THE WEATHER
SNOW TO NIGHT
COLDER TO-MORBOW
(totalled Krpurt. i'lgf •
VOL. 77—NO. 18.
ESTABLISHED
nur. «. ISTH.
BOMB OROPS
INTO DOVER;
NO DAMAGE
A Missile From Hostile
Aeroplane Falls in
Garden and Explodes
Without Effect
BRITISH AIRCRAFT
GOES IN PURSUIT!
Obstinate Fighting Continues Along the
Russian Front on the Left and
Right Banks of the Pillca—Petro
grad Reports Successes
London, Dec. 24, 1.25 P. M.—Hostile!
aeroplanes dropped a bomb over Dover
this morning and then disappeared ac
cording to a statement made this aft
ernoon by the official press bureau. The
text of the statement follows:
"An aeroplane of the enemy dropped'
a bomb while passing over Dover this
morning. The missile fell in a garden i
and exploded, but no damage was done.
The aeroplane was seen for a few sec
onds only. It left immediately passing
out over the sea. A British air craft'
went up but did not see the enemy
again. The weather was cloudy and
foggy."
This German raid from tihe air on
the city of Dover is the first news ot
an authentic character of any hostile;
air craft visiting Great Britain. The i
machine to-day came from the direction j
of Deal and was flying very high. It j
was not sighted from Dover until it
suddenly emerged from the clouds. Ap
parently the objective I
for thuim from !
The aeroplane fell in the garden in the
rear of St. James' rectory which is lo- j
t ated in front of the castie. The win- '
dows in the rectory and some of the
houses immediately surrounding the rec- ;
tory were broken.
Fog made easy the escape of the hos
tile airship. Immediately after he hai
dropped his bomb the pilot started
straight across the channel. Two Brit
on aero, anes went up in an endeavor
to catch the raider, but tthe hostile j
snip had too much of a start and could:
German Aeroplane Brought Down
Paris, Dec. 24, 4.30 A. M.—A Ger
man aeroplane trying to reach Paris,!
says the "Journal," was pursued and
brought down by the French air pa
trol at Pontoise, 19 miles northwest of j
Paris. Sunday.
Fierce Fighting on Russian Front
Petrograd, Dec. 2 4.—A statement
issue; by the official press bureau to-!
day regarding the fighting upon the'
Russian front says:
"On the left bank of the Piliea ob-I
stinate fighting continues in the region
of the villages of Jesenzee and Ko
jokowlaolia. about six miles west of
Nawemiasto. On the right bank of'
the Piliea we have made progress in \
the vicinity of Opoezno and Tomaszow.
"In Galicia our success continues.!
•South of the Vistula we captured, dur
ing the 20th and 21st, sixty-six officers
and 5,800 men, and three cannon. In ;
the Carpathians, while pursuing the re-j
treating Austrians, we captured on De-;
eember 22, thirty officers and about 1,-
500 men.
"Near Przemvsl the Austrians at 1
tempted a new sortie during which sev- i
eral of their advance companies were j
completely annihilated. Other advance I
companies were made prisoners. In
this affair we seized about a mile of
railway leading into the city."
EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH
DVIXG, IS ROME REPORT
Rome. Dec. 24.—A rumor is in cir
culation here that Emperor Francis Jo-''
seph of Austria-Hungary is dying. The'
report is that tht Kmperor has received
the last sacraments.
Kaiser's Son for Hungary Throne
London, Dec. 24, 3.58 A. Al.—The
"Morning Post's" Petrograd corres-1
pondent says:
"Germany is energetically pushing)
the candidacy of Prince Eitel Fred- j
erick for the throne of Hungary, the
independence of which is expected to -
be one result of the war." Prince
Eitel Frederick is the second son of
Emperor William.
C!)c Sfer - Stik^nkwi
LATE WAR NEWS SUMMARY
To-day's official statements reveal
the intense nature of the fighting now
In progress both east and west, but in
dicate that, with the possible exception
of East Prussia, there has been no
significant change in the alignment of
tho opposing forces.
The Oerman statement tells of a
fight, for possession of a trench in
France which was won by the French,
recaptured by the Germans and finally
abandoned. So fierce was the struggle
that the trench was almost levelled by
j artillery tire. No important movements
are reported in the German communi
cation.
