Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-25
Eurntng Gfrat

One of the finest signs OF the
spirit which is being shown by the
men of Pennsylvania who signed up
under the call of the President for
national defense just twelve days
ago is that so many of them have
returned their missionaries to their
local boards was the comment of
Major William G. Murdock. the
states chief draft officer, who has
been visiting various cities and keep
ing in close touch with the working
out of the new draft. To all in
tents and purposes the registration
OF September means a new draft.
The older registrants, those of 1917,
and June and August, 1918, will all
be in camps or held home on de-
ferred classifi ,stions by the middle of
october. The registrants of Septem-
Der, 1918, as those hundreds of
thousands of Pennsylvanians who
registered on September ~, will be
officially known, will be called upon
to go to camps late in October and
during November and December.
According to the major many of
the local boards, which just began
| to issue the questionnaires the end
of last week, have found their
people very responsive and the
| filled out papers have been literally
rolling in on the members of boards.
| This has been made possible through
the assistance of lawyers who have
helped. the registrants. many of them
as in the case of the attorneys of
Dauphin county. at the sacrifice of
| their own hours of business and
| pleasure and even at loss of meals,
as was the case with some men. The
lawyers here have set most COM
mendable example to people in other
| walks of life by going to the court
house day after day and night after
night to assist men in answering
questions which would terrify the
ordinary man. And it is now up to
the boards of instruction to prepare
to give the men advice in regard to
personal matters. the insurance
feature of the army and preliminary
military training. Major Murdock
has several times commended the
] fine spirit which is shown in Har
risburg and the zeal of business and
| professional men to aid the young
men of their country who are pre-
pared to go to camp. 1t is the kind
which. army officers say, gets re-
suits.
| Congressman B. K. Focht, of
tLewisburg, tells a story about a
| Pennsylvania Congressman we'll
Charles H. Rowland, of the Clear
field district, which illustrates how
some men in staying home are
called upon to face more than those
who go. This is the way Mr.. Focht
| tells it in his Saturday News, of
Lewisburg: The other day one of
Fennsylvania's most popular Con-
gressmen, sturdy, stalwart in body
and bigness of heart, met a test un-
der which one less brave, one less
true as an American, would have
| quailed. Congressman Charles H.
Rowland, representing the Clear
feld-Center District, and whose home
is at Philipsburg, went to Camp
Meade to see his two sons who are
in the service, and say farewell tok
one who was leaving for France.
The young man, taking his father by
the hand and looking into his kindly
face. said, 'Good-by Dad, 1 am go
ing and will not get back 1t took
a brave, self-sacrificing American to
go with such a premonition, and a
father of undaunted spirit and cour- ,
age, to like a Spartan, embrace his
loved hero son apparently unmoved
but possessed of emotions which en-
quilted his very soul"
Presence of Lieutenant Governor
Frank B. McClain at the Capitol yes
terday attending a meeting of the
War Board, caused a man CONVEX
SAINT with many activities about
Pennsylvania to remark Frank
McClain could have made a couple
of hundred thousand dollars of real
money and fixed himself for the rest
lof Ia; Il