12
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
[A.4KEWSPAPER , FOR THE HOME
Founded 1831
Published evenlnga except Sunday by
THE. TELEGRAPH PRINTING CO.
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E. J. STACKPOLE
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GVS. M. STEINMETZ, Managing Editor
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Executive Board
'J.P.' McCULLOUGII,
" "BOYD M. OGLESBY,
F. . R. OYSTER,
GUS. M. STEINMETZ.
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FRIDAY,. DECEMBER 26, 1919
What thou hast in store
This coming Itear, I do not stop to
ask;
Enough if dag by dag there it,nrns
before me
Mg appointed task;
1 seek not great things,
For I hare learned liow rain sueh
seeking is,
But let me seek Thy will, O King of
Kings,
And find, therein my bliss.
O. E. FUU.kb.
(10 TO IT, ADMIRAL
OF ALL the officers in the serv
ice who have Buffered from
abuses of power and influence
under the Wilson administration.
Admiral Sims alone lias dared speak
his mind in public, liis letter to |
Secretary Daniels contains censuro
for the head of the Navy in every
line. There can be 110 dodging of
responsibility, and* thle Secretary's
reply is weak and self-convicting.
The Admiral clearly proves that fa
voritism was shown in the award of
service medals and the implication
is made that the Secretary's own
son-in-law, who was given the high
est award, even though he lost his
ship, was one of those Mr. Daniels
chose for special distinction.
As Admiral Sims says, the com
mander of the fleet is the oniy man
competent to judge the merits of the
men under liim and if his recom
mendations in tho matter of awards
for service and personal valor are
to bo set aside, then the whole merit
system in the Navy fails, much to the
hurt of the high morale that has
marked it on every occasion when
its services were io demand.
Americans generally will admire
the straightforward methods of Ad
miral Sims. It is a tine thing to know
that the ranking officer of the Navy
is a man of strong personal convic
tion, as willing "to enter the lists of
diplomacy against unfair methods
of government as lie was to face the
Hun on the high seas.
UP TO ALL OF US
IN THE sending out of a calendar
for the new year one of the
big corporations at Voungstown
makes this comment:
It is accompanied by our
fervent good wishes aiid the
hope that we, who hold service
to our customers as our greatest
obligation, may be able during
the year to render this service
unhindered by conditions such as
have attended much of the year
just ending.
The industrial and commercial
skies will brighten with the
growth of understanding that
real peace and prosperity can
come only through productive i
effort on the part of each indi
vidual in his chosen field ofc
labor.
There is a whole sermon in the!
last paragraph of this statement:
and the emphasis must lie placed |
by every Individual upon the last j
clause which places the rosponsibil- '
ity squarely upon the shoulders of,
each one of us. We can get hack ,
to solid ground only through real'
effort and by co-operating along till j
legitimate lines of endeavor.
A WISE CHOICE
GOVERNOR SPROUL could noti
choose a better qualified man
than former Lieutenant Gover
nor Frank B. McCloln, of Lancaster,
for head of a Fair Price Committee
in Pennsylvania. Mr. McCluin was
one of the most active representa
tives of the State government on the
National Defense Commission during
the war and he is familiar with every
line of food production and sala
from its source to the ultimate con
sumer. He Is aggressive and cour
ageous, but, with all, wisely conser
vative, and the public' can ejtpect
absolute fairness at his hands, so far
as that is humanly possible In price
regulation.
But let nobody expect too much
from the work of Fair Price Com
mittees, efther statewide In scope or
local. It IS to be suspected that
Governor Sproul has his own ideas
as to their limitations, as have thou-
FRIDAY EVENING,
sands of others who watched their
vain efforts to keep prices at a rea
sonable level during the war. Some
benefits to the consumer may have
resulted from the publication o'f
prices, but as a general thing the
dealer whose prices were below those
published by the committee went up
to meet the "fair" figures, while
.those above paid little attention to
them.
j THE COAL COMMISSION
WE HAVE heard a great deal of
the evils of legislation by
I commission, but never has
! such a body of men held greater
control over the welfare of the
country than the commission for the
investigation of mine wages and
coal prices to lie appointed by the
President under the terms of his
settlement With the strikers. That
commission will be clothed not only
with power to fin wages at any
figure that may be agreed upor. bv
the miners and operators, but to pass
that increased cost of production
along to the consumer of coal in
the shape of increased prices.
