6
THE STAR-INDEPENDENT
' . ( Established in 1876)
Published by
THB STAR PRINTING COMPANY,
Star-lndopandant Building,
18-20-21 South Third Straat, Harrtsburg. Pa.,
■vary Evanlng Exoept Sunday. ___
Officer!; Dirtclors :
Bmmamin F. MKTCRS, ' John L. L. KUHM,
President.
WM. W. WiLlOffM, rr p MVVKRH
Vice Pre.ldent. Wm k MCVIRi '
W*. K. Meyers,
Secretary and Treasurer. W» W. Walloweb.
Wm. H. Warnek; V. Hummel Berohaus, Jr ,
Business Manager. Editor.
Alt communications should be addressed to Star Independent,
Business, Editorial. Job Printing or Circulation Department,
according to the subject matter.
Entered at the Post Office tn Harrisburg as second class matter.
Benjamin & Kentnor Company,
New York and Chicago Representatives.
New York Office, Brunswick Building, 225 Fifth Avenue.
Chicago Office, People's (las Building, Michigan Avenue.
Delivered by carriers at 6 ceuta a week. Mailed to subscribers
for Three Dollars a year in advance
THE STAR-INDEPENOENT
The paper with the largest Home Circulation in Harrisburg and
nearby towns.
Circulation Examined by
THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN ADVERTISERS.
TELEPHONES t BELL
Private Branch E, change. - -
Prtva'j Branch Exchange. - No. 245-246
Saturday, May *22, 191 A.
MAY
Bun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. 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
30 31
MOON'S PHASES—
Last Quarter, 6th; New Moon, 13th;
First Quarter, iilst; Full Moon, 28th.
WEATHER FORECASTS
Hnrrisbnrg and vicinity: Partly F
cloudy to-nijsht and Sunday. raR,
Eastern Pennsylvania: Partly cloudy f
to-night and Sunday. Cooler to night in
eastern portion. Moderate winds, most-
YESTERDAY'S TEMPERATURE IN HARRISBURG
Highest, 58; lowest, 52; S a. in., 53; 8 p. in., 57.
MRS. CARMAN AND THE MOVIES
If accurate information is conveyed in a New
York dispatch published here yesterday, Mrs. Flor
ence L'onklin Carman, acquitted two weeks ago of
the murder of Mrs. Louise D. Bailey, is about to
enact before the motion picture camera the story
ot' that sensational tragedy so far as it was revealed
in her two trials in the court of Freeport, L. I. It
is intimated, too, that Dr. Carman, her husband,
in whose office Mrs. Bailey was slain, also will
appear in the same motion picture production.
Mrs. Carman's venture will be the first conspicu
ous case of a person who has gained widespread
newspaper notoriety through a sensational murder
investigation, endeavoring to profit through it by
acting or trying to act for the movie screen. There
have been a number of cases in which women, who
have figured as defendants in trials for murder and
been acquitted, have subsequently appeared in per
son on the stage, but in the comparatively recent
cases of that sort, —notably the case of Nan Patter
son, —their endeavors to commercialize such unde
sirable publicity have usually proved financial
failures.
Persons who nowadays pay out their money to
see people on the stage expect to see real acting in
return for what they hand in at the box office.
While they may possess a more or less natural
curiosity to get a glimpse of a woman whose name
has long been coupled in the newspapers with a
sensational crime, that curiosity in these days no
longer is so strong as to make them willing to part
with very much good money to see that woman
stride onto the stage unless they are satisfied that
she can do some acting after she gets there. Per
haps if such a woman were to appear in a booth
at a sideshow they might be willing to invest a
jitney for a glance at her, but hardly any more
than that in this enlightened age.
However, assuming it is true that Mrs. Carman is
actually to venture before the public as a movie
poser, it is of course possible she may meet with
more financial success than did Nan Patterson when
she appeased in person on the stage. We don't
know whether Mrs. Carman can act nor do we
know, —in case she cannot, —whether she is capable
of learning how to act in a way that would be at
all worth the price of admittance to a motion pic
ture house. Perhaps it might be that the movie
enthusiasts, inasmuch as it only costs them a dime
or a nickel to see a film show, might be willing to
invest that small amount to get a glimpse of an
animated photograph of Mrs. Carman, even if she
cannot act at all and they know it. However, it
must be admitted the financial success or failure of
Mrs. Carman's debut as a movie actress cannot
accurately be foretold, for it will be an experiment
of a kind seldom if ever attempted before in the
motion picture field.
One thing, however, that can be said with all
positiveness, is that if Mrs. Carman actually does
intend, as the New York dispatch said she does,
to re-enact the repelling Freeport tragedy for the
motion picture screen, and if an effort is made to
show the pictures in this state, it will present an
excellent opportunity for the members of the Penn
sylvania Board of Censors to show whether they are
earning their recently very much increased salaries.
METAL FURNITURE NOW ADVISED
Office buildings in which the rooms are furnished
with wooden desks, card cases, rows of files filled
with paper, and waste baskets overflowing with
the refuse of a day's business, are, even though
HARRISBTTRG STAR-INDfiPENDENT, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 22, 1915.
they have fireproof walls and ceilings, greater fire
menaces than are furniture warehouses, according
to the New York City Fire Commissioner.
"Fireproof" is said to mean nothing with refer
ence to a building in which, when fire starts in an
office having inflammable furnishings, it can leap
into windows of offices similarly furnished and
similarly inviting combustion. The recommendation
of the Fire Commissioner therefore is that a law
be enacted requiring all office furniture on floors
at a prescribed distance from the ground to be made
of metal or other non-combustible material.
The purpose seems to be a good one, but the
realization of it is hardly imminent. A law that is
intended to prevent fires may be desirable enough,
but if that same law were to compel a business man
to use metal furniture when he prefers wooden it
would hardly be unanimously approved.
Fireproof office furniture may indeed have ad
vantages over wooden pieces, in durability, absence
of warping and cracking and in protection against
vermin and serious damage by water, yet there are
benefits which users sqp in the wooden furniture,
too, and which would prejudice such persons
against a law telling them how they shall equip
their offices.
Rooms would no doubt have a novel appearance
furnished with iron chairs, brass tables, and steel
desks with asbestos coverings, or some such combi
nations, especially if stove polish or its equivalent
were to be used liberally in keeping the shine on
the furniture.
SCRANTON'S TEACHERS BALK
Members of the Scranton Teachers' Association
have for some time been resolved not to submit to
an examination in pedagogy promised to them by
Superintendent of Schools Weber, despite the sup
port of Dr. Weber by the Scranton School Board
in his determination to test the professional knowl
edge of the teachers. Yesterday afternoon was the
time set for the examination. Instead of taking the
test, however, four hundred teachers assembled in
the Central High School auditorium and listened
attentively to a lecture by a local physician on
"The Relation of Medicine to Pedagogy." They
had deliberately invited the physician to address
them at the time set for the examination, and it
appears had been so courteous as to invite their
superintendent, who was supposed to give the ex
amination, to be present at their meeting and to
profit with them from the medical man's discourse.
The action of the Seranton teachers in refusing
1o take the five-question examination on "How to
Study" was open rebellion, yet it was not without
justification. Superintendent Weber of the Scran
ton schools, it is held, can quote no school law to
sustain him absolutely in what he considers his
right to give the teachers an examination when
ever he feels like it. He probably thinks that oc
casional tests in pedagogy would increase the effic
iency of the schools, or something of that sort, yet
if he has the power to do no more than merely to
recommend that the teachers answer the questions
he desires to put to them, he cannot expect that
those sedate persons will make a rush to take an
examination every time he prepares one.
So long as there is nothing to compel the Scran
ton teachers to submit to the demands of their su
perintendent that they take their examinations like
nice little boys and girls, they would be showing
themselves to be very soft were they to act other
wise than they have done. Their differences with
their superintendent are, of course, serious ones,
because the points of view are opposite. The sug
gestion of a Seranton newspaper is a good one, that
these differences be submitted to the State Superin
tendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Schaeffer, who is
the authorized interpreter of the school laws of
Pennsylvania.
Now that the Colonel is vindicated, what of 1916?
Perhaps Italy has just been marking time to complete
her preparedness.