The French statement, while sayin?
that small gains have been made here
and there, mentions German attacks
; at so many points that it is apparent
the allies have not been permitted
solely to take the offensive into their
own hands. Such ground as they have
won recently is not to be held without
j hard fighting.
The fighting in Poland has become
most severe and at the points along
the lln e west of Warsaw the issue is be
j ing fought out with bayonets. The
j Berlin War Office states that the Rus-
I sian advance in East Prussia has been
! checked and that the Russians at
i Mlawa in Poland near the Prussian
• border have been defeated.
A French cruiser in the strait of
Otranto, near the Southern end of
Continued on Thirteenth I'mtr.
RAISER CIVES CHRISTMAS
CHEER ALONE THE FRONT
London, Dec. 24, 3.55 A. M.—Em
peror William is traveling in an armor
ed special train among his troops
j scattered along the Belgian and French
front, delivering to thorn the season's
) greetings, according to a "Daily Ex
press" frontier correspondent.
"The train," the correspondent
says, "makes stops at all iiuj>ortant
points and the Emperor receives the
local chiefs at each halting place, dis
cusses the local situation and leaves
: his greetings to his soldiers.
"Of course it is not announced
where he will spend Christmas Day,
but he will be close to the front and
a Christmas message from him will be
delivered to each soldier through the
general staff.
"Christmas will be celebrated in the
German trenches. There will be plenti
ful feasts, many gifts from home and
many small Ciiri<tnias trees iu most of
; the underground shelters, camps aud
■ hopitals, and even on board the troop
trains.''
ESSAD PASHrTPALACE IS
REPORTED TfiffiON FIRE
London, Dec. 24, 9.50 A. M.—A dis
patch from Durazzo, Albania, to the
("Central News" says that the palace
I of Essad Pasha at Tirana has been set
I afire.
I . -
Essad Pasha, always prominent in
Albanian military and political circles,
was named provisional president fol
lowing the recent retirement of Prince
William of Wied, who had been selected
by the Powers to rule Albania. Essad
Pasha was last reported as advancing
on Scutari an i it was said that he had
I proclaimed a holy war in Albania.
Tirana where his palace is located
is about TO miles south of Scutari.
SECOND INDIAN SEIZED
ON CHARGE OF ROBBERY
Genus Baird, a Graduate of the Carlisle
School, Accused With Lewis Twinn
in Connection With Brutal Assault
on Old Woman
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Carlisle, Pa.. Dee. 2 4. —The arrest of
a second Indian was made to-day in
' connection with the robbery last Mon
day night of Mrs. Lydia Lewis, who
was choked and sandbagged and at the
point of a revolver compelled to tell the
i hiding place of her Christmas savings,
*2O. Her home is within two squares
of the heart of the town and she was
attacked while she lay ill in bed.
The police this morning took into
custody Genus Baird, a graduate of the
! Carlisle Indian school and now em
| ployed in the printing department of
j that institution. Baird, tJhe police say,
I is a friend of Lewis Twinn, also an In
j dian, who yesterday was arrested in
i connection with this same crime. -Both
1 redmen for a month or more had been
| erhployed at the Indian school, Twinn
, having come here from Harrisburg and
; Baird from Philadelphia, to which cities
j they had gone after graduation at the I
| Carlisle Indian school.
When arrested Baird denied that he
was in town on Friday night, the time
ox the robbery, although the police say
he later admitted having been here for
several weeks. However Baird disclaims
having any knowledge of the crime.
Tne two defendants were to have been
given a preliminary hearing before
Justice of the Peace W. G. Hughes to
: day, but it had to be postponed because
I of tne illness of Mrs. Lewis, the victim.
Physicians now say that Mrs. Lewis,
I w-ho is past GO years old. will recover, i
Baird, while attending the Indian
'.School, was a menioer of the baseball j
; team. He also was a catcher on an in-
I dependent team on which Sherwood Ma
! nee, long a member of the Philadelphia
Nationals, was a player.
Boston Nationals Get Magee
Philadelphia, Dec. 24. —Sherwoo' R.
Magee. the hard-hitting outfielder of the
Philadelphia National League Club, was
I to-day traded to the Boston Nationals
| for cash anil some players.