* Of course, the commission directly
cannot make those changes. It can
merely submit recommendations to
the President. But Mr. Wilson has
already indicated, in his statement
outlining the terms of compromise
for the coal strike, that he wilt ac
cept whatever arrangement the
commission may make. Under the
provisions of the I.ever Act the
President has full power "to fix the
price of coal and coke, wherever and
whenever sold, either by producer
or dealer." He also can "establish
rules for the regulation of and to
regulate the method of produc
tion" of coal. Under the latter au
thority he can fix wages. After
those scales of wages and prices
have been promulgated by the
President, there is 110 recourse for
.the public short of repeal of the
Lever Act itself, under which his
power is derived.
It has been the policy of Con
gress for many years to favor legis
lation prohibiting combinations in
restraint of trade. Such combina
tions were considered as imposing
an unfair burden upon the public in
the shape of unnecessarily high
prices, and to furnish a means
whereby certain classes of our citi
zens were able to enrich themselves
at the expense of the others. But
no business combination has ever
been conceived that would 'exercise
the complete monopoly to be en
joyed by the coal industry from this
time on. It will be able to dictate
the prices of its product at all times
and from that dictation there will
lie no appeal. Far from being in
terfered with by the courts, it will
enjoy the complete protection of the
Administration, acting well within
the powers granted to it by a Demo
cratic Congress.
With the knowledge that in
creases in coal costs may be passed
along 1o the consumer, the operators
will readily capitulate to any de
mand the miners may make. The
miners are well aware of that fact
and have as little regard as the
operators for the public as a whole.
That being the case, how long will it
lie before the miners are renewing
their demands for a six-hour day, a
tlve-day week, and a sixty per cent,
raise in wages? There is nothing in
the agreement under which the
mines have resumed operations that
prevents oilier strikes whenever the
miners may think such a procedure
will further their cause. Even
though the award to lie made by the
President's commission may give
the miners far more than the terms
of tlie tentative settlement now in
force, there is no ineiins by which
they may be made to accept the ar
rangement permanently or even
temporarily. Immediately the award
is made, a strike may be called for
still better terms.
Although the President's follow
ers are hailing his notion in the coal
strike as a tremendous stroke of
executive genius, in reality it but
paves the way and provides the
means for an interminable struggle
between miners and operators on
the one hand and the public on the
other Until some other arrange
ment is made the public will always
be the loser, by reason of its minor
ity standing on the all-powerful
commission. ,
SIGNS OF PEACE
SIGNS are not lacking that on
both sides of the political fence
at Washington njembers of the
[Senate are growing restive over de
! lay in getting some final action on
| the Peace Treaty. It ought to be
| possible to .have the Senate adopt
the treaty with such reservations as
will protect America and at the same
time prove acceptable to a majority
of the Democrats.
j That, we believe, is what the
1 American, people want. They are not
(opposed to the treaty in any form
What will leave their independence
|,'lllll liberties unendangered and tin
' questioned, and they would breathe
! a sigh of relief if the whole tiling
| were done with and out of the way.
I They are not as much interested,
possibly, as lliey ought to be, in the
affairs of Europe, but they ure might
ily interested in every (mention of a
domestic nature,and it is evident that
before we ran reach a peace basis at
home we must have returned to
peaceful relations with the world at
large. We are Just now in an impos
sible position.
The fault mainly lies with Presi
dent Wilson's refusal to regard the
rights of America lirst and our rela
tions with Europd secondly, but
there are hhrd beads on both sides
and.the American people are becom
ing more and more Impatient of un
necessary delays.
Those who are interested politi
cally should take theao thoughts to
themselves, if they have any regard
for their own purty preferences and
personal interests in the coming
campaign.
r— — 1
T>eacc
ftv.HHjUa.tuA
By the Ex-Committeeman
Probably the matter that is giving
most concern just now to folks who
follow politics in Pennsylvania is the
advance in the tax rate that is being
made in almost evqry city and bor
ough in the State, while compara
tively few counties have put up their
millage for 1920. The cost of mu
nicipal government has been jump
ing in Pennsylvania, along with the
cost of pretty nearly everything else,
and more than one council has been
faced with the alternative of curtail
lnS n S .f ,V e or P ut ting up the tax. And
in 9S per cent, of the cases the cities
appear to be taking the latter course.
Increases in rates in both of the
big cities have called forth some
sharp comments and it is not im
probable that eurlv action will be
iuken not only in the great munici
palities, but in the third-class cities
as well, for study of tho govern
mental system front a scientific
standpoint belore taxpayers' organ
izations and similar bodies start to
19"] antl Provide issues for
a nn/\°,iV lin! V and Erie wi " present
some interesting studies in the next
J ear, as they are both going into the
, y< ; u ' administrations elect
ed under the third-class citv code.
tiFkofl 'men being chosen on party
!L .? n within another vcar
they will automatically go into the
V.'<rf Ca , SS . of ritieß i owing to the
nan arm both will show more than
MO.OOO population, according to con
servative estimates. The second
class cities are the only ones to re
tain the nonpartisan system of elec
tion of councilmen and there will be
a series of merry little mixups when
the transition takes place.
—'The boroughs which voted to
become third-class cities at the No
vember election will not be able to
do so for a year or more. The offi
cial returns of a couple of these elec
tions have come to the Capitol and
the next step will he for the Gov
ernor io issue a charter and then for
new elections. It is probable that
several boroughs will move along
the same line at the next opportu
nity owing to the growth in pop
ulation and the desire to take up
propositions which cannot be handled
under the borough code.
" Many complimentary things are
being said about the Seranton Times
anil its editor and owner, 10. J. Ly
nett, in view of the approach of the
golden anniversary of the Times and
the silver anniversary of the Lynett
ownership. They are to be celebrated
at Seranton on January 3 and Key
stone State journalism will rejoice
with Mr. Lynett and his capable
staff. The Times is one of those ex
ponents of Democracy which knows
uo faltering. Bearing the stamp of
its owner's personality, which has
made R-so successful and so strong,
it has been a fearless party organ,
respected by Republicans and unhesi
tatingly accepted-by thousands and
thousands of Democratic readers. It
is a party beacon like"-the Philadel
phia Keeord and the Pittsburgh Post
and may many more years come to
it. The Republican and the Pe.mo
cratic parties alike need papers like
the Seranton Times.
—Governor William C. Sproul is
very much gratified at the inanner
in which mention of his name as a
presidential possibility lias been re
,-veivKi, but from what his close
friends say lie regards it more as an
endorsement of what he has done the
last ten months than anything else.
The Governor insists that he has
plenty of work to do in llarrisburg.
However, there is a lot of yeomen
effort being put forth in behalf of
the Governor, not only in this, hut
in other states. The Washington
Star says about him in a Pennsyl
vania article: "There is no question
but what Sproul's speech made much
impression upon the businessmen of
his State, and this will aid materi
ally in the carrying out of the un
pledged delegation program. With
the businessmen of the party rather
ardent in their advocacy of the Gov
ernor, there will not be many spots
where a boom for any other candi
date could take root in Pennsylvania,
and thus far the effort to revive the
fighting Koosevelt organization of
If 12 has been a failure. Most of the
men who were active in that cam
paign are inclined toward Sproul or
for an uninstructed delegation."
[ Robert 13. I.atnberton, the sher
[ iff-elect of Philadelphia, is Just now
[giving an interesting exhibition of
lilting with that old war horse of
1 Pennsylvania politics, Senator David
i Martin, former Secretary of the Com
monwealth and former State Insur
ance Commissioner. "Uncle Dave,"
as lie is known among Capitol Hill
people, is one of the redoubtable
, lighters of political history of the last
quarter century and the outcome, of
his collision with the sheriff is
awaited with interest here The
signs of a cooling of the old friend
ship between Mayor-elect J. Hamp
ton Moore and the Senator who
backed him are also being noted with
| attention.
—Mayor Thomas B. Smith, of
Philadelphia, has harked hack to his
legislative days in declaring that he
would not stand for appropriations
for the personal enjoyment of Phila
delphia eouneilmen. He said that he
was against eouneilmen taking city
money for a farewell banquet to the
bicameral system and also intimated
that he would veto a bill to give
each councilman his desk and chair.
—ln connection with the Philadel
phia situation, the Evening Ledger
said the night before Christmas:
"Senator Vare lias lived too long to
believe in the Santa Claus myth. He
evidently holds that If you want
something in your stocking on
Christmas morning you must put It
there yourself. What he seems to be
looking for just now is a big chunk
of discord and he is exerting him
self to the utmost to get it. If lie
can raise ruetlo'ns in the new city
council lie will do it. But it remains
to be seen whether he gets more
than he is counting on." •
—ln Pittsburgh some of the school
boards have declined to take the ad
vice from Capitol Hill to go ahead
and build regardless of high prices.
In two instances hoards in Western
Pennsylvania have refused to build
until prices come down and the
Pittsburgh Gazette Times says that
the Pittsburgh Board of Education
declared it would not build under
present high lyices.
—Another interesting development
at Pittsburgh is the move by council
to establish a bureau of fire proyen
tlon. This is in lirte with the trend
of the times in large cities and the
State authorities will encourage it.
—Mayor-elect J. Hampton Moore
writes in a Philadelphia newspaper:
"The Civic Club, of which Mrs. Ed
ward W. Biddle is president, is re
joicing over the new trend in mu
nicipal affairs. For more than 26
years this organization of women
who like to discuss public questions,
and who have bean striving for im
proved civic conditions, has been la
| horing to further these aims. Street
cleaning, hygiene, child welfare and
jot her topics which appeal to
I thoughtful women are frequent sub-
I jects of discussion and debate with
the members."
HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH
—— a ——
WHEN A FELLER NEEDS A FRIEND By BRIGGS
f" -r y
/ Take |
] OFF VOUR CAP LIKG
A LITTLE GEMTLE-
KAM ANID SHAKE
fH H Aiv/O SAY/
"DELIGHTeD, I'M
vSURE'"- WHERE
ARE.' Your. ? /•
*—■—= ""SiLT' ,
Mother s Farewell
\
[From the New York Mail.]
Two days before George Wash
ington's departure for his inaugura-;
tion as first President of the United
States he went to Fredericksburg to
pay what proved to be his last visit j
to' his venerable mother. On com-j
ing into her presence he said: "The!
people, madam, have been pleased, J
with the most flattering unanimity,!,
to elect me to the chief magistracy i
of the United States; but before I can I
assume the functions of that oflice
I have come to bid you an affection
ate farewell. So soon as the public
business which must necessarily be
encountered in arranging a new
government can be disposed of I|
shall hasten to Virginia, and " ,
Here she interrupted hint. "You:
will see ni" no more," she said; "my,
great age and the disease that is rap-I
idly approaching my vitals warn me,
that 1 shall not be long in this world. |
1 trust in God I am somewhat pre-|
pared for the better. But go, George, j
fulfill the high destinies which
Heaven appears to assign you—go,
my son, and may Heaven's and your
mother's blessing be with you al
ways."
Public Schools best
[From the - New York Times.]
Public school boys have a higher
average of scholarship at Harvard
university than those from private
Schools and a better disciplinary re
cord as well, according to statis
tical studies made by Prof. 11. \\.
Holmes, 'O3; Philip Levy, 14, and
j.. y Gordon of the Harvard divi
sion of education.
Among more than four thousand
men who entered Harvard as fresh
men during the years from 1902- p
1912 inclusive, according to the fig-,
ures'compiled by Professor Holmes I
and his associates, 17.7 per cent, of
the public school graduates won,
their degrees cum laude, as, against -
10 3 per cent, of the men from pri-I
vate schools. Eleven and eight-tenths j
per cent, of the men from public*
schools won magna cunis. as opposed |
to 4.3 per cent, of private school)
men; and 2.5 per,cent, of the public
school men obtained the highest
scholastic honor of all, the degree j
sunima cum laude, as against per ;
cent, of the men from private j
schools.
Insures lien For $5,000 |
[Front the Portland Oregonian.]
It isn't every hen that can carry I
around a 35.000 life insurance policy,!
but that is the amount of insurance
placed on one of the hens at the;
poultry show at the Auditorium next,
week-.
This hen ih a White Leghorn,
owned by Dr. Tailored of Kent,
Wash. She set a world's record lor
production by laying 330 eggs in 305
days, ended September 16. This is:
about four times the production of|
the average hen, so her value in the I
poultry world can easily be seen.
Her owner consented to allow her
to be placed on exhibition by one of
the poultry feed companies, but
stipulated that she must be insured
fof $5,000.
Too Good Natured
He loves to listen to himself;
'Twould be a good employment
If he were not so generous
In sharing the enjoyment.
—Boston Transcript.
Procession Continues
[From the Savannah News.]
Yes, the parade of the Democratic
presidential possibilities Isn't near
over —it takes weeks to pass a given
point.
At llie Zebra Cage
[From Life.]
"Mummy, is that a black horse I
with stripes or a white horse
with l[lack stripes?" J
THE SOVIETIZED
ROMANCE "1" AND "4".
[The sovictltzcd novel, according to Kolest Ware in the New York
Evening Post, lias appeared. It is called "1 and 4," instead of "Ivan
and Anna," its original title, because of the Bolshevist ruling substitut
ing numerals for Christian names. Here are excerpts set out by Mr.
Ware.]
HE was alone, waiting, waiting |
in the shadow of the old fam- I
ily eucalyptus tree, where i
(hey had spent so many happy hours. !
Would she never come? He had i
seen the Stepiianovitski girls, 1 to 3 ]
inclusive, leave the house early in ,
the evening for a ride in the motor, i
What could be keeping 4? A thous- i
and sovietized thoughts tormented j
him. Bhe had always been so punc- j
tual. God, how the minutes drag- ;
god! ]
Presently the old clock in the:
kitchen siruck the half-hour. A tig- j
ure glided swiftly down the path. It ;
was 4.
"One," she murmured.
"Nay, 'tis but 7.30, though it seems!
like one," he replied—for even in j
moments like this 1 would have his j
little joke.
"My one and only 1," she breathed ;
as lie drew her to him. "No one |
shall ever take 4 from 1."
No words of hers had ever so
smitten his mathematically sensl-j
tlsed soul.
"You are right," he concurred. "It!
can't he done, but"—und a look of!
pain o'erspread his strong, handsome t
face—"would to heaven that one i
might say so much for 1 from 4!" !
She glanced up at him question- j
ingly.
"You mean?"
"That <he laws of simple arithme-1
tic are against us, dear. To-morrow TI
leave for Brest-IJtovsk and points!
east. It is so ordered."
| "Oh, 1, 1," she sobbed, "what shall |
| I do once 1 is lost?"
"Once 1 is won, dear," consoled
| our hero, lor he was ever ready witli I
iquip and jest.
I She missed it, however.
"Eisten," he soothed. "Think not'
I that I go for naught, 4. Eoyulty to
ithe cause compels 1 to try anything I
once. But I sliull return. Be calm,
ibe true, be patient. Await me here j
I and i shall come after you, 4, a little
j alter 4."
i So suying he bounded lightly over!
jthe garden wall, tossing a kiss to the
| lonely figure beside the eueulyptus
! Iree. Little did he realize
' that very moment he was 1 minus 4
| —or three down—while the girl he
| was leaving behind was only 4 minus
j 1 and therefore in a much better po
' sition, arlthmeticlally to figure o.ut '
j the future.
The telephone conversation be
j I ween the hero and heroine when
j the former after niuny years, returns
to take his 4 in hand:
j Nervously he whipped out a Rus
sia n ciga ret und lit the foolish end.
How he longed for Hie music of her
j voice, sweetest mugie in the world to
I him!
"Hel-10, dear-rle!"'
Oh, ecstasy, her voice at lust!
"Ah. there you are. light of my
life," ho cried, feigning an air of
easy noncluiluuce that ill became
him. .
"And who are you?" she inquired.
"That you must tell me. Cries*."
"I can't guess."
"Try," he pleaded. .
"Seven?" she ventured.
"No, come again."
"Eleven ?"
"Wrong. Try again."
"Three?" "No," "Fifteen?"
"No.' "Twenty-one?" "Heavens,
no!" "Well, then, 6?"
"Say. 4," shouted our hero, v "are
you kidding me? This is 1, your 1,
your one and only 1. Don't you re
member?"
"One?" she repeated mechanically.
"One? I'm afraid there's some
mistake. Let me see. No. I don't
know of a single I on the list."
"Come, now, 4," he persisted, "let's
! cut out the fooling. You remember
11, of course you do. You can't have
1 forgotten your teeney-weeny, ummy,
yummy 1 so soon."
"I'm sorry, but there certainly has
• ' DECEMBER 26, 1919.
been some mistake." she replied
coldly. And with a deft left arm jal)
she hung up the receiver.
"Four, four, four," he wailed, but
only the operator heard.
"444 is bus>. sir," she said.
Sitting alone at home one evening, 1
her lingers wandering idly over the j
noisy keys of the family adding ma- j
chine—for the Stephanov'itski girls, |
like all others in their set, simply j
had to have an adding machine to I
keep track of their social acquaint
ances under the new system—the |
•fair 4's fair forefinger alighted l'orj
the ltrst time and by the merest i
chance upon the fatal 1 key. Imme
diately the instrument registered—
and there dropped into her lap a re
cord slip with this strange device:
1.
She gazed at it in .amazement.
Then slowly the memory of those
dear dead days beneath the old euca
lyptus tree stole in upon her and she
saw it all. She had got his number. ,
rushing out into the night she dis- I
patched this telegram to the man she !
loved:
"Come l, come all. (Signed) 4." i
It was a 4 to 1 shot—but tijen life,
for 1 had ever been but a game of
chance, and what, after all, had 1 to !
live for but for 4'.'
So he canceled all other Social en- 1
gagements and reached her side that 1
very evening.
"You know, dear," he told her ten
derly, "there's only one 4 in this
world for 1."
Breaking A wag
[From the New York Tribune.]
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, a rep
resentative Democratic njwspapc-r
of Ohio, lias been a strong and con
sistent supporter or the Administra
tion with reference to the league and
peace project.
But the Plain Dealer, in vlj/v of
the facts, is not willing to stultify
itself by lodging responsibility for the
I treaty hold-up elsewhere than whne
it belongs, it finds that particuU r
responsibility rests with the Presl-
I dent. It says: "The treaty can be
| laid before the Senate again only
! upon his volition. The treaty is in
I the President's hands. Kesponsi
,for initiating its ratification is
| upon him."
| in New York Administration or
igans, in an endeavor to serve parti-'
| sail ends, continue their efforts to
i place the blame on (he Senate. They
. juggle the facts. The combination
i of the Borah-Johnson irreconcilubles
, and ttie Administration Senators dc
-1 feuted ratification, and now the
|. treaty is not under parliamentary
I consideration because the President
i wills it so.
| The situation is too plain to permit
I misrepresentation to be long success
i ful. Other Democratic, newspapers/
i will testify to (he truth, as The Plain
i Dealer does.
i "
Not Meant For Him
[From the Spectator, Condon]
j Judges on the bench have some
times been assaulted. A litigant
I once threw an egg at the late Vice -
j Chancellor Mali lis In nn 'English
court. The judge had the presence
of mind to duck his heud, and at
the same time he established a repu
tation as a humorist by remarking
that the present must have been in
tended for his brother. Bacon, the
vice-chancellor who was sitting in
an adjoining court.
Kidding the Help
[From the Punch Bowl]
Chambermaid —I found 16 cents
in your bed this morning, sir.
Professional —Ah; my sleeping
quarters, no doubt.
| Lure. of Spicy Zanzibar
| [William Ashley Anderson in
Harper's MuguzineJ
j Aden, from which I had but re
j eently departed, is a man grown
I gaunt and rugged in honest strife;
| but Zanzibar is a courtezan, whlm-
I steal, gay, sullen, presenting many
aspects.
I Warm, rich, beautiful, concealing
| with dissembling art its sinister
j spots, it lavishes its charms, intoxi
cates with its beauty, smothers with
: its opulence; or suddenly, after a
, smoldering silence, it rends itself
' with rage. The screaming tornado
• rips its garments of verdure to tat
ters, bony lingered pestilence goes
leering down its dark alley ways,
| fever shakes the life out of its vlc
! Urns. And afterward, the bright
; sun sparkles upon the ruin washed
I foliage, and the island smiles again
• witli the innocent radiance of a
j maiden.
; Zanzibar Town is the great me
jtropolis of the east coast. It is Rome
ito the dusky pilgrim; it is Paris to
jtlie reckless wanderers from tlie.
'Bantu folk of Cape Delgudo to the
j sons of the corsairs of Oman. Its
clubs, its coffee shops, its cinemas,
i its durk. arched rooms where dusky
belles from India, Arabia, the
Somali coast and Zanzibar, giggle
and shrill and dance monotonous
dances; its spreading mango trees
under whose shelter tlie torches
burn, and the torn toms beat the
measure of night long ngomai; its
shops tumbling with riches of
roughly curved ivory and ebony, or
! hammered Cingalese silver and
gems; its bazars, gaudy with cheap
cloth—kikoys, hodrunks, kanzus—
bright with prints of flags and ships
and emblems of royalty; the great
ships lying in its rouds, pouring into
Hie lap of black Africa the increas
ing luxuries of Europe; the dhows
bearing commerce from the Persian
Gulf, the Seychelles and Madagas
car—all, all and more, contribute to
th<j renown and lure of Zanzibar.
My huge old Arab house had the
reputation of being haunted. I'n
fortfjnately 1 cannot prove this; hut
every night at 2 in the morning 1
awakened and lay for many minutes
listening to the few faint sounds
that tapped musically upon the bell
of silence—the everlasting whispers
and laughter of the waves upon the
beach, the tap-lap-tap of death's
head beetles in tlie berities of the
ceiling, the rustling movement of
rats, the clear silver tinkle of ships'
hells in the harbor, tlie unexpected
rattle of a chain, far off, the plain
tive shriek of a lemur, the stirring
of palm fronds outside my window.
Turning nvy head, I could look out
through tlie porticos across the
water, silvery under tlie moon, with
red and white and green lights
glowing front tlie gray shadows of
ships. A pale brooding moon some
times gazed at me from behind a
Inn of palms; anil then ghosts would
truly steal about me, tender, minls
i taring ghosts memories of other
days and dim dreams that -may yet
come true. In their arms I'd sink
again to sleep.
