Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-24
Ehrntttg Olrat

How much do you suppose was
spent in Harrisburg for Easter fineFy ?''-
l asked one of the city's prominent
business men yesterday.
well, L have been figuring out that
proposition bit and you're the first
person to ask me. / have often Won
dered myself and the last three years
nave been trying to get line on it,
answered the business man. Mind,
nave nothing to go on except answers
got from questions l put to men who
zeal in such things, but L figure up
mat harrisburg and Steelton and the
west Shore towns that you newspaper
men talk about as comprising what is
really Harrisburg spent on an average
oI ~ cents for each person. Over in
New York they say that about a quar-
Ter apiece is spent every Easter for
togs. and Philadelphia, which makes
more of Easter parades, spends prob
ably 10 cents head"
We'll, how do you figure that we
spent as much as 80 cents q head
here 2" was then asked.
Y Dung man, do you know that
there are lot of people who think it
part OF their religion-well not that,
but part of good form-to wear
something new for Easter? You used
10 hear that when you were a boy, eh?
Well, it's not changed. 1 know lot
of heads of families who have gotten
past the stage of buying new suit for
Easter and a number of mothers who
90 lot that their children may look
well on Easter. Now Pa and Ma prink
up just bit, too. They may not buy
new suits or new hats, but they've got
new pair of stockings or something,
all right. And as for new neckties,
more men buy them than you imagine
You go and ask Joe Shearer or viii or
Ben Strouse or some of the other mer-
| chantS who deal in such things. Our
old friend Jerauld could give you Il
nne on Easter shoe buying, and what
the Bowmans or Bennethum could tell
about Easter buying would fill q book
They are only a few of the merchants
could mention as worth seeing to get
| some data for your question. And
| when You got done you would find that
the money spent for Easter finery, as
you call it, would run probably more
than 30 cents a head in Greater Har-
risburg. But. young man, what a lot
or people buy for Easter lasts them
many weeks afterward, because this Is
thrifty town."
The driver of the Friendship Fire
| CompanyS chemical truck saved our
feelings from being narrowed up and
Third street from being the scene of a.
| smash on Saturday night because he
could think quickly and act promptly.
And beer wagon was nearly the
cause of trouble. When the fire alarm
! from the Eighth ward rang in the
night before Easter crowd in Third
and Market streets was at its thickest
! The alarm brought some hundreds
more into those streets, and when the
chemical came UP the cars stopped and
the policemen cleared the way. Two
| cars were halted in front of the Berg
ner building when the mail wagon
| came down Third street. The driver,
instead of getting in behind the trolley
cars, got over into the place for down
| town traffic between the cars and the
| curb. The beer wagon was standing a
| short distance above the Postal Tele-
graph office. Its driver had been away
some minutes and the horse was OBJ
| liviouS of the row. The fire truck
| driver coming UP the street below
Market saw the beer wagon standing
| where 1t meant close shave and for
fraction of a second the lights of the
rushing apparatus pointed up the other
side of the street. Then the mail wagon
hove in sight Another fraction of
| second and the fire lamps lighted up
the rear of the beer wagon again. The
| apparatus was headed straight for a
crash. But the driver in making up
his mind had started to slow down and
the heavy machine stopped a yard
away. A few seconds later someone
| had led the delivery horse ten feet up
| the street and the truck started off,
while the mail wagon driver, oblivious
to conditions on Saturday night,
headed down the main street to the
station.
In spite of the cool weather the
automobile season seemed to be opened
yesterday. More automobile parties
stopped at the hotels than known for a
| long time Some of the parties ar
rived shivering after thirty-mile rides
and hot chocolates were in demand.
According to reports which have
been received at the State Department
of Fisheries good catches of trout
were made in a number of sections of
the State in the first week of the sea-
son in spite of the weather and the
condition of the streams. Streams in
which brown trout were placed are
reported to have afforded fair catches.