehensive as Uiev do not
anticipate severe freezing at this
late day "of the winter season. Of
course, the farmer has 1113 griev
ances on account of the scarcity and
high cost of farm labor and the
inferior quality and high price o*
fertilizers, but with the government
guarantee of a market at a big price
for his wheat, the wheat growers
are in a far better position than are
the manufacturers and merchants,
especially ns all the wheat lields
show a wonderfully even stand,
there being very few bare spots.
But the view from the car window
tells another story. Upon the sidings
stand thousands of idle cars, silent
indicators of the falling oft" of traffic
since the termination of the war.
One may wonder Why the govern
ment is ordering more freight cars
at a time when so many are not in
use, but it has always been the
policy of railroad managers to look
ahead. They know by experience
that a period of partial suspension
of industry and consequent falling
off of traffic is sure to be followed
by a boom when there will be a
great demand for cars.' So the idle
cars will be shunted into repair
shops to. be overhauled while the
orders for new cars are being exe
cuted., And thp farmers' prosperity
is one basis for the boom that is
surely coming and for which the
railroads must make preparations.
Iron and steel plants at C'oates
ville, Steelton and Johnstown are not
running to full capacity. At Johns
town the Cambria Steel Company
has erected a huge bulletin board
on which are placed the names of
1954 employes who entered the ser
vice of the government during the
war. At night tlie board is illumi
nated so that the names may be
read by passengers in the cars.
At Johnstown there alighted an
attractive young mother with 'her
bright little five year old daughter.
On the platform she was greeted by
a sturdy mill worker who clasped
her in His arms and gave her a
resounding kiss. Then he picked
up the child, hugged her and kissed
her several times. But the Bolshe
viki would have none of this. The
wife would not be the man's alone;
the child would be raised by the
State. They would destroy the fain
tly tie and annihilate one of the
greatest joys of life. The great
Cambria plant is made possible not
merelv by the capital of the Midvale
Steel "Corporation, but by the am
bition and Industry of the workers
based upon family ties. If Ameri
cans adhere to the principles on
which they have builded her in
dustries will continue to thrive and
expand.
The Pittsburgh district is smoky
by day. One can scarcely imagine It
differently in recent years, but the
great steel plants are no longer un
der war pressure and arc not work
ing at capacity by any means. Many
plants are c'osed at night and the
usual glow is missing. Most plants
are working on part time only.
Intercommunity Planning
.Those familiar with the communal
difficulties that developed during the
war will be disposed to support any
proper measure in the Legislature
that will allow Philadelphia, Ches--
ter and Bristol to join in a scheme
extending the jurisdiction of the lo
cal Department of Public works
within a specific zone- outside of
Philadelphia county. This is a
pressing need that is absolutely
above politics and grows out of the
eamplex interrelations of the inter
locked industrial and municipal in
terests of the "Philadelphia district."
—Philadelphia Ledger.
Vittori© Orlando,
Savior of Italy.
ANMUiiiInKT (lie I'reniierHhlp During the Military ltehnele of 11117. Former
( tillrue Professor llroiight \ ietorv Out of Ignominious lJefeut
PROF. Vittorio Emmanuele Or
lando, who, as premier of Italy,
• is guarding his country's inter
ests at the peace conference, has
proved his right to a place among
the world's greatest national lead
ers. Assuming the reins of gpvern- j
ment in 1917, at a time when the j
Italian Army was fleeing before the .
Austrians, when it had lost in three
days what It had spent eighteen
months in acquiring. Premier Or
lando saved his country from the
ignorminous defeat the Alpine de- j
bacic seemed to portend.
It took courage to attempt the
reorganization of the army and the
rehabilitation of the home morale.
