Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-24
Enrntng Chat

The State street bridge over the
Pennsylvania railroad was built in
1874 and ever since the city and the
railroad have been trying to move
about the responsibility for its con-
dition with few flyers toward max
ing the trolley company the burden
bearer. At last accounts the city
seemed to have been given the Job.
At any event for over forty years
the officials of the municipality and
the company have been wishing it
had never been built. One time ip
the days of the olds select councIs
an eminent attorney, representing
the company, was informing the
city lawmakers that the company
had nothing to do with the bridge.
whereupon one of the council bland
ly asked the lawyer if he had his
initials on his handkerchief. "Os
course, of course, now that's fool
question" he replied with a wither-
ing glance. "Oh, very well, 1 Just
noticed that the bridge bore the in.
itials p. R. r. and thought that
meant ownership" came back tho
councilman. mo. sir" retorted the
lawyer, when he got his breath
| That's where you're wrong. The
| p. r. r." up there is to indicats
who gave the bridge to the city
That same idea of passing the buck.
went on for years and finally tho
city fathers found they had to pay
| for repairs about once in five years
, and if the railroad wanted anything
! real bad the councilmen would man.
age to get it to bear part of the cost,
When the trolley line was run out
State street and over the bridge the
traction company began to get tag
ged. OF late years the city has had
| 10 Co., 1Ia A..
of I-beams corroded by gases from
locomotive stacks, and every time
the job appeared to be we'll done
some new structural weakness woulS
! be discovered and things would have
to be done all over again. City coun-
cilmen declined to discuss the bridge
with any degree of equanimity to-
day and said that they. hoped the
new monumental viaduct would be
provided for as soon as the Legisla-
ture of 1919 could enact the re-
quired statutes and arrange for the
share of the state.
State draft headquarters is rap
idly getting to the point where it
can take care of any situation which
arises. Between answering inquir-
les as to whether there are vacan-
cies for chefs in divisions on the fir
ing line to quieting the fears of one
legged men that they may be in the
next draft the staff Of Major Muir
dock is able to cope with anything.
Yesterday afternoon the wife of a
draftee arrived at the headquarters
with a desire for specific informa-
ton and a restless baby. She landed
beside the desk of L. K. Lafean. the
chief of inductions, and the baby
ini,1nd in, dicn,,cciAy c1, "A
left one of the members of the staff
was at hand to take care of the baby,
remarking that she had had some
experience in that line. About the
same time Chief Clerk Keenan, was
out front trying to convince a gen.
tleman' that what he wanted was
brassards not an article of apparel
sounding something like that, but
not worn on the arm.
;. Pennsylvania blackbird season,
the first of the fall seasons for small
game, opens on Monday, Septem ber
2, although the first day of Septem-
ber is the. real date under the new
game code. AS Sunday hunting is
forbidden the gunners will have to
start out on Labor Day. Blackbirds
may be shot without limit and from
all reports there will be plenty to
shoot. Reports coming here are
that there is an unusual number OF
blackbirds and that they have got
ten together in immense flocks," is
the statement made at the Staae
Game Commission offices. In the
northern tier the birds are still about
and in southern counties they have
become a nuisance in oats and veg
etable fields. Their numbers and
activities have caused some men to
suggest that it would be a good plan
to start the blackbird season on Au-
gust 1 to thin them out for few
years. The season used to begin in
October by which time the black
birds were safely in the southern
fields, but September l was agreed
upon. There are now plenty of birds
and they are in great fiocks in agri-
cultural regions. State wardens have
been sent to Greene county to in
vestigate the shooting of robins by
some people who got mad and pro-
ceeded to kill off blackbirds because
of the damage they were doing.
These people did not secure a per-
NIT from the State Game Commits
sion officers, where it could have
been had for the asking, after filing
a statement of damage being done.
In other sections farmers have been
given the right to kill the black
| birds.
Col Maurice e. Finney, who was
commander of the old Eighth regi-
ment when 1t went to war, and who
| is on the advanced lines in France.
| has sent to friends in this city Ger
man helmet and other trophies. They