Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-07-05
Ehrntt1g Gl1at

Anyone who took a trip about the
city and its environs yesterday could
not help but be impressed with the
new order of things brought about
by the war. Instead of going to
baseball games or taking rides or
going on picnics there were hun
dreds of sturdy Harrisburgers and
not few women and children work.
ing in the gardens. All over the ciue
where there are seried rows of po-
tatoes, tomatoes, cabbages or other
things there were some people eitn-
er out looking over the plants to
stop the bugs and pests or else Wig
orously welding hoes to keep down
the other enemies, the weeds. Work
ing in war garden" is a new way
to celebrate Independence Day, but
1t shows the trend of the times ano
not only breaches the lesson of
thrift, but will bring its recompenps
by and by. The spirit of the day in
Harrisburg was soberer than for a
long time. 1t was in striking con-
trast to the big day in the year of
the Spanish war because on July
VI Allcll year lHt city was CutlluoO&
| over the naval victory at Santiago.
This year those who did not work
| attended various sarvices and exer-
cises and the idea OF abandoning
| parades and demonstrations was
generally commended. One of the
interesting things about the observ-
ance of the day was that the State
Capitol was visited by many people
and that the battle flags seemed to
| attract much attention, possibly
more than otherwise. More and
more the Capitol is becoming a place
for visitors on holidays and there
were numerous automobile parties
to be seen wandering out it's corri-
dors and admiring the great rotun-
da.
In connection with Independence
Day it is interesting to note that the
men of Dauphin county, then Lam
caster county, had very decided
ideas on independence of the colon
les and resistance to tyranny and .
militarism. They held a meeting in
on June 4, 1774, and Colonel Timo-
thy Green, an old Indian fighter,
presided. This meeting adopted
some pretty stiff resolutions, of the
kind that would have caused arrest
If they had been in the coast towns,
and named a committee to take
steps for defense. The late DIR. Will
liam II. Egle in an address in 1885
said that this committee was COM
posed of Colonel Green, James Caru-
theirs, Josiah Espy, Robert Dixon,
Thomas Coppenheffer, William
Clark, James Stewart, Joseph Bar
! nett and John Rogers, many of
whose descendants are living in Dau-
phin county to-day. Not much be-
hind the men of Hanover were those
of Middletown, the oldest town in
what afterwards became Dauphin
county. They held a meeting on
June 10, with Colonel James Burd
| presiding and the very next day the
| people of Hummelstown did the
same thing with Captain Frederick
Hummel as chairman, the German
residents of that section pledging
their support to the last man to
their Scotch-Irish brethren of the
Hanover district. 1t should be
| borne in mind that these meetings
were in IVA almost a year before
Paul Revere made his famous ride
and the shots that were heard
around the world rang out on the
road to Lexington:
The manner in which these early
Dauphin countians, who then in
cluded Lebanon men, followed up
their resolutions should prove "a
stimulus to the young men of the
county to-day when the call for men
to bear arms is sounding. One of
the first companies raised in the
colonies was assembled right in this
neighborhood. It's commander was
Captain Matthew Smith, of Pax
tang. 1t was ready for the field a
rev days after Lexington and was
the second company from south of
the Hudson to reach Boston, ac-
cording to DR.. Egle. In its ranks
were men who had gone to Paxton
Church with rifles in their hands in
the days of Colonel John Elder the
'hghting parson," when Indians
prowled below the Blue Ridge
Young men from the farms and
from the trading post at John Har-
rls Ferry were also in it's ranks. aE
were men from what are now Leba-
non county towns. This COMPANY
not only marched to Boston, but
took part in fights there and then
mixed" to Quebec with Arnold. It
IeIt some dead on the road that
skirts the base of the fortress on the
81. Lawrence and others died prison.
ers or the British, taken when Mont
gomery fell. One of the survivors
was John Joseph Henry, the first
Judge of Dauphin county.
Walter II. Gather, who has agreed
to act as executive secretary of Tho
Dauphin County Public Safety COM
mittee, is former newspaperman.
He did newspaper work in Pittsburgh
for years before being made secre-
tary to Governor John K. Tener. He
has had wide experience in public
afairs and served as a member of
the public service commission.