Why America Is Slow
[From Kansas City Times]
Mr. Lloyd George's speech in the
j house of commons shows a natural.
|if concealed, impatience over
America's slowness with the peace
| treaty, it is difficult for a British
I premier to realize just the conditions
I that have produced ttiis situation,
i Before Mr. Lloyd George went to
I the .peace conference he asked the
1] country for a vote of confidence and
' , i#|!t it- Had lie failed lie would not
! have gone to Paris. Before Mr. Wil
t ' son went to the conference he asked
1 the eountry for a vote of confidence
j and was turned down. Nevertheless
|he went to Paris anil insisted on
• t I negotiating a covenant for a League
B j of Nations which was a radical de
_ ' parture from the Nation's foreign
, policy. He did this not only in the
y | face of the country's adverse vote,
0 but without'consulting the leaders
. of the opposition whose consent he
p j hud to have to ratify the work done
r in Paris.
( j Such a situation would be almost
I inconceivable to a British statesman,
where no public man can remain in
: i ofn cc after he has lost the support
" |or the.people as represented in the
I House of Commons. But since Mr.
i Lloyd George recognizes that it
• j actually exists he will see that the
e | treaty has precipitated in America a
" I contest between democratic govern
e j ment and executive autocracy which
'• ] must be settled in favor of democ
- | racy before the treaty can be rati
e : fled.
The treaty of peace could be rati
fied to-day provided it could be
separated from the League Covenant
which the President has sought to
force through the Senate against its
will by making it a rider on the
peace settlement.
Offers Reward in Vain
[From Kansas City Times]
When an editor uses canned edi
torials, he knows he is laying him
self open to_ the scorn of his ex
changes, whi'e[j see through the de
ception, but a good many think that
is offset by the flattering prestige
they win in their home towns by the
knowledge and wit unknowing read
ers give them credit for. But some
thing always happens, soon or late,
to expose their hypocrisy, and just
now Mitchell White adds to the
Christmas joy of this department by
i writing that 'a certain Missouri
[country editor has been cured,
j Pressed for time, he measured off a
I yard of the syndicated copy and let
it go to tlie printer without reading
it carefully. Not till the paper was
in the mails did he learn that one
of the canned editorials warmly
criticized a certain public matter
which his wife the previous day had
praised in a club paper. To make
matters worse, the editorial said all
I who held opinions similar to those
his wife had expressed were lacking
in the normtfl amount of gray mat
ter. At last accounts the editor still
was alive, but was offering a ton of
newsprint to anyone who could
show hint a way to save both his
skin and his face. Moral: No edi-'
tor should print anything he won't
take time to read himself.
Sure, New York Is Dry
This is the way to order wine with
a dinner nowadays in New York, ac
cording to Herbert Corey, war cor
respondent and feature writer:
First you establish relations with
the head waiter. Then you wait for
the proper moment. Then you sum
mon him and ask in a loud, clear
tone, so that every one within hear
ing distance can catch the words:
"Charley, did a boy leave a pack
age here for me?"
"I don't know, sir," says Charley,
"I will inquire, sir."
By and ]>y he comes back.
"Yes. sir," says he. "There is a
package in the hat-cheek room for
you."
"Bring it in," says you.
So the package comes in, all nicely
wrapped up in plenty of white
paper. It is handed over the table
to you with as much ostentation as
the waiter can contrive. And you
open it, and there is a bottle or sev
eral bottles of wine.
"Frappe it," says you. "And
•erre."
lEontttigGffat
i' 1
This is a tribute to those who
I*l a. d o Harrlsburg's most lavish
< hrlstinus possible. It seems to be
generally agreed that never was so
much money put into preparations
I ° r the Kreat holiday in the history
aia c ;ln<l f ertainly stores never
did such u business in everything
from furs to flowers. And the dis
tribution of the enormous amount of
material that went into the State
capitals Christmas probably kept
more men and women hustling than
recorded heretofore. Harrisburg
bought early and it bought late and
when the time came to close the
stoics on Wednesday there were still
buyers, just as when the cars made
their owl" runs around midnight
there were rolks with bundles going
homeward. So here's to the people
who made'it possible. The men and
women in the stores say that they
accumulated a rare experience in
human nature and all kinds of
money. One of the features was the
number of checks. More people ap
peared to have bank accounts 'and
there was any quantity of gold
passed over the counters and into
the drawers and registers. It must
be confessed that many store people
'pund that folks bought expensive '
things. Prices were high for every
thing, hut height was not much of
i deterrent even when candy cost
♦ 1.00 a pound and plain sweaters sl2
to $1 i .50. The delivery forces were
kepi on tlie jump. The ordinary
•qiiipmcnt of several establishments
was inadequate and trucks and auto
mobiles were secured to lielp otit.
