Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-12-21
Ehrntttg Olrat

| Between the speakership contest and
| the meeting of the State Educational
Association Harrisburg will be lively
place next week, and If there are any
vacant rooms in any of the hotels they
will be at a premium. The big new
hotel would be a mighty useful thing
| to have next week. There will be
! about 1000 teachers and men and
women interested in education here
next week for the educational meeting,
which will have an important bear
ing upon legislation pertaining to
school affairs, and the presence of
eX- X-President Taft will be an event of
first Importance. The speakership con-
test will bring many men here earlier
| than usual for the opening of legis-
lative session and there will be numer-
| Gus headquarters staffs and plenty of
men interested in legislative affairs to
| see how the members line up. Then,
| too, Harrisburg will have its usual list
of holiday week functions and there
will be much doing.
It's remarkable how many people
| are buying Christmas greens and
mistletoe despite the high prices be-
| ing asked. In hundreds of windows
throughout the city holly wreaths tied
with big red bows are to be seen hang
ing and on every street car can be seen
| from one to half q dozen men or
women taking bits of green home.
| Prices this year are the highest ever
quoted and for a really good looking
holly wreath 40 cents is not an eNcep-
tonal price TO be paid. Christmas
trees too, are selling at anywhere from
10 cents to several dollars, but they do
not seem to be going so fast, many
people evidently waiting until the last
minute, hoping they will come down
in price.
Not all the money received by Har-
risburgers from Christmas savings
funds was spent for Christmas pres
ents this year, according to a we'll
known downtown banker. More than
60 per cent. of the money issued in
Christmas checks has been placed in
the bank at interest, he says, and
more is expected after December 25,
when folks know just how much they
can afford to salt" away after all the
purchases have been made.
Harrisburg firemen for the second
time this week had u pleasant CD cold
weather job after lighting fires at
which they had to lay more than q
thousand feet of hose in Il single line
to get stream of water On Monday
morning after the fire at the Central
Iron and Steel Company plant some of
the water froze in the sections of hose,
causing the firemen several hours
work thawing out the ice and drying
TIighspire when the Harrisburg boys
were called there. On cold days 1t is
almost impossible to prevent some of
! the water from freezing before the
hose can be taken back to the engine
house and dried. Every time | do
this" complained one fireman as he
, stopped to warm his fingers, 81 wonder
, why in heck I'm opposed to paid
, department.
The fuss over ash cans which mark
, ed last week calls to mind story told
by one of the old-time residents of
: this city who "reminisced" of the days
before the water works was built. In
those days, said he, water was fur
nished by wells, some of which We're
only filed up twenty-five years ago;
t from springs which have been turned
: into city sewers these many years ana
from the river which was not polluted
, by sewage and knew not the contain
mating sulphur from the coal mines
nor the destroying wastes from rae
tories. Certain men had routes for
sale of drinking water and one cranky
, individual who used to draw water
from a place on the river near the
big island got the cream of the trade.
He finally got more and more arbl-
! trary but because of the water he
supplied, which was supposed to come
, from some spring in the riverbed, he
held his business. Finally he said
that he would not permit any dipping
from his barrels unless people did IL
with buckets which he offered to sell.
Everyone owned a rowboat in those
days and the monopoly went to smash
, in short order.
DIR. Clarence J. Marshall, the State
veterinarian, whose humor is as joy
Gus as that of State Librarian Mont
: gomery, is out with a new form of
> much used proverb. We have all
heard that "a whistling girl and q
t growing hen will come to a bad end
and the converse "a girl that whistles
} and a hen that crows will make their
: way wherever they CO. But listen to
this new version designed especially
for farmers which the learned author
, ity on cows, sheep and horses has to
give: "Whistling girls and good fat
sheep are the best property a farmer
can keep"
Frederick E. Bower. of Lewisburg,
, who was here yesterday to secure Il
, pardon for a client which he did,
created considerable amusement when
he remarked in opening his speech
that the first and last time he had
appeared before the board was in
1888. 81 came to protest against a
; Communication, but it was granted. |
am here this time to get pardon"
said he.