6 3lit &tar-3niiep?ttiirnt < Established in 1879) Published b- THK STAR PRINTING COMPANY, f Star.lndapaidant BulMlng, M-20-22 South Third Street, Harrleburf. Pa. Kvery Evening K»eept Sundey Officer*; Dirteitrt < BENJAMIN P. JO*N L,. L. KBHK. President. WM. W WiLLOWIR, Vice President. W " K Wm K MITEM, Secretary and Trcainrer. WM. W WAXLOWXR. WM 11 WARNER, V. HCMMEL BERSBACS. JR., Butinea« Manager. Editor. All communications should be addressed to STAR INDEPENDENT, Business. Editorial. Job Priutlnf or Circulation Department According to the subject matter Entered at the Post Offlee In Rarriiburg as second-class matter. Benjamin & Kentnor Company, New Tork and Chicago Representatives. New York Offlee, Brnnswick Building. 225 Fifth Avenue. Chicago Office, People's Has Building, Michigan Avenue. Delivered by carriers at 6 cents a week. Mailed to subscriber! for Three Dollars s /eat in advance. THE STAP-INOEPKNDENT The paper with the largest. Homt Circulation in Harrisburg and toearby towns. Circulation Examine* by THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN ADVERTISERS. TELEPHONES ° BELL " Private Branch Exchange. No. 3280 CUMBERLAND VALLEY Private Branch Exchange, . No. 545-24S Monday, November 30, 1914. NOVEMBER Sun. Mon. Tuos. Wed. Thnr. Frl. Sat. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ' 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 '23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3Q MOON'S PHASES— Full Moon, 2nd; Last Quarter, 10th; New Moon, 17th; First Quarter, 21th. WEATHER FORECASTS Harrisburg anrl vicinity: I'nsettled I.weather, probably light rain this after noon, to-night and Tuesday. Warmer P ~ itffi to-night with lowest temperature about Eastern Pennsylvania: Unsettled ■" '• weather to night and Tuesday with oc ciisional rain. Not much change in tem l v jiii/ perature. Moderate to fresh east to southeast winds. YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE IN HARRISBXJRO Highest, 49; lowest, 29; 8 a. m., 32; 8 p. m., 44. ILLINOIS' ONE-MAN SENATE TJie slate of Illinois has practically a one-man Senate, and the one man is a Bull Mooser. Senator George W. Harris was not elected this Fall. He is a hold-over and he is ihc only repre sentative ot' the Progressive party who has a seat in tin* upper branch of the Illinois Legislature. By strange accident or. perhaps, by an act of Provi dence. the rest of the Senate is equally divided between the other two parties, there being twenty live Republicans and twenty-five Democrats. That means 1 hat on all strictly party measures to lie voted on, the lone Bull Mooser will have the decid ing ballot. In other words Senator Harris, by his own vote, can pass or kill every bill that comes before the Senate with unbroken party backing. The circum stance of his odd position makes him practically the law-maker for the whole of the important state of Illinois. Naturally both parties already are curry ing the favor of Senator Harris. lie is being ban quetted and flattered and he can dictate the ap pointment of practically any official whose con firmation depends on the action of the Senate. But wisely Senator Harris thus far has given no indication that'he will side either with the Demo crats or the Republicans. What he should do is maintain an independent attitude. Pei-haps he is enjoying the situation and will keep both sides on pins and needles throughout the whole session. Doubtless great temptations will be cast in the way of the Bull M-ooser Senator to win his support for measures of one or the other of the leading parties, but if he lets his conscience and intelli gence govern his vote he can maintain a position of great power and of great good in the state of Illinois. Moreover, if lie has any sense of humor he can at the same time enjoy himself immensely. Illinois and, for that matter, the whole- country will watch the course of Senator Harris with a great deal of interest and will expect him to "make good" tyra strictly independent law-maker. WAR LACKS ESTABLISHED LAWS War knows no laws, it would seem. On the prin ciple that "all's fair" fighting has been carried on in all sorts of unrestricted ways, despite efforts at international legislation. In the present conflict it is evident that each contending nation is a law unto itself. The alleged seizure recently by British naval forces of neutral merchant vessels, for the purpose of taking German subjects found thereon as pris oners of war, provides an example of the im potency of sueh so-called international laws as exist, when they are put to the test they are now being put to. The German government complained about Great Britain's actions, on the basis of the Declaration of London. The attitude of the United States gov ernment, of course, was that since some of the powers now engaged in war had not ratified the Declaration of London in 1909, this country could not longer recognize that declaration as a code of naval warfare, deciding to rest its position on traditional American policy. Its own traditional policy is all that any country, contending or neutral, can rely upon as the founda tion of its plans or the justification of its actions, so long as international law is not regarded as abiding law. International law cannot be regarded as such until it can be established by unanimous agreement of nations, administered by a duly au- HABRISBURQ STAR-INDEPENDENT, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 30, 1914. thorieed tribunal and enforced by a fully empow ered joint agency. Even football haa its established rules, —binding, unbending rules, and players who break them are penalized. Supporters of opposing sides, as well as neutral spectators, uphold the enforcement of rules on the gridiron. Yet the game of war knows no laws, and has no penalties for violations of prin ciples and policies. > MR. BRYAN PLAYED SAPE Mr. Bryan, with characteristic caution, refused to let a woman embrace him. The spinster, declar ing herself to be a long lost cousin of the Secre tary of State, attempted to throw her arms around his neck at the end of his speech in the Auditorium, in Chicago, yesterday, but the wily diplomat would have none of it. He caught her arms, in his strong hands and said emphatically and determinedly something like this: "No, no, miss! It may be true, as you say, that you are a cousin of the Bryans, but you cannot hug me until the relationship is established." And then the square jaws of the Secretary closed firmly. Lucky Bryan! What a narrow escape you had! Roosevelt, perhaps, would have taken a chance, but Mr. Bryan is not so reckless. Perhaps the Secretary of State had in mind how the political aspirations of one Richmond Pearson Hobson were shattered by a policy of indiscrimi nate kissing which made him look ridiculous in the eyes of the great electorate. Peihaps the Secre tary of State has political aspirations for 1916. Perhaps he is willing to run again for President of the United States and that being the case, mustn't one be cautious? Well done, William, you have played safe! MARK TWAIN THE MASTER HUMORIST To-day is the birthday of Mark Twain. It is not being celebrated. It is remembered perhaps only by the master humorist's most ardent admir ers. Yet it is a day which might well call forth some slight tokens of esteem for "the Lincoln of our literature." Seventy-nine years ago to-day Mark Twain en tered the world which he has so wonderfully bright ened. He subsequently looked back upon his birth as quite an important event, since his arrival in the small Missouri town of a hundred inhabitants increased the population one per cent. That was his way of looking at it. The fact of the matter is that the entire world has gained for his having been in it, —gained far beyond any computations by percentages of population. Although three of Mark Twain's best books have their scene in the Mississippi valley, the versatile author was not rooted to a locality as is too often the case with average novelists. His first scene was Palestine, in "The Innocents Abroad," and subse quently he extended his territory very rapidly. There is a broadness in more ways than one throughout all of his works, —works which are for tunate posterity's certain heritage. As a humorist he is best known, yet it is, to some extent, as a humanist that he deserves his high rank. The philosopher in some respects surpasses the funster. Mark Twain is not to take his chief place 111 the world's regard with Artemus Ward, Josh Hillings and Mr. Dooley. He is rather of the make of Cer vantes, Molliere and Lamb. He, with Irving and Lowell, represents the richness of American humor and gives this country a place in that department of the world of letters of which it can be justly proud. , Born seventy-nine years ago under Ilalley's comet, Mark Twain died four years ago, by an 0(53 coincidence, when the ftomet made its next appear ance in the sky. His works live, and are ever growing in popular ity. He will he forgotten when Tom Sawyer's white washing contract ceases to be comical; when Mul berry Sellers' remarks about turnips become trite; when Huckleberry Finn's life story has no pathos; when the diaries of Adam