Republican News Item. VOL. VII. NO. 34. } Better Than Everi) £ lam better prepared p y than ever to supply your C n wants in ? $ Clocks & £ r AND STAPLE JEWELERY, S j I invite your inspection v S at your earliest J S convenience. \ $ RETTENBURY, S <, DUSHORE, PA. The Jeweler. S HARDWARE:? No Piaci lLjgr this Place For Reliabie STOVES and RANGES, COAL OB WOOD' HEATERS; ONE OP WINTER'S GREAT DELIGHTS. House Furnishiug Goods, Tools of Every Description, Guns and Ammunition. Bargains that bring the buyer back. Come and test the truth of our talk. A lot of second hand stoves and ranges for sale cheap. We can sell you in stoves anything from a fine Jewel Base Burner to a low priced but satisfactory cook stove. Hot Air, Steam and Hot Water Heating and General Repairing, Roofing and Spouting. The Shopbell Dry Good Co., 313 Pine Street, WILLIAMSPORT, PA. Sheets and Colored Pillow Cases. Corduroy. Made from the same cottons that you for Waists or Children's Coats has been buy over the counter and sewed as well ver y Bcarce this season. We have just re as you can doit. Ihe l>est part of all, ceived a new lot in navy blue, white,cast you pay but a trifle more than the goods or? brown and myrtle preen. Also navy cost by the bolt and all the sewing and blu e and black metallic printed Velveteen thread are saved. We will sell you per- a t 75c a vard. fectly finished, hemstitched sheets, large sizes, 65c and 75c; ones with plain hems * t4scto6sc Outer Garments Hemstitched Pillow Cases at 12} c to 22 centß- You are invited to investigate tlie styles Others with plain hems at 8c to 18c. to note the materials the fit, the finish .. . w w • of this representative collection of Monte Ladies Union % r \° Co «*> \V Hiking Skirts and a complete line ol children's garments. We keep a full line of the celebrated F*lannelette ONEITA SEAMLESS COMBINATION SUITS in white and natural color. They \A7 fiO |" are perfectly elastic, fitting like a glove, ■ Being open at the top makes them conven- T , COHt gQ , iu , e Rn<l are 80 comfor . lent to put on and off. Several qualities tab J e « n d warm. Ladie's night gowns in •at 50c up to $ I,7plain colors and fancv striped, some braid COMFORTABLES. Ed others with plain and fancy yokes at We have a good assortment of com- 50c to sl-25. Portables, made full size, covered with Misses Night Gowns at 40c and 50c. figured sateen or silkoline, some are plain Ladies Short Skirts, plain and fancy on one side, filled generously with pure striped, at 50c and 75c. •white cotton. Prices range from 95c to Mens Nightshirts, made extra full and $3,75. long, at 50c and 75. The Shopbell Dry Good Co. Snbscrihe for the News Item. LAPORTE,' SULLIVAN COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1900. COUNTY_NEWS Happenings of SS^S3SSr ,, ■ I [lnterest to Readers *»»y j EAGLES MERE. The Baptist and Methodist Sun day Schools held their Christmas ex ercises jointly, in the Baptist church on Wednesday evening. The exer cises were arranged by Miss Clark, and were very good. There was a large audienoe. The Fire Co. met in regular sess ion Monday evening. Mr. A. Dunham spent Sunday with friends in South Williamsport. Mr. Montgomery was a William sport visitor on Monday. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Aumiller spent Christmas at South William sport, with.Chas. Woolfe and family. Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Dunham spent Christmas with Geo. Lawrenson and family at Strawbridge. W. I. Taylor was a Williamsport visitor on Saturday. LOPEZ. Prospects are good for a deep snow. Christmas passed off here about the same as other Christmases. Old Santa was quite liberal with his pres ents to some and others he picked up from the street and carried them home. P. J. Finan left for Pittsburg lust week. W. W. Jennings who is attending school at Ithcca is home over the holidays. Miss Margaret Hileman of Du shore is visiting her sister Miss Em ma at this place. Homer Lewis, Clerk at Jenning? Bros. Store, is visiting his parents al Syracuse, N. Y. John Peatock, was hurt in". th< Murray mine lust Tuesday by a fal of rock and died the following Jday He was buried at Bernice on Friday Alanson Messersmith was kicke< by a horse on Friday andjseveral rib broken. He is getting along as wel as can be expected. F. L. Matthews is on the sick list Miss Edith Mussleman of Overtoi is visiting Mrs. F. G. Bice. Elery and Milton Potter, who ar< working at Carbondale, were hom» over Christmas. Our overseers of the poor made i trip to Colley on Monday. We d( not know as yet what the attractioi is. The High School class of '93 re membered the Professor with i handsome little present for which h< expressed his thanks in his usuu happy style. There is some talk of starting t game society at this place. We wili tell you more about it later. IfILLSGROVE. Tom Temple, while at work hew ing on Pestoes log slide below town was quite badly cut in the arm and leg by an ax which slipped from the hands of Will More who was work ing with him. The Christmas exercises that were held in both churches were very good and well attended. Quite a number of young people from here attended the ball at Frank Casslebury's at Hoppestown on Christmas night. Mrs. Chas. Darby who has been seriously ill, is some better at this writing. Andrew Galough and wife of Jer sey Shore were here over Christmas. Erna Mcßride and Fred Jenkins spent Christmas in Wiliamsport. Mrs. John Speaker who has been very ill with pneumonia, is a little better at this writing. Mr. Geo. Dunbar and wife of To wanda spent Christmas at this place. Harry Green is attending the in stitute at Dushore this week. Mrs. Jacob Galough has gone to Jersey Shore to visit her son An drew. Thos. Swift of Cross Forks, spent Christmas here with old friends. Ed Holcomb has charge of the post office at present, Miss Jennie Sheely, the Post Mistress being seri ously 111. Miss Bessie Peck is home on a vis it from Lopez. Dr. B. E. Gamble transacted bus iness at Harrisburg last week. Steve Vroman has purchased a new hound. Now for some music on the mountains. SHUNK. Mrs. Christian Caseman died 011 Friday morning after a long illness of dropsy and heart trouble, aged 70 years. The funeral was held Sun day from her late residence at Piat t. She leaves a husband and six chil dren to mourn her loss. B'irn, December 27 a son to Mr. and Mrs. Deloa Ilcin. The masquerade ball given by Messrs. Porter and Williams 011 Christmas night was a grand success and largely attended by parties from Klmira, Koaring Branch, Canton and Forksville. About 25 couples were in costume, which were all neat, pretty and attractive, and created much laughter and furnished any amount of fun for the many specta tors present. The many friends of Miss Louise Caseman of Qrover, Pa, will be sur prised to hear of her marriage on Christmas at Elmira, to Mr. Frank Stull of Sunbury, Pa. Miss Caseman was the only daughter of Jacob Case man, proprietor of the Grover Hotel aud is a very popular young lady. Mr. Stull is an employe of the N. C. R. R. They will make their future home at Sunbury, and left Saturday for that place. Alvah Tinkham of Elmiaa took in the ball here Christmas and re turned to his home this week. Miss Regina Brown and friend Mr. J. Wilhelm of Canton were in town Christmas. Mrs. W. E. Porter spent Christ mas at Canton. Paddy Jackson of this place and Miss Susie Qrier of Hillsgrove, were married on Christmas night by Win. Shoemaker, J. P. Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Brown are re joicing over the arrival of a son to their home 011 Christmas. Geo. Campbell of Elmira spent Christmas with relatives here. Lee Voorhees spent the holidays with his mother at this place. James Brenchley has an attack of pneumonia, and is a very sick man at present. Mr. aud Mrs. Allen Williams and Mrs. Clara Andrus of Canton, took Christmas dinner with O. J. Will iams. Mrs. Phoebe Maxin and Mrs. Hay die Hoagland are visiting relatives at Elmira, N. Y. ESTELLA. * Very cold weather with light snow falls. J. J. Webster has several teams hauling his logs out of Lick Run. Sidney Osier and sister Marion of Bernice are visiting friends at Lin coln Falls. Quite a number of the young peo ple attended the Christinas enter tainment at the German church on Thursday evening. U. Bird returned to Shunk on Sun day with his teamster, Jesse Lewis. The Squire is busy at work on his log job in Fox. Mrs. Speaker Osier has been strangely unfortunate; about four teen years ago by horses running away she was thrown from a wagon and draged quite a distance from which time she has never walked a step and has been almost a helpless invalid. Last fall a cancer made its appearance on her head, and about two weeks ago while her husband was helping her out of her bed, she broke her arm near the wrist. Dr. Randall of Dushoe who happened to be in Forksvi lie was called and set the broken member and made her as comfortable as possible. Mrs. Osier has the undivided sympathy of her many friencs. In all these years she has born her iad fate almost un complainingly. Miss Delia Mulnix is visiting at Overton. Miss Cora McCarty and cousin Lec Fawcett are visiting relatives at Hughesville. Rev. F. E Spoones will preach {at the Estella next Sunday forenoon at 10:30 Government Ownership oi Bail-^ The arguments pro and con on this subject are not to he despised. The opponents of government ownership usually point us to the fact that government managed rail roads dc not furnish the conveniences, comforts and luxuries that are the every day rule in our country. The fact is that nothing is done in other lands quite like it is in ours, so it seems to us that argument is of little force. There can hardly be a com parison of rates, either for passenger or freight transportation, because conditions are so different and be sides that statistics can be so manip ulated as to prove almost anything within the bounds of reason. Cosmopolitans tell us that there are no tu-h travelling facilities in any country in the world as are every day furnished to the ordinary private citizen of moderate means in our land. All available informa tion seems to indicate that no rail roads anywhere handle freight better than do our great corporations. We are told that this would be impos sible under government manage ment. If we are permitted to be reminis cent we might easily seem to be on that side of the case for we can well remember when private enterprise did better work in local deliveries in the cities than was that done by the Postoffice Department. The famous "Blood's Despatch" in Philadelphia maintained a successful business for years before the Postoffice author ities succeeded in doing so, and in fact after the government assumed that business the Despatch held it in competition until to get rid of it i law was passed making it a crime to carry on any such enterprise. The government could not compete suc cessfully so it had to creat a monop oly. Much the same condition of ttt'airs existed in the trans-continen tal mail under the regime of Wells, Fargo & Co. They held the field for reliability of service until they were forced out of it by law. The government has had to learn the money order business from the Kxpress Companies and in some re spects the Express Companies are dill ahead. With all the govern mental advantages the Express Companies can and do give the best service in what might be termed "parcel carriage traffic." The gov ernment would accept a fee for reg istering a valuable parcel but would tssume no responsibility until it was realized that for the same fee the Kxpress Companies were carrying the same business with profit and were responsible for its delivery in rood order. Then government of ficials learned the same lesson. You •an insure a package in the mails for a small fee and the insurance L'ampanies make money out of it but the Postoffice Department has not yet thoroughly "caught on."it will shortly and then a law will be made forbidding any one else doing it. That is, when the government goes into a business it insists on a monop )ly of that business ui.d yet its best lessons have been learned from pri vate enterprise. This is true in jvery department of its service. The reader would naturally infer from all this that we are among the opponents of "Government Owner ship of Railroads" but such is not the case. We believe that transpor tation is properly a governmental function and we have regarded that is the only relief from the spirit that sxpresses itself in the Vanderbilt outburst of"The Public be " for which we need not go a hundred miles from home. This disposition to assume the most autocratic and unreasonable authority is the cause r»f the strongest convictions on this subject and that will sooner or later bring about the change, but there are wide stretches in problems to be met before it is accomplished and while most of us will be on the other side of the divide before the change is achieved we believe that some now living will see it come to pass. Continued in next issue. 75 CTS. PER YEAR. I COMMUNICATION. EDITOR, NEWS ITEM: "A Fourth Class Post mas ter" writes your readers in a very entertaining style and while he makes a sensible reply to Editor Newell he does not get tha facts by any means and some of his deduct ions are not well based. Any railroad man who has stud ied the question knows that the car rying of the mails is the most poor ly compensated business that the railroads have. Without knowing exact figures of our local road we are inclined to believe that their mail pay would not amonnt to the fare of the messenger they carry, if he paid like other people, and yet he must have a private compartment fitted up specially for his use; it must be warmed, lighted and cleaned for him. Besides this mails are carried in closed pouches on all the trains where the messenger does not go. In addition to all this the mails must be carried t J and '-om every train and the Post Office if it is not more than eighty rods distant. Any comparison between our country and the European nations is idle in view of the difference in dis tance and conditions. Any compar ison between a freight car and a pos tal car is equally unfair. No one would tolerate for a moment the thought of any such service as would be afforded by freight conditions either as to time or safety. If our letters mailed in New York last night do not reach us this morning we get impatient. Freight may be a week and and out in all weathers and subject to all sorts of rough us age. The government has had many opportunities to try the wagon plan where it would not pay the rail roads. Tt""vrr -vas a success and the comparison of the cost of haul ing a ton of mail between New York and Chicago by wagon or train is idle and probably incorrect. The railroads earn all they get and if the government was running them it could honestly charge up to the mail service all thejeompensation that is now allowed. The deficit is not in that direction. We have heard that during the civil war Office Department was not run at a loss, and it was be cause thousands of mail routes through the South where the service was expensive and the returns mea gre, were not served on account of the war. Many a letter is delivered that costs the Department a dollar for which it gets two cents and there is not much doubt that letters reach far off regions toward the north pole in Alaska that have cost nearly fif ty times a dollar and yet the pay was two cents. Does any one sup pose for one moment that letters are delivered all over the Phillipines at a cost of no more than the two cent stamp? These are the instances where the money is lost in the Post Office Department and it is sound policy to lose it. Of course "Fourth Class Postmaster is right in his ref erence to the free carriage of news papers and similar publications and there is not the slightest foundation for Editor Newell's conclusion that because the Post Office Department is run at a loss therefore the govern ment is incapable of running any thing at a profit. It makes a hand some profit out of the little stamp books that it manufactures at one cent each, and its Money Order bus iness has a balance on the right side. If it would only make every post of fice a place of deposit for savings and pay a small rate of interest the peo ple would furnish it with all the money it needs and it could realize handsomely out of it. Then if it would take over the Telephone and Telegraph business it could give us cheaper service, weather reports free and have a bal ance to spend. Let up on the railroads on the cost of the Post Office Department. A FOURTH CLASS HA ILKO A PER, Don't wait this is your best chance. Lime by the car load or lied load from Reeder's Lime Hoiue, Laporte.
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