Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-23
Enrtttttg Gltat

| OH0 VI lH0 city m0QlCdI m0na
who has been going day and night
for the last two weeks, and who has
been in every section of Harrisburg,
said the thing that impressed him
was the way people were staying at
home. Very often when people arr
going at a high rate of speed
things fix themselves upon notice
which would not be observed other
wise," said he. THE thing whicA
has made me wonder as I drive
about is why so many windows are
| ngnted up between and 10 at
night. Take the residential sections.
tnere are lights in every window.
IL looks as though everyone was
giving a party. At first / could not
account for it and then it struck
me that the people of Harrisburg
| had no place to go but home and
that they were staying at home, get
tlng acquainted with each other. The
| influenza outbreak with its closing
or theaters, saloons, ice cream and
soda parlors and pretty nearly
| everything else including the
churches, has not been bad thing
Tor harrisburg in one or two ways.
We have suffered much, but from
what 1 have found there have been
| some compensations and home life
has been given an impetus which 1t
! needed even in our city of homes"
The observations of the medical man
are certainly to the point. There are
more people staying home now than
probably ever known before and,
| barring the first week or so after
| things open up at the theaters and
amusement places there will be more
| nF- 1ncC IN
especially If it happens to be an
early winter. Down town" and
the other centers of life in Harris
burg are about the deadest places
at night one could imagine. Sunday
night is lively compared to most
of these evenings and 1890, the hour
when many people are starting home
from the theaters, is a gloomy
time. In the language of "newsy'
who hangs about Third and Mar,
ket: dis towns goin' to bed
awful early now"
Pennsylvania State Capitol,
which a few weeks ago, was bright
with the many colored posters call
ing upon people to subscribe to the
Liberty Loan and filled with auto
Imobile parties and visitors, is now
one of the gloomiest places in Har-
risburg. Half the building is closed
through the edict of the Department
of Health and the great bronze doors
are half closed with big signs hang
ing from them that the Capitol is
closed except to people having Of
fetal business and newspaper cor
J respondents" The legislative halls
Iare locked tight and a guard sits in
front of the Governors reception
I1.nN whit oh AIna nn1y
paintings. The Liberty Loan posters
have all disappeared from the COR
ridors; less than half of the ele-
vators are running; the force of
, caretakers and charmen is reduced
by the epidemic and in the depart
ments there are many vacant desks
because of illness of clerks, while
meetings and hearings have been
dispensed with and meeting places
are closed. The open window and
the closed door are the rule and
visits by delegations are being dis
couraged until the danger from the
, epidemic passes. A few days ago
Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh is
sued letter to heads of departments
. suggesting that the women employees
, volunteer as nurses, but the propo-
sition did not take very we'll in of
|
to illness and the press of routine
business never seems to grow less.
, One of the effects of the closing Or
{ der has been to inundate the Gov
ernor's office with kilograms and let
ters, some protesting and some in
quiring about the duration of the
"shutdown."
"This prohibition because of i'm
! fluenza is not such q bad thing after
ALL" remarked a man who has seen
many sides of life and been able to
view the result cheerfully. "It is
sort of trial heat for the boys SO
that they will realize what is COM
ing"
The influenza outbreak has had
the effect of causing an increase in
the correspondence of State Capitol
departments the last week, and the
reflection of the State Department
of Health's order to close all amuse-
ment places, saloons and other
points where crowds might gather
and the authority given to local
boards to close churches and schools
has curiously enough added to the
mail for the Governor and other Of
fcials. The Department of Health
gets a large amount of mail in
any event and this quantity has been
increased lately. The mail of the
Governor has contained quite few
letters relative to the order and in
fuenza generally, some of the COM
munications being protests and 9TH
ers advisory. The Attorney General
has not escaped the flood OF letters
about the consequences of the states
regulatory action, either. Times
when extraordinary measures have