Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-06-30
EVENING Chat

What is the State of Pennsylvania
worth? This question is one which
has been agitating folks on Capitol
Hill ever since Governor Tener named
the committee to ascertain and sched-
ule the assets of the Commonwealth
some months ago. A regular guessing
game is In progress on the "Hill" and
the estimates range all the way from
100000 to S50.0OO,00O. When you
sit down and think about 1t, that is
wloe range and huge sum of money,
put the commonwealth owns every
tnlng from million acres of forest
iand TO hand plough on an experi-
mental farm, with a State capitol
pulloing, furnished. and u flock of au-
toInoplies and motorcycles thrown in.
One .hlng Is certain and that is that it
the estimates. To begin with, there
state property scattered over a
score OF counties and land and build
lngs are subject to varying methods of
NaIuatlon, while what may be consid-
ereu as OF high value in some sections
Is not rated high in others. Thus the
work or the commission in ESTABLISHING
a regular standard to go by has occue
rieu many weeks. 1t is the idea to
WORK out a schedule wherein things
may be listed on a general basis and
Snen the general calculation made,
Soine OF the institutions have been
tpunu 10 nave things in such shane
.iIa' tney can report comprehensiyely
and accurately. but this cannot he said
Oh others. 1t is doubtful if all of the
WORN can be accomplished in time for
d report TO be made much before De-
ceInper, winch will permit the Gov
ernor TO refer to it in his farewell
message TO the Legislature.
GOVernor Tano, a., z-.. =,
Seipt or letters asking for contri-
buttons and occasionally the persons
inaSlng the requests send articles
maze by them and which they think
WIN promote generosity. As n mat
yer OF iact, some of the articles sent
o"roer on the smile-provoking. One
OF these arrived the other day and
Then II proved to be a fiery red f,an
mel ai1air with some lettering.
incidentally, it might be remarked
lhtt tnere is no one, except, possihlv
candidates for office, who gets more
beSglng letters than the man VIII
nappehs TO be Governor of Pennyl-
', nan,a hN-GoVernor William A. Stone
used to ask in the morning for an
aggregate of the amounts asked in the
letters OF the morning mail and when
samuel w. Pennypacker was Governor
ne was astonished at the number and
variety OF requests made of him for
contributions. Several Governors have
attempted to make rules to deal with
such cases, but il only seems TO start
more coming. With probably one ex-
cepuon the men who have been Cow
efnors OF PENNSYLVANIA in the last
twenty years have not been rich men.
as wealthy men are counted these
oaSs' and every, one has left the
eSalted office with balance against
nm. The salary of $4,000 and
house and official travelling exnenses
given looks very large, but when
!; is calculated the demands upon
the executive to keep UP the dig
nifty of his position he has pre
cious little chance to save, to say
nothing of the demands made upon
nm IN the name of charity and other
tnlngs which are plain holdups. There
pants of public office and nominees as
leSltlmate prey for any sort of ticket
selling, subscription or benefit affair
ana they go to surprising lengths to
win out However, mighty few of
them get by the men who are the
secretaries of State officials, and ifr|
they DO they must be pretty expert.
Comment in hotel corridors and
Where people who travel about the
state in automobiles congregate in this
clty Is very apt to touch upon two
points which the average resident of
another community cannot understand
IN municipality of Harrisburg's pro-
gressiNeness. One is the condition in
which Derry street, the eastern en-
trance TO the States capital, is al
lowed to remain and the other is the
fringe or houses in what has been
called "Hardscrabble" for three-uuar-
ters of century. The city has shown
ltS intention to improve Derry street
Tor at least part of the unpaved sec
ton, but there remains a space of five
blocks which is full of ruts and places
which are apt to cause a man to saw
things. AS for "Hardscrabble," it re-
mains source of amaZement to many
people who think kindly of this city,
The execution of yesterday and
some l knew of when l was a boy
show the way times change" said a
man in speaking of the solemn ad-
miniStration of the laws sentence in
the Jail yard. 1T shows the way
people have come to regard such
things. l remember when an execution
used to attract thousands and people
would drive here from miles away just
to be in town when il took place. Then
there were executions which were wit
messed by hundreds in the Jail. But
all that was changed ten years or so
ago, Now il attracts dozens to the
outside OF the prison where il used to
draw thousands. Still. I'm glad such
things are nearly over as far as this
city is concerned"
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE