lexico Tklnks Motive For Misunderstanding Disappears With Release of Captured Consular Agent E HARRISBURG tlljlli TELEGRAPH H ®je olar-Jn^epcnDent. LXXXVIII— No. 298 22 PAGES Dall Mau x e c r p at S the d pot offlcI e at"AarTisburg las * . HARRISBURG, PA. WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 17, 1919. HOME EDITION GRAND JURY IS CALLED TO PROBE FUEL VIOLATION Coal Miners, Operators and Dealers Involved in Xation- Wide Investigation LIMI TE D PRODUCTION Anti-Trust Laws and Lever Fuel Control Act Broken Is Charged Indianapolis, 17.—Members of the special Grand Jury summoned by United States District Judge A. 13. Anderson during the coal miners' strike, to-day reported to the court to begin their investigation of al leged violation of antitrust laws and the Lever fuel control act by coal miners, operators and dealers. Several witnesses have been sub pcnaed, and, it was stated, the in quiry will be pushed as rapidly us possible. Determination to conduct the in vestigation resulted from charges that operators had entered a con spiracy to limit the production of coal and that tlicy were joined in a similar conspiracy by some of the miners. Attorneys for the Govern ment have stated that the Grand Jury's investigation will not be con fined to Indiana, but will be nation wide in its scope. It was pointed out I hat in conspiracy cases witnesses may be summoned from any section of the country without regard to Federal court districts. Contempt Charges Go Over Tlie Grand Jury investigation fol lows by a day further continuance of charges of criminal contempt against 84 olticials of the United Mine Workers of America. With one exception the hearing of contempt charges went over until such a time as the Government or attorneys for the defendants see fit to bring the case again before, the court. The exception is the case of Alexander llowat, president of the Kansas dis trict of the mine workers, who is charged with continued violation of the Federal Court injunction by furtherance of a local strike in Kan sas. Howat has been ordered to ap pear in court Monday morning. I). A. Frampton, Moberly, Mo., another miners' official, also is charged with continued violation of the injunction because of action similar to that of liowat, but no formal order for his appearance before Judge Anderson lias been issued. It was stated to day that he would be requested to appear next week and that if he did not formal action would be taken 10 obtain his presence iir court. All miners in the state are again in operation, it was reported this morning, and with a very few ex ceptions all Indiana miners have re turned to work. With rescinding of orders restricting the use of light, heat and power, business and in dustry is rapidly resuming normal. ' Operators Discussing Probability of Coal Prices Taking Leap Upward 11)1 Associated Press Cleveland, Dec. 17.—Probability oi coal prices increasing after the commission to be appointed by Pres ident Wilson to investigate the coal situation makes its decision on the bituminous coal miners' demands, was discussed here to-day by the scale committee of the central com petitive tield, embracing Ohio, In diana, Illinois and Western Penn sylvania. The settlement under which the miners agreed to call off the strike and the fourteen per cent, tem porary wage increase which the operators have agreed to pay the miner's without raising the price of coal to the consumer were also dis cussed. Thomas T. Brewster, of St. Louis, chairman of the operators' executive committee, presided at the meeting. He expected the session to last until to-morrow evening. ASKS FOR EVIDENCE Uy Associated Press Trenton. N. J., Dec. 17.—State Attorney General McCrane in a communication to G. Rowland Mon roe, counsel for the New Jersey Anti-saloon League, to-day request ed production next Tuesday of evi dence which the league's attorney recently indicated "gross violations of the corrupt practices acts" had been committed in the election as Governor of State Senator Edward I. Edwards and the twelve Demo cratic Assemblymen from Essex county. Mr. Monroe had asked the Attorney General to institute quo warranto proceedings to have the election of these successful candi dates declared void. CHICKENS FED CHOICE LAMB WHILE HE WENT HUNGRY By dissociated Press Newark, Dec. 17. —A wife's partiality toward a Hock of chickens, in feeding the fowls choice bits of spring lamb while her husband went without, and her action in killing some of the birds for dinner which he was not permitted to eat, are not grounds for divorce, in the opinion of Vice Chancellor Field er. Such was his ruling in ef fect in the case of Y. E.' Wilson vs. Mary Wilson, of Madison, The Wilsons parted about two years ago after eleven years of wedded life. Wilson, who de clared his wife's slaughter of his fancy fowl was responsible for their disagreement, said she de serted him. MTH. Wilson said her husband's brutal treatment was the cause of her leaving. Vice Chancellor Fielder ruled that neither had any cause for action for divorce. RELICS OF 2250 B. C. SHOW HOW WORLD CONDUCTED BUSINESS . a . tf v. s - - , MESSAGE CARRIED ON STONE 41 CENTURIES Public Library Shows How Ancients Recorded Records Be fore the Time of Newsprint; Chisled During First Babylon Dynasty The Ifurrisburg Public Library is, exhibiting four stones which date from GOO to 2200 B. C. The stones! have been loaned from the collec- j tion of Robert T Fisher, and are j exceedingly rare and valuable; only a few of these particular types be*, ing in existence. The stones were all found In the j Vicinity of the.lloly Land, and vary from votive offerings to business | documents and lists of provisions to i be carried on a trip. The hiero-{ glyphics are so fine that one can j scarcely discern them without the aid of a microscope. 2250 Years B. C. Tile largest stone was picked up at Senkereh, and was inscribed about I 2200 B. C., and has outlined upon; its flat sides the outline of a busl- j ness' document drawn up about the I time of the first dynasty of Baby-1 lon. j The largest of the stones, shaped j in the form of an enlarged arrow ! head, or about the size of the head of a 37 MM. shell, was discovered at i Warka about 2100 B. This is a | votive cone, and was made by the priests of the temple, who sold it to pilgrims journeying to the vari-' GUARD RAIL ON BRIDGE IS URGED BY ROTARIANS Resolutions Addressed to City Council Passed by Busi ness Organization The Rotary Club, meeting as the guests of Colonel James B. Kemper, at the United States Army recruiting otlice, 325 Market street, adopted resolutions recommending that city council erect a guard rail between the sidewalk and the roadway the length of the Mulberry street bridge, und endorsing the concert to be given here shortly by Fritz Kreisler, the noted violinist. The resolution, relating to the bridge was presented by.Shirley B. Watts and was similar to one pre pared by Arthur L. Hall, which Mr. Hall did not formally present in view of the fact that the Watts resolution was adopted. The resolution, which instructs the public affairs commit tee to take the matter up with Coun cil, was passed by a unanimous vote. It asks t'ouncil to safeguard thei bridge by the erection of a guard rail or curb and notes the fact that while an expert employed by Coun cil a few years ago pronounced such u safeguard unnecessary "this opin ion has been upset frequently since by the number of accidents occur ring there which a guard rail or [Continued on Page 21.] England Is Prepared to Release U. S. Goods lly Associated Press Washington, Dec. 17.—Great Bri- | tain Is prepared now to release] American owned goods seized dur ing the war upon the establishment of their American ownership at the time the goods were shipped, the State Department was advised to-day by the British foreign office. The goods affected include those taken from neutral ships during the enforcement of the British block ade against the central powers be fore the United States entered the war. It is understood lo include goods shipped both from the United States to Germany and from Ger many to this country. OX MOVE SINCE 1 SIM* Henri I. Ferrier, who has been j on tho move since IS9O and ten'' ; tired out yo(. is resting in this city' to-night. Monri has covered IIIOH! of this country, to say nothing of the vurloUH other territories scat-' tered front one polo to tlte other. Leon, his Idg great Dane, is ac companying Mr. Fetrier In his wan derings. and iiovcr leaves his ntaste- ! The two will spend a day or so in I Harrlsburg. i , ous shrines. The act of devotion was | to stick this cone in the soft crev ! ices between the stones of the tem j pie, where they woud be perma j nently plastered in as an indicative j of the faith of the pilgrims. Stone Ration Card ! The smallest stone was found at I Jokha, and contains a list of pro j visions which a certain messenger I was to take with him on a journey jto some far distant country. The list i is a regular ration card, showing j that tho messenger was to tote oil. j olives and all the. rest of that sort ! of food, which appealed particularly I lo the early Egyptian appetites. The ! stone is highly prized because it is Iso rare. It was "written" up about ; the year 2350 B. C. , The fourth stone was used in I Babylon about 2,500 years ago, 611 18. C'., to be exact. It has to do with 1;i certain contract which concerns | Xabupolassnr, the distinguished ! father of the famous Nebuchadnez | zer. The stoge docs not go much i into the details of the contract, or | say who was awarded the bid, but it . is undoubtedly an authentic examplo of how they carried on business in 1 the old days. ZERO WEATHER TO FOLLOW IN WAKE OF STORM Three Inches of Snow in the First Fall of the Winter i Temperature near zero will be ' iteached to-night