TUESDAY EVENING, c HAJEtRISBURG TELEGRAPH MAY 20, 1919. 12 i HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH 1 A NEWSPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded 1831 Published evenings except Sunday by THE- TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO. Telegraph Building, Federal Square E. J. STACKPOLE President and Editor-in-Chief P. R. OYSTER, Business Manager GUS. M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor A. R. MICHENER, Circulation Manager Executive Board S. P. McCULLOUGH, BOYD M. OGLESBY, F. R. OYSTER. GUS. M. STEINMETZ. _____. Members of the Associated Press—The j Associated Press is exclusively en- I titled to the use for republication i of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this i paper and also the local news pub lished herein. ▲ll rights of republication of special i dispatches herein are also reserved, j ~ \ 1 Member American j j—jjf Ushers' Associa- I SB Bureau of Circu fin lation and Penn- a j fig H Eastern of f I c e j B| Avenuc Building. ■ 1" Gas' RuikPing i Chicago, 111. Entered at the Post Office in Harris burg, Pa., as second class matter. By carrier, ten cents a rrftßfitlatyjejfc week; by mail. 93.00 a year in advance. TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1019 One on God's side is a majority— Wendell Phillips. DOLLARS FOR DOUGHNUTS / / T""v OLLARS to doughnuts" is an II old bet; the new wager is "dollars for doughnuts," and it's a sure thing. To-morrow, pretty girls, returned soldiers and members of the Rotary Kiwanis Clubs will sell dough nuts on the street corners. That's where the doughnuts come in. Those who pass the booths are ex pected to buy doughnuts at prices that would make a food profiteer die of envy- That's where YOU come in. Of course, you know that these doughnut sales are to raise money for the Salvation Army. No use making a point of that. But the point to be emphasized is this—■ That if these young women, these returned boys who enjoyed the boun tiful blessings of Salvation Army ministrations in France and these very busy business and professional men think enough of the Salvation Army to give their time to help it raise funds with which to carry on its work, you can do no less than buy the doughnuts they will offer for sale. It's perfectly clear, isn't it, that you are going to buy doughnuts at record breaking prices to-morrow? It is? Thank you. VERY UNREASONABLE SAMUEL D. SCHWARTZ, a Phila delphia real estate dealer, writes the Philadelphia Public Ledger that— "The postal service is rotten. The good old days of the stage coach put the present service in the shade." Mr. Schwartz's grievance is that it required a letter he mailed in Phila delphia five days to get from a box at Twenty-Ninth and Lehigh avenue to Broad and Chestnut streets. Mr. Schwartz is an' unreasonable fault-finder. Why right here in Har risburg we have evidence to prove that a letter—Special delivery and registered required nearly nine days to go from Harrisburg to Wal ter Reed hospital, just outside of Washington, and yet the sender raised no objection. Ho knew it wouldn't help any. What does Mr. Schwartz expect? Does he imagine Mr. Burleson has time to fool away getting a pesky little two-cent letter from one part of a city to another, especially when the sender might have carried it to its destination and thus saved the postal department unnecessary ef fort, not to mention two cents for himself in postage? Mr, Schwartz should know that the postal depart ment is a very busy institution. It is still trying to get out from under the Christmas rush. - TRANS-ATLANTIC FLYING -OT even Columbus, sailing out f\J upon an uncharted sea, dared more or faced so many un known perils as did the trans- Atlantic fliers who so bravely steered their frail barks out the air route over the treacherous waters of the At lantic, risking everything in an ef fort to prove the possibility of flying from America to Europe. But their effort marks a tremen dous step in the progress of trans portation since the discoverer of America set out in his three tiny caravels to find a new world, and a no less important development in aeroplaning since Bleriot surprised the world by performing the hair raising feat of planing across the English channel from France to England. The whole world went wild over the Frenchman's exploit, but nobody at the time was hardy enough to suggest a trans-Atlantic flight and indeed it would have been foolhardy to undertake such a Jour ney In the flimsy machines of that period. There have been few sensational tMevalonments in the science of flying since, in October, 1902, the "Wright brothers came into prominence by gliding 622 feet at Kitty Hawk, their flight being of fifty-nine seconds, duration. From that time on it has been merely a matter of experi mentation and trial. Careful scien tific investigation has brought the art of flying step by step to its present development, and we have made only a beginning. But great feats have been accom plished in the air since Wilbur Wright in 1908 broke all records by remaining in the air two hours, twenty minutes and twenty-three seconds, and the trans-Atlantic at tempt comes at a time when the dare-devil adventures of our airmen j along the French front have led us , to believe that the aeroplane is as a toy in the hands of the skilled avia | tor and that almost any accomplish j incnt is possible. GO TO IT T 1 HE Pottsville Republican, dis cussing a bond issue for public j improvements in that city, says: Pottsville voters are going to I be called upon soon to express I their opinion as to the advisabil- I ity of using the borrowing capac-. ity of the municipality for the purpose of carrying out a pro- I gram of public improvements and | the question is one of such vital I importance to the city and every j resident and property owner in it, I that the matter must be given | calm and careful consideration, | with a mind open to be convinced of the merits of the proposition. Advice is cheap and most people let it go in one