12
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
a. newspaper for the home
Founded 1831
Published evenings except Sunday by
THX TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO.
Telegraph Building, Federal Igaare
H. J. BTACKPOLE
President and Editor-in-Chief
F. R. OYSTER, Butinoat Jfonager
OtJS. M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor
A. R. MICHEN'ER, Circulation Manager
Executive Board
J. P. McCULLOUGH,
BOYD M. OGLESBY,
F. R. OYSTER,
GU& M. STEINMETZ.
Members of the Associated Press— The
Associated Press is exclusively en
titled to the use for republication
of all news dispatches credited to
It or not otherwise credited in this
paper and also the local news pub
lished herein.
All rights of republication of special
dispatches herein are also reserved.
J Member American
Newspaper Pub
gyß AasocU
gSSk Bureau of Circu-
IPS* lation and Penn-
S3 t'd* D a ill A,SoCill "
Eflß M Eastern office
111 kH Story, Brooks &
fi£E rjg Finley, Fifth
Sjßjt Sm Avenue Building,
New York City;
BjMg Western office,
■Hal Story, Brooks A
Finley, People's
Entered at the Poat Office in Harris
burg, Pa* as second class matter.
. CUTw _ By carrier, ten cents a
week; by mall. 13.00 a
s year In advance.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 19It)
) TFhof is %icrea in our esfimofion
may be failure from God's standpoint.—
J. Wilbur Chaprran.
TWO TRUTHS
FRANK STOCKDALE, speaking
at the Chamber of Commerce
luncheon yesterday, said that
"liberal buying" has had much to
do with price raising. He might
have gone a step further and said
extravagant buying is the most seri
ous evil of the present commercial
situation, and not have stretched the
truth.
It is human nature to buy what
one wants if he has the money in
his pocket, hut unless there is some
restraint —some exercise of thrift
and common sense in the expendi
ture of the weekly pay envelope—
prices will remain high. We have
indulged in an orgy of buying. Noth
ing has been too high for us to pur
chase. Silk shirts, fifteen dollar
shoes and the like have found their
way into households that ought not
to have indulged in them. Either we
must be content to go an easier
pace, to demand more reasonably
priced goods or less luxurious quali
ties. or we shall continue to be com
pelled to pay the price.
And what Mr. Stockdale said con
cerning the relation between mu
nicipal progress and prosperity and
the progress and prosperity of the
retail store also is true. Harrisburg
is a good town because it spends its
money in its own stores and the
stores are good because a great ma
jority of our people buy at home.
Added to our local trade is the vast
volume of retail business that pours
into Harrisburg from the country'
roundabout Thus we keep our
money circulating where it will do
us most good. We ought to en
courage our merchants in whate\ er
way is possible. Their stores are the
arteries through which flows the
life-blood of the community.
SPROUL'S TEMPERATURE
GOVERNOR SPROUL'S direct
statement yesterday made It
quite clear that he is not being
swept off his feet by the complimen
tary references of friends through
out the country to his special avail
ability as a possible candidate for the
Presidency. The Governor shows in
his pungent comment that he has
been sufficiently long on the earth to
appraise with accuracy suggestions of
this sort. He realizes how apt are
the admirers and occasionally the
kow-towers to play upon the na
tional ambitions of one in the Gov
ernor's position, but declares that
his political temperature is normal
and that he is not harboring any
delusion regarding the future. As
was suggested by the Telegraph the
other day, Governor Sproul knows
better than the average man that
the best recommendation of an offi
cial for future preferment is the
discharge of present obligations
with an eye single to the good of
the people he serves and the wel
fare of his constituency, be it large
or email. For that reason he has
expressed his honest desire to be a
good Governor. He doesn't propose
to be taken up into a high mountain
and shown the lovely landscape in
a political way to the extent of being
diverted from his main purpose to
serve the people of Pennsylvania by
giving them a constructive and help
ful administration of the affairs of
this great Commonwealth.
We confess strong admiration for
the Governor's great good sense as
exhibited in this recent statement.
No one who knows him doubts his
fitness for almost any office that
might be tendered him by an ap
preciative people, but it is comfoit
ing to realize that he is keeping his
feet planted squarely on the ground
and thatHne buzzing of the ambi
tious bees which so often destroy
the usefulness of public officials is
not giving him any concern what-
Of course, there will be the usual
effort to draw him into poiitlcal con
troversies of one kind or another.