HARRIS BURG, PA., THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 24, 1914 14 PAGES.
SAWDUST YIELDS
INI BORES
Coins, Pocketbooks,
Hatpins and Other
Valuables Are Found
on Tabernacle Floor
COSTLY MESH
BAG UNCOVERED
All These Articles May Be Obtained by
the Owners After Identification—
Big Supply of Coats and Um
brellas Awaits Claimants
If .vou have, while attending meet
ings (it the Stough tabernacle, lost any
«#oins, hatpins, haudkerchiefs, buttons,
or perchance pocketbooks, the articles
are now being recovered, t'or the saw
dust is giving up its treasures.
For the last day or two workmen
engaged in dismantling the big buihliug
have been kicking industriously around
in the sawdust covering of the ground
tioor and the kicks have brought to light
a great variety of lost articles. There
are coins of various denominations—•
none so high iu value as to cause much
excitement—'but sufficient in number to
make up a total of many dollars.
And of hat', ins there is no end. All
women white attending tabernacle meet
ings were asked to remove their hate,
and then in the confusion of changing
to make room for the traii hitters, they
naturally dropped their hatpius if they
were not extremely careful, and the
sawdust promptly clostvl in over the
pins. The harvest of these hatpins cov
ers a period of seven weeks, so there
are enough of them to equip a small
army of militant suffragists.
Many Pocketbooks Pound
The buttons, from men's coats as
well as from women's coats, are uo
small consideration either. In some
cases they are of no value but it is be
lieved that many of the buttons lost by
tbeir owners, since they sue of the
sorts that cannot readilv be replaced
and without tiiem the women would
| have to wear coats with different but
tous which they do not as a rule fancy
doing.
fc Among the pocketbooks there is a
iJOesh bag of some value • im—Uum*; ■al
though it cuntains little money. Some
of the pocketbooks are entirely empty,
evidently having been lost after the
collections had been lifted. Others con
tain a few ?mall coins.
Handkerchiefs there are sullicient to
Contlnnril on Kiglith I'ncc.
5 DEAD IN TENEMENT FIRE
Suffocated When Trapped by Blaze
That Starts in Basement and Gains
Headway Through Elevator Shaft
By Associated Press,
\ ork, l>ec. 21.—Five members
of a family occupying an apartment on
the top floor of a five-story apartment
house, 316 West Forty-ninyi street,
were trapped iu a lire early to-day that
started in the basement and spread ra -
idlv up the elevator shafts. Four mem
bers of the family were suffocated be
fore aid could reach them, the fifth
dying soon atfer being taken to a hos
pital. The dead are:
Mrs. Mary torso, 4S years old; her
three sons. Charles. 21; Frank, 19, and
Harry, 7, and her niece, Grace Anadale,
S years old.
The only surviving member of the
famih, Arthur Corso, a telephone opera
tor at the Polyclinic hospital, was on
duty when the tire started and ordered
out ambulances and surgeons to the
scene. He did not learn of the deaths
if his relatives until his mother was
brought into the hospital where *he
died.
SHE CETS BACK LOST $505
Mrs. Filling, Through Detective White,
Recovers Money That Vanished
During Shopping Trip
Mrs. William Filling, 1408 North
Sixth street, at noon to-day reported to
the police the loss of a purse containing
Mrs. Filling said she believed she
was robbed while shopping in a store
on North Third street. City Detective
Harry C. \\ hite traced the purse to a
home in the West End of the city and
recovered it from a woman who told
him, he said, that her daughter had
found it.
Nothing had been removed from the
purse. The money was made up of
$lO5 in cash and a S4OO certificate of
deposit.
JAMES A. ANDREWS TO WED
Manager of Harrisburg Baking Com
pany to Be Married To-morrow
Announcement was made to-day of
the engagement of James A. Andrews,
president and general manager of the
Harrisburg Baking Company, and Miss
Josephine Henry, o<t Chicago, 111. The
■wedding wiH take place at the home
of the bride in Chicago, at high noon
to-morrow, Chrirtmas Day.
More than a dozen of the bride
elect 's school chums will be attendants
at the wedding. The honeymoon will
include a trip to the seashore, New
York and Boston. The couple will be
«t home at 39 North Seventeenth
street, tfiis city, aifteir February 1.