ear and out the other. In this instance we haven't even been asked for an opinion, but having in mind certain periods in our own municipal history, we ven ture a few remarks that may be, in a general way, helpful to Pottsville. Harrisburg in the past fifteen years has spent millions of dollars on public improvements. It has floated numerous loans. It has no regrets. It is happy in all that it has done. The money Harrisburg has put into public improvements has been the best investment the city ever made. It means to go right along as it has been going. It is even now developing another im provement campaign. That popular bugaboo, the "tax rate," has not advanced to an un reasonable degree. On the other hand it can be shown very clearly that Ilarrisburg's investments in improvement enterprises have actu ally, in many instances, increased the revenues of the city by making pos sible real estate developments that brought about increased assessed valuations and consequently turned thousands of dollars into the city treasury that otherwise would not have been realized. But the biggest dividend is in the satisfaction of a public service well rendered and in having made Harrisburg a better place in which to live. Harrisburg's advice to Pottsville, or any other city hesitating as to the wisdom of spending money upon public improvements, is: "Be sure you are right; then go ahead." COMFORT IN MISERY IT'S a sad world. Anybody can prove that by five minutes' study of his living expenses of the present as compared with those of four years back. But there is some comfort, even in our present misery, if we only carry our studies back a half century or more, and put Civil War prices side by side with those we arc paying to-day. We have it from the United States Department of Labor that the prices of 1919 are lower than those of the war period of the early 'Sixties. Says a bulletin just issued by that branch of the Government: A comparison of the course of prices during the Civil War and the present war shows many points of similarity during the two war periods. The course of prices during the present period Of readjustment and the corre sponding period following the Civil War show more points of difference than of similarity. During both wars the whole sale prices of commodities in general rose steadily through the war period. The rise during the Civil War period, taking the year 1860 as the base, runs up to a somewhat higher level than the rise during the present war. In both wars building materials rose in price, but they did not at either time reach levels as high as the price of other commodities. But the most encouraging feature of this price report is that, while prices reacted more quickly after the war than they have in the present instance, the currency of the country was on an unsound basis, con ditions were panicky and there was not such rock-ribbed confidence in the future of the Nation's business as there is to-day. In short, while prices are high now, and likely to remain high, we are on a much surer footing than we were after the Civil War and headed toward much quieter waters. There are no indi cations that the panic which fol lowed the Civil War is to have any repetition in the next eight or ten years. Indications rather are for a prolonged period of prosperity. So we may as well cheer up and, instead of having the blues over heavy expenses, throw aside the family ledger and go out determined to make more money to meet the new standards the war has set for us. ECONOMICAL MEASURES THE complaint of a Philadelphia newspaper against the perma nent location of the State Su preme and Superior Courts tn Har risburg, on the ground that it would be more expensive than the present arrangement, is so clearly a mis taken notion that it is scarcely worthy of attention. To be sure, the holding of the court sessions in Philadelphia would be cheaper for Philadelphia lawyers, but how about those from all the other widely-scattered cities arfd towns of the State who must journey i long distances and put up at expen sive hotels to attend court? And how about the litigants? The greatest good for the greatest number must be considered in this as in all other matters relating to State government, and that being the case Harrisburg is the logical loca tion for the courts. It is easily reach ed from any part of the Common wealth. It is the railroad hub of Pennsylvania. Thousands of dollars a year in railroad fares alone would be saved to lawyers and others at tending court if the upper tribunals sat permanently here. Unquestion ably, the Hess bills are economical measures and they should be passed. IFOTI&CQ. LK By the Ex-Committee men The big fight of the session failed to materialize In the House last night because the Vickerman and Fox bills to enforce the prohibition amendment were withdrawn from the stage at the request of Governor William C. Sproul and the Ramsey bill establishing what shall be the alcoholic contents of a drink was immediately after postponed. Every thing was in readiness for a battle last night and the three bills were on special order when word reach ed the "dry" leaders that the Gov ernor thought it advisable to with hold action for the present. Hurried conferences were held and an agreement reached, while the "wet" members marshaled their forces to slaughter the bills. From all accounts the "wets" had about enough strength to kill the two en forcers as some' "dry" men were absent and the death of John Mc- Kay, of Luzerne, further weakened them. When the bills came up their sponsors moved postponement, which was agreed to and then Mr. Ramsey postponed his bill. It is understood that the Governor will assist in the passage of the Vickerman and Fox bills when the time comes to fight them through and that he is against the Ramsey bill. Many Senators were in the House to see what happened and events which would have had material ef fect on State politics were pre dicted. —The bills to establish the Su preme and Superior Courts here are being attacked by