Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-17
Eirrsttt1g Gl1at

The State of Pennsylvania Is MAX
ing its first efforts to help its peo-
pie move the peach crop, which is
one of the largest the southern
counties have ever produced, accord
ing to estimates made at the Capitol,
and for the first time is acting as
the agent for carload lots. This new
line of State activity has been under
taken by the new Bureau of Mar
kets, which made a survey of the
peach crop and went into the COM
plants of owners of the orchards,
which have increased materially in
the last few years, that they could
not get enough people to pick the
fruit and that they were confront
ed with unsatisfactory marketing
conditions. The bureau got into
touch with market centers on q car
load lot basis and has been very
successful in selling such quanti-
ties, according to reports made here.
There has beeA little difficulty about
cars. The same plan is to be tried
in connection with the apple crop.
Payments of licenses by the coun-
ties of the State are commencing to
be made at the State Treasury De-
partment ard checks of varied sizes
are being received. Some of them
run from $40 to $4,000, and on one
day this week three for over $780,
600 each were received at the Cap
1tol. The licenses form the last big
item of payment at the treasury be-
fore late in the fall when the pay
ment of State taxes begins. Outside
OF the licenses the receipts of the
States financial department have
not been very extensive lately.
Over 500 letters have been re-
ceived by the State Treasurer and
Adjutant General of Pennsylvania
from men in the United States Army,
Navy or Marine Corps since the
commencement of the war asking
for the bonus of SO which it is err
roneously reported the State is pay
ing for its sons who enlist. These
letters have come from every land
where there is a United States mill
tary organization In some of the
letters are statements of long periods
of service and in a few which have
come lately have been the registra-
tion cards of men who have enlist
ed under the draft and who have
since enlisted. The cards are sent as
proof of birth and residence in Penn
sylvania. State officials would like
to offer reward for the person who
started the report that Pennsylva-
MIA is giving bonus.
Local railroad officials have Just
| received copies of one of the most
drastic laws ever adopted by Con-
gress for the regulation of railroads
The statute was approved by Presi-
dent Wilson, August 7, and among
other things provides that until Jan
uary 1, 1920, no rate shall be raised
nor classification changed or passen-
| ger fare advanced without first hav-
ing the approval of the Interstate
Commerce Commission. Officials say
that the delay in putting rates into
| force under this law will hamper
the railroads greatly. for it frequent
| ly happens that from six to nine
months frequently elapse before the
overcrowded commission can act on
applications filed by the companies
| and the new work will add greatly to
the burden of the commission. Not
| even(a merely local condition can be
corrected without appeal to the In
terstate authorities under the new
! law. On the other hand, the COM
mission is not taking proper care of
the railroads. A case in point is
cited. There is Just now extensive
speculation in scrap iron. Frequent
| ly car of scrap will be received at
q given point consigned, for eX-
ample, to Smith. Next day Smith
| notifies the railroads he has conSign-
ed to Brown. Brown a week later
consigns to Jones. Jones sells to
Black, and so on, possibly for twenty
days or more and meantime the
much needed car is standing on n
| siding, useless to shippers and draw
ing for the railroad company only a
nominal demurrage charge. The
railroads have been asked by the gov
| ernment to keep the cars in motion
and when the companies asked the
Interstate Commerce Commission
for permission to charge a small fee
for carrying the car from one con-
signee to the other, not counting the
first transfer, the application was
suspended. "The government is ask
ing us to cooperate and is requir-
ing much of us" said a local rail-
road official to-day, "but it will not
give us the least help. How long
we can carry the ever-increasing load
is something ! don't pretend to know,
and that's the way other railroad