Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-07-05
Ehrntttg Chat

IhereS group or men IN HARRIS
burg who for several years past have
seen to it that independence Day has
had an impressive welcome to the city.
And this welcome is just as spec
tacular as it is unofficial, yet 1t has
never as yet figured in any of the news
stories of events of the day-and likely
never will until some city official makes
a bid for publicity by forbidding it.
Among this group of patriots are
employees of the Philadelphia and
Reading Railway in the vicinity of the
yard entrance at Eleventh and Berry
hill streets and crowd of neighbor-
hood boys.
The principal feature of the fete is
the lighting of two torches" and
these torches, by the way, are just d
little out of the ordinary. Sometimes
a whole week is required in their maxi
ing.
Two high trees in the field just be-
low Thirteenth street are selected and.
huge wads of oil-soaked cotton waste
are festooned over the limbs until the
trees take the appearance of huge
cone-shaped shafts of waste.
In anticipation of the opening of the
celebration hundreds of people gather
about the commons" and keep things
lively with tirecrackers, blanks and
cap pistols.
At midnight engines standing near
by cut loose with their whistles and
everyone who owns any kind of
noise-making device puts it to its
proper use. Before the noise dies down
someone lights wads of paper and
tosses them into the trees.
In a few seconds there are two great
torches shooting their flames into the
air for thirty or forty feet. Wads of
burning waste dropping to the ground
ignite large spaces of dry grass and in
short time there is right respect
able flagration.
This year some dealer with a large
supply of fireworks the sale of which
had been forbidden gave his stock
away and boys from the neighborhood
saw to it that they were properly
set off"
At least 100 fire balloons and scores
or cannon crackers were in the supply
and right lively time there was while
it lasted.
Until the facts in the case are ascer-
| tanned, Playground Supervisor j. *.
Staples isn't entirely sure that the
official regret naturally felt in the
cause of a complaint filed by an up
town business firm against the extraor-
dinary athletic activities of some or
the youngsters of the Seventh and
| Kelker street Fairgrounds may not be
sugared a wee bit with glow of pride.
The complaint, in brief, is that four
3-pound iron quoits have been heaVed
| from the Fairgrounds through the tin
roof of the firms warehouse near by.
| Therein, playground othclaldom ad-
mits, lies cause for deep regret. The
roof, however, is some fifty-five feet
from the surface of the playground
wherein lies the supervisors sneaking
glow of pride.
The complaining firm, by the way,
is the New Idea Spreader Company.
|
iterations of testimony brought about
more or less unconsciously by mem
bers of the bar are pointedly squelched
by the Judges on the bench; there are
occasions, too, when the court empha-
sizes this position in quietly humorous
fashion. A case in point occurred the
other day during a recent equity hear
ing. The question of whether or not a
witness had made a certain statement
was in issue; President Judge Kunkel
had his own views about it, while one
of counsel for the litigants had his:
"The witness made that point clear
a couple of times" declared Judge
Kunkel, when he repeated his asser-
. tions."
"Oh, yes," agreed the lawyer, .he
made the admission twice, anyway"
YES said the president judge,
that's a couple Of times isn't it 2"
Whereupon the argument ended
Did you sit up or get up at mid
night to hear the city's welcome to the
new independence Day." asked the
tired man of his neighbor in the troll
lev car. "Yes? Well didn't it occur
! to you that the racket was much like
London and other English towns must %
. have grown accustomed to when the
Zeppelin raids are made?"
"From all I've read and been told
of those raids by some of the folks
: who've been in London at the time
: the fire and church bells, the factory
; and locomotive whistles and similar
noise-making agencies in London anc
other English coast towns notify the
sleeping inhabitants of the coming Of
the dreadful 'Zeps' in practically the
same way that Harrisburg informed
; its own sleeping folks of the comins
of another national birthday"
with only a half hour schedule il
effect on the trolley lines to Hershe!
on the Fourth, much difficulty was eX
perienced in the evening in handlint
the big crowds of people who were re
turning home. Practically every ca
had at least 100 and in some cases ~
passengers, while the seating capaclt.
is only "A. Many of the people will
children were compelled to wait untl
. late in the evening because or TN
crowding in getting on the cars, ant
the rush for seats. One little girl wa
badly bruised when the mob pushet
her from her mothers arms and al
most threw her into the car. Becaus
of the lack of even standing room
some of the passengers were compel
ed to stay on the front platform witt
the motorman, making it difficult t.
operate the cars with safety.
Pockets loaded with cartridges AM
with %, 80 and 3S-caliber revolvers II
trim, Hummelstown and Palmyra fan
at the baseball game between thos
two teams at Hershey yesterday after
noon, furnished the visiting thousand
with a real Fourth celebration, and
good imitation of what a small battl
sounds like. Every time one of tn
PLAYERS made a hit, scored run, o
made a brilliant fielding play the root
ers instead of yelling themselve
hoarse, emptied their revolvers in tn
air. The din was continued durin
the entire game and after the smok
J cleared away hundreds of shells wer
scattered along the edge of the field
One man who had been enjoying tn
sport estimated that at least 200
blank cartridges were fired during tn
game.
Nifty Work