Other statesmen shied from partici
pation in a government which, at
that time it appeared, would be
forced to be a party to a shameful
peace. It only by colossal ef
fort that the premier succeeded in :
forming his cabinet, but when he |
finally announced it to the king, his
coalition administrative body con
tained the strongest men of all par
ties. among them Sonnino, (n whom
those who doubted the capabilities
of the premier had boundless faith. [
Once ltevilod as a Pacifist
His success was all the more dif
ficult and in the same degree note
worthy, by reason of the storm
which a few weeks before had raged
about him as minister of the inter
ior. Nationalists and annexationists
reviled him as a pacifist colleague
of the neutralist Socialist leader,
Giolitti, in whose cabinet he hatt
served from 1903 to 1905 as minister
of public instruction, and some went
so far as to denounce him as a
traitor. Heedless of this clamor, he
accepted the king's commission to I
organize a coalition cabinet. His
task was to save a defeated nation,
and the turn in the tide which in
time engulfed Austria, proof of his
success.
Even while impugning his patriot
ism and courage, none of his oppo
nents could challenge his ability as
a leader or his intelligence as a
statesman.' Of that his record was
indisputable proof. At 22, he had
been made professor of constitu
tional rights in the University of
Palmero, from which he hod just
graduated and after holding that
chair for ten • years, he had been
elected to the Chamber of Deputies
Two Appointments
In the two Important appoint
ments he" made last week, Governor
Sproul continued His principle of se
lecting for leadership in branches
of State administration men of high
typo who have had experience. His
latest appointees are Thomas 13.
Donaldson to be Insurance Commis
sioner and- Harry L. Knapp to be
chairman of the Board of Moving
Picture Censorship. They are gen
erally considered to be excellent ap
pointments.
Mr. Donaldson has for over seven
years been Special Deputy Insur
ance Commissioner. During that
time he has been in charge of the
liquidation in many important cases.
He knows his subject forward,
backward and sideways and has se
cured recognition for his personal
qualities of tact and efficiency. He
is known to several generations of
University of Pennsylvania men as
a leader in Mask and Wig and other
college activities. ,Mr. Knapp has
been dramatic editor of the in
quirer for years and will bring the
professional viewpoint •to aid in
clearing up a much-vexed subject.
—Philadelphia Press.
A Cause For Grievance
The late Nat Goodwin's many mar
riages became a joke even in tile
much-married theatrical profession.
At the Lambs' Club Willie Collier
one day asked Goodwin anxiously:
"Have I offended you. Nat?"
"Why, no," replied the astounded
Goodwin. "What do you mean?'"
"Well,'' responded Collier, with an
injured air, "you never invite me to
any of your weddings." Front the
San Francisco Bulletin.
from the province of ( Fartinieo in
1592. His p'ace among the deputies
has been confirmed by his province
at every election since.
In 1903 he had accepted the port
folio of public instruction under
Giolitti, then premier. In 1*907 he
returned to the cabinet as minister of
justice, from which position he re
fired in 1909, but came back to the
administration in 1914 in the same
capacity, to bo raised in 1916 to
minister of the interior, from which
office ho was elevated by the king
to head the new ministry.
ItcproitfMits a United Italy
He piloted Italy through the
stormiest period of its career and
now hp is faced by the little, less
difficult task of directing after-the
war reconstruction. Here is mani
fested his breadth of vision and
foresightedness, for last summer,
when few even of the most optimis
tic statesmen of the world dared
hope for an early cessation of hos
tilities! Premier Orlando began pre
parations for Italy's rehabilitation,
through the "after-the-war" com
mission, of which he was president.
In a speech before that body in
August the premier sketched the
necessary procedure for the demob
ilization of the army and the return
of its four million soldiers to indus
try, and briefly touched upon the
emigration problem which he ex
pected with the close of the war.
He concluded his address;
"Concerning the time chosen for
starting and developing our work", I
might remark that the after-war
problems began to develop as soou
as the war started. On the other
hand, the elements they involve are
ever changing, so that schemes that
would solve the problems which pre
sented themselves two - or three
months ago are already out of date.
"It bejiooves us, -therefore, -to
select the opportune time for begin
ning ouii study of these problems.
We think we have done this. If,'in
response to the hopes of all, a victor
ious peace should not be long de
ferred, the approach of- such an au
spicious moment would redouble our
energies and our activities."
Not a party man. Premier Or
lando represents a united Italy at
the peace table. He never has as
pired to party leadership—his larger
ership, and that he has attained.