Again the Harrisburg police have landed a fugitive who
eluded the track New York coppers.
The jury in the New York libel case appears to be able
to distinguish between a "boss" and a "leader."
TOLD IN LIGHTER VEIN
OH, NO
She—"All extremely bright men are conceited, anyway."
He—"Oh, I don't know; I'm not."—Ginger.
IN TWO WAYS
Miss Gush—"lsn't your wife's Easter hat a little dear?"
Mr. Flush—"l thought so when I paid the bill."
Ginger.
BORN TO THE PURPLE
First Moth—"ls she aristocratic in her tastes?"
Second Moth7-"Oh, very! She will never eat anything
but silk."—Ginger.
FASHION NOTE
Maud—"Caroline is a great woman of fashion."
Beatrix—"Does she neglect her children?"
Maud—"Oh, no! She hires nurses to do it."—Life.
HIS PEN NAME
"What is his name?"
"Convict 499."
"You mean that is his 'pen' name."—Ginger.
IN MOVIES
Jack Spratt could not get fat,
His wife could not get lean;
That's why they got a good; fat job
In comics on the screen.
— W. K. Stuart, in Ginger.
ECONOMICAL
She cuts her expense* each night,
As she,sits with her regular beau,
Promptly at,nine she turns out the light,
Bhe needs but one flame, you know.
—Harvey Peake, in Ginger.
RICH AND POOR
"You must remember, Miss Banks—just think a mo
ment."
"Oh, the rich girl—"
"Yes; she's engaged to Jack Cadley." A
"Ok, the jx)or girl!"— Boston Transcript.
ENRICH THE BLOOD
Hood's Sarsapsrilla, a Spring Tonic-
Medicine, Is Necessary
Everybody is troubled at this sea
son with loss of vitality, failure of
appetite, that tired feeling, or with
bilious turns, dull headaches, indiges
tion and other stomach troubles, or with
pimples and other eruptions on the face
and body. The reason is that the blood
is impure and impoverished.
Hood's Sarsaparilla relieves all these
ailments. It is the old reliable medicine
that has stood the test of forty years,—
that makes pure, rich, red biood—that
strengthens every organ and builds up
the whole system. , It is the all-t.he
yearround blood-purifier and health
giver. Nothing else acts like it, for
nothing else is like it. There is no real
substitute; so be sure to get Hood's.
Ask your druggist for it to-day, and
begin taking it at once.—Adv.
I Tongue-End Top icsj
Copelin's Impressions of Brazil
I. W. Copclin, of Toledo, Ohio,
'brother of Harrisburg's city treasurer,
O. M. Copelin, on March 19, last, wrote
for the Star-Independent the following
interesting impressions of Brazil, he
at that time being in that country:
"If you want to get a good idea of
the vast river systems of Northern
Brazil, just take a well developed
burdock leaf which will illustrate 'best,
then lay it face down with the stem
pointing eastward and let the vei"us of
the leaf represent the numerous water
courses. Begin with the larger central
vein and let it tie called the Amazon,
and let the largest of the connecting
veins represent such rivers as the To
cantinß. Xingu, Ta.pa.jos, Negro, Ma
deira, Maranon, Putumayo, Ucavali and
others, and tho many other veins that
form a network take the place of the j
scores of smaller rivers and streams,
many of them being navigable for hun
dreds of miles, and with a little stretch
of imagination, you will have a fairly
good geographical map of the water
ways of tho Amazon and tributary
valleys.
• •
Flow Into the Amazon
"Several of the larger rivers have
their origin from the melting of the
perpetual snows in the h/gh Andean
peaks in Bolivia, Peru and Equador
and within a hundred miles of the
Pacific coast. Southern Venezuela and
Columbia contribute their share to tho
colossial Amazon through the Rio Ne
gro and the Pujumayo with their trib
utaries whose headwaters are far in
the interior of Columbia and Vene
zuela and find their way through
pampa and trackless- forests to help
make the largest river in the world.
