16 HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH A. VEWBPAPER FOR THE HOME Founded 1831 Published evenings except Sunday by THE. TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO. ' Telegraph Building, Federal Sqaare E. J. STACKPOLE President and Editor-in-Chief F. R. OYSTER, Business Manager GUS. M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor A. R. MICHENER, Circulation Manager Executive Board J. P. McCULLOUGH, BOYD M. OGLESBY, F. R. OYSTER, GUS. M. STEINMETZ. Members of the Associated Press— The Associated Press is exclusively en titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited in this fiaper and also the local news pub ished herein, rights of republication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. tMernber American f t'd" p a ii|^ ssoc ' a " Eastern off U( Avenue Building 1 ' Chicago, 111. S Entered at the Post Office In Harris burg, Pa-, as second class matter. By carrier, ten cents a rrwmqg*jlyr> week; by mall, $3.00 a year In advance. FRIDAY, MAY 28, 1919 Think of your forefathers I Think of .your prosperity! John ©uincy Adams. HAS A NEW MEANING FOR thousands of young men and women who formerly thought of Memorial Day merely as a holiday, the anniversary will have a new meaning this year. Vast num bers of the sturdiest and best of American youth, who last year were enjoying health and had high hopes for the future, are lying this spring beneath the flowering sod of France. The poppies blow in Flanders fields over their graves and their friends will never see the places where they lie asleep, much less lay a wreath of mourning and remembrance each spring upon their lowly tombs. But if far away in fact they are very near in thought and the coming of Memorial Day will add to the ranks of those faithful guardians of the graves of our soldier dead, the Grand Army of the Republic, throngs of men and women who will see in the occasion a significance and a solem nity they never knew before. Hence forth Memorial Day will be more fittingly observed. People are still wondering how Harrisburg ever got along without the Penn-Harris Hotel. Thousands of people have passed through its hos pitable doors since the opening day, and it has developed as a great so cial center. All of which is most gratifying to the public-spirited men and women who made possible this hotel as a community enterprise. WASHINGTON PROMISES NOW that President Wilson and his handyman, Postmaster General Burleson, have decid ed to let go of the hot end of the telephone and telegraph poker, it is interesting to hark back to the halcyon days of last winter when David I. Lewis, the Postmaster Gen eral's wire director, was emitting all sorts of promises about the cheap telephone rates and super-service which were to follow Government operation of the telephone systems. We were told that under Govern ment control the possibility of a one-cent automatic telephone system throughout the country loomed up strong. Competitive lines were to be wiped out as In the case of the railroads and there were to be great savings in operating costs. Post masters were to be the local man agers of the telegraph and telephone system and In every town and ham let the people were assured that the cost of local messages would fall to one cent; that the huge over head charge carried by the com panies would be cut by consolida tion and the public would benefit directly from it; that using telephone wires for telegraph message and vice versa would result in enormous suv ir.g. There was much mystery in those early days of 1919 concerning the operation of the telephone lines, but the Washington promise of one cent telephone messages and all sorts of cheaper service on the wire systems almost clogged the wires while Mr. Lewis and his chief talk ed of the wonderful future of gov ernment operation and ownership. Then the curtain fell on the first act and promptly went up for the sedond. Instead of Lewis bringing about a millennium in the operation of the telephones he was soon re tired as the right-hand man of Bur leson on account of ill health. In stead of reduced rates the alleged reduction schedules which became effective last January turned out to be increases. The so-called sweep ing redactions affected a few people during the middle of the night on the station to station basis and the little Joker of oije-cent tolls under government control was soon recog nized by everybody. An Idaho contemporary discuss : lng the Burleson fiasco In the hand i ling of the telephone and wire sys tem dmlares that "even the old- I fashioned game of draw a man . ' *• % J * FRIDAY EVENING, HAIUUSBWRG TELEGRAPH MAY 23, 1919. j some chance of an even break." And now a deceived public will J watch with Interest the unfolding of | the third act in the Burleson comedy | of errors which has to do with the j untangling of the mess by Congress and the return of the wire com panies to their owners. Another Federal commission is to te created with the President's sanc tion to throw a life line to the many 'street railway companies threatened j with bankruptcy. It's an open ques- I tton whether the owners of the street ! railway systems will welcome any j aid of this sort from Washington in ! view of the unfortunate experience of the railroad, cable, telegraph and telephone systems under Government operation. DOWN BUT NOT OUT' THE Journal of Prison Discipline agrees with the Salvation Army in its dictum that a '"man may be down, but never is out." It quotes a long list of instances to prove that "once a crook always a crook" is as false as the other is j true. Note some of the