Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-04-08
EVENING Chat

| ing out a plan which will in all prob
ability result in the assembling of one
| Of the most unique collections of por-
| crafts in the city. 1t is his idea to
| obtain the likenesses of all of the post
| masters of Harrisburg and to group
!! them together as part of the records
| of this city's post office. which is
| rapidly becoming one of the most inn
| portant in the State. This plan has
oeen in vogue in national and State
governmental offices for generations,
the collections at Washington and on
our own Capitol Hill being not only
interesting but valuable, and recently
Mayor Royal began a collection of the
portraits of the mayors of Harrisburg.
Mr.. Royal has given considerable time
| and thought to the work, which neces-
STATED far more correspondence and
| research than imagined by the man
who had never undertaken such a
project. The city's executive found
| that relatives of deceased mayors had
moved away and 1t was only by dint
OF persistent work that he was able to
secure likenesses of several mayors of
thirty and forty years ago. City Clerk
Miller's collection of portraits of the
presidents of Common Council is some
thing unique in the State, as it is
doubtful if the large cities have a col
lection so complete, Mr.. Miller began
the gathering of the portraits when he
became city clerk in the early nineties
and kept at 1t, overcoming the natural
reluctance of some men to have their
faces appear in public places and
securing others from families of men
who had died. 1t is Mr.. Sites belief
that he will be able to secure the por-
traits of John Wyeth. the early news
paperman and first postmaster of the
city. John Wright, James Peacock,
Isaac G. Mckinley, John II. Brandt
and other postmasters of long ago, as
some of their descendants live here
aboutS. He has been offered the por-
traits of George Bergner and others
of a later generation and before long
this interesting collection will doubt
less be complete.
Among visitors to the city yesterday
was Representative NJ Clark Watson,
or Indiana county, who came here to
look after some business and Incl
dentally to attend sessions of the hous-
ing conference. Mr.. Watson was in
charge of the bill to esta blish the
bureau of housing in the State De-
partment of Health and fought the
measure through the Legislature. 1t
has been commended as one of the
best steps in the direction of bettering
living conditions outside of the larger
cities, which have their own laws. Mr..
watson is an attorney and one of the
veterans In reform work in-the Legis-
lature. He will run again.
There is food for thought in the
annual report of the Little Rock Pub
lie Library, just made public. 1t shows
that during 1913 there were 6S,34O
books circulated. In this city the cir
culation in three months at the new
Harrisburg Public Library was 32.5OO
books. Little Rocks library received
gift of 5000 books from the library
OF one of its prominent men and an
other of 600 medical books. Both
were made special collections in the
llorary. There were S25 books do
mated. Little Rock is a city of 45.941
population.
Spring is surely here. 1t could be
told without much effort by noting the
lackadaiSical appearance of people in
the streets, Spring garb, flowers and
| housecleaning. But a better sign
than all that of the permanence OF
the season of rains and blossoms Is
that blackbirds have arrived and are
to be seen flying over the city. The
| other evening flock landed at the
| Reservoir, but did not like the fer
tlllZer on the grass and moved away
Another flock was seen in Wildwood.
The city's parks just now furnish
ilne examples of sowing. Every DAY
men can be seen going about with
bags of grass seed. strewing it about
10 prlng up the grass in worn places
The sowing operations attract the no.
tice of many youngsters and that has
the effect of keeping away the birds
| Many bushels of seed are being used
to maintain the grass plots.
The Harrisburg correspondent for a
| newspaper in a distant CITY of tn.
State, which journal is not noted fol
the undivided support it has given the
| Tener administration, got an impor-
tant telegram from his paper a few
nights ago which made it imperative
| that the correspondent talk with Gov.
ernor Tener at the earliest possible
moment. The Executive Mansion was
| ignorant of the Governors where
| abouts. Private Secretary Gather was
located, but he couldn't say just where
| the Governor was. The Governor
seemed to have dropped out of sigh,
for the evening. Finally, on toward II
o'clock. the anxious newspaper man
] got into telephone communication
with the chief executive.
Been hunting YOU everywhere
Governor" he said. i've been on the
jump since O'clock"
II was in my office at the Capitol
| replied the Governor.
We'll. never called there adj
| mittcd the correspondent.
| "Oh, you fellows get the wrong
point of view" laughed the Governor;
we work little bit once in a while
in spite of what some papers say"