C01lf 1111011 VOLUME 16 McCONNELLSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY IS 1915. NUMBER 22 THE GRIM REAPER. Short Sketches of the Lives of Per sons Who Have Recently Passed Away. Mrs. Mary A. Tritle. Mary Alice, widow of the late J. Keely Tritle, died at her home at Fort Loudon, Pa., Friday, Feb ruary 12, 1915, aged 59 years and 10 months. The funeral took place on the following Monday, and interment was made in Un ion Cemetery in the Big Cove. Mrs. Tritle was a member of -the Lutheran church, and the funer al services were conducted at her home by Rev. Stonesifer, of the Reformed church, and at the cemetery by Rev. Peterman, of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Tritle had been afflicted with cancer of the stomach for a long time, and had been bedfast since last Christmas. Her hus band died a year ago last April, and only about a week ago, her son Charles met with an accident on the railroad which cost him Vila Wta Tha Aarpncoti ia Bnrvi. ved by the following children, namely, Daniel, at home; Clara, wife of Brice Hann, and Effie, wife of Charlie Gress both of McConnellsburg; Bessie, wife of John Haun, of Fort Loudon, and John, at home, Mrs. J. Edward Palmer. Nannie, wife of J. Edward Palmer, died at their home in Warfordsburg, last Friday night of heart failure, aged about 30 years .The funeral took place Sunday, and interment was made in Hancock. Mrs. Palmer was a daughter of Mr. John Brosius, of Brosius, V. Va., and was married to Mr. Palmer two years ago last June. While it was knowit that she did not possess a strong . heart, her death was unexpected and came with a crushing blow to her de voted husband, who has the sin cere sympathy of his wide circle of friends. Bratton. Howard, infant son of Edward and Cloe May Bratton, died Feb ruary 9, 1915, aged 15 days. Its remains were laid to rest in the cemetery at Clear Ridge. Recent Weddings. Booth Ficks. On Wednesday, January 27, 1915, Miss Delia Ficks and Mr. Blaine B. Booth, both of Dublin Mills, were united in marriage in Pittsburgh. Mr. Bootft being em ployed at present by the Pennsyl vania Railroad Company, in that city, they will reside there for the present, probably returning to this place in the spring. They have the best wishes of their many friends for a long, happy, and prosperous voyage on the the sea of life. Duva' ra Truax. In McConnellsburg on Wednes day, February 17, 1915, Mr. W. H. Duval' -f Akersville, and Mrs. Sar' en Truax, of Need more wi ' ited in marriage. Mr. am uvall will reside in Brua. , k galley. BiArsi t-Mills. Mr. Elza B m and Miss Lo nie Julia Milk. oth of Breeze- wood, were united in marriage at the M. E. parsonage in that place on Wednesday evening, February 10th. The ceremony was per formed by Rev. Geo. E. King. Bequeath Barton. Clarence Bequeath and Miss Sarah Barton of Crystal Springs, were united in marriage at the M. E. parsonage by Rev. G. W. Faus on Saturday, January 30. Mrs. Thoma3 F. Sloan and son Frank, were called to Altoona last Frday on account of se rious illness of Mary Margaret, nuie daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Sloan, of that city. The ihe child was operated on Altoona hospital, Saturday ing for peritonitis. i at the morn' A Fulton County Joseph. For the tired and often over worked country editor, there is no other tonic that so really reach es the spot, and inspires him to greater efforts as the words of appreciation that come from the readers of his paper. Fulton, be ing a purely agricultural county, the News makes it a point first, to furnish its readers with a com plete chronicle of the week's hap penings, and, last, to be helpful in every way as it is possible for it to be. In a recent letter from a form er Fulton County teacher, but who now receives mail at a street ad dress in one of our hustling cit ies, he says, "I am very much' pleased that you are devoting so much space in the News to farm ing and Him life. I read every line of it wn!i interest. It touch es the home additions as no farm paper could do. While I hold a good position in this city, I am lodking, forward to the time when I will own a farm and return to the country. I must tell you of a dream I had a few nights ago a real dream while fast asleep. I dreamed I had completed a sci entific course in Agriculture, and was back in Fulton county teach ing school again. The term was nine months instead of seven as now. The course of study in the public schools had undergone much change. Many things we used to spend much time on, were thrown out, and the old course much abbreviated. Every min ute spent in school wa3 now de voted to something that would be of real, helpful, value to the boy after he had gone out from school. The study of agriculture had been introduced, and the time we used to spend on fox and bound and age problems, was now devoted to studying the names and habits of the plants that grew in the neighborhood their names, how