Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-18
Enrntttg Chat

w nlle Ine present outbreak OF IN
ftuenza is far more serious epi-
demic than that which swept the
city in 1889 and 1890, the fact re-
mains that Harrisburg people have
IN the century and half of the eX-
istence of their community met and
conquered far more serious attacks
of contagious and infectious dis
ease. Indeed, if one could read the
newspapers of bygone days in Har-
risburg it would seem that the city
was not suffering very much and the
restriction of business, cancellation
of school sessions and general shut
ting down" would appear rather in
cidental compared to the drastic
steps undertaken by common con-
sent long ago. There were no health
officers in those days, but there was
a town spirit that brooked no non
sense and demanded, and received,
a cooperation that turned out most
effcaciously. From that old news
paper beacon of this place, the Or
acle of Dauphin, comes an account
of how when the people of the town
thought that milldam and pond
on Paxton creek was to blame for
the spread of the epidemic which
closely resembled yellow fever they
proceeded to destroy the dam and
pay the owner the value. From the
account books of that first sanitary
improvement of Harrisburg which
have come down to us we learn
that there was an assessment made
lon every property owner for the cost
of the property and that every one
paid it, while when it came to tear
ling down the dam it was accom-
plished in spite of shotguns. That
was in 1898 or thereabouts. In 1902
there was an outbreak of cholera
here. In the twenties several out
breaks of feVers which swept the
country came here and the town has
had smallpox and various other af-
fictions along with the rest of Penn
sylvania cities and come through be-
cause its people kept their heads
and turned in and helped the doc
tors and the sick. The newspaper
accounts of other years are an in
spiration to the people who are fight
ing influenza now.
Some friends who have been
reading the accounts appearing in
this column from time to time about
the project for improving the navi-
CATION of the Susquehanna have
Icalled attention to an old advertise
lment which appeared in that ances-
tor of the Harrisburg Telegraph,
- the Oracle of Dauphin, which bears
on the subject. This advertisement
Q appeared in August, 1895, after
meeting had been held by men from
various counties of Pennsylvania
IN and Maryland for the purpose of or
ganizing the work of removing OBJ
M structions from the Susquehanna.
1t reads:
, WANTED-A number of per-
lie sons who are acquainted with
blowing rocks and removing OBJ
- struction in the SusqWehanna
river between the mouths of
- the Swatara creek and the Ju-
niata those that can be we'll
recommended shall have gener-
lis Gus wages. Attendance will be
. given at Harrisburg during
ID court week for making con-
ID. tracts.
40
is The project of making the river
navigable in 1894, to which refer
Id ence was made yesterday, seems to
have been a successor to the scheme
ly launched away back in 1890, and
ur after the Legislature had refused to
or wound up in the halls of Congress.
ly The War Department assigned an
engineer to make surveys and esti-
mates which was done very carr
n, fully, but Congress was more iH-
I'd Iterested in improving the naviga-
ton of creeks in other parts of the
as country, as it was until very recently
ID, and to the great advantage of the
1T, Southern States, than in voting
n, money to make a channel in the
to lSusquehanna. The era of the canal
was just beginning then and the
i'd development of the railroads which
ch succeeded it put damper on water
transportation in this section of the
is, state. However, as Governor John
- x. Tener said one day when view
Sc ing the old canal locks and works
at Clark's Ferry, Some day people
will wish they had that old canal
back again"
Il "I know the first disposition of a
Iperson asked if a telephone call is
- essential is to get mad, but a little
reflection will demonstrate what it
means" remarked a man connected
with telephone operations yesterday,
There are many people sick in ex-
changes. They are Short-handed
and if the women, and men, too, who
call up people on the telephones in
morning and afternoon hours to
chat will just defer that pleasant oc-
cupation for week or so it will
help all around. There are many
important calls for doctors, drug
gists and nurses which are actu-
ally delayed because someone is
talking something else than busi-
ness on the wires. You newspaper
people can help a lot if you will
call this to attention of everyone"
One of the interesting things
about the business of the State Water
Supply Commission these days is the
number of applications being made
i LOT dppTONul Oh VI
! They are held to indicate a revival
of interest in water power in the
| state. This week applications for
| no less than six dams were approved
/ and others are pending. Some of
= the dams are for coal companies
which want to prevent coal from
being washed away, but most of
them are for power purposes. Half
dozen dredging enterprises were
, also approved, some of them to deep
en- channels. The commission is
rather chary about granting per-
mits for filling these days.