It has been the history of the Gu-
OUKSUA T C. V CNING,
bernatorial office that the occupant
of the chief place on Capitol Hill
is too often enmeshed in disputes
and personal conflicts with which he
should have nothing whatever to do.
The memory of the average citizen
who knows anything about public
affairs will readily recall the unfor
tunate episodes of several predeces
sors of Governor Sproul, whose ad
ministrations were rendered of little
effect in a constructive way through
the intolerable political baiting of
the Executive.
| And that's why we are mighty
|g!ad Governor Sproul has taken oc
casion to swat the over-zealous or
j scheming propaganda concerning
j his availability for either the United
| States Senate or the White House.
| The Governor's record in his pres
ent high office will not be hidden
| under a bushel, and bis future may
jbe left with confidence to the sev
■ eral millions of people in this State
j who are watching with intelligent
j appreciation the development of
! policies which were outlined when
|he submitted his name for consid
j eration a year ago. With his politi-
I cal temperature, as he cleverly sug
j gests, pormal and his vision of future
I usefulness unobstructed by personal
I ambition, the head of the State gov
i ernment will not be turned by any
t suggestions of future honors.
I HONOR OUR SOLDIERS
GREATER HARRISBURG win
be on its toes for the welcome
home demonstration in honor
|of the returning and returned sol
■ diers, and sufficient time has now
, elapsed since the Chamber of Com
merce first considered the matter
I some months ago to allow of the
I return of most of our soldiers, and
the time fixed for the celebration
during the latter part of the present
month will enable those who are
still absent tp get back under the
Government demobilization program.
This city and its immediate environs
sent into the war over 3,000 of its
picked men. Some made the su
preme sacrifice, others distinguished '
themselves in the fighting and still
others manifested the highest spirit
of patriotism in responding promptly j
to the call of Uncle Sam.
So it is that the whole community ;
is ready to honor these men and
demonstrate in a proper and appro- j
priate way the admiration of the'
people and their grateful recogni-1
tion of those who responded for the !
defense of great ideals and the!
safety of the country.
UNNECESSARY OBSTACLES
WHEN the armistice was de-i
clared most people thought !
the war was about over so [
far as interference with normal j
activities was concerned. Within i
the last few days, however, we have
been given another unpleasant re
minder of the uncomfortable situa
tions created by government con- I
trol and operation of the railroad 1
lines.
Notwithstanding the fact that no ;
great war buildings or roads are be- I
ing constructed, as was the case I
during the active period of hostili- i
ties, the Federal bosses of the rail- j
road systems have upset the great !
road-building campaign of Pennsyl- j
vania by delaying deliveries of
crushed stone so necessary to the i
construction of modern highways. |
Contractors all over the State are I
demoralized as a result of this diffi- j
culty.
State Highway Commissioner j
Sadler is naturally disappointed
over the condition of affairs, inas- '
much as throughout the summer the
construction work under the big
State contracts was more or less in- j
terfered with by unfavorable condi- I
tions. And just when things began i
to look brighter this unexpected j
hardship comes along.
It's going to be hard for the Wash- j
ington authorities, in their bungling j
of the railroad systems, to persuade j
the people that it is necessary in a j
time of peace to upset the activities
of a great State in the building of :
roads which are presumably being j
encouraged by the national authori- j
ties.
But Pennsylvania is going to have !
its fine road systems just the same. ;
Nothing is going to permanently in- !
terfere with the road program so j
admirably worked out by the State ;
Highway administration. Commis- j
sioner Sadler has a lot of patriotism '
in his system, as well as a lot of efli- !
ciency. and we can leave him to de- '
velop some plan which will yet over
come the unfortunate hindrance
which has come through the Federal
embargo.
LEAGUE AMENDMENTS
THE United States shall have no
entangling alliances, its young
men shall not be called out to j
settle by force of arms every neigh- i
borhood squabble that threatens the !
peace of Europe, we should have j
the same number of voters in the j
peace league as Great Britain, we j
shall be left to decide what ques- J
tions are within our own domestic i
Jurisdiction, the Monroe Doctrine i
we shall continue to regard as a
matter for our own construction j
and enforcement exclusively, we j
shall be permitted to withdraw from ,
the league at will. Shantung shall be >
given to China, to whom it belongs. |
we shall be relieved from the neces- |
sity of serving on commissions set
tling questions in which we have no
interest.
These, in brief, are the reserva
tions and amendments the Senate
Foreign P.elations Committee would
attach to the Peace Treaty.
President W'lson will object to
all of them. But the American peo
ple will see in them merely an ef
fort to preserve American rights
and sovereignty.