they grew, their uses, the nature of the soil in which they grew. The pupils were wild not with mischief, but with enthusiasm, and I, as their teacher, was help ing to fit them up for the work of real life. . Adjoining the play ground, and in connection with the school, we had a farm of 40 acres which we used as our experiment station. On this farm, which was divided up into small fields, we studied methods of getting sod, or get ting more hay, how to get a per manent pasture, how to get larg er yields, the effect of the dif ferent kinds of fertilizer used, and figure the net profit or loss of each process. The school term being longer the regular school branches were not neglected. On nice days I would take the pupils out and give them a lesson on pruning; and, in planting season, show them how to plant by having them help. Each Saturday aft ernoon the grown up folks in the neighborhood would come and take a lesson on farming. I can still see the farmers coming in on Saturday and how they be came interested as I showed them over the farm and explained each method used. I dreamed that the Saturday afternoon class was kept up all summer and was the most interesting of the lot. I dreamed there was a house and a barn on the place in which I lived; and that I got $125 a month for my work. We kept some thorough-bred stock and kept an account of everything used, everything sold and everything given away; for we gave away seed to the entire district. r In my mind I can still see how beautiful the entire place was with fields all of uniform size and the rows straight as a die. W. W. McDaniels and his son J. E. McDaniels, of Everett .took a little spin in their auto to this place last Friday. At Breeze wood they picked up mailcarrier J. C. Salkeld, and brought the mail to Saluvia. On the return trip, they took the western mail back with them. Compulsory Attendance. Under the Act of May 18th, 1911, every child between the ages of 8 and 16 years must at tend the public school, regularly, and every parent, guardian or person having charge or control of any child between said ages, who shall fail to comply with the provisions of said Act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The Ayr township school board prosecuted four cases last week, the parents were arrested, and the cases were heard before a Justice last Saturday. The Jus tice held that the proof of guilt had to be made beyond a doubt by the proper evidence, and the Commonwealth asked for a con tinuance of two of the cases, the defendants consented, and the cases were continued until next Saturday. The two tried were clearly proven, and in the first the parent claimed his boy had to work, and could not attend school, making no other defense. He wa3 promptly fined $2.00 and the costs. In the second case, the parents appeared with their family physician and proved that their children were in a weak and diseased condition, and that the children attended school all the time they were physically able, and that having nearly a mile and one-half to go to school, were kept home on account of their not being physically able in their opinion at the times charged that they had been suffering with throat trouble, and according to the physicians evidence, were not strong enough to make the trip to school. The defendant in this case was discharged. The law is ? trict, and parents having children out of school are in danger, for excuses can not be taken unless they stand the ac tual test, and the School Direc tors, are not doing their duty un less they see that every child in the district is regularly in at tendance. If a child does not have proper clothes, and the pa rents are unable to get them, it is tneir privilege to call on the proper authorities to provide the clothes. The most serious phase in the situation is this: The law says that every child in the district between the ages of 8 and 16 must be in school. The law says that the responsibility of their attendance rests upon the school directors. When a man assumes the duty the school director he swears that he will discharge the duties pertaining to his office ac cording to law. At the end of the school year, the president of the board again swears that the schools have been conducted according to law. If the presi dent know3 that there are chil dren in this district that have not attended school regularly, then he cannot swear to the report, and if the report is not sworn to, the district loses its appropria tion. The school director's job is an important one, but it is not an easy one. The Limit of Legal Tender. The largest amount that a per son making payment may offer in silver or copper coins, with the certainty that the other party to the transaction can not refuse, is commonly known as the "limit of legal tender." A definite limit is specified for coins of each denomination except gold coins and silver dollars, both of which may be used in making legal ten der