Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-04-14
EVENING Chat

This Is the season of the year when
the farm makes Its loudest and most
insistent call and when the city man
with muscles aching from, digging
garden or leaning over and planting
onion sets thinks of the life in the
rural districts where the leaping
brook SOUNDS and. the lowing nerd
winds slowly DER the lea. All of this
is preparatory to the remarks tnat
farmers and dwellers in the country
say that the use of the dinner norm
and dinner bell is threatened. Not
Inat there is any indlcauon Whatever
OF their use being gwen up. but with
the advance in the use OF motor Ve-
hicles loud honklng of the auto horn
is said to be as penetrating as the
blowing of q tin horn or the ringing
of bell. Less than n week ago a
Harrisburg man VINO happened to be
in the rural districts OF Dauphin
county between IL and IL said that he
heard haIf a dozen auto horns being
sounded for the call to dinner and
only four old-fashloned bells. Not
once did he hear the blast OF TIN
norm. 1t might be remarked in pass
ing that ex-Congressman Joseph SD
ley, who is well known here. is
firm believer in the bells, notWith-
standing the movement in favor of
the auto horn and a dispatch from
his home town tells that he has in
stalled a chime of tweIve bells in q
tower about IL feet high on his, River
Ridge farm. In Daupnin in the alb
sence of philanthropists VINO put up
chimes it might be stated that the
auto horn is becoming popular as
dinner call.
Friends of r. S. Chamberlin, for
several years identified with the Bell
Telephone Company in this city, Will
be interested to know that he has
been named as general passenger and
express agent of the Scranton and
Blnghampton railway which operates
a net work of lines in the northeastern
part of the State. Mr.. Chamberiin
was connected with the Bell at
Wilkes Barre and Scranton and later
general superintendent here. He was
also in charge of service of the Con-
solidated company for time and a
year or so ago went with the railway
company. His friends here will be
glad to learn of his advancement to
his new place.
The Pennsylvania railroad company
in it's information booklet commends
the empioyes who handled the big
storms this spring and calls attention
to the similarity of the disturbances
which caused the great blizzardS of
1888, 1909 and 1914. In the Begin
ming there were two storms in each
case and while 1t may be unseason-
able and also unreasonable to re-
call billiards these days. they behaved
IN the same manner. The weather
bureaus went wrong in eastern clues
because the storms coilided off Hat
teras and the back draugnt or some
hing eIse covered the Middle States
with feet of snow and paralyzed traf-
ic generally. The recollection of the
.ecent blizzard is too painful TO dwell
Ipon.
1t is noticed that in the news dis
patches of the day that many of the
smaller municipalities are taking steps
20 create park commissions and that
movements to bring about better sur
roundings are under way all over the
State. For instance, half a dozen
ooroughs have named park commits
sions lately and more have been writ |
.ng to State officials asking for laws
on the subject. 1t is also noticed that ,,
the practice of donating or bequeath-
ing park properties to small towns
mas become general and that in every
instance liberal appropriations have
been made for their maintenance.
Secretary "Billy" Wilson, of the de-
partment of labor who was to have
been speaker at last nights dinner, is
good natured to a degree, but his tenn
per is being a little tried by the ac-
ions of congress. The secretary
wanted a departmental automobile
and congress would not provide it. He
got one anyway and used the con- |
tingent fund to buy a car and put
it into service. Congress countered !
on him by tacking a provision on the |
appropriation bill that the items can |
not be used for any motor vehicle |
maintenance. Wilson has the car and |
t is said he will be willing to pay
for the gasoline If congress keeps its |
back up.
Some of the counties throughout |
he State are not taking very kindly to |
the diction from the Capitol that they |
must pay the bounties on scalps of |
noxious animals and annoying birds !
whether the legislature makes an ap-
preparation in reimbursement or not. |
The law provides that the bounties !
shall be paid and that the legislature |
shall reimburse the counties out of |
the income from hunters licenses |
one-half being specifically appropri- |
ated for the purpose. Unfortunately, |
there is hitch over the payment and |
the counties are having to pay out i
their good money with little chance |
OF getting it back for a year.