Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-10-31
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Middletown Ferry railroad station
which is to be abandoned tomorrow as
Northern Central railroad stopping
place in favor of Riverview, a station a
snort distance away, is one of the
original stations on the Northern Gen.
tral and as landing place is older, il.
the opinion of some, than Harris Ferrt~.
which was the beginning of Harris%
burg. Middletown Ferry has quite as
which came in time to utilize the fore.
was established in the minds of white
men as a convenient point of crossing
the Susquehanna back in the days c(e
William Penn and one of the reasone
why Middletown came to be laid ol,i
was that II was presumed for years to
be the head of SuSquehanna navigatioss
and by the ford or ferry to offer easy
facilities to the south. However, John
Harris, who had picked out the ford
which later became Harris Ferry about
zoo years ago, perceived the great
value of the junction of the Lebanon
and Cumberland valleys and as he had
influential connections in Philadelphis
and about Easton traffic was diverted
to this point because of superior trans
portation advantages over Middle
town ferry. Middletown Ferry was
operated for almost $50 years after
that. Harrisburg got bridges but Mid
dletown did not because it did not Sc
cure the traffic which poured through
harrisburg, notably up and down the
Cumberland valley travel. For many
years York countians wishing to go TO
Middletown left the train at the ferry
and came over to this side and lower
Dauphin people never bothered to
| come TO Harrisburg when they wanted
| 10 go to York or Baltimore because
| they took the ferry from Middletown
| and landed at the historic landing
place which tradition says was used by
French traders before 1900. A steam
ferry succeeded the old flats about
| twenty years ago, but few years
| BACK 1t was given up by its owner be-
cause the traffic did not pay Now the
| railroad is going to relegate Middletown
| Ferry to the list of bygone stopping
places, although recently, as is said,
1t has not even hesitated there except
on flag"
Col. Geo. Van Horn Moseley, of the
| United States army, who is chief of
staff to General Clement. in discuss
in criticisms. of the Seventh or Penn
| sylVania division, said in Ell Paso that
the publicity attendant upon the call
| for the efficiency board had had q bad
| erect upon the country at large.
"One reads and gets the impression
that the entire division is in state of
| revolt he said. This is not true.
The real situation is similar to that
under which an aged sergeant in the
regular army was reprimanded. The
inspecting officer mentioned in his Off
| cial report that the sergeant had had
a grease spot on his blouse during the
inspection. The sergeant's captain,
| who knew the rugged old fighter for
the man that he was said:
Yes, it is true he has a grease spot
on his blouse, but he has five service
| bars on his chest
The point being" Colonel Moseley
laughed, that while the deficiencies of
the Pennsylvania division have been
pointed out to our discredit, none of
the good things is emphasized to our
credit"
Colonel Frank X. Patterson, who re-
tired a few days ago from National
Guard service with the rank of Briga-
dier General, leaves but three veterans
of the Civil war in high office in the
National Guard of Pennsylvania, in
deed in the whole guard. The colonel
served in the last year of the war and
is well known to many people here as
he has frequently visited Harrisburg.
He has been in the guard for forty-six
n years and for twenty connected with
4 the ordnance or small arms practice
inspection. His retirement leaves Ad-
jutant General Stewart, Surgeon Gem
eral Weaver and Commissary General
Haldeman the three Civil war veter-
ans on the staff.
The thefts of cash only which
have marked the depredations of
thieves at residences in many parts
of Harrisburg appear to have broken
out at Wilkes-Barre as newspapers in
that city remark upon wholesale
raids by housebreakers who have
sought money and allowed silver
ware and other articles. which might
be traced, severely alone The same
condition has been noted in other
cities.
Speaking of thefts an interesting
story is told by man prominent in
affairs at Capitol Hill. His house was
robbed of an interchangeable mileage
ticket back in June when, as we un-
derstand, the robberies began. He
promptly gave notice to the railroad
and the auditing bureau which checks
; up on interchangeable mileage. In
due season he was notified that a man
had ridden on his stolen mileage from
Harrisburg to Lancaster He reported
it and the local bailiffs promised to
watch. In another fortnight he was
officially informed that a man had
ridden on the stolen mileage from
Harrisburg to Sunbury. Once more
he reported. Once more the houncs
of the law were unleashed. Then he
heard of more riding on the mileage
and he asked the railroad company
the book. The answer he got was that
under the contract he should have
prevented the book from being ridden
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