up to any amount. Of the smaller coins now current, 1-cent and 5-cent pieces are good only up to 25 cents. Dimes, quarters dollars and half dollars are good in making payments up to $10. Although it is done as a matter of busiress custom, there is no law compelling any one to make change, and, as a matter of law, a street car conductor, for ex ample, can refuse to take the 5-cent fare out of a dime just as he can refuse to take it out of a $10 bill. Subscribe for tbe Nsws. "AULD ACQUAINTANCE." Bits of News and Gossip Extracted from the Letters from Our Distant Subscribers. Another former Fulton county boy who thinks that the News is "just like getting a letter from home" is Charles S. Mellott, of Milledgeville, 111. He is a son of Dayton Mellott formerly of this county, now of Chambersburg. He describes Milledgeville as be ing a thriving town about the size of McConnellsburg and well supplied with stores, a bank, ele vator and two railroads, three churches, and good schools. It is a great farming community, but like other localities, they had their share of foot and mouth dis ease among stock. He says "I work for J. H. Gayman and Son, who are alsoPennsylvanians, and they treat me fine, so that I feel quite at home. Mr. Gayman's son Milton, had hi3 hand crushed in a cornsheller about two months ago, and it had to be amputated along with part of his arm about six inches below the elbow. He had to have 152 head of cattle and hcg3 killed on account of foot and mouth disease. They were valued at $3,000. So you see that farmers are subject to acci dents and great losses careful as they may be." Mr. Mellott goes on to enumerate a long list of avoidable accidents, such as foolhardy acts, pouring coaloil in- the stove in the morning to start the fire, consulting fortunetellers who fleece their victims, driving on to railroad tracks, getting full of booze, &c. Strawberries Good as Lime. The interest shown by the farmers at the Wednesday even ing session of the institute last week when they Bprung the lime question on Mr, Fassett induced us to make private inquiry into some of the answers he gave. Mr. Fassett was asked if he ever found it necessary to offset the acidity caused by that large quan tity of decaying vegetable mat ter, by the use of lime, and he replied that he did not Aston ishment was pictured on more than one countenance. In a lit tle talk with him at his hotel that evening, Mr. Fassett explained that his soil was a deep sandy loam, and that it had been his experience that the greater the growth of strawberry vine the greater his difficulty in control ling the growth of clover as a weed among the strawberries. He believes that a good growth of strawberries keeps his soil sweet. Again, he confessed that probably since his soil along the Susquehanna river belonged to the older glacial formation, and which is known to be so inter mingled that it is difficult to de termine which original soil pre dominates, sufficient disintegrat ed limestone may be mixed with the soil to prevent acidity such as we experience here in Fulton cqunty, and according to the light we have on the use of lime, this seems to be the only logical so lution of an apparent contradic tion of Fulton county experience. We have heard of other small localities where the application of lime was useless indeed harmful and we are sure that investigation would reveal simi lar conditions to that of Mr. Fassett's farm. Some agency in the soil of these small areas ab sorbs, so to speak, the harmful acids that are known to accumu late in Fulton county soils to such extent that a little lime must oc casionally be applied to restore a natural balance. Taken to Hospital. Saturday afternoon, February 6th, Howard Nonemaker, of Cher ry Grove, Huntingdon county, was taken to the Blair Memorial hpspital, Huntingdon, suffering with appendicitis. A successful operation was performed Satur day night, and it is thought he will be able to be brought home soon. Mr. Nonemaker is the hus band of Annie, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Horton, for merly of Taylor township. Fulton County Soils. This, our third article on Ful ton county soils, will consist of several stories about them. The stories were not given for publi cation, but the prominent men who related them are workers, and students of agriculture, and they will not object to our pass ing the stories along. While talking with Associate Judge W. B. Stigers about the strawberry-lime story printed elsewhere in this paper, he said that he sowed a cover crop of rye on a piece of deep sandy loam like Mr. Fassett's with the inten tion' of ploughing it down when about kneehigh. Circumstances prevented his ploughing down the rye until it was horsehigh and then some. With the aid of a heavy logchain, used in the well known manner, he buried the straw deeply and then cut it up fine by disking crosswise of the furrows, and secured a firm seed bed with good contact of top soil with the subsoil. The field was planted to corn and the best corn was gathered where the rye was ploughed under. As in Mr. Fas sett's case, with similar soil, he has found no bad results from the fomentation of such a big dose of green manure. This in dicated to Mr. Stiger's mind, and to that of ourselves, that this sandy loam is fortified against acidity by the presence of large quantities of disintegrated lime stone which was deposited there probably during the glacial period County Chairman of Farmers' Institutes Frank Ranck, relates that he was recently prevented from ploughing down a cover crop of rye until it was well out in head, and he too, had a fine crop indeed, he called it a very fine crop of sorrel. Having no particular use for so much sorrel there was nothing left for him to do but to resort to lime to restore the soil to a friendly condition to ward more profitable crops. Mr. Ranck's soil differed from Mr. Stiger's, the former being a good quality of that found in that great belt that runs from Hunt ingdon county down through Tay lor, Licking Creek, Belfast, Beth el, and Thompson, townships to the Maryland line. Here were shown two opposite effects from the same cause, and it affords food for thought, and proves conclusively that there can be no infallible rule laid down for soil treatment, but every man must master basic principles, and then apply them with judgment to in dividual types of soil. Jury Commissioner J. C. Hix son confessed to us this week that he is but a recent convert to the use of lime. He tried it on one field of red shale with the re sult that he obtained a splendid crop of wheat, and maybe at this moment he is leaning his arms on top of the fence and admiring the finest stand of clover and timothy he ever had. Mr. Hix son told us that barring climatic accidents, he expected to see his stock revel in fine hay next win ter. Mr. Hixson is converted 'to stay converted" on the limeques tion as it relates to his soil. Per haps some of our readers who have red shale soil will recall that three months ago we pub lished an account of experiments with about a dozen type3 of soil to determine which one respon ded most readily to lime, and red shale stood at the head of the list as giving up its stored ' plant food promptly when "tickled" with lime. The resultant in crease of growth insures stiff sods, stiff sods insure increased humus, humus makes a better crop that is, when we do not follow up the lime effects by rob bery. John J. Martz was in town Tues day on business and took a min ute to call at the News office. He has just burnt another kiln- of lime, which he will open just as soon as the weather will permit and the roads are in a condition for hauling. Telling Is How. There is nothing more irrita ting to the people of a small town than the air of superiority that people from larger towns have towards them and their village. It is hard to say what prompts the city man to feel greater than the villager, but he almost invar iably does, and what makes it worse, shows it in his actions. It is the weakness of city peo ple, this belief of theirs that coun try people are back numbers. The man from a city concern pays the country businessman a visit and shows plainly that he considers the little merchant a very small potato; but if he were wise enough to realize the truth of their respective businesses, he would know that the back-number merchant as he looks upon him, is laying by each year more than the city chap is drawing as a hired man from a company that could find a thousand like him in a day's time. The narrow brained lecturer drops into the small town, and at the beginning of his talk, men tions that he has changed his sub ject, "for fear the one announc ed would be over the heads of his audience," and then proceeds to ramble along for a couple of hours with stale stories and dis connected ideas, boring his audi tors half to death. The Chautau qua entertainer, until he has had a good deal of experience; the trav eling salesman, up to the time he becomes of some value to his house; the transient visitor, on a chance business or pleasure trip; the young city emyloyee, before he learn3 the lessons of the rela tion of capital to business where- ever it i3 employed all of them make the aame mistake of mis judging the capacity, the intelli gence and the character of coun try p'eople. If there is such a thing as su periority between city and coun try folks, the latter have the best opportunity of securing it But as people, there is no difference between those who live in the cities and those who live in the country. They all read the same newspapers, the same magazines and the same books; they hear the same lecturers, and see the same theatrical performances; they attend the same high school and graduate from the same col leges and universities; they take the same trips, visit the same va cation resorts, and make as ma ny excursions abroad, they ride in Pullmans as often, and pay their bills as regularly, and when everything is counted, it is hard to point out any difference be tween them, except that the country people have the advan tage of freedom from the life in throngs, and from the scramble for a livelihood with great num bers contesting for a share. We have no contempt or criti cism for those who prefer to live in a city, but we do object to their attitude of scorn for the do ings of those who live in the country or in small towns. There is no basis for their feeling of superiority and, to a person with a proper understanding of the re lations of things, it is nonsensi cal and uncalled for. Surprise Party. While Miss Mary Benson was no doubt expecting "company" on the evening of her twenty first birthday which occurred on Saturday, February 6th, she evi dently was not prepared for the "quantity" of company that rushed in to disturb her peaceful dreams of flitting Cupids. The names of the merrymakers who wished Mary many more happy birthdays are: James Ben son and wife, Thomas Benson, wife, and little son Clifford, Mrs Laura Black, Benjamin, Clarence and Howard Slates; Robert and BeatriceMcClain; Dallas and Lula Kerlin; Fred, Harry, Otto, Mary, George, Norman, and Arthur Benson; Hazel and Gertrude Black; Martha and Ruth Taylor; Annie and Harvey,. Yingling; Laura '4olingcr, Dalbert Rupert Clarence Lane, Curtis Newman and John Blair. DISEASE GERMS. Little Talks on Health and Hygiene by Samuel G. Dixon, SI. D.. LL. D Commissioner of Health. There are many things in the world which our five senses un aided would never apprise us of. There are sounds too delicate for the ear to hear, odors which we cannot smell, flavors which we fail to recognize, movements and vibrations to which our nerve centers do not resppnd and in numerable objects in nature which we cannot see. Even the bravest man shrinks from danger which is unseen. The deadliest enemies of man kind are absolutely invisible to the naked eye. Tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, the plague, yellow fever and many other of the diseases which claim a greater number of lives than have ever been sacrificed in war are caused by those invisible en emies which scientists call bac teria or micro-organisms. Com monly these are referred to as disease germs. Bacteria are minute organisms the largest of which are only some ten or twelve thousandths of an inch in length. Not all bacteria are harmful; but those which are responsible for disease when introduced into the human or animal economy multiply with startling rapidity and give off poisons which cause sickness and death. Millions of these organ isms could be contained in a sin gle drop of water. There are three very common ways in which disease germs are carried from person to person and introduced into the system fingers, food, and insects. Foods which are eaten raw, and milk, and water, are those most likely to transmit infection. Thorough cooking destroys the bacteria; and unless the food is infected by being handled afterward, it is safe. Our fingers are continually coming in contact with articles touched by others, and they may be so contaminated with human excretions from those diseased. The intestinal discharges of those suffering from typhoid fever con tain the germs, and here unclean liness is responsible for the trans mission. Many epidemics of typhoid fever have been traced to a single case on a dairy farm where the housewife acted as nurse and milk-maid. Insects alone are responsible for the transmission of the germs of certain diseases. Yellow fe ver and malaria for example are each carried by a single variety of mosquito from the sick to the well. Suffrage Bill Now iu Senate. The resolution providing for a suffrage amendment to the State Constitution has been referred to the Judiciary Committee in the Senate and will probably be re ported out at the next meeting of that committee. Owing to the ten-day vacation which the Leg islature has declared in honor of Washington's Birthday, it is likely that the final vote on the bill will not be taken until early in March. But meanwhile, the suffragists are not worrying de spite the eleventh hour fight that was made against their bill in the House. The lobbyists for the interests that oppose the measure have already canvassed the Sen- ' ate and found little cause for en couragement there. The Repub lican party, which is in power, has let it be distinctly understood that the party pledge onsuffragr shall be kept and the whole ques tion put up to a referendum vote of the people at the polls this fall. The House vote on the suf frage resolution last week was 130 ayes and 71 noes. Miss Maude B. Ott after hav ing spent several weeks with friends at Warriors Mark, Al toona, and Harrisburg, returned v. to her home in this place last X Saturday night ; V t I M i i
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers