Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-27
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The important work of assembling
and preparing for the future histori-
cal data regarding Pennsylvania's
participation in the great war has
been assigned to history commit
tee by the state Council of National
Defense and plans are now being
worked out. The committee is COM
posed of about a score of men and
is headed by Senator William G.
Sproul, chairman of the State His
torical Commission; with General G.
8. Dougnerty. of Wilkes-Barre, al
ice-chairman; A. e. Mckinley, OF
the University of Pennsylvania, as
secretary and treasurer. and State
Librarian Thomas Lynch Montgom-
cry as curator. George P. Donehoo.
of Coudersport. a member of the
State Commission; Captain Fl. II.
M. Richards. of Lebanon; John e,
Potter, of Pittsburgh. and other men
active in affairs are members of the
| committee. IT is the idea to co11ecG
all data from a Pennsylvania stand
point regarding citizens in military.
| naval or marine corps service either
| pie in work connected with the war
here and abroad, including the .vari-
| Gus war activities like the Red
| Cross, Y. NJ. G. A., Knights OF CO.
lumbus and kindred organizations,
! the War Work Council, Emergency
Aid, Home Defense organizations,
Liberty Loan, War Savings and like
committees, food, fuel and other ad-
ministrations, library activities and
other lines. while the names of all
drafted men will be obtained from
| original sources. A permanent rec
ord will be made and copies placed
in the State Library for all time.
Among the work which has been
taken up by women in Pennsylvania
now is that of maintaining roads.
A report was received at the State
| Highway Department that women
had been driving road drags on roads
in the southern tier of counties.
Women have been reported as plow-
ing and engaged in farm work gem
orally all over the state.
No matter what some of the fuel
experts and publicity men connected
with that patient and much abused
branch of governmental activity at
Washington seem to think regarding
county fairs. agricultural exhibit
| L1OnS ana anu
picnics and their relation to coal
production the fact remains that
they are about as popular occasions
in Dauphin county as they ever used
to be. Indeed, it may be said that
the attendance at such gatherings
as Killinger and Loyalton was if any
thing greater than in the piping
times of peace and wheat below
dollar and anthracite half of what
it sells for, delivered, to-day. These
two picnlcs are held in the upper
part of Dauphin whence comes that
, splendid coal which goes right
through Harrisburg to the larger
cities and which we know chieny
from the praise bestowed upon 1t by
the people who use it about 200 miles
away. And the number of miners
who gave up work to attend the
gatherings was not such as would in
terfere with more than couple q
mine cars. The bulk of the miners
! who were at Loyalton, for instance,
turned up after their days work was
done. The time lost was not as
= great as would be taken up saying
unkind things about the failure of
the railroad administration to keep
, up a supply of cars. The Gratz fair
is the next big attraction and the
. number of miners who will attend
that gathering will be interesting
to record.
Judge John w. Kephart, of the
superior court, who was here yes
terday on his way to attend the
meeting OF the State P. o. S. of A.
= has been a member of that organi-
D zation almost from boyhood. The
judge is a ''SiXteener" from one of
the State Orphan schools and has
t been identified with almost every
I patriotic movement for years.
-
The value of music in the Army
was illustrated the other day when
/ some drafted men were asking ques-
tions at a meeting in the courthouse
One man asked If he should take his
guitar and another wanted to know
whether he could take along a banjo
and not be laughed at. A man who
knew told the boys to take them
along. remaEking that his own sons
had taken their musical instruments
along and that in every barracks
there were kindred spirits. 81 knew
of one barracks where there was
a concert every evening and the
colonel md the officers used to
come around and join in the sing
ing" 1t is TO be hoped that this will
sink in because in the language Of
this experienced gentleman, "A
banjo is an excellent weapon in an
army"
Don't forget in your writing about
the old canal, which I noticed you
mentioned the other day, that many
of the men of Harrisburg learned to
swim in the limpid waters" said an
old residenter from the lower end
of the city yesterday. "On summer
evenings" just about as soon as We
digested supper, and sometimes be-
fore, we used to line up along the
banks near the bridges at Mulberry,
Paxton, Dock and other places and
along Wister furnace and the old
flour mill and go in. The daring fell
lows dived from the bridges. and
no boy was a real man until he had
taken the high dive"