examples: The other day we met "A" on Market street. Accompanied by his little son. he was speeding away in his "flivver." He stop ped to give us a greeting, and indicated that happiness and prosperity were his portion. "B" is a spick and span police man in a neighboring city. ! Though you may say "Set a thief | to catch a thief," this particular guardian of the public peace is j discharging his duty to the com munity. "C" seemed particularly pleased to meet us the other day uptown. He had joined the church, and had attained to the dignity of usher. "D," who was once an accom plished burglar, having served at least two terms in prison, has built up a manufacturing indus try and is quite prosperous. "E" is foreman in the jewelry department of a large depart ment store somewhere in America." "F," a one-armed piece of ebon jollity, is one of the handiest men employed on a certain prosperous truck farm. "G," who began cooking for Blank Firm at $lO weekly wages, now reports with a grin that he is getting $65 a month with board and lodging. "H" is one of the most popular clerks in the office of a mam moth establishment. That he once fell from grace is known, but it is no longer reckoned against htm. "I" one year ago began as a solicitor and now his business has so enlarged that he has taken a suite of rooms for his office. We could easily exhaust the alphabet with such cases. There are failures, but we. try to dis count our disappointments when we take account of those who are "making good." The Parole Of ficers have informed us that sev enty-five per cent, are becoming satisfactory citizens. By far the larger part of those whom we willingly assist, in a short time are beyond our ken. They take with them our hopes and our fears—our fears that they may again yield to the manifold temptations on every hand; our hopes that they have learned their lesson, and with courage and by the help of divine grace are performing their duty to the community. This is the class of men the Sal vation Army meets in civil life and helps; helps just as wholeheartedly and as generously as it helped our soldiers over hard spots in France. All men look alike to the Salvation Army. "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us," is one of the Army's mottoes. It goes out into the highways and byways, picking up the fallen, put ting them back on their feet, teach ing them to walk alone, saving the hopeless from the river or the ranks of anarchy and teaching them the love of God and the humanity of man toward men. The Army is aik ing for money. "Give as the Lord hath prospered thee." We do not recollect reading any of the announcements of the War De partment that it will court a full in vestigation of its contracts and ex penditures. but the inquiries should be conducted just the same. ANOTHER SERVICE SERVICE is the watchword of the Y. M. C. A. everywhere and it is particularly emphasized at the Harrisburg headquarters. Few persons not in direct touch with the local ajsociation can appreciate the extent and importance of the service which is being rendered to the com munity by this active institution. It is probably not realized that among other things the physical di rector has been granted leave by the association management to spend certain days or parts of days in su pervising the play of the school chil dren at the various school buildings. His efforts are greatly appreciated by the teachers, all of whom are co operating with him in giving the girls and boys real physical instruc tion in a methodical way. The pupils are enthusiastic over what has already been accomplished and Physical Director Miller Is having every evidence of appreciation of his work at the different school build ings. This is only one of the extra ac tivities of the Y. M. C. A. Its in fluence is widespread in every sec tion of Harrisburg and the soldiers on their way to the front and re turning home have found the facili ties placed at their disposal by the Harrisburg association all that could be desired. The Wilson administration learned the art of camouflage during the war, and it knows how to practice the art ir times of peace. Note its pictures of present conditions in Brest as an answer to the exposure of deplorable conditions while thousands of sol diers were camped there a few months back. The doughnut is the most con spicuous emblem in Harrisburg this week. It Is seen everywhere and as the herald of sympathy and support of the Salvation Army la proving its worth. J- LK 'PeKKO^CtfaKta By the Kx-Committeeman . - ■ Upon the manner In which the Philadelphia people who are toidis cuss with Attorney General William I. Schaffer the proposed amendments to the Philadelphia charter bills handle the proposition will depend the serenity of the remainder of this legislative session. The committee is to meet in the next few days and will have the amendments ready for the municipal corporations commit tee of the House next Tuesday. Members of the House are not any too well pleased that the Legis lature was not represented on the committee and if the amendments brought here do not compose the differences, there will be some plain spenking by up-State legislators who are inclined to be very restive over the continued loss of time. Gov ernor William C. Sproul's remark yesterday before leaving for Phila delphia that he was "sick and tired" of the protracted controversy has found an echo among members re maining here and any more delays will bring resentment to a head. The members of the House, at least, look for the Philadelphia dif ferences to be composed next week, for a revenue program to be worked out and for a start to be made on appropriation bills. —Even newspapers are com mencing to declare that too much time has been wasted on the Phila delphia bills and to protest against holding up everything until they are out of the way. The Pittsburgh Post has been calling upon the Legisla ture to do something else and the Altoona Tribune has been critclsing the inaction. Even the Philadelphia Bulletin objects to the continued loss of time, saying; "A lot of time has been wasted in fiddle-faddling over non-essential modifications and amendments, and the public is be coming tired of it. More charter action and less charter talk is in order. The members of the Legislature may be assured that, outside of factional lines, the pre ponderant opinion in Philadelphia is decidedly in favor of most of the proposed legislation. It has come to be pretty well threshed out, and with such change as the friends of the Woodward bills have endorsed, these measures should be promptly put on the way to passage. If they are not all that the city should have, they are at least an important step in the right direction." —Governor William C. Sproul may take the whole period allowed him to consider the Willson bill re pealing the nonpartisan election feature of the third class city code because of the numerous letters and telegrams being sent to him trom people in the municipalities inter ested regarding disposal of the bill. What seems like a concerted effort on the part of men opposed to the measure to pour in protests became apparent yesterday, demands for vetoes coming from city officials, chambers of commerce and other or ganizations. Advocates of the bill, on the other hand, are urging that it be signed. When the Governor left the city he gave no intimation as to what he would do, but there are many people about the Capitol who believe that he will approve the bill. If he does there will be elec tions on party lines this fall in over thirty third class cities. —Members of the Legislative Com mittee of the Third Class City League, headed by Chairman Ira W. Stratton, of Reading, and R. Nelson Bennett, of Wilkes-Barre, the secre tary, discussed the bill with the Governor. The Governor was also visited by Mayor Miles B. Kitts, of Erie, vice chairman of the commit tee. All asked him to veto the bill. Governor Sproul said that it was a pleasant meeting and Mayor Stratton said that the committee had "big hopes of success". Advocates of the bill feel the same way and remark upon the fact that the Governor has never spoken against the re pealer. Mr. Stratton said that he cause of the rush of business at the Governor's office' no hearing was asked. He said that protests have been filed from a score of cities that would be affected and that civic or ganizations had been adopting reso lutions against a change. Viewed by an Expert [From Forbes Magazine.] A trip to Middle Western points and talks with all sorts and condi tions of people yields the following impressions and conclusions: First —In most districts, including even the larger cities, work is avail able for every man who wants a Job. Indeed, the almost universal com plaint- is that capable, steady work ers cannot be had. Second —There is a veritable hous ing famine in nearly every city, in cluding such diverse centers as Chi cago and Indianapolis, ft famine as acute as in New York City. Third— Active preparations are under way to launch what promises to prove an unprecedented building boom, the conclusion having been reached by architects, builders and otherS that the cost of materials is not likely to drop drastically in the near future. Fourth—Retail business Is report ed as quite active, although most manufacturers find that buyers are holding off wherever possible. Fifth —The country's supply of food animals is the largest in its his tory and farmers are waxing rich from the unparalleled prices they are receiving for hogs and cattle, as well as for their wheat and other grains Everywhere the agricultural community are evidencing signs of their great prosperity. Sixth—Whatever fears may have been felt concerning the danger of widespread appearance of Bolshev ism, I. W. W. ism and suchlike revo lutionary developments, have subsid ed. The general theory is that there will be no extensive unemployment and that this will deprive agitators of effective ammunition. TRADE BRIEFS Diamonds to the total value of $866,000,000 have been mined in South Africa. De Beers contemplate the estab lishment of a diamond cutting fac tory at Kimberley, South Africa. The total exports of crude rubber from Para and Manaos, Brazil, dur ing January, 1919, amounted to 6,-. 624,916 pounds, compared with 6,- 4'10,613 pounds for the same month in 1918. The karakul Is claimed to be the hardiest sheep in South Africa, and as a mutton sheep is said to be far superior to the Afrikander. Consul Horace Dee Washington at Liverpool, England, has transmitted a list of importers, of raw cotton in that copies of which can be ob tained from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce or its dis trict or co-operative offices by re-1 ferrlng to Ftle\pfo. 114524. ' J MOVIE OF TWO MEN TRYING TO THINK OF A PHONE NUMBER By BRIGGS (7z J CAOLircOWCP / V T r- {" HOPE-THAT \ 1 CAULIFLOWER\ /—""-J > COULDA 1 I was The /TRr tjo \ / \kinnpjf rVSPe / ' 1 SUr"TOO& ct:\jt=M - SIX ' THAT FRIEND OF ' ni ' / Fix/6-S/xJ I TRY FlviC-.TvUO- I \SCV6M SIX . NUMBER. , MlMe BUT ■nfxT ri- lilr , y seuefs/ / / S£vem- SIX- 1 j v _ <^__^ / fr THOOSAW Yof Iran! , "Ye are safe! Be at ease! Ye are safe!" —By Rhys Carpenter, in the June 1 1 Scrtbner. I