I rucks for hire that were not com
mindeered, to all intents and pur
poses, by the postal authorities to
handle an unprecedented quantity of
mail and parcel post matter were in
lemuiul and got ulniost their own
rates. Delivery entered mightily into
the cost of things this Christmas.
Tlie post office force was pressed
against the walls and even with extra
help struggled far into Christmas
lay to get its work out of the way.
eating meals on tlie fly and catching' ,
sleep when tlie chance came.
The Christmas rush gave the Har
risburg Railways Company the hard
est tost it lias ever lifid to meet and
th e Valley Railways Company
poured thousands of buyers into Har
risburg and took them out again. It
was a hectic week for the trolley
people and conductors and motor
men thanked heaven that custom lias
so firmly established in Harrisburg
that folks pay as they enter. Old
fashioned fare taking in the crowds
that jammed the cars would have
been a trial to tlie spirit and a
menace to clothes. Cars were
crowded and the people insisted on
crowding them. Crowds paralyzed
schedules every now and then and
many people got home late, but it
was because public demands were
pressed upon the public utility. Every
car that could be sent out was in
service for the "day before" and the,
"night before" was of a kind that
caused one veteran conductor to re
mank: "Say, what would it have
been like with this crowd and there
had been no proliibitioni"
Just one shivering bellsnickle, tlie
embodiment of loneliness and melan
choly, was to be seen in the shop
ping district Wednesday night. Gone
were the old-time exponents of hi
larity and mummery who used to
make Third and Market streets joy
ous jams and twit the soda foun
tain-clerks and Josh the bartenders.
Absence of tlie old-time celebrators
was one of tlie striking things and
winds that swept around corners
were asking why the change to Hal
lowe'en and New Year's night. Prob
ably it came because Christmas eve
is always a time of rush to get pres
ents delivered and to buy those last
ones, all of which keeps many peo
ple employed and out of the fun.
• •
But Market street still had Its
orange salesmen. Descendants of
those cur.bstonc merchants who lined
the street between Third and the
railroads in the eighties were all out
Saturday night. They were not .lin
eal, perhaps, but they were in the
same old places and tbey sold the
same "Florida russets" and other
types that they did when somo of us
were much younger with the same
old cries, although the prices they
asked, and got, were of a variety that
would have, caused a near riot in
1592. Perhaps there were lacking
the flaring torenes that ornamented
wagons and made buyers choke, but
the wagons looked like those of the
nineties and there were some backed
. into Dewberry alley just the way they
1 used to be placed when the Patriot
i was printed on Market street and
lowering of a pair of shears on a
cord as a fishing experiment
not unknown among printers and
budding journalists. These Christ
mas eve orange merchants are a
curious lot. They do not seem to
appear except on the "night before."
• • •
From what the postmen say, and
they certainly appeared to be ex
perts in ways of giving from the
packs that they carried and the
loads that they bore, there were
more Harrisburg people who turned
to that delightful custom of sending
Christmas cards than ever before.
The mails for three days have been
filled with cards and when one comes
to think of it few ways of greeting
are more appealing And it may bo
added that no matter liow busy the
man or woman or how surrounded
with the facilities of modern corre
spondence, making up of the list and
addressing of the envelopes is not
very often passed on to some one
else.
• •
Returning to our opening thought,
did you remember the postman and
1 the milkman with a plate of cakes?
' They .contributed considerably to the
' | making of the day.
] WELL KNOWN PEOPLE I
\
1 Provost 10. F. Smith, of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, entertained
the students who could not go home
for Christmas yesterday.
Rembrandt Peale, operators' rep
resentative in the coal dispute, is a
Pennsylvania!! with half a dozen
i Pennsylvania generations behind
• him. _ _
Ex-Congressman S. W . McCall,
well known here, has declined a
i judgeship in Massachusetts.
p r . William Draper Ixvria, see
• retary of the Constitutional Revision
' Commission, has written a book ou
■ Roosevelt.
—A. C. Gumbert, Allegheny county
• Coihmissioner, has been elected
president of the Republican Tariff
, Club, of Pittsburgh.
• \ 00 YOU 1
—That Harrisburg bank de-
IKiKtts have climbed considerably '
' I in tlie last si* months?
i
i HISTORIC HARRISBURG
—John Harris established the Ural
[ grain warehouse for this section Ja
yrhat is now Harris Park.