for the first time | this winter, according to a forecast I of E. R. Demain, of the local Weath . *r Bureau. i Xo break of the cold wave is in 'sight; the temperature will drop ] even lower to-night than it wa3 this morning. j Last night's snow, the first heavy ; snow of the season, was heavier than jin most sections of Pennsylvania. .Three inches of flakes covered the j ground when the average person j awoke this morning. Pittsburgh and | some other western cities reported 'two and one-half inches. This snow jcanie as somewhat of a surprise to : thv weatherman. With last night's first real ofter | ing of snow, came new troubles for I railroad men. There have been 1 times when heavier snow storms | were less troublesome. On both the i Pennsylvania and Reading lines j heavy trains moved slowly. The ; drifting snow made signal reading ! difficult, and firemen had consider ] able trouble In keeping up steam. iTraekmen were out about 11 o'clock j looking after signals and switch) s j and keeping tracks clear about : freight terminals. Large shipments of coal are being I moved over the Pennsy and Read i ing. In order to get a supply of j bituminous in the east heavy trains jare in order. Doubleh'eaders are be ; ing used when necessary. It is said , much of the coal supplied to rail i roads is n. poor quality for keeping lap a supply of steam. Reserve crews ; were kept busy lust night helping | out crews tied up. i DAYLIGHT SAVING PROVES BENEFICIAL TO CHILDREN !Cry by Opponents lo Popular Measure That It Breeds Tu berculosis Said Foolish by City Health Officer "Tltey don't know what they are | talking about." j So said Dr. .John M. .7. Raunick. city her.ith officer, to-day wltett told 'of objections to daylight saving on the ground that it has resulted in i|ii increase in tuberculosis. Dr. Ituunick denied absolutely the j declaration that children do not get i sufficient rest tinder such a system. ' i While they ntuy get up an houratronger. MEN, ARMED TO TEETH, PROTECT MYSTERIOUS CAR Guards Work in Relay on the Trip From Kentucky to the Coast Four guards, armed to the teeth, worked in relays yesterday to guard what the owners evidently regarded as oncof the most valuable shipments to have been made over the Penn sylvania railroad in many weeks. Doors on the car were securely locked. Even members of the train crews were not permitted to loiter about the car. Every time the train made a stop along the route from i Kentucky all the guirrfis stood ready to repel any possible raider. At the local station, where the_ train changed crews ,it was learned that the car contained whisky. Showing All Signs Fail in a Dry Spell Baltimore, Dec. 17. Word has reached a local warehouse from a New Yorker, who last week sent for twenty-four barrels of whisky he had in storage here, that when tliey arrived in New York thirteen con tained whisky, ten water and one nothing. AVhen tlicy left here all were full of whisky The mystery is unexplained. KICKS ALL THE WAY DOWN Pittsburgh, Dec. 17.—Ex-Senator j William Flinn, who lias a farm in j O'Hara township, noticed plugged ; holes in his farm silos and found | a spigot in the barn. Investigation proved that the farm bands were drawing, silo juice, mixing it with red pepper and burnt rye, and get ling a drink with a kick like white lightning. MAKE VOISOX. NOT BOOZE EusVin. Pa. Dec. 17.—Mrs. Betty White and Robert Labar, who drank what they thought was whisky dur ing a party at Mrs. White's home, died. The authorities say they were poisoned by home-made drinks. WHAT'S A WIFE TO THIS? Washington, Pa., liec. 17. —Jacob Rush, a well-to-do farmer, married Mrs. Rosclla White on November 24. j To-day he was sued for divorce on j the ground that since the wedding he lias neglected his wife and given all his attention to a barrel of hard cidei). Rush is trying to get her to agree to a voluntary separation. J CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION COMMISSION IN SESSION Committees of the State Consti tutional Revision Commission re sumed work alter a short general session held at noon and plan to adjourn to-morrow until January 6. Considerable data for study dur ing the recess was presented to-day, ! including a charter showing the | constitutional and legislative actions j of each State in regard to education ; which was submitted by Francis i Newton Tliorpo, Allegheny. Federal i enactments were also presented. The | corporations and taxation commit- I tee received data relative to tuxa ! tion in the various States. The first session of the eominittee j of the whole will be held during the afternoon. TWO MEN DROWNED I Newark, N. J.. Dee. 17, —Two men | were drowned and another seriously injured here to-day when a motor delivery truck owned by a New York rug concern skidded on the icy pave ment and plunged through a wooden railing Into Morris Canal. earlier, the.v likewise go to heel an hour earlier, he said. In conse quence, their systems are not weak ened and rendered more fertile fields' for disease terms. If anything, the extra hour of day light bus been and will continue to be beneficial to the city youth. The hour furnishes more time' for them! to play about in the fresh n'r and | results in their bodies becoming STATE TO BUILD TWO BUILDINGS IN PARK ZONE Architect Authorized to Draw Plans For Second Structure to Cost $1,250,000 TO HOUSE MANY OFFICES Next Legislature Will Be Asked to Approve ' Appropriation State authorities have authorized j Arnold AV. Brunner, architect for | the proposed Capitol office buildings j and the Capitol Park improvements, i to make plar.y for two office build- j ings, instead of one. The last Leg- i islatuie appropriated $1,250,000 for; the construction of one building, which will be located to the cast of i the south wing of the Capitol and | which will house the Health De- ' partmeirt and other departments I now in the main building. AVhile! these plans are being completed, it I is the idea to make others for a | similar structure to be erected to i the east of the north wing and to j care for the Highway and Agricul- j tural Departments. Both of these buildings will be in 1 the park extension and the intention is to have the plans all prepared | for the second building when the: Legislature meets and ask an appro priation for construction. Mr. Brunner spent to-day in con- i sultation with Superintendent T. \V. ' Templeton and Deputy G. A. Shreirr- j er on details of the first office build- j ing and when the Governor and j members of the Board of Public | Grounds and Buildings are in New | York to-morrow to sign the high- \ way bonds they will go to Mr. Brun- j ner's office to see the detailed plans.; Incidentally, some matters ir? con-: nection with the bridge will be dis- | cussed. Bids for the first office building! will not be asked until later in the j winter. Cumbler Estate Sells Big Plot of Ground to Bethlehem Steel Co. j Purchase of 275 acres of ground i in the Hirst ward, Steelton, and Swatara township, by the Bethle- ! hem Steel Company, from the George W. Cumbler estate, was an nounced to-day. It is understood the steel corpora tion will use the ground for a cin der dump, and as about 100 acres contain limestone, it is thought that the company will use the stone at the Steelton plant. The tract includes three farms known for years in this part of the county as the "Cumbter farms," ly ing at the lower end of the borough and just outside the borough limits. About 225 acres are in Swatara) township and about fifty acres in ' Steelton. The entire piece of ground ! is just east of the present cinder! dump of the steel company. No consideration was announced I by the trustees of the Cumbler es- I tate or officials of the steel com- I pany. TO UIRDI.K EARTH IX SEAPL.VXE By Associated I'ress Sun Francisco, Dec. 17. —G. M. Gor den, an aviator of Portland. Ore., an nounced here to-day that he proposed to start from San Francisco before February in an attempt to fly around j I the world in a seaplane. Honolulu I would be his first stop, he said, and j his route from there would be via j Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Co-j lonibo, Bombay, Aden and Port Said, I and across the Mediterranean to Lis- ] bon. He plans to cross the Atlantic I via the Azores to New York, then to' fly to Central America and return | home by the way of San Diego. CHRISTMAS SHIP HITS MINE j I By Associated *l'ress Son Francisco, Dec. 17.—The trans-I port Great Northern, bound for Vlad-i ivosok with 1400 troops and Christ- j nias packages for the American I forces in Siberia,, struck a submerged ' obstruction. 153 miles off Vladivostok, | according to wireless advices received j to-day, hut no serious damage was done. The Great Northern is pro ceeding under Its own steam to Vlad-j Ivostok, reports received by the army! transport service istated. I EXCHANGE RECOVERS By Associated Press N'cw York, Dec. 17. Exchangei rates on the British pound sterling j continues to-day Iheir upward ' course. Demand hills were quoted [ at $3.82 U, or % of a cent above yes-i terday's close nnd 17 cents above the j record low. Lire checks were up 34 { centimes, being quoted ut the rate of | 12.72 for the American dollar, while' I'runcs checks were tencentimes low- I er at 10.30. EIRE BCBNS CIiOTIII.VG HOL'SE j By Associated Press Cleveland, Dec. 17. Firemen j fought for five hours this morning to' save the wholesale clothing district ' from lire which started in a four- j story brick building at St. Clair ave- j nue and West Sixth street, entirely j destroying it wilh a loss estimated at $325,000. The building was occil- i pied by wholesale dealers in woolen goods and by tailors. TO SELL MERE IT By Associated Press Camp Mcrrit. N. J., Dec. 17. Bids' for the sale of buildings, sewage and ; electric systems, railways and other I material at th's