Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-17
Eurntttg Chat


| lines suggested by Provost Marshal
General and urged by Chairman
William Jennings, of the Dauphin
| county council of national defense,
| in the instruction of the men of draft
age, which will come in mighty~'
handy when the new draft law is put
into effect. The local boards were
| called upon to name committees CT
instruction and the plan as followed
by the Elizabethville board seems
to be generally accepted This calls
! for a general meeting of all men OF
| draft age in a district and addresses
by an Army man upon the military
side and the way things are done at
camps, so that the men will not be
too scared to talk when they arrive;
by an insurance man who explains
the Army insurance plan; by Y. M.
G. A. worker who tells the men what
the great association and kindred
bodies are doing to make them feel
contented and how to get the advan-
tages they offer; by a doctor upon
being clean, morally, mentally and
every other way, why and how to
get so and stay so; then some pa
triotic talks, singing, music and gen.
eral getting acquainted, winding up
with some preliminary military in
struction so that men will know how
to keep step when they go to the
camps, can stand at attention"
face properly and other little things
that are hardest to learn. The Steel
ton board has organized and the
Steelton Reserves are furnishing the
drillmasters, as the Harrisburg Re-
serves are doing for the rest of the
county. The Paxtang board has
named Robert T. Fox, of Hummels-
| town, assistant district attorney, as
chairman, while the city boards have
| oil AI l.Af, 60 ln
instruction of the drafted men. II
is one of the most important things
to be undertaken and it is a pity
that more people who have time on
their hands are not doing more
for it.
State Fishery authorities will prob.
ably have to call up or call upon the
Federal government for some as.
sistance in untangling a situation
which has arisen in the Susquehanna
and which are killing thousands OF
valuable food fish. occurrences oI
the draining of acids from paper
mills, tanneries and similar plants
which drove the fish from the ALE.
gheny, Clarion and other western
Pennsylvania rivers have been re.
ported from the west branch of The
Susquehanna and for miles streaks
,
stroying NOT only fish but plant life
The conditions in the Susquehanna's
west branch came to a climax this
, week when people in n dozen towns
telephoned here that splendid speci-
II mems of bass and some salmon twen-
| ty-four and twenty-six inches long
were taken from the river dead from
, the pollution. The destroying ma.
: terials were traced to tanneries and
, | nj
: they were engaged in government
, work and that the conservat ton or.
ders would prevent spending money
for filtration purposes. In some sec.
tions the situation has become sc
: serious because of indignation OF
/ fishermen that state authorities have
i sent notices of a peremptory char.
/ acter to filter wastes and will con-
l test appeals to Federal authorities
: to avoid doing the work.
"Gasollne conditions do not ap.
pear to be interfering with people
: travelling to HARRISBURG" remarked
one of the clerks at the Bolton In
; chatting about conditions here yes.
terday. 'As a matter of fact we
have had about as many parties as
we had this month last year and the
people travel as long distances. Just
|
, they have been coming in. They
: come from all sections and it seems
as though all roads lead to Harris.
, burg"
The Killinger picnic which is being
held to-day in the upper end of the
county and the Loyalton picnic which
comes next Saturday have been held
, for years and have developed from
gatherings of the greatest kind. They
bring together farmers from three
or four counties and the agricultural
experiences of one of the thriving
districts of the Susquehanna Valley
are threshed out and sacked away
for winter discussion and spring
practice. Quite few Harrisburgers
who come from "above the noun
tains" make it a rule to go to one
of these gatherings. just as many
travel to the Gratz fair.
There have been q good many
puzzled people about Union station
this week because of the arm bands
or brassards, as the Army calls them,
which are on the arms of the SOL
ders and drafted men. mp"
means military police and it desig-
mates man to keep soldiers in Or
der, such men replacing the provost
guard of Camp Meade days in Har-
risburg; "SP" means special police
and signifies that the wearer is in
charge of II group of drafted men
on the way to camp, while plain
brassard with a number or initial
on it means a drafted man on his
way to camp. And all three have
certain rights and privileges which
the average man must respect.
Among visitors to the state draft
headquarters yesterday was Harry
w. Chamberlin, prominent attorney
of Milton and member of the local
draft board for that section of
Northumberland county Mr. Cham
berlin; who was in the Spanish War,
is a nephew of the late James I.
Chamberlin, of this city.