Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-28
Enrntrg Gfrat

| u theme which has been given seri-
Gus and even official attention in
TINS community since about 1870.
John Harris ferry enterprise madA
Harrisburg transportation center
because he developed the ford that
| the Indians had used for centuries
| ana when the place began it's stride
Immediately after the Revolution
and people began to stream west
ward, river navigation doomed.
| Wheat was brought here on craft
known as arks from as far west as
Huntingdon county and the first an
thracite coal was floated down the
| Susquehanna on flatboats. AS early
as 1888, three years after John Har-
ris the younger laid out the site of
the future capital of the state, in con-
junction with his son-in-law, Will
liam Maclay, the first United States
senator, an agitation for removing
of distractions from the Susoue-
hanna began, and, according to our
pioneer newspaper, the Oracle of
Dauphln, in 1875 meetings were
| held in this city to discuss the plan,
the people of Pennsylvania and
Maryland having named commits
sioners, while companies and asso-
Citations were formed to develop the
great natural waterway. On the
twelfth day of August, 1875, men
met here from Lancaster, York,
Dauphin, Northumberland, Cumber.
land, Mifflin. Huntingdon and other
counties IN this state. and Cecil and
Hartford in Maryland. and arranged
to get the money for the work. Dau-
phin courty's commissioners were
John Kean. later a senator; Archi.
| bald McAllister, of the famous Fort
Hunter family; Martin Weaver, John
Murray and James McCreight, while
stacy Potts, who seems to have been
a sort of Donald Mccormick or w
Il. GorSas-or, in other words
treasurer of most movements-was
elected treasurer.
In the last half-dozen years refer.
ence has been made in this column
to the successive movements to re.
move the Instructions, most OF
which appear to have blown up be
cause of lack of means to blow un
the rocks. 1t is interesting to note
that in 1923 the business of trans.
portation had grown so rapidly thai
the demand for making the Susque.
mamma something more useful than 9
water supply and stretch of wonder.
ful scenery caused revival. 1t wa.
short-ltved because the canals were
belng puilt and the era of the rail.
: roads which were later to put the
! canals and waterways out of busi.
ness, mucn TO their own officials re.
gret to-day, was beginning. In thai
= year the Legislature named commits.
. sioners to study Improvement of tht
. Susquehanna from Northumberland
t to udewater. Coal, lumber, wheat
p and other things were being HANDLED
e in boats and the rocks were just al
D numerous and as annoyingly PLACED
n as to-day. The commission spcnl
about $4,000 and got some bat
r rocks out of the channel below Co.
f lumbia, but that is as far as the pro.
1ect got. The stream was paralleleG
e by canals and later by railroads ant
= intermittent movements to blast
:. channel have come and gone The
e majors declaration may have tn,
e effect of attracting attention to
:. matter which many have felt Il
s feasible and which in these days o.
t high explosives may accomplish
i something, even il it does make ouI
= coal cheaper and bring York county
S watermelons and Lancaster garder
products to our doors without thu
e employment of the iron horse. Th,
9 river, 1t is held, can generate the
D power to tow the boats along the
banks. After the war, Pennsylvania
n will know a lot more about tht
e strength of explosives and can adapl
: them to commerce instead of war.
o Just as an illustration of what car
: be done, all one needs to do is Il
\ sit on the steps" and watch the
I freedom of the coal-dredging flee;
I since the dam was constructed a,
: Conoy street. or to cudgel memory
t back to the days when the "Yan.
KEGS" brought the RATS down the
river and tied up at the bank close
to the mills in the First and Second
| wards Shallow-draft boats can dc
much now. Suppose five feet were
to be added for 100 to $50 feet wide
A little imagination and fulfilment
of that promise of Major Gray to
come back to superintend the job
may do something yet.
Attorney General Francis Skunk
Brown, who, incidentally, has farm
of some 325 acres on the Elk river in
the most fertile part of Maryland,
tells good story about himself. Mr..
Brown likes to be a farmer as well
as he likes to be lawyer, and when
he gets on the farm he farms. He
wears old clothes, an old hat, and
jumps fences and rides the hay
wagon. The other day a couple OF
dapper city people came to the farm
to look it over as it is noted for its
appearance. The Attorney General
was about in his oldest of old
clothes.
"Is this MIR. Browns farm ?" was
asked.
Yes. it is" said Mr. Brown.
"They tell me Mr.. Brown farms.
I'd just love to see him." said the
woman.
We'll, you're looking at him."
quoth Mr.. Brown.
"Oh. N.Y." said the scandalized
woman, do you look like that UP at
Harrisburg?"
One of Superintendent George A.
Shreiner's patent spraying machines
for sprinNling the Capitol Park de-
veloped an unexpected range yes
terday. In these days of shortage of
labor the superintendent got some
clockwork arrangements that send
hose streams about the lawns and
flower beds on certain circuits. They
go up and down and roundabout.
J Yesterday one slipped a cog and
opened water-firing on some women
feeding squirrels in the park. But
squad of youngsters came along
soon after and thoroughly enjoyed
the fun.