TIIE FLU
When your back is broke and your
eyers -are blurred,
And your sliinbones knock and your
tongue is furred,
i And your tonsils squeak and your hair
gets dry.
And you're doggone sure that you're
going to die,
llut you're skeered you won't and
afraid you will.
Just drag to bed and have your chill
And pray the Lord to see you
through.
When your toes curl up and your belt
goes flat,
And you're twice as mean -as a
Thomas cat,
And life is a long and dismal curse.
And your food ull tastes like a hard
boiled hearse.
When your lattice aches and your
head's abuzz.
And nothing is as it ever was—
You've got the flu, boy, you've got the
flu.
What is it like, this Spanish flu?
Ask me, brother, for I've been
through.
It is misery out of despair.
It pulls your teeth and curls your
hair,
It thins your blood and breaks your
bones
And fills your craw with groans and
moans;
And maybe sometime you'll get well;
Some call it flu; I call it—well?
We've bad ours, have you?
—George Chamberlain in Atcliinson
Co. Mail.
Making Prayer Efficacious
Therefore. I soy unto you, what
things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
believe that ye receive them, and ye
■hall have them. Mark ii, 24.
MARCH 17, 1919.
Push Ahead With Peace Ter
{From the Philadelphia Inquirer.]
The.importance of signing a treaty
of pence with Germany is at last
fully recognized In Paris. Boun
daries of other nations may wait.
Terms for peace settlements with
Austria, Bulgaria and Turkey are
not pressing. But the situation in
Germany is so alarming that delay
is dangerous. Says Fraqk A. Van
derlip from his viewpoint in Paris:
"Unless terms of peace can be
speedily agreed upon, and unless
these terms ars such as will permit
the resumption of something ap
proaching normal industrial life,
there is not merely a chance, there
is a strong probability of Russian
Bolshevism overrunning Germany."
Every day of procrastination, says
he, "makes the prospect of indem
nity less possible."
Tremendous injury has been
wrought by the armies of the Huns. |
For that injury Germany must pay |
to the extent of her ability. But 1
you cannot draw on.e drop of blood I
from a turnip, nor can you exact
financial contributions from a coun
try that is fiat on its back apd en
gaged* in'internal strife.
Secretary of State Lansing, a dele
gate to the Peace Conference, 'de
clares that "we must change the con
ditions upon which social unrest
feeds. Two words." he Insists, "tell
the story—food and peace." He
adds: *
"To make Germany capable of re
sisting anarchy and the hideous 1
despotism of the red terror, Ger- I
many must bo allowed to purchase
food, and to earn that food. Indus
trial conditions must be restored by
a treaty of peace. It is not out of
pity for Germany tha\ this must bo
done, and done without delay, but
because we, Jhe victprs of the war,
will bo the chief sufferers if it is
not done. Wo have reach
led a crisis in the affairs of the
' world."
j In all this there is no desire to
j let Germany down easily. As a 1
I military nation she is to be elimi
nated. Her frontiers are to be rec
tified. Against her Into foes slio will
be rendered powerless—at least for
file present. But unless she is to
be given over to Bolshevism, and
unless her Bolshevism is to extend
its ugly system into France —all over
Europe, for that matter —underlying
causes' must be removed. Germany
must be allowed to got food —to buy
It. She must be permitted to start
up licr industries and put the idle
at work. She must earn money if
she is to be expected to pay the
heavy indemnities that are to be
chalked up against her.
She is going to have a hard enough
time of it in any circumstances. Her
shipping is trilling compared to the
proud position which it occupied
before the war. France will not buy
of her. Nor will England. Nor
will any patriotic citizen of the
United States. Her markets, there
fore, mpst Inevitably be restricted
for many a year to come. Commer
cially she cannot for a considerable
time he a competitor; There is lit
j tie to fear in that direction.
But while she is disorganized she
j cannot produce wealth, and without
wealth production she cannot make
| suitable reparation. What is more,
| she is a hotbed of anarchy and Bol
jshevism, a serious danger to all
I civilization. So the news that peace
articles are about to be submitted
I to her is received witli satisfaction.
Let us get her off our minds first
and then proceed to the other mat
ters.