We hgve as much interest in the
proposed world league as has* Great
Britain. If Britain has six votes
can anybody reasonably explain why
we should have but one? And why
should we not retire from the league
at wilt? This is a country of ma
jorities. If a majority of our peo
ple vote any one way their will
should be supreme, BO that if cir
cumstances should arise making it
in the opinion of a majority of the
citizens of this country wise to leave
the league their hands should not
be tied.
The peace and safety of the world
lies in the peace and safety of the
United States. The Peace Treaty
must be made safe for the United
States first. It is for that we went
to war. Europe will accept what we
insist upon. It can do nothing less,
for without us the whole peace
league fails. The Senate will have
the support of the country in its ef
fort to safeguard American inter
ests.
in.
By the Ex-Committeeman
Governor William C. Sproul is
j just now the man of greatest inter
est in all Pennsylvania to the men
■ who follow politics and when there
is nothing else to talk about, many
■ remark what fine presidential tim
ber he would make. There is never
much gainsaying that proposition
except by the Governor himself. The
Governor reiterated yesterday that
all he was interested in as far as
office goes is to "make the best
Governor I am capable of making
for Pennsylvania."
People who were in the western
states immediately after the con
i ference of the governors at Salt
| Lake- City have brought some inter
esting stories and newspaper clip
pings. too, telling of the excellent
impression made by the Pennsyl
vania Governor at that notable
gathering of governors. The news
papers are filled with references to
his remarks and his grasp of affairs,
while his ideas have been pretty
generally commended. But the best
part Is that which does not get into
the newspapers, but which gives the
best index. It seems that the Gov
ernor not only was accorded a com
manding place in the deliberations
Ind the various meetings by .his
commonsense and initiative, but he
appeared to win the good feeling of
everyone with whom he came into
contact by his unassuming ways, his j
democracy, if that much employed j
word can be used again. One man
who had been out West said that
the folks considered Governor Sproul
a very "human" sort of man and
that the fact that he did not have
officials, aids de camp or any kind of
retinue along afforded somewhat of
a contrast to other men who have i
gone on official trips from eastern
states. It is pretty evident that
Sproul talk will be much heard.
However. the Governor when
asked about his aspirations says that
they are in Harrisburg and that not
withstanding the surging of sugges
tions that occurs in the close of a
first year of a term his temperature
continues normal.
—Remarks by the Governor re
cently that he did not see the con
nection between some of the con
tests now being waged in Pennsyl
vania and the Penrose candidacy in
1930 appear to have rather definitely
extinguished for the time being at
least the foundation for the story
that the Governor was thinkirfg of
the United States Senate. This has
been more or less of a "rainy day
story," anyway.
—While the Governor has been
standing aloof from the Philadelphia
and Allegheny primary fights he has
been taking a hand in the Delaware
county crusade to drive out the Mc-
Clure crowd in his home county and
is exercising a benevolent interest in
the candidacies of various men he
has appointed to judgeships in vari
ous sections, although in the Lehigh
and Washington orphans' caurt con
tests has not been taking any
hand. (L; Somerset county it is be
lieved tßat administration influence
is for Norman T. Boose, "dry" candi
date.
—ln Philadelphia, however, there
have been some persistent reports
that the Vare influence is to be
thrown against Judge J. P. McCul
len, the Governor's appointee, and
in favor of P. P. Conway, generally
classed as a partisan of David H.
Lane. The Governor said yesterday
that he intended to make some in
quiries into the matter and reiter
ated his remark that opposing to sit
ting judges who have been found
capable he could hardly regard as
"friendly."
—lt might be possible that the
judicial contests in Philadelphia
would develop a situation that would
be interesting not only this year but
next.
—The Philadelphia special regis
tration hearings are bringing out
some interesting things, especially
the fact that Senator Edwin H. Vare
regards his South Broad street home
as his legal residence, although the
water and gas have not been turned
on for some time and the Vare fam
ily has not occupied it to any extent.
—ln Pittsburgh the second day's
registration seems to have been up
to expectations and the Pittsburgh
Gazette Times expresses satisfaction
at the way the voters are lining up.
The Pittsburgh Dispatch and Post
print considerable news matter
about the various meetings at which
Senator Max G. Leslie is flayed.
—Governor Sproul's newspaper is
out in open suport of the candidates
of the Republican League in Del
aware county who are fighting what
some of the newspapers call the "Mc-
Clure ring" and refer to as tfhe
liquor ticket from time to time.