FINE VIEW OF OLD CAPITOL
IS THE NEWSBOYS' CREETINC
The Star-Independent Carriers To-day
Are Distributing Their New Year's
Calendar, Which Is a Work of Rare
Historic Value and Artistic Beauty
The Star-Independent's faithful car
rier boys—the youngsters who every
day all year 'round, whether in the
heat of summer or through winter's
snow drifts, bring the news to your
home in the evening—are to-day dis
tributing their a.mual New Year's
greeting—a beautiful reproduction of a
photograph of the old Capitol building,
with a calendar attached.
From an architectural viewpoint, for
its natural beautv and for its historic
value, the old Capitol, which was de
stroyed by flames on February 2, 1537,
was a building the memory of which is
dear to all loyal Pennsylvanians and es
pecially to the people of the city in
which it was so long a landmark.
Iu reproducing the building for the
Star-Independent newsboys' greeting
the artist lias produced ail exceptionally
fine picture. The clear outlines of the
old building as it stood for years on the
summit of Capitoi Hill are brought out
as never before, and not a single feature
of the colonial architecture ot the struc
ture is lost. The calendar is of inter
est and value not only to those who re
member the old Capitol and cherish
that memory, but ilso to the younger
generation who never saw this build
ing.
The newsboys who have served the
Star-Independent's readers so well and
so faithfully throughout the last year
are a wortliv set who believe thoroughly
j in the existence of OUI Saint Nick, and
i they are not being forgotten in their
rounds of the "ity tc deliver their greet
ing to-day.
WOMAN. 80 JESS FROZEN
Old Servant of Bossier Family Found
With Feet in Stream and Ice
Formed Around Them
1 (Special to the Star-Independent.)
Carlisle, Pa., Dec. 24. — Betty Tay
lor, a colored "mammy" past eighty
years old, hist evening was found by
a policeman when she was sitting half
frozen along the hank of the Letort
Spring, a small stream running through
the town, with her feet hanging down
in the water. She was in a semi-con
scious condition when discovered and
to-day A jihvsician said she is danger
« fesMt Ttt exposure. It is
feared she wijl not recover.
Members of her family said the old
woman, at times, becomes mentally de
ranged and that she suffered such an
attack last evening when, instead of
gjing shopping as she had planned,
she wandered aimlessly about until she
reached the bank of the stream. She
left her home early in the evening and
the search for her was not begun until
almost two hours afterward when the
family became alarmed because of her
prolonged absence.
Patrolman Johns joined the family
in the search for Mrs. Taylor and ho
found her at the Ijetort Spring. She
was thinly clad. Ice had formed
around her shoe top. Although she was
visibly affected by the cold, she made
no complaint or explanation to the po
liceman or her family.
For many years the old colored wom
an lias been employed as a domestic in
the home of Frank Bossier, in Carlisle.
The Bossier family recently went away
on a pleasure trip and since then she
had been staying at her own home in
the east end of town.
SQl'lßL'i OFFICE BURNED OUT
Bucket Brigade Saves Nearby Build
ings in Hamlet of Benvenue
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Inglenook, Pa., Dec. 24.—'Fire of
mysterious origin was discovered at 7
o'clock last night in the office of Squire
John Ziegler, a Benvenue coal dealer,
in Benvenue, two miles ">uth of here.
The dailies consumed the building, caus
ing a loss estimated at SSOO. One hun
dred dollars insurance was carried on
the building.
Not more than a dozen families live
in Benvenue. which is a '.lainlet without
organized fire protection, and the men
attracted to the fire formed a bucket
brigade, turning their efforts toward
saving nearby buildings.
Besides being the .justice of the pe«ace
of Reed township, Ziegler is a member
of the township School Board and he
was attending exercises which were
being held in the school house here when
tlhe fire was discovered.
The squire lost some of his law
books, carpenter tools and other prop
erty. 'Mrs. Ziegler was alone in her
home not more than fifty feet from the
office when the (ire was discovered.
HE! PS VALE DEFEAT NAVY
E. J. Stackpole, Jr., of This City,
Thought Injured Aids in Victory
The Yale basketball team smother
ed the Navy team at Annapolis .yester
day by a score of 22 to 14, the first
defeat the Academy team has sustain
ed in bwo seasons, and the second in
five seasons.
E. J. Stackpole, Jr., of Harris-burg,
who had been suffering from a badly
sprained ankle, was in the game for
fifteen minutes with Yale, and then
gave way to another man, the game
being as good as won. John C. Herman,
2d, of Harrisburg, is manager of the
YaJe team.
NO PAPER TO MORROW
Following its usual custom, to
morrow, Christmas Day, the Star-
Independent will not be issued, the
many employes of this newspaper
being given the opportunity of
spending the day with their families.
*
CHRISTMAS —1914
Mabel Cronise Jones
This is the season of jrladiiess! Hail it ye war-scarred
lands,
Reeking with gore, sing the anthem of 3 r ore,
Chanted by heavenly bands!
On fertile fields now crimsoned
And blighted by War's grim frown,
On pillage and desolation, ,
. The Christ of Peace looks down.
This is the season of mercy! Hail it ye millions who
slay!
Battlefields red, J neath your mantel of dead,
Welcome the Holy Day!
Ye monarehs who wear His symbol
And praise Him for realm and crown,
On hosts ye have maimed and murdered,
The Christ of Peace looks down.
This is the season of kindness! Greet it ye Christians
to-day,
Wading Death's flood, drunken with blood,
Cursed by the loves ye betray!
By temples reared for His worship.
Ye slaughter for paltry renown.
While waiting with infinite patience,
The Christ of Peace looks down.
II DYING BREATH
IENAIESSLAYER
Then Foreman of Sem
et-Solvay Plant at
Lebanon Succumbs
to Bullet Wound
RAY SEIDERS IS
ACCUSED OF CRIME
John E. Mills, Victim of Holdup, Makes
Supplement to Statement in Effort
to Be Fair If He Wrongfully Ac
cused Seiders
Lebanon, Ore. 2+r-—The residents of
this city, are greatly excited over the
daring and fatal holdup of John E.
Mills, the well-known foreman of the
Seniet-Solvay coke plants at North Leb
anon, near this city, Monday night at
10 o'clock, when he was shot through
the liver and robbed by two highway
men. Mills suecumiied to his wounds
early this morning.
Lying on liis deathbed, the victim of
the brutal attack yesterday made an
ante-mortem statement in which he ac-
cused Bay Seiders uf being the man who
shot him, saying: "You stopped back
three paces and shot me.' He then
added: "If it was not you who shot
me, t'hen it was your double." This was
his supplement to the statement in an
effort to be fair to the accused man.
The accusation was dramatic. Stand
ing beside Mills in his room at the Leb
anon sanitarium was Dr. A. B. G-lon
inger, who was there to see that his pa
tient would not exert himself to a great
extent. At the foot of the bed stood
the prisoner and direstly behind him
District Attorney Paul G. Adams and
County Detective Aaron Sattezahn.
Before Seiders was led to the bed
•Mills was informed by Dr. Gloninger
that a man, 'held on suspicion of shoot
ing him, was to be brought into the
room for identification. Mr. Mills' con
dition was such that he knew every
Continued on Klglith Page.
NBWVILLE SIOREBURNS
Fitee's 5-and-tO-Cent Emporium De
stroyed by Flames That for a Time
Threaten Business Center
(Special to the Star-Independent.)
Newville, Pa., Dec. 24.—The 5-and
-10-cent store of 8. M. Fitee was gutted
by a Are which broke out in the second
floor of the three-story building at 10
o'clock last night, causing losses esti
mated at $5,000. The building is a
frame structure and the fire at one time
threatened an entire block in the heart
of the business section.
Kxcellent work on the part of the
local firemen, however, prevented the
spread of the flames to the frame house
of A. M. Maxwell, immediately adjoin
ing the store.
This is the second serious fire that
has visited this town within the last
thirty days. Recently the town council
decided to purchase a $6,000 motor
driven chemical wagon.
The origin of last night's fire is a
mystery. It was discovered by Mrs.
Harry Hoover who lives directly oppo
site the Fitee store. The loss is part
ly covered by insurance.
LITTLE BABY h WALLOWS LYE
Child of Mr. and Mrs. Harry McClain
In Seriouß Condition at HospitaJ
Mervin Mc-Olain, 18 months old, sou
of Mr. and Mrs. Harry McClain, 542
South Tenth street, to-day is in a crit
ical condition in the Harrisburg hos
pital suffering from mouth and throat
burns, the result of eating a quantity
of lye last evening.
When the child screamed the moth
er snatched him up into her arms and
rushed with him to the hospital.
ELKS TO SHOW CHILDREN
A BIC TIME ON SATURDAY
All Youngsters of City Are Invited to
Visit Club House Where Christmas
Trees and Presents Have Been Pre
pared for Them
Here is a tip for youngsters of tue
city who are looking for the time of
their young lives. Let them go to the
Elks' club house, 2 111 North Second
street, on Saturday between 9 o'clock
in the morning and 2 o'clock in tho
afternoon, since a big surprise is in
store for them there.
The. grill room of the club house has
beeu fitted up for the exclusive use of
the youngsters at this time. All are
invited. They can come singly or in
crowds, ami need not be accompanied
by their parents or by anybody else's
parents. It is children's day at the
Kiks' aud the sole object is to show
the children a good time.
There will be music to begin with,
but that is only the beginning. What
will take the eye of every youthful
visitor will be the three big Christmas
trees, on a platform crowded with me
chanical toys and illuminated with
numerous colored ettrfrie lights. There
will be toys to play with and there will
be nobody to shout '' hands oil''' at
the merrymakers. Oranges will be
distributed and the shells will be
throw n all around. What active young
ster's heart could desire more?
Boxes of candy will be given to all
visitors as remembrances of the occa
sion, remembrances which may not last
long perhaps, but which it is safe to
say, will be highly acceptable.
It hail been hoped that the child
ren 's day could come before Christmas,
but as it is the children who take ad
vantage of the Klks' hospitality will
prolong their celebration and have two
Christinas davs instead of one. S
To-day, wagonloads of baskeJts con
taining provisions for needy families
left the Kiks' club house, aud were
distributed throughout the city. The
baskits contained potatoes, canned
goods, flour and fruits. The addresses
of the families where food is needed
to make to-morrow a joyful Christmas,
were received through the Associated
Charities and from other sources.
CIT Y'S TREE ALIGHT TO-NIGHT
Choir Will Sing Carols and Hymns
'Neath It to Usher in the
Christmas Season
Amid a fall of light snow thousands
of Harrisburgers will gather at the big
tree at Front and Market streets this
evening at 7.30 o'clock to celebrate
the coining of Christmas in one grand
ceremony. Six thousand school chil
dren, hundreds of men and women
singers recruited from the various
church choirs, and the Commonwealth
band will take part in the ceremonies.
The program follows: .
Concert, Commonwealth band; liymn,
"Joy to the World," choir; carol,
"W'e Three Kintge," children's choir;
short address, Mayor John K. Royal;
selection, Commonwealth band; hymns,
"Come All Ye Faithful," and "O Lit
tle Town of Bethlehem," choir; carol,
"There's a Song in the Air," chil
drens' choir; hymn, "The Silent
Knight," children's choir.
During the exercises the tree will be
lighted and motion pictures on the life
of Christ will be thrown on a screen
to the side of the big tree. Market
street will be closed to traflic between
Front and Market square, the members
of the day force of the police depart
ment being called out for special serv
ice. A space in the front of the tree
for the singers will be roped off by the
police department'.
Ambler Runs Down and Kills Man
Philadelphia, Dev. 24.—Charles A.
Amibier, of Montgomery county, candi
date for Speaker of the State House
of Representatives, to-day ran down
and killed a man named John Forsyth,
at XoMe, Pa., near here, while driving
his automobile. Mr. Ambler gave him
self up to the |>olke of Aibingtoii town
shiip, who after investigating the ac
cident, absolved him from a.ll blame.
Senator Dupont Under the Knife
By Associated Press.
Rochester, (Minn., Dec. 24. —Senator
■Henrv A. Dupont, of Delaware, under
went a serious operation for abdominal
trouble at St. Mary's hospital here to
day. His condition this afternoon was
reported as satisfactory.