Philadelphia newspapers who say some judges are against them, but name no names. The sentiment among law yers as evinced by interviews favors the bills and they are in line with the Governor's plans for concentra tion of the government here. —Chairman Harry M. Showalter, of the committee in charge, was called to court at Lewisburg to-day and no action will be taken this week. —The nomination of Secretary of Agriculture Rasmussen was sent to the Senate for a term (>f four years from May 8 and immediately con firmed. This was necessary under the reorganization bill. - —The Senators were not much in clined to agree to fix a date for adjournment to-day. They hold that it should be thought over a while, which means that nothing will be done until the Philadelphia bills, which are getting an airing to-day, are disposed of. —Dr. Thomas E. Finegan, the Deputy Superintendent of Public In struction of New York State, offer ed the supcrintendency of public in struction to succeed the late Dr. Nathan C. Sehaeffer, is a vice-presi dent of the National Educational Association, an alumnus of Hamil ton College and for ten years a New York State official. He has been ac tive in Presbyterian Church affairs and noted as an educator. His ap pointment will likely go to the Sen ate to-morrow. —Members of the House of Rep resentatives were twice reproved by Speaker Spangler for inattention during roll calls during the evening session. The members- were told I hey were endangering their own bills and told they must maintain better order. Last week with over 150 members present the roll was answered by only fifty-two and a poll of the House ordered. —The bill providing for a consti tutional revision commission to be named by the Governor will be passed by the Legislature this week. The measure was passed on second reading in the House last night. It has passed the Senate and is the plan to deal with constitutional questions this session. The Gov ernor will name the commission. —Considerable comment has been caused among legislators and State officials by a two column review of the Sproul administration by the Philadelphia North American. This newspaper has been a staunch Sproul supporter and while it criticises some of the Sproul appointments and some tendencies, it finds much to commend. However, the closing paragraph reads this way: "In our opinion, an impartial review of the Legislature's record thus far does not justify sweeping condemnation. As to the administration, it is free from corruption, it is more efficient than many of its predecessors, and there is no evidence that any malign influence dominates it. If Governor Sprout's popularity shows signs of waning, that is a phenomenon not rare at this stage of an executive's experience. That criticism is be coming more widespread and in sistent does not prove that there is any serious wrongdoing, or that the Governor has lost all claim upon the confidence of his fellow-citizens. It is still within his power to write the verdict upon his administration, to emerge from the trying ordeals ahead of him with credit to himself and with notable accomplishments in the service of the State." Our Itinerant Government Dr. W. Biddle Gilman. of Lake View, N. C., a descendant of colonial stock wants to "know: "With the President most of bis cabinet, many of the Congressmen, an army of minor officials, expert advisers, press agents and numerous interested American delegations having taken up more or less per manent residences in Europe will I have to remove to the other side of the Atlantic in order to live and eventually die under the jurisdiction of the United States Government?" FREE TRIPS ABROAD The war should not be permitted to end officially until every Demo cratic politician who wants a Cook's tour of Europe has had his.—Na tional Republican. Suggestion to Conference. Cutting Germany down to a Navy of that size may lead to criticism. It does seem as though the confer ence might have thrown in a pair of oare.—From the Detroit News. WONDER WHAT A FATHER THINKS ABOUT WHEN ONE IS CALLING ON HIS DAUGHTER By BRIGGS Gee vmhge THERe'i • ineugr did Set a I'll Pr6Te as kindly and powerful as ever. Dur > ing the-parade he sat on his horse at I the head of his men like a bronze r statue, and as his boys passed in . review for the last time at Broad and > Diamond streets the stern face soft l" encd and General Muir gazed with ■ affection at those whom he had com manded for so many months. 1 A long line of wounded in auto -1 mobiles followed the marching " troops and it was General Muir's ' turn to salute which he did. When * the flower-covered artillery caisson with the gold-stared service flag roll j ed slowly by,.with the emblem show , ing 4,023 battle deaths in the divi sion, a thoughtful and reverent sil ence fell upon the masses of watch ers. General Muir followed by his f mounted staff, removed his overseas: f cap and clenched it tightly in his right hand as his eyes filled with i tears. \ [ WELL KNQWty PEOPLE^ i. —John B. Townsend, whqt ?ras - been director of the lied Cross-in - Pennsylvania, has been elected a I. manager of the University o£ Penn -1 syl\ania hospital. —Adjutant General Frank D. e Beary has been a member of the National Guard since 1888. ° —Major Frank A. Warner, who p served in the 110 th, addressed the e Philadelphia Business Men's club on ~ the work of the regiment in France. „ —E. J. Cattell, the Philadelphia 1 city statistician, is urging union museum activities in Philadelphia.'! —The Rev. Dr. J. Gray Bolton, Philadelphia minister well known here, is celebrating forty-four years 't as pastor of Hope Presbyterian - church. \l~ DO YQU KNOW —That Hnrrisburg pipe Is In use n c in Mexico? e e HISTORIC HARRISBURG —Car shop were established here " j soon after the war. e Wisdom of a Korisas Editor n The other day a fellow was laugh o ing because the News said something i, that wasn't so. Since it was compli s inentary to a lady the News is not i- going to get in bad by ratifying Aha * mistake. —From the Qnenemo KMC*