camp will be opened i Monday at the office of the Army' construction division, .Washington,' ii was announced here to-day. DENY MASSACRE OF t.iloo I By Associated Press I.OIMIOII. Dec. 17. -Official denial of the report circulated by the Itus rlan Holshovikl that hostile Pereluns hud massacred the British garrison of 1.300 men at Meshed, Persia, was' made by the war office to-day. THIS TO BE VERY MISCHIEVOUS DAY IF WORLD STANDS New Charlatan Appears in Local Field With the Fore cast That Seme of Us May Suffer "Abrupt Removal" While the Planets Play Hob in the Heavens NEW WOE IS ADDED FOR CITY'S SUPERSTITIOUS The world will end before the day's tnd, says Professor Porta, as tronomer in a Michigan school. Theaters, schools and postofflces will burn January 3, says Frank T. Allen, Washington astrologer. "Tills promises to be a very lively and interesting day," says Ibe as trologer, who writes a "horoscope" every evening for a Harrlsburg pa per. There's'the three prophecies, all guaranteed to be us good as prophe cies ever are and each man is privi leged to believe as much or as lit tle as he please 3. The "expert" who plays on the feelings of the credulous through the medium of the local newspaper agrees with the others that the plun ets are in position to-day us to lie mischievous. "There is possibility of an Important and abrupt remo val," says this charlatan. Well Press Agcnted The ominous position of the plan ets had been well press agented, and some astrologers and persons versed in witchcraft had maintained that at the precise moment when the ma jor leaguers of the solar system formed themselves in a straight line, with Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. A'enus and Mercury on one side of the sun and Uranus on the other, the earth .which had moved four or five solar paces to the front of the line, would behave like the one horse shay. Scientists had scoffed the idea, but the superstitious ones recalled having lighted three cigarets with one match, or having walked un der a ladder or having done in re cent historic times one of the thou and and one other things known fur and wide as omens of evil days. Old Time Tliencc Students in Porto Rico are report ed to have been so unfavorably im pressed with their chances for con tinuing life yesterday %hat they asked for a holiday to prepare for worst. Harold Jacoby. professor of astronomy at Columbiu, intimated that their actions might have been due to the desire of youth every where to have a holiday. He and many other scientists maintained that the effect upon the earth of the planetary alignment would be nil. Astrologers have predicted the end of the world on somewhat simi lar occasions for centuries. As early as 1186 the world escaped qne of theri threatened cataclysms. Disap pointment at the escape did not pre vent Stoffler from prdicting a uni versal deluge for the year 1524—a year which, as it turned out, was dis tinguished for drought. Mother Shipton, "witch" of Tudor times, was credited with being equally sure that 400 years after her time in 1881, to be exact the world would come to an end. The prediction caused much agitation In England when the date she set ar rived. Thousands of persons de serted their homes and went out into the fields to await annihilation. A'arious religious cults have made a specialty In more recent years of specifying an hour as the earth's last, setting forth scriptural or pseudo-scientific arguments in sup port of their contentions. Professor Albeit F. Porta, a me teorologist. Is given credit for first thinking up to-day's cdtastrophe. U. S. Observers Scan Sky in Vain For Signs of World Cataclysm Washington, Dep. 17.—Exports who keep the weather under official surveillance for the Government scanned the heavens and the weather reports in vain to-day for any sign that an alleged solar conspiracy be tween the planets Neptune, Jupiter, et al, was about (o produce storms which would bring the world to a sudden end. The best the weathermen could make out of the signs as they read them, was that low pressure areas off the north Atlantic coast and In the far northwest had combined to bring low temperatures generally throughout the country, except along the southwestern border. The out look for to-night and to-morrow, the official forecaster said, was for local snow storms in the Great Lakes region and fair weather elsewhere cast of the Mississippi river. Amateur Astronomer Said to Have Started Rumor, Denies Charge Ann Arbor. Mich., Dec. 17.—Pro fessor Albert Porta, who 1s general- I THE WEATHER! lliirrlahurg anil Vlrlnltyi Fair mill colder to-nlghl with low est tcnipcrntiire ulioiK * de grees. Thursday fair and con tinued cold. Knstern I'cnnsylvnrloi Voir, cold er to-night, Thursday fair nnd continued cold. Frrah northwest tvlnds. ltlvcri The Susquehiinnn river nnd nil I's brunches vv'll full slowly except locnl r'scs tuny occur • mint *>t ins The