Sprout and Coal Profiteers
[Philadelphia Inquirer.]
Governor Sproul is entitled to the
• thanks of the people, not only of
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, but
of the entire country, for liis prompt
challenge of the right of the coal
producers to increase the price of
coal at this time. He directs the
Attorney General to inform him if
the State has the power to go into
the causes for the proposed advance,
and if it has not he suggests that
the Legislature is in session at this
time, and that if necessary remedial
laws can be enacted at once. The
Governor has struck a popular
chord, and it is to bo hoped that we
may get the exact truth, that we
may go to the root of the business,
and that coal consumers will bo
given the relief to which they are
clearly entitled.
The promptness with which tlie
Governor lias acted in this matter
is more than half the battle. Hereto
fore the public seemed to be in a
condition of abject helplessness. We
have had investigation after investi
gation, but in nearly every instance
it has been a case of closing the
stable door after the horse had been
stolen. In the present situation
there is not only a prospect of as
certaining the facts, but the Legisla
ture may be expected to make it in
teresting for those who would en
rich themselves at the expense of a
long-suffering public. The impor
tant thing is to ascertain who is at
fault. It is possible that the mine
owners may bo able to niake a plaus
ible defense; it is within the realm
of probability that the coal dealers
may be able to justify the increase.
They are entitled to their day in
court, but in the meantime the
people of Pennsylvania may very
properly place themselves* in the
place of the man from Missouri.
They should demand the proofs.
The amazing part of this proposed
increase in the price of coal is that
it comes at the end of one of the
mildest winters in the memory of
the oldest inhabitant, at a time when
consumption has materially decreas
ed and when thousands of the min
ers have been placed on "short
time" for waVit of jvork. Well may
Governor Sproul exclaim that he,is
at a loss to understand the com
mercial or economic justification
for increasing the price. Rightly, too,
he calls attention to the fact that
the increase is to be imposed at a
time when the efforts of patriotic
people everywhere are being strain
ed toward restoring the price of liv
ing to a normal basis, and to stab
j ilize labor conditions.
Our Businessman Governor
Public service is relatively more
expensive and less efficient than pri
vate service because the machinery
of the former is created and fixed by
law. Tliere are good reasons why
the "hiring and firing" system which
works successfully in private entef
pises should be rigidly excluded from
Governmental departments. But
that Is not to say that there should
not be frequent revisions of enact
ments creating places and prescrib
ing salaries. As things arh in pub
lic offices too many drones are
buzzing about killing time between
pay days. "Public office is a pri
vate snap" at the expense of the
taxpayers. It should not be that.
Public business ought to be conduct
ed as economically and efficiently as
are private enterprises. That is
Governor Sprout's idep. And it will
lie indorsed throughout the State by
those who are not enjoying any.offi
cial sinecures and have no prospects
of securing any such. "A day's work
for a day's pay" is flic Governor's
slogan with respect tothe State De
partments. It is good to have a
business man in tho executive's
chair insisting on business practices
in public offices.—Pittsburgh Ga
zatte-Times.
Abetting €ljat
® t * Patrick's day haa always born*
a rather unjustified reputation In the
the minds of Harrlsburgers because
of weather conditions. For mora
than forty years people have been
accustomed to put down the day as *
one of storms when as a matter 5*
fact it has been fair in a majority or
instances and has alternated snow
falls and bllszards with such prime
conditions as wotild permit openin#
f seasons and a search for
nrH rho mete °rological ree
° ° f . lhe ffreat Irish day here f<*
ty j ears will not reveal such uaa
pleasant conditions as to mak Zi
man instinctively grasp for his um
thf it wh f n he observes the date on ,
th!i ..° r ' Ol<l newspapers show
that in the twenties religious ob
0f St p otrick's day began.