Massachusetts Experiment i (From the Nebraska State Journal) .! The experiment of doing away i with the annual elections in Mass -1 achusetts is proving so satisfactory I] that it is now proposed to extend j the terms of the Legislature to six j years. This is carrying a good I thing too far. The object of fre quent legislative elections is to bring to the parliamentary bodies a fresh mandate from the people at fairly i' frequent intervals. The 'object of i long terms for executive officers is ! to avoid erratic and ignorant admin istration and to keep in office the experience that can only be gained j in operating the public machinery. ; Short terms for legislators and long l terms for administrative officials, | with proper recall provisions to pro i vide against accident, ought to prove the best argument—From the Ne braska State Journal. JUST PLAIN PIFFLE [Clarksburg, W. Va. Telegram] A. Mitchell Palmer, newly appoint ed Attorney General of the United States, has figured it out that Amer ica's success in the war was due in large measure to the achievements of the Democratic party in the four years preceding the entry of the United States into the conflict. He got this off his chest in an address before the National Democratic Club at its celebration of the one-hundred and seventy-sixth anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Palmer very carefully and cautiously sidestepped all reference to Democratic, management during the war, so far as can be learned In the telegraphic report of his outgiv ings received by the Telegram. There was good reason for that. The Demo cratic party has nothing to point to with pride on that score. According to Mr. Palmer the whole thing was virtually done during the four years before this country got into the war. How? That is easy. Men rushed to arms to fight Germany and uphold American principles because of Democratic legislation, including, as Mr. Palmer alleged, "the income tax, the nonpartisan tariff commission act, the child labor law, the Federal workingmen's compensation law, the Federal farm loan system and the Federal reserve system." All of this of course, according to Mr. Palmer, was the exclusive product of Demo cratic brains and the exclusive pos session of the Democratic party. The Telegram wonders whether anybody will believe any such rot as that. These so-called Democratic achievements, Mr. Palmer asserted, constituted an almost inspired stroke of preparation for war, without which "the magnificient courage of 2,000.000 men on the battle field would have led to disaster." That is to say, unless the American soldiers who fought in France had not the knowledge that an income tax law had been enacted they would have been defeated! Piffle. Mr. Palmer's attempt to find any I war preparation whatever in the Democratic camp during the four I years prior to this country's entrance | into the war finds poor proof in the I terrible plight in which the country ! found itself when it actually got into : war. It was as miserably and utter | ly unprepared for military effort as any country ever was, considering what came to pass in Europe. So unprepared were we that we had to begin from the very bottom and build anew. So great was that task that, for example, not a single Amer ican airplane ever brought down an I enemy machine; nor was any Amer | ican ammunition fired, nor any | American ordnance put into action: and in a thousand and one other things this country fell far short of its hopes and aims. Preparation j because of Democratic legislation? Bosh! FRANKNESS [From Forbes Magazine.! E. H. Gary, head of the world's largest industrial enterprise, declares that If there had been frankness in stead of secrecy and underground wire pulling in 1914, the war could j and would have been avoided. Nations are emerging from the i "dark ages" of secret, stealthy plot ! ting and scheming. If nations are finding it prudent to drop their old-time secrecy, if busi ness concerns nre now adopting a frank attittide toward their stock holders and the public, does it not ; behoove the young man of ambition to ponder the advantage of frank | ness and the disadvantages of se cretive ways? Frankness pays—ask the ex-Kals er what the wages are of secrecy and | intrigue and double-dealing. Also, the person who possesses the habit of being entirely frank enjoys life Infinitely more than the one who j has to think twice before opening his i mouth lest he contradict some prev- I lous misstatement or give a clue to I something going on. of a question able nature, under the surface. ! The frank person treads a Arm bridge crossing a river; the secretive I person charily steps from stone to ' stone. I By being frank yourself, you in ! spire frankness in others. ! And frankness will assuredly eom • mend us to others and thereby make easier and pleasanter the climb to- I ward the hilltops of success.