POSTSCRIPT
PRICE, ONE CENT.
SNOWCOMES
IN TIME FOR
OLD ST. NICK
White Christm"as
Blows in to Make
Good Running for
Reindeer and Sleigh
COLD AND CLEAR
FOR TO-MORROW
Celebration of Yuletido Starts To-night
With Exercises Around the Muni
cipal Tree at Front and Market
Streets—Suspension of Business
Snow that began falling before 10
o'clock this morning will likely ae
cumulate on the ground in such quan
tities by midnight that Santa Clans
! will have no trouble driving behind his
I reindeer to usher in the greatest of all
holidays—Christmas.
To be sure, the snow was not on the
official program of the Weather Bu
reau, but that does not interfere with
the plans of old St. Nick when he de
cides on a white Christinas, so he just
naturally upset the calculations by
sending East a piece ot' a New Mexican
storm—just enough of it to cause snow
to-day and to-night. It will pass off
to-morrow, leaving in its place cold and
i fair weather. While the lowest tern
■ perature forecasted for to-night is but
| twenty-five degrees, the mercury is like
ly to take such a diop by to-morrow
night that December temperature rec
ords will be in danger.
There was some probability early to
day that the snow would turn to rain
by night, but early this afternoon this
doubt seemed to have been dispelled.
The best advance information available
at the local office of the Weather Bu
reau at that time was that the <I-y,
light snow would continue to be falling
i during the celebration this evening
| around the municipal Christmas tree at
Front and Market streets.
The saow did not detract one iota
from the Christmas plans of the thou
sands of busy Harrisburgors as they
added a few presents to the already
long list and prepared for the annual
mission of distribution to-night and to
morrow. Cn every hand, in the stores
i and on the streets, was heard this
cheerv greeting:
"Well, it looks as if we arp going to
have a whiti Christmas to morrow."
To Gather at Tree To-night
Everybody but the continued grouch
believes that the snow is the proper
stage setting for a very merry Christ
mas celebration and, if anything, the
detailed plans for to-morrow are pro-
I greasing more rapidly o*n account of
[ the snow.
The Christmas evening celebration
'in Harrisiburg will begin at 7.'10
o'clock to-night with the exercises un
! der the city's big tree at Front and
I M'irket streets. During the evening tis
sue-wrapped and ribbon-bound bundles
will mysteriously appear on the streets
and in trolley cars, each one a bundle
1 of joy for some one.
County, city and State ollices will
'be closed for the day and many of
them will remain closed for Saturday,
i as some of the employes cannot get
! back in time for the regular routine
Continued on Seventh I'axe
SANTA ( LAIS DELAYS THE
TRAINS AT PISNNSY STATION
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company,
—at least the employes in and around
the passenger station in this city,—had
; a full share of the Christmastide ac
tivity. Trains that came into the city
on time were held out of the train shed
for periods ranging from ten minutes to
half an hour this morning, because of a
blockade of express cars which had t <
• be left standing in the station to per
mit the transfer of the thousands of
j-Ch ristmas packages.
To say there were thousands of
packages received and shipped at 111>
Ilarrisburg transfer doesn't givtf'n real
idea of all that the station attache;
were doing to-day. Everywhere in the
train shed coul.l he seen stacks an t
stacks of parcels and bundles.
Trucks were piled four and five feet
high with the Christmas gifts and OH
the platforms and in the parcel room
they were stacked even higher an i
every employe .was a real busy Santa
CI a us.
As fast as express cars could be
loaded or unloaded they were taken
from the train shed and then only
could tiio regular trains enter to dis
charge their passengers. Parcel post
bags containing the smaller packages
were to be seen piled high 011 many
trucks.
Passenger traffic also was unusually
heavy. All day the station proper and
the annex waiting room were crowded.
Practically the same conditions pre
vailed at the Reading terminal.
WALL STKLLT CLOSING
New York, Dec. 21.—Stocks fell
back again in the last hour on a stead
ily diminishing volume of business.
Northern Pacific was then at its weak
est, selling within a fraction of its
minimum. The closing was heavy. Over
a score of stock, active and otherwisa,
descended to their established low
prices in the course of to-day's dull
market. There was an absence of de
mand throughout, except for occasional
short covering.