Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-24
Enrntng Chat

Capitol Hills postage bill is COM
mencing to trouble some of the heads
of the departments and boards of the
state government More mail is going
out from the departments now than
ever known before and some observers
think that it is almost as great as when
the Legislature is in session. Most of
the departments carry on publicity
services which have added to expenses
not foreseen by the last Legislature
and the Inauguration of the work
mems compensation, child labor and
other systems, not to mention the
game bounty. have sent the cost of
postage sky high as compared with
FORMER years. In the case of the COM
pensation and child labor school sys-
TENS II was necessary TO communicate
with thousands of employers, some of
whom promptly came back and asked
for all publications on the subjects.
To launch the compensation system
required notices to be sent to more
people than ever expected and the
accident report branch, which is n
part of the compensation system. re-
quired good many stamps before it
was got into working shape. The State
Highway Department is the States
biggest user of the parcel post at pres
ent because of the demand for auto
mobile license tags. although the Di-
vision of Distribution of Documents,
which handles all State publications,
is generally the largest in that line.
Automobile licenses are taken from the
Capitol by the wagonload and the mail
matter of the departments is some
thing of which the average citizen lit
tie dreams. 1t is likely that because
OF the growth of postage that the
whole subject of Capitol mail will he
studied by the Economy and Efficiency
commission and possibly some of the
advertising matter cut off.
The Freeport Journal is to the front
with an item of news which might be
classed in the before, during and
after class. 1t announces that
Wednesday afternoon about l O'Clock
an unknown Italian was struck by a
freight train at Kiski junction and
had both legs cut off. He was still
living when this item was written, but
died later"
Three boys sat on parkside benches
on Saturday afternoon near the new
Public Library for three hours. They
changed benches because the air was
damp and there was a fog from the
| river. One of them was asked the rea-
son Of the vigil and replied with fine
scorn in voice and face: "Waitin' fer
de ice ter bust. What else yer think"
1t turned out that two of them lived
east of seventeenth street.
/ Twenty-foot cuts into the rocks
| which form Capitol Hill have had TO
| be made by the men in charge of the
! construction of the big sewer which
the State is building to check the flood
ing of the basement of the State Capt.
| tol every time there is a hard rain
| When the Capitol was built not enough
provision was made for the drainage
in times of heavy rain. AS the Capitol
building line is greater around than
| st. Peters at Rome and the main
building without the dome is over 100
/ feet high, it can be seen that there is a
large surface exposed to rain. To over
come the flooding it was decided to
add fourth sewer from the building
and 1t is being built down State street
! to connect with a city sewer going to
! the Susquehanna.
The first Harrisburg Sunday school
! to celebrate a centennial of unbroken
! existence will be that of Market Square
Presbyterian Church, which will pass
! its one hundredth anniversary next
month. There were some Sunday
schools in Harrisburg prior to the
organization of the Market Square
school, but they were not continued.
| or at least those of to-day are not
directly descended. Market Square,
| which is a daughter of old Paxton
| Church. which is almost 200 years old,
was the first Presbyterian Church in
| Harrisburg. 1t dates from 1894.
|
| Capitol Hill people are becoming
| suspicious of people alleging to be
from home" who have been making
| touches" in the various departments
1t seems that some men who have
shown rather more enterprise than the
| ordinary borrower have been study
ing upstate papers and then, picking
out people from those localities, have
gone in for loan, using local gossip
and talk about men and women of the
home town as accessories.
|
Harrisburg people will read with in
| terest the announcement that Hiram
| b. Schoch. formerly engaged in news
paper work here. is to be a candidate
for the Legislature from one of the
! Allegheny county suburban districts.
He resides in Ben Avon, which is near
Pittsburgh. Mr.. Schoch was connected
with the Harrisburg Patriot and other
newspapers before going to Pittsburgh,
where he graduated from journalism
into law. He formerly resided at York
| and is we'll known TO many here.