Only a year ago found me on the east
ern watershed of the Cordillera in
Peru and Bolivia, where it was possible
to reach the head of canoe and launch
navigation on the Mamore and Ucay
ali Iby muleback within ten days, if
conditions were favorable. The head
waters of these rivers where I have
crossed on several occasions are rush
ing turbulant streams, especially dur
ing the rainy season, and the overland
trip across the South American . con
tinent from the Pacific via the Amazon
is one full of hardships that even tax
the seasoned traveler.
The Legend of La Paz
"While the line of thought is back
I to my travels in Bolivia a year ago, it
might be interesting to tell you the
legend of La Paz, which is the capitol
city built on the roof of the world,
more than twelve thousand feet above
sea level, yet down in the bottom of
a great canyon, nearly two thousand
feet deep. The legend dates far back
to a time immemorial and has been
carried down through the once prosper
ous Inca race for hundreds of years,
and is told to-day by the Cholo In
dians thu9: Where the city of La Paz
is situated, at a time in the remote
past there stood side by side the vol
eanos Illiinani and Sorata that were
continually in eruption land at war
with each other, which proved to be a
disturbing element to their good neigh
bors nearby. So persistent were they
in their firey warfare that the god of
the mountains finally Ibecame weary
of the turmoil, and, in order to end tl e
strife, widely separated them, where
they could smoke in peace, thus leav
ing a great hole or rift in the earth.
Hence the canyon in which La Paz,
the City of Peace now stands. The
snowy summit of Illimani that reaches
an altitude of twenty-one thousand,
three hundred feet, preseuts a fas
cinating picture a* I saw it in the late
afternoon when the sun's rays had
melted the clouds that frequently hang
over its majestic peak.
** » *
The Boom Days In Para
"But I must return to the valloy
far below and tell you in a general way
something about the transportation
lines and other interesting things in
Northern Brazil. Ten years ago rub
ber was in great demand and brought
very profitable returns to the producer,
the dealer, and steamship lines. Money
was plenty and a veritable buihliug
boom soon settled down on Para. Ex
tensive stone docks and enormous steel
warehouses were built, the latter be
ing quite similar to those in New Or
leans, in anticipation of the needs of
a city which it was believed would
soon have a population of a half mil
lion or more—with the increasing pro
duction of rubber from the up-river
country which in itself is large enough
for a great empire—but the promoters'
dreams have not yet come true. Ma
naos, nine hundred miles further in
land, followed suit with Para, tout on
a less extensive scale, where many un
finished buildings are to be seen to
day. The hundreds of steamboats fair
ly swarmed on the rivers and did a
rushing business, but the time came
for the boom to subside, which was
primarily caused by the competition
with East Indian and Malayan culti
vated rubber, which rubber, on account
of the cheapness of oriental labor and
transportation, can bo produced and
placed on the market at a less cost.
• * •
Types of River Steamboats
"I was agreeslbly surprised with
the river steamers that are fashioned
like those on the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers, tout instead of .having a big
stern wheel, they arc propelled by tur
bines. Yet in the shallow opper reach
es of some rivers the stern wheeler
finds n place. Wood is used for fuel
apd at many of the little clearings
along the rivers, wood stations may
be seen where a rickety and delapidat
ed sort of runway is built of poles out
to deep water. Sometimes a little
thatched hut and at others a white
washed one-storv ■building answers for
the office, the trading post and resi
dence of the proprietor, and in one
case a sign in royal 'blue is placed
above the door that reads ' Bom Jar
den, Bom futuro,' etc.
♦ * *
Steamboats For Sale Cheap
"The passengers on these river
steamers spend moat of their time
lazily swinging in hummocks, fighting
mosquitos, flees and flies and a variety
of bugs and bees. Since the dull times
set in, scores of fine looking river
steamers that ascend the many rivers
to bring down to Manaos and Para
rubber and other freight for export,
are idle and 1 am told many can be
purchased at a mere sonij. In addition
to the river craft, the Amazon is served
by regular lines of steamships from
New York to Para and Manaos, and
from Liverpool to Para, Manaos and
Iquitos. While I found the steamer
service very good, I would not recom
mend the Amazon country as a fit
place for the ordinary tourist who
might expect more than they would get
in the way of comfort and convenience
like they find along the beaten paths
of travel. Tho climate is hot and
humid, so much so that one's Sunday
clothes will mould during the week
and shoes will turn a mossy green.