and Eve are no longer interesting, and when the tale of Joan of Arc has no vigor. He will be forgottea then, —and only then. Nothing is so uncertain as football—gave war. not flip a coin and decide the European war just as effectively and without so much loss of life? The Democratic national organization already is decid ing on issues for the 1916 campaign; but it's a long, long way to Tipperary. Speaking of soft berths, we do not envy Seth Low, Charles W. Mills and Patrick Gilday theirs. These are the men selected by President Wilson to settle the Colorado strike. Twenty-four couples took out marriage licenses in this city on the day before Thanksgiving, and on Saturday a Hagerstown couple were married in this county. Is the Maryland city losing its attractions as a Gretna Green f TOLD IN LIGHTER VEIN THE TEST OF RESEMBLANCE Knicker—"Whom doe* the baby look likef" Bocker—"Like the most money."—New York Sun. WHAT FATHER WORE The bride entorod the drawing-room on the arm of her father, who wore a gown of white charmeuse satin, trim med in Venetian point lace and with veil of the same.— Cherry (O.) Circle. NO NEW ONES "After all," said the editor's assistant, "the old jokes are the best." "Why shouldn't they be f" demanded the editor; "there's no competition."—Philadelphia Evening Ledger. ONLY ONCE IN A WTTTT.H! Her Husband —"I'm afraid our wedding trip will take all the cash I've saved up." Mrs. Beno-Freed (cheeringly)—"Never mind, dear. A wedding trip only happens once in three or fonr yeare." Kansas City Journal. / ■ \ | Tongue-End Top ics|| The Last Surveyor General The late General Robert B. Beath, who died in Philadelphia and was 'buried lost Saturday, was the last man to hold the position of Surveyor Gen eral in Pennsylvania. He was elected in 1871 and served uatil 1875, the office in the meantime merged witlh the Bureau of •Statistics into the now De partment of Internal Affairs. General Beath was a gallaiuit soldier. He served aa commander-in-chief of t'be Grand Army of the Republic. He was a fre quent visitor to Harrisburg, "being a member of various State boards, and was very active as a trustee of t'be Homo for Sokliers and Sailors estab lished by the State in Erie—a beauti ful home on the lake shore. General Beath "s last appearance in Harrisburg was on the Qfcasion of the transfer of the oM baltle flags from the flag room in the library building to the cases in the rotunda of the Capitol. On that occasion 'he sat boneait'h a tree in the [ark wijh a party of old comrades and seemed to enjoy the ceremonies very much. * * * Position Held by Veterans When the ■office of Surveyor General was abolished and merged with that of Secretary of Internal Affairs, the first head of the new department to be elect ed was General William MicCandless, of Philadelphia, a colonel in the Pennsyl vania Reserves, known as "Btickey" McOandless. It was McCandless who led tihe charge at Little Round Top in the Gettysburg tattle tiht succeeded in driving the Confederates from t'hait po sition and secured for Meade the key position to the gToat fight. The Penn sylvania Reserves won that honor after an awful struggle otj the fateful second day of the fight, when each army was playing lor position. Colonel Aaron K. Dunkel, another Civil war veteran, sue-' ceedell McOandless in the office of Sec retary of Internal Affairs, and other veterans who he'ld tille position are Gen eral Thomas J. Stewart, Major Isaac B. Brown and General James W. Laifcba, all of whom are living. ® * ,l Nothing Dry About the Library It was in a local option county, dur ing the time when local option pre vailed in a number of counties in the State and even treating friends to a so cial glass was tabooed. One man in a county adjoining this one invited a friend to pass a social evening and dur ing the pleasant converse inVited him to view his library. There was a line array of books, all of theni classics, —- volumes of poems and bound magazines, —and it certainly showed fine literary taste on the part of the hbst. Thp vis itor,, wishing to glance thror.gh one of the volumes, took it from the shelf and remarked that it was lig'it in weight for the sisse of the volume. When he opened it ho found that it was hollow, consisting only of the sides 'anil back, and the interior held a flash containing old rye whiskev. "It■» a way 1 have of concealing tho fact that J have any of the stuff in the house,'' explained tube host. "Have one wit'h mo!" And tjjev poured a li bation to literature as found in that particular library. Evidence of Ancient of Japs The occupation of the Son