—The Wilkes-Barre Record has
taken the field for the first time in
a primary fight against a set of
candidates for Republtcar nomina
tions. It comes out for P. A. Meixell
and George S. Renard for the nomi
nations for county commissioners
and assails the candidates backed by
Thomas S. HefTernan. This activity
on the part of the Record, which Is
a double-column editorial, has cre
ated much comment, as the Record
also bitterly assails Mr. HefTernan.
—For the first time since the old
days of conventions, the Republican
party in Columbia county will have
a candidate for each partisan con
test at the November lection. The
Democrats have a bunch of candi
dates for most of the nominations
that the primary elections can offer,
with the result that internal strife
has developed almost as many fac
tions in the Democratic ranks as
there are candidates. The Republi
cans believe they can elect A. H.
Gennajre register and recorder be
yond a doubt.
—ln the nonpartisan fight for the
Columbia associate Judgeship,
Charles E. Welliver, now county
commissioner, is endeavoring to un
seat Judge M. Harry Rhodes, who
hopes to succeed himself. Wilson
A. Kramer, of Bloomsburg, and Dr
T. C. Harter. of Bloomsburg, also
are candidates for the office.
—William J. Curriden, who has
been making a hard fight for the
nomination for register of wills on
the Republican ticket, has .given
mtRRDSBTTRG THLEGKXFH
A HANDY MAN AROUND THE HOUSE ... .... .... .... ByBRIGGS
FRIGND PITZHU^H-l
WIFE | WON T VoU GO r\ pa . H/V jnj
-W > AMO P-MPty TH€ ITTKrVW
PAN uNDei? , l'is H/VI-HW
\L ice Bov Ta tva _tmTXa* -
| XY/* tw~
notice that he has withdrawn from
the race, leaving to Theodore F.
Kreeger, backed for a third term by
the McClure organization, and Lieu
tenant Colonel Franklin P. Haller,
backed by the new Republican i
League of Delaware county. Mr. I
Curriden says in his notice of wtih
drawal that he feels certain that he !
cannot win. "But still consistent
against third terms," says Curriden.
"I ask you to vote for Lieutenant j
Colonel Haller for register of wills
of Delaware county."
. ~ :
No Wonder Germany Quit
By MAJOR FRANK C. MAHIN
Of the Army Recruiting Station
Some time ago I saw a very in- |
teresting write up in a magazine, j
The subject of this article was a gen- ,
eral damning of the American
Army for its lack of democracy. It
compared us most unfavorably, par- 1
ticularly with the French. The
article was interesting, highly inter- !
esting as an exposition of the pro- !
found ignorance of its author of the
subject he was treating. As a mat
ter of fact, it was the democracy,
the feeling of square treatment, the ;
knowledge that officers and men j
shared dangers, fatigues, hunger
and thirst equally, that made our !
army the wonderful fighting ma- j
chine it really was. Any man who i
has served in a good outfit will tell 1
you his officers never ate until all 1
the men of the company had been j
fed, that on a march in France his j
officers never looked for a place to
sleep until every man was fixed and !
settled. He will tell you his officers i
led the attacks, wandered from dan
ger point to danger point in the
defense to encourage and inspire
their men. And that these are not
wild statements, look at the casualty
lists with its 55 infantry officers
killed per 1,000 to 42 enlisted men;
one-third officers killed than
men, proporunately. Now take the i
army that is held up as a model of
democracy, but without for one min- '
ute casting any aspersions on the
wonderful efficiency or valor of the ;
French army. Their officers ate
first and got tbe best; they found ,
their own sleeping places and then !
looked out for their men, only on ;
special occasions did they lead their
men, into an attack, and on the de- i
fensive the officer got into a place
of fair security and there he stayed ■
directing the defense from that j
point. I served with the Fjench and !
({now whereof I speak. I shall I
never forget being sent for by the
French general commanding and se
verely reprimanded for having ex- .
posed myself. He told me "you have ,
been training for 15 years in order
to reach your present state of effl- ;
ciency and military knowledge. If
you are killed who will take your j
place? Is there a man available in
your battalion with equal experi- ]
ence and knowledge to your I
place? There is not, and, therefore, 1
you are the most valuable man in
your battalion and you must not ex- :
pose yourself." Now I fully* admit !
the logic of those sentiments, bqt it ]
isn't the American method, my j
friend the author to the contrary.