That furnishes a plausable excuse for
not attending religious services on
Sundays.
* * *
Two Railroad Lines
"In all tho vast country in the
States of Para and Amazonas, extend
ing from the Atlantic to the high ta
ble lands in Ecuador, Peru and Boliv
ia, there are but two metre-guage rail
ways in operation. One line of eighty
miles runs eastward from Para to Bra
ganca, on the coast, and the other line,
the Madeira-Mamorc railway, begins at
a point on the Madeira river, over sev
enteen hundred miles from the mouth of
the Amazon. Construction of this line
was begun by the Colling expedition,
away back in the late sixties, and after
a score of miles had been built and a
good deal more graded, financial troubles
overtook the enterprise and all work
was suspended, leaving hundreds of
men without money and with scant pro
visions to shift for thejnselves in, the
wilderness of western Brazil. To add
to the unfortunate laborers' and me
chanics' pitiable condition, deadly
tropical fevers became epidemic in
t heir camps, and I have been told by
an acquaintance who was one of the
survivors of the Collins expedition that
the great majority found their last
n.ilestone in the jungles near the foot
of the rapids of the Madeira river.
* » *
Railroad Project Revived
"After a lapse of thirty-five veartf or
more, n newly-organized company re
vived the project and a few years ago
the road was completed from Porto
Velho to Guajara-Mirim, on the Mftmore
river, which at that place is the boun
dary line between Brazil and Bolivia.
No great engineering feats were to be
met with, as the country the road passes
through is comparatively level or slight
ly rolling, with the exception of some
low wooded hills, whore moderate cuts
were made. There are several steel
bridges spanning small rivers and
creeks. Telephone service is in use
and when the line was completed and
equipped from Porto Velho to Guajara-
Mirim, a distance of 225 miles, it is
said to have cost approximately $52,-
000,000 in gold. The object in build
ing the line was to furnish transporta
tion to and from the rich virgin rubber
country beyond, for beginning a few
miles above Porto Velho there is a
long series of rapids in the Madeira
river, which obstruct navigation as far
up as the mouth of the Madre de Dios.
. , .
One Train a Week
"At the present time on account of
the dullness of business but one mixed
train a week is sent over the road,
which is being operated at a loss. The
freight rate on rubber from the most
westerly points on the line is 75 mil
reis, equal to about $23 in gold, per
ton, fluctuating some according to ex
change, and on other commodities still
higher, and the passenger fares aro
close to 25 cents a mile. At Porto
Velho, the eastern terminus, the com-
Corns Cured For 100
'Just use one 100 bottle
Of Raser'sCornSolventani .Cjtfk.
you'llnevef spend anotbat * ml
cent for any other eora
cure or remedy oil the
market. Here's proof of
what this wonderful Corn 4 NfWI
Solvent will do. J. B.HaIL \\ \Bf
a man over 80 years old HHH 1 H|
writes: "i hare spent a 1 JRt
small fortune on worth. /J
less oorn remedies but new J. Wfl
found anything that would glva tU> j '/ju
me anything more than tempo. la
rary relief. No matter what I /_/ M
used, the corns would U
P*®"- About six months BUO a V v W
friend advised me to try Raser's \
Corn Solvent. I bought one too
bottle and It completely oured every 1 J '
oorn and bnnlonon both foet. After six ff
months thara Is no sign of the corns *
left. It s the one and only remedy that ever dU
me any good."
Raeer's Corn Solvent fust dissolves tha oon
removes them completely, without pain. If yoa
want Immediate and permanent relief, get •
bottle today. Buy of tha druggist named below
or send 10c to Wm. H. llarer. Druggist and
Chemist, Heading, fa. '
'"'or sale in Harrlsburg by Geo. A.
Go^cag.
W / Th* Forty-two
( > — \_f C
ij/f h
S- It's the heavy shot |f|j
: that counts in business \io.
/ —and hard hittin K. con
i!sl^/*" / / vincing and conclusive gijj|
k // sales talk is the right
/ J ammur "tion.
rMi Fire away! The Bell J*|
*frj ttMfzs Toll lines will shoot your
0> X £so&f sales-talk shell wherever &££
% J y° u aim—twenty miles
JjjL ffl ) or twent y hundred, and
OHSMuI a thousand places right
| ra.ll about here at rates up to jb?
