Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-18
Eurntttg Gtrat

General production conditions in
the anthracite region, which were
aggravated as far as the Harrisburg
district is concerned by the heavy
loss of production in the Lykens vasA
| ley coal district because of influenza,
| have caused more coal to be dredged
from the Susquehanna between Sum
bury and Middletown than ever
known before. River men say they
have been too busy to gather statiS-
| tics, but say that every squadron in
the fleet strung along the river has
brought to shore more coal than
ever known and that there are la
dications of new pockets being
| found this fall. The dredgers de-
! clare that there are twice as many
coal suckers" operating on the.
| Susquehanna than there were three
years ago and the late autumn has
enabled thousands of tons to be re-
| claimed and sent to industrial estab-
| lishments along the river. The
state of Pennsylvania is one of the
biggest buyers of the river coal for
the operation of the heating and
electric plant at the Capitol and in
addition to enough stored in the
cellar of the State House has many
| tons stored on lot in Capitol Park
| Extension district. 1t is the plan to
| have enough either in the building
or adjacent to it for the lighting and
! heating of the Capitol until next
| May. Mountains of coal have been
| formed in several places in Harris
burg by the dredgers' teams and If
the river remains open work will go
on and the supply in hand increased
| for the establishments which are
! equipped to handle the tinely-grained
| fuel which is dug from the bottom
of the river after being carried many
miles down stream.
The recent death at Mercersburg
| of George A. Fleming marks the
| passing of an excellent newspaper
man, well known in Central Pennsyl-
vania as the editor of the Mercers-
burg Journal. Although he was as
much of a progressive as any young
newspaperman, this man loved to
| recount tales of the bygone days.
| One of the curiosities, a relic of
| those times, was an old Washington
| hand press which is still in the
! Journal office at Mercersburg. Mr..
Fleming began work in the news
| paper profession many years ago. He
was in charge of a paper at Ship
pensburg and at one time owned
Palmyra newspaper, later moving to
| NIClNOloDhlb NllNlC llG wac SiAO VI
the best-known residents at the
time of his death.
Penn, writing in the Philadelphia
Evening Bulletin, says: The pros
pective Governor knows Pennsyl-
vania well. His attachment to the
state may be discerned in any con-
versation with him. 1t is not one of
those affected or simulated emotions
which sometimes make blatherSkite
or blarneying politicians ridiculous.
He has, in no small degree, the same
kind of pride which a son of Massa-
chusetts, or a son OF South Carolina,
is commonly supposed to feel for his
state, as If it were a special favorite
of the Almighty. Sproul will be
able to meet visitors from every one
of the siXty-seVen counties of Penn
sylVania in more of a cordial IA
miliarity than any Governor in the
course of many years has been able
to exhibit at once, and intelligently,
on his advent into office. From the
time when he was about twenty-six
years. of age there has not been a
year when he has not been in con-
tact with state affairs by reason of
his work in the Senate. He looks
upon Pennsylvania as in itself a ma
tion-as a matter of fact, it is en-
tirely comparable with Canada
and not only with it's politicians, but
with most of the men who are in
the forefront of its industrial and
manufacturing development, he has
long been in contact"
Some one asked a couple of min
listers whether the interruption of
church services due to influenza
had materially affected attendance
at worship in Harrisburg. This
question was asked with the fact in
mind that never before had churches
been closed such a length of time in
this city and that the people have
been strenuously engaged in war ac-
tivities of various kinds. Both
clergymen said that in their opinion
the attendance had been wonderfully
we'll maintained and in certain cases
increased. Another man, a layman,
said that gratitude at the passing
of the epidemic and coming of peace
had deepened religious life in Har-
risburg.