On several occasions the 14,000 in- !
fantry of a division lost 5,000 killed
and wounded, but lost everyone of
their twelve majors of infantry, 100
per cent casualties for the majors
as compared with 35 per cent for all J
other gracj.es. There is the American 1
method, it democratic or not,, but
we all felt that the men, the dough- j
boys, should realize that their major i
was right with them, sharing their
troubles in addition to his own re
sponsibility for upwards of 1,000
men. Ask any doughboy who has
been in an attack where the first
German officers were captured and
he will tell you they were in a nice
deep dugout well to the rear while
their men were up on the surface in
front, fighting. Ask those who have
helped to stop a Boche attack if
they ever saw a Boche officer in the
attack and they will tell you they
never have, because the Boche offi
cers do,not attack with their troops,
but follow them at a safe and con
venient distance. We believe that
the fighting efficiency of an organi
zation is directly dependent on its
morale and that one of the most
effective means of building up a high
state of morale is to have the offi
cers playing the game square and
fair, taking Just what their men
take and maybe a little bit more,
just to prove they are not shirking.
And that our method is right is
proven beyond a question of doubt
by the success we had in every bat
tle in France, the success which
tended so greatly to break up for
once and all the resistance of the
arrogant Hun. It was by leading
not by driving our boys that we got
that acme of military efficiency,
prompt and willing obedience to or
ders which Insured a smooth work
ing, efficient army.
DANGER TO AGE IN E
Persons Past Forty Should Not Overexert Themselves,
Doctor Says
[From the Continental Bdition of the,
London Mail]
THE septuagenarians who have;
wi itten accounts of cy- i
cling feats are obviously men of i
exceptionally sound constitution. It I
would not do for every old man, or
even for all in the fifties and sixties,
to imitate them by riding sixty or
seventy miles in a day.
It is not easy to prescribe suit
able exercise in any variety for men
in later life. In the majority of
people one or another vital organ
has grown weak and there is always
danger of putting too much pressure
on blood vessels. But exercise is as
necessary at this as at any time of
life.
Walking, of course, is the ideal
form. There should be no haste, no
effort that would cause breathless
ness and so raise the blood pressure,
and the walk should not be con
tinued to the point of weariness.
The best plan is to take three or
four short walks in the day.
Walking -without some object soon
palls, and, therefore, a man should
have other forms of exercise avail
able. Up to a late age golf is safe
and an excellent reason for walking.
Croquet on a fine summer's after
noon is admirable. Every middle
aged man should have a garden to
work in, but the more he avoids
heavy digging the longer he will
'live. Pottering about in a green-
Trade Briefs
The foreign trade of China for
the year 1918 was the highest on
record, being $1,241,645,903, the in
crease being $204,423,181.
It is reported that a Swiss and
a Swedish firm are each negotiat
ing for the purchase of mining
properties in the Ruhr district of
Germany.
Danish business enterprises, in
planning trade extension, are look
ing almost exclusively to the United
States. American goods have been
tried and found serviceable and not
too expensive.
There has recently been organ
ized in Barcelona a corporation un
der the title of "Feria de Barcelona,
8. A." with a capital of 500,000
pesetas ($100,000), for the purpose
of holding annual sample fairs
similar to those of Lyons, Bordeaux
and Leipzig.
The British Chamber of Com
merce of Sao Paulo and Southern
Brazil is organizing a series of ex
hibitions of British manufactures,
the Board of Trade Journal states.
Each of the exhibitions will com
prise one given industry and will be
open for a period of three months.
Deposits in Danish savings banks
during the several years of the war
have been as follows: In 1914, $229,-
944,000; in 1915, 241,307,000: in
t 1916, $262,827,000; in 1917, $298,-
445,000; and in 1918, $366,259,000.
This represents an increase of
about 4 5 per cent during the past
five years.
A further development of the
glove making industry which was
j extended materially during the war,
: s reported in Nottingham, England.
! A large firm of Nottingham hosiery
! manufacturers has recently acquired
| the National Shell Factory for the
purpose of manufacturing fabric
gloves.
Remarkable Tribute
[From the. New York Sun.]'
Oyster Bay is not the easiest place
In the world to get to. Traveling by
rail it is at the end of a devious
! branch line. By motor it is off the
] beaten path, far from the main
: roads which lead to and from the
I popular places of Long Island.
I And yet we read that every Sun
day Americans go, not by hundreds
but by thousands, to Sagamore Hill
i to see the place where a man has
j lain in his grave since last January,
I Thee was nothing in the way of a
speech or a ceremony to attract the
4,000 pilgrims who went In the
pitiless heat of last Sunday.
Sometimes it has seemed as if
Americans were a people careless of
great memories; and then some
thing without plan, something
spontaneously rising from the
depths, the real National heart,
occurs and proves that the apparent
forge'fulness is only a mask.
In this case the something Is the
processions up the distant hill of
grateful men and women to whom
Theodore Roosevelt was the ideal
. Amer.cao.
house, however, is not exercise, and
it is by no means a healthy occu
pation. More severe exercises than
these can be undertaken by excep
tional men who have continued to use
their muscles throughout life. But
there is undoubted danger when vio
lent exercise is resumed in middle
age after a period of sedentary life.
The chief danger of overstrain
after fifty-five is to the blood ves
sels. Even a minute's quick walk
ing will often do a man of this age
serious injury. In nearly all violent
exercise one holds the breath now
and again, a matter of no impor
tance in youth, but a groat danger
in lpte life.
The heart is another danger spot,
and unless it is known to be sound
any great strain should not be put
on it after fifty. It is not the risk
of sudden death or paralysis alone
that confronts the man getting on
in years who overstrains himself:
lesser injury may be done which
leaves him more or less ill for the
day or even several days. The basal
fact to consider is that every part of
the body is less efficient and may be
dangerous'y weak as age comes on.
In some the need for a quiet, even
life may not arise until sixty or later,
but in the majority it is well to begin
to be cautious when in the fiftieth
year. Probably, indeed, men would
live longer if they confined them
selves to the gent'er forms of exer
cise soon after forty, even when
there is no sign of failing power.
Who Knows?
[Johnstown Tribune]
j President Wilson forgot that Ger
| many is not to be admitted to the
j League of Nations for some years,
I so that his peevish appeal not to be
| compelled to go to Weimar, hat in
| hand, begging for German consent
- to changes, reservations, or amend
! ments, was all extraneous and based
I on lack of knowledge of an item
I of major importance in the Cove
nant.
President Wilson, in replying to
| Senator Lodge, said that "trade with
j Germany had not been resumed."
I The official record shows thai, the
State Department, on July 14, 1919,
| authorized resumption of trade re
lations with Germany and that
I many shiploads of merchandise
i have been cleared from American
ports for German ports. The Presi
| dent must have had knowledge of
j this proclamation. Did he forget?
These Incidents show how little the
representative of our government
i knows of some mighty important
| matters, concerning which he was
in conference. Can Senators, charged
J with equal responsibility, be blamed
for, hunting for information where
It can be found?
Does Col. House know? The
Texas Colonel is abroad. He may
be the one man "w]io knows." The
President doesn't remember. Secre
tary of State Lansing says he was
told nothing. Members of the huge
staff of experts report but little ex
cept tales of their disagreements
with the President. Who knows?
Perhaps Col. House.—and he won't
tell.
.
Inventor Vindicated
[From the Boston Herald.]
As long ago as when Charles J.
Bonaparte, of Baltimore, was Sec
retary of the Navy the files of his
office show that Carl Wheaton, of
Waltham, arrived in Washington to
submit plans for the use of gas
iin warfare. He went before both
the Army and the Navy. His pro
posal to the Army was for the firing
of gas shells, substantially as used
in the late war. His proposal to
the Navy involved the use of a sub
marine and the boring of a hole in
the bottom of a battleship for the
injection of gas.
The Army authorities, at that
time, held, that it would be impos
sible to pollute the atmosphere with
enough gas to have any military
effect. The Navy authorities con
tended that it would be like putting
salt on a bird's tail to get under a
battleship and inject the gas. So
Wheaton spent some months in
Washington in useless efforts to at
tract attention.
Although he died several years
ago, he lived long enough to see his
idea applied in actual warfare. The
story of his submissions comes to
us from one of the officers of the
Navy Department who sjjnpathized
with his association at trie time iju
rejecting the gas theoqfr
SEPTEMBER 11, 1919.
A Khaki Lesson
[From Dawn.]
When the brass knob turned, the
old man at the desk didn't look up.
The door was softly closed and there
was silence but for the scratching
of a pen. The comer was probably
one in reply to the advertisement In
the paper, and the man at the desk
feared to look up. He needed help
badly, otherwise he would not have
been obliged to advertise for it, but
since the time he had sent the office
boy out with the message he had
had a haunting fear that a man in
uniform would answer the "ad."
How could he face a man who had
been at the front facing the worst
of danger when he had played his
hand for all it was worth and had
been a stay-at-home under the in
dustrial exemption clause? He dove
into his desk file and fumbled the
cards for fifteen or twenty minutes,
then he went back to writing.
Patiently the stranger waited in
ralm silence for more than an hour.
He hadn't shuffled his feet; he
hadn't coughed; he hadn't even
cleared his throat to call attention
to the fact that he was there. Yet
he had been absolutely Ignored for
j more than an hour.
The clock ticked on its ceaseless
course.
It was 11.30: two hours and a half
had elapsed since the brass knob
had turned.
The man at the desk made up his
mind.
Without looking up at his visitor,
he be'ted out the words:
I "You're hired; how much do you
want?"
Then he wheeled around In his
chair and faced his visitor directlv.
"Oh," he exclaimed, "I thought
you were a service man."
HJ 1 am, 'i., came the re P'y- " w hy
iin you hire me before you ever
® aW o.? le; befo **e you knew who I
was ?"
w3°" r ,£ atlence told J' our
patience?" y ° U BUCh angciic
"In the army. We waited days
weeks months for orders to get us
weeks month e e waltcfl flays,
hick 0r orders to take us
siJnori A 6 2 fter , the arni lstice was
kfot d all ,he t'me it Just
kept pounding patience into us. Un-
WO.HH H GRE Bat,Bfled ttlat something
for to a h Pe " When U oame time
11"'° happen. So, when I came
U room, I knew that you
would speak to me when the time
whether "it 11 didn,t matter to me
a month-" a Y ° r a Week or
"Farm to Market"
[From Scranton Republican.]
The Harrisburg Telegraph is a
firm believer in the motor truck
transportation system which Gov
ernor Sproul advocates so as to
Promote the "Farm to Market" plan
which it is hoped will remedy this
country s faulty distribution sys
tem and help reduce the cost of liv
ing.
The defective methods of dis
tribution presented in this country
have come in for a great deal of
criticism and must be remedied.
Sooner or later something will be
done in this direction but the re
form is delayed so long that the sub
ject is exasperating to the people
It is pointed out by the Telegraph
that the farmer is frequently con
demned for letting his goods perish
rather than sell them at low prices
but otten he has no remedy. Under
the existing methods he cannot
market them at a profit, and food
stuffs greatly needed by the country
are permitted to rot.
Local business cannot always be
handled for the farmers by the
railroads, but a system of mdtor
truck transportation can be arrang
ed for them and carried on at a
minimum of cost. It is to be hoped
that 1 the application of modern
methods to the question of seeing
that the farmer Is able to market
his crops will have the desired re
sult.
Lafayette at Barren Hill
[From the Philadelphia Record,]
In view of all the praise showered
upon Lafayette on his birthday an
niversary last Saturday it is pass
ing strange that no one has ever
thought it worth while to per
petuate with an adequate memorial
his military success ut Barren Hill.
This is Just outside Philadelphia, and
easily accessible, but no admirer of
Lafayette or patriotic organization
has ever paid suitable attention to
it. 'The tide of the Revolution
turned at Barren Hill," says a writer
in & New York paper, but few travel
ing through that somnolent humlet
would ever dream of Its historic Im
portance.
luinttng dljal
Those who have been permitted
to glance over the pocket dlates
of the late William B. Meetch whfch
contain notes and comments of |is
many big game hunts agree tl&t
there has not been printed In a(y
magazine of the outdoors anything
more informative or which
more graphic the adventures of
big game hunter. The extracts fro*
these diaries which appeared in thy
Telegraph a day or two ago relate!
to his remarkable experiences s-j
Alaska and with the great Alaskatt
bear. Other entries have to do with
moose and deer hunting, the chatf"!
of the grizzly and his camping t.
periences in the wide areas of Vu.
North American continent. Mr.!
Meetch was an unusual hunter in
that he was a close observer of
many things which the ordinary
huntsman would never see. He re
peats, for instance, conversations
with famous guides and describes
with remarkable accuracy the topogJ
raphy of the country over whlsh
he hunted. He manifestly gar>
thought constantly to the habits of
the game and to the possibilities of
accident ih certain contingencies.
At the age of three score and ten
there was no abatement of his h
terest as a sportsman. The diares
cover a period of fifteen or twerty
years and there is enough intereit
ing material to make a book.
• •
While the Alaskan and grizzy
bear hunts were thrilling, as -we
gather from the Meetch diaries, hs
encounters with the enormois
moose were not less Interesting.