— Forbes Magazine. But Why Limit It? Beer drinkers now think they know what Mr. Wilson meant when he said recently that "a great tide is running in the hearts of n*rv"— New York Sua, ■MH Ebenittg (fllfat What was termed by lawyers "an application" and regarded by most people who knew of it as a purely routine proceeding, occurred yester day before Public Service Commis sioner Samuel to. Clement, Jr., at the State Capitol, but it was an ac tion in accordance with State law filled with historic interest and of more or less sentiment in the world of transportation and finance. It meant the disappearance as a cor poration of one of the oldest rail roads in Pennsylvania, a line which has contributed immensely to the prosperity of Harrisburg and which | was among the earliest to carry out iin terms of modern transportation what the Indians saw long, lons years ago. John Harris located his ferry here because it was a place where valleys crossed and Indians traveled for centuries. The railroads came here for much the same reason, a town having grown up. Harris burg and its railroads afford one of the best examples of the way nature makes cities the center of a web of roads and railroads. But to return to the seemingly dry proceedings yesterday before Commissioner Clem ent, who by the way, was impressed with the historic significance of the so-called "application." It was the proposition of the Pennsylvania rail road company to take over the Cum berland Valley railroad. The Cum berland Valley has been in fact a part of the great railroad system for years, but it preserved its corporate identity long after other railroads, famous in their time, had been merged into the Pennsylvania. The cars and locomotives with the name Cumberland Valley in gilt letters have been looked at by many persons who have traveled on the Pennsyl vania and they have asked how it came that the line, an integral part of a marvelous system, was separate. But now, or rather when the Com mission issues its formal approval of the "application," the Cumberland Valley name will commence to dis appear. Federal control of railroads did much to wipe out distinctions between systems, but Harrisburg got a foretaste of what was coming when a short time ago Cumberland Valley engines said farewell to the round house at White Hill, in use for so many years, and made their home at. the Pennsylvania round houses up town. The process which marked the disappearance of the Northern Central some years ago has begun. J I-ike the Northern Central, which l.fbr years had its main offices here land under J. Donald Cameron was one of the noted railroads of the country, the Cumberland Valley has played a large part in making Har rishurg. It dates back to the thirties. Harrishurg capital helped establish it and Harrishurg has been on its t list of stockholders and generally on 'its directorate ever since. It has I been a part of Harrishurg and we | have stood at the northern door of j the valley from which it takes its name and received daily scores of cars of people and of goods. The Cumberland Valley railroad was chartered by a special act of Assem bly dated April 2, 1831. There have been numerous supplements, but that is the start of the railroad which is soon to disappear from the list of names, but not from memory for many years. Tn time it took over the Franklin railroad, the Cumberland Valley annd Martinsburg, the Shen andoah Valley and others until it was a system of its own. The Penn sylvania is a younger railroad, as its incorporation is given on the papers as April' 13, IS4R. It was tn 1839 that the Cumberland Valley com pleted its bridge across the Susque hanna and came to Harrishurg. com jmencing a career in transportation filled with service to the Nation in time of need, upbuilding the re sources of one of the fairest portions of the Keystone State and enhancing ;importance and welfare of the capi tal of the Commonwealth. • * * The way the river sand and coal fleet has been scurrying around the. last two days because of the rise of the Susquehanna furnishes an inter esting study to the man who likes to think about what the stream would he like if it normally contained enough water to make it of value as a commerce carrier. The coal fleet men had to get out and make fast their dredges and flats which were threatened by one of those fast and furious increases in water and speeding up of current that come with freshets on the Susquehanna, especially when the Juniata and the i two branches unite in pouring in the result of hard rains. The coal men say that the river is erratic this year, probably due to the weather, they declare, and they have lost a lot of sleep making sure that theit* charges did not go down stream. In any event there are more boats to he seen moving about now than known for a long time. •* * * Some of the conductors on the Harrishurg Railyways lines have col lections of money which they carry around with them and say things about. Once in a while they can be induced to comment upon them and the remarks are always interesting. These collections are made up of coins with which the conductors have been "stuck." One man yes terday showed plugged money, cut I money, had money and questionable j money of American make, Serbian, Japanese, Canadian, Cuban. French and Spanish money. "Kvrry time I get a crowded day I add to the col lection," said he. | WELL KNOWN PEOPIg 1 —Dr. Talcott Williams, formerly of the Philadelphia Press, has re tired from the Pulitzer College of Journalism at Columbia University. —Governor Sproul, who spoke at the Penn Mutual dinner in Philadel phia last, night, is one of the trus tees of its funds. ■ , —Major J. Clyde Miller, selected to be Allegheny county poor direc tor, is an old National Guardsman. —Senator W. C. .McConnell, of Shamokin, is interested In numerous enterprises in his county and is an attorney. —Representative John R. K. Scott Is an ardent fox hunter and head of a club near Philadelphia. I DO YOU KNOW ] —That Harrisburg used to be a center of cattle shipping, but the industry shifted to Lancaster county? HISTORIC HARRISBURG Harrishurg was one of the first up state towns to take up cotton man ufacture. A Road to Wealth We've often thought what a pity it tft that a man can't dtspoae of his< experience for as much a* it coat him. —Eskridge Independent