-JJI Bill a dollar or so. |jp
HARRISBVRG LIGHT L
1 BCPOWER.(Y.
GOOD NEWS FOR THE
HOUSEKEEPER
Although we have sold a large number of
Electric Irons this season for $1.85 cash,
that are sold elsewhere for $3.50, we still
have a few left and expect to receive another
shipment in a few days.
v Remember these irons
are guaranteed for five
years and are sold only by
us for
$1.85
pany have their general offices and
stoics, and have built quite comfortable
bungalows for their employes 011 a lit
tle ridge overlooking the Madeira. They
also maintain a hospital.
* * *
Poker in the Grog Shops
"In addition to the railway com
pany's supply stores, there are stores
of several other reputable merchants.
Then follows a line of 'grog shops' and
poker is pastime in the evenings and
on rainy days. It is now ono of the
hot, seasons of the year and it fairly
reeks in daytime, seldom cooling off at
night, and one feels 'slimy' half an
hour after a delightful shower bath.
But once 'in a while, from June to
September, a cool wavj sweeps down
from the Andes. Then the inhabitants
shiver and turn blue. The country in
general is unhealthy for Americans and
Europeans, and the physician's advice
is to take ten grains of quinine daily
as long as they remain. Alany follow
the advice religiously. Some others
disagreed with the doctor and in time
cultivated an appetite for alcoholic
beverages. They are convinced that
alcohol is the only 'sure thing' to ward
off malarial fevers and the hosts of
winged and creeping insects in the Bra
zilian tropics.
* « *
Savage Tribes of Indians
"In the nearby country, to the west
ern end of the Madeira-Mamor'o rail
way, along the foothills of the Andes
in Peru and in the Grand Chacp in Bo
livia, I am told by travelers there are
found the most savage and uncivilized
tribes of Indians in all South America.
But the Brazilian and Peruvian govern
ments have introduced a first step in
civilization in constructing telegraph
lines and wireless stations in the great
forests. And wireless messages can
now be sent from station, epecially
along the .Ucayali river to Iquitos,
thence relayed to Manaos and from
there by telegraph and cable to Para.
There are many wild animals in this
upper jungle country, such as the spot
ted tiger, small black bear, deer, etc.,
and, with many poisonous reptiles, make
CITY TAX 1915
Notice is hereby given that City Tax for 1915 is due
and payable at the Office of the City Treasurer,
Room 14, Court House. An abatement of one per cent.
(1 % ) will be allowed if same is paid before August 1,
1915.
OWEN M. COPELIN,
City Treasurer.
a journey inland from the rivers dan
gerous.
• * *
Americans at Santarem
"In comhing over my note book, I
must drift down stream and tell you of
an American settlement at Santarem,
at the junction of the Amazon and
Tapajos. Shortly after the close of
our Civil war a colony of people from
the Southern States, who could not be
reconciled under a Northern regime,
emigrated to Brazil and settled at San
tarem. Their first years promised well,
but as time rolled by in the muggy at
mosphere near the equator the vim and
vigor of a northern country gradually
left them and many by this time had
passed the meridian of the world's use
fulness and found the easy life of the
Brazilians preferable to following the
plow or wielding the ax, and now San
tarem is grass and weed grown, pain
fully quiet and on the decline. The
inhabitants are mostly of a liquid
brown from long exposure under a ver
tical sun in the low lands of the Ama
zon valley. The little clearings are
fast growing up in a thicket of tree
and bush and with but few of the orig
inal colony alive. Santarem is on the
road to oblivion. Pacantins, furthor
down the Amazon, is pleased to be
known as the Gibraltar of the great
State of Amazonas. Just back of the
little hillside town on still higher eleva
tions may be seen the fortifications
whose big guns command the approach
•by river and from the ramparts floats
the beautiful Brazilian flag.
I. W. COPIiLIV."
e «
THE TRUTH
AT LAST,
Secrets Exposed
Bead The
STAR-INDEPENDENT'S
Gift Bo ok Offer
On Page 12
*