Difficult shots are described and the
labor of getting the enormous
carcasses to camp involved great
endurance and persistence. Those
who knew Mr. Meetch will not be
surprised that he was so successful
in his big game hunts. He worked
out definite theories in approaching
the game and the results usually
Justified his plans for pitching camp
and after the denizens of the
forest. Not the least interesting
pages in those diaries are the veni
son lists containing the names of
friends whom he desired to favor
with the choice cuts of the deer
which he had slain. One entrv
I ." 1904 covers his range in
the Yellowstone Park and the Jack
son Hole country in Wyoming at
the head of Green river. Otler
notes ape of various hunting trrps
covering the Canadian, the Rocty
Mountains and the Alaskan and
Mexican hunting regions. I n theso
travels, Mr. Meetch found many
traces of the aborigines and nu
merous deposits of Indian pottery
and evidences of the prehistorio
period.
• • •
The State of Pennsylvania is g<-
ing to increase the number of its gold
fish. It now has a miscellaneoii
number of trout, salmon, beav.
er, deer, ducks, quail, horned ami
neat cattle and various other fama
as well as a park fairly well filed
with specimens of flora of Penn's old
domain. lately it has been plahng
gold fish in its fountains at the
State House and they have proved
such a popular attraction that tfero
was a demand for more. The Ctni
t°l Policemen detailed at the frint
of the State House have some Jot ?o
keep the fish safe from maraud ng
hands, but presence of the shining
sidi n n r h e g , reat basins at either
side of the plaza has gone beyoid
the experimental stage and it is
F?.A. Jf 16 of Commissioner f
Fisheries Nathan R. Buller to gsti
a new lot and provide fresh enter
tainment. Superintendent of P L h-
F T G I OU " d . 8 and Buildings Thomas
E. Templeton says that gold fish cat
mosquito larvae, too.
• * *
ln^ a . P ii t0 ! sc l u i r rels have gotten ov. r
into the trees along the Conodoguij
et. Just exactly how the officially
registered residents of the qtJti
park have gotten to that section is
Them nW "' bUt " len Wh ° have sp n
them scampering about under the
trees, declare that they are 11,
fto l l nn il y h emigrants from the Cap
itol park because they are tame and
give evidence °n their embonpoint
Y subsisted on the boun
teous fare of the .State plus the <\o
efbL 0 " 3 1 f T ' S " Hargest add
* Y the P ark w ith pock
ets filled with nuts. The squirrels
ba Yf. became great favorites with
picnickers and fishermen along the
creek, and have the same desire for
f'° ae that characte.-
thtnk ch squirrels when they
think there is anything to eat
around. But the problem of how
they got to the creek is an interest
ing one, especially in view of thu
seven-cent trolley fare that i B now
officially sanctioned for that ride.
It is rather a gratifying thing to'
note that Harrisburg is away up in
the van of progressive municipal!-;
ties, but there are not many folks in
Harrisburg who know that to-dav
Harrisburg stands at the head of!
the cities of its class in number and!
value of enterprises, going on in tho
way of building. This fact was
brought out yesterday during tho
conversation of the representative
of a big business concern which
keeps tabs on construction of a'J
kinds. Without counting in thai
new Memorial bridge or the Capitd
office building or any State entet-l
prises, Harrisburg has more build-j
ing construction on now, than aiv
city of its class, said this authority, j
| WELL KNOWN PEOPLE ll
' —■
—Gifford Pinchot will give a r<r-i
ception to the soldiers of Pik*'
county at his country home on Sat- v,'
urday.
—Judge Peter A. O'Boylc, of Lu
zerne county, naturalized 100 men
the other day.
—M. H. Berkhead, the chief of
police of Allentown, who was at
tacked by several organizations has
been given a vote of confidence by
others.
Dr. S. C, Swallow was sent a tele
gram of congratulation by the Na
tional Prohibition authorities a few
days ago.
—The Rev. H. W. King, new
Scranton minister, used to be a
newspaper man in Baltimore.
| DO YOU KNOW
—That Harrisburg has two
pretzel factories?
HISTORIC HAttRISBURG
—Tanneries used to line a. run
which ran through the Fourth ward
where many handsome residences
now stand.
Chinese Engineers
[From the Trans-Paciflc.J
Chinese engine drivers ha\> the
gentlest sense of touch with tf.e air
brake of any in the world. A Ireak
In two is almost unheard of, at.d
there Is very little damage to fi-v*
in shunting on Chinese railway*.
- 11 I 11