Cathoiic missions, which wero held
very early and which
much to the effect of
nt ®, reat . ''cligious revival of the
list decade of the last century in
this community, made special ref
"™'e.,to 11,0 da >'- Newspapers of
eatly times mention that St. Pat
rick s day was duly observed, show
ing that even if there were many
I i f~ m the North of Ireland thev
eft differences with their brethren
I from the South behind them. For
, a long time observance of the day
was confined to the church which
ather Michael Curran built on
State street away back in 1826.
vv lien various Irish organizations
came into being a dinner was al
ways held, often followed by a danc®
and once in a while preceded by a
parade. Some twenty years ago
there was quite a demonstration on
the day, but the late years Columbus
has been getting the best of public
, attention rather than the great Irish
benefacor. Speaking of the parades
| that used to lie lield there was much
j good-natured jollying about one St.
I Patrick's day parade years ago and
still told of with zest. Several promi
nent Irishmen arranged it and there
were visiting delegations. When
the procession passed Second and
. Walnut several cronies of the afore
said prominent Irishmen, but whose
I forebears came from the North,
were observed standing along the
curb and blowing their noses with
I bright orange liandkerahiefs. Theje
was many a sly wink and some toss
ing of heads and lots of "kidding"
later on. Hut when a certain anni
versary came around which the de
scendants of the men of the North
were accustomed to talk about with
vigor three of the loaders of the
display of orange kerchiefs found on
awakening that their doorbells were
decorated.
• • •
Years when the Legislature met
hero have of late furnished the only
festive observance of the day and
while it has not always struck the
same time its the calendar St. Pat
rick has come in for due meed of
recognition. The Legislative Sons
of St. Patrick came into being a
quarter of a century ago and their
dinners have-brought together many
men of prominence. It is an occa
sion when former State officials and
Legislators come back to visit the 4
hails and shake hands with Harry
Baker and Thomas 11. Garvin and
when former newspaper correspon
dents return to tell the fellows cov
ering the session how they used to
"scoop the bunch" and of the way
George llandy Smith and John Fow
disturbed serenity of sessions either
in garb or debate.
•
Not so many years ago there was
a pronounced use of green things
on Sr. Patrick's day 'and green* rib
bons and decorations were employed
jby men from various climes. Just
j about the time the war broke out
the Slav element in Steelton and the
Roumanians up here became imbued
with the idea that wearing of the
green was the right thing. And men
who never heard of Patrick or the
way he exercised the toads and
snakes and who could not pronounce
his name or locate Ireland in a week
wore bright green with airs of being
right in the swim.
* • •
' "If the inquiry we have had for
canoes is anything to go by the river
sports are going to be revived in style
this year," said a man who handles
such things." The war put a crimp
in a good many things and use of the
river was more or less restricted.
However, it looks now as though the
cane fleet would assume real pro
portions."
| WELL KNOWN PEOPLE
—Gorge Wharton Pepper, the
Philadelphia lawyer, has just cele
brated a birthday.
—Representative John R. K. Scott
takes pride in the hay yield from his
Montgomery county farms.
—E. T. Stotesbury, the banker,
has just been elected head of the
Temple Iron Company.
—Thomas Lowry, the miners
leader, is out for re-election as head
of the miners of the Scranton dis
trict.
—Cotigressman E. R. Kiess, of
Williamsport, was here on Saturday
on his way from Washington and
is much interested in the new road
program.
—E. S. Bayard, the Pittsburgh live
stock journal editor, is expected to
be prominent in management of
State Department of Agriculture af
fairs, relative to that industry.
[ DO YOU KNOW
—That Dauphin county used
to be a big sheep raising county
and it made money at It, too?
HISTORIC HARRISBCRG
—Extensive use of ferries over
the Susquehanna at this point
ended just about 100 years ago be- r
cause of the construction of the
first Harrisburg bridge.
BLESS THEM!
I like such talk
As Herbert Widdy's; 1
He never calls
His kids his "kiddies."
JARED BEAN.
* • . /• * * *
I lift my lid
To Hazel Hughes;
She never wears
Two-colored shoes.
MORRIE.
#•••• •
A girl I hate
' Is Carrie Wells;
She Bays: "I'll never
Tell." * * * Antl tells.
—. Bs.
—From New York Tribune.
"So Work, So Bread"
No beer, no work, may sound
striking, but it will come up against
the much older low, no work, no
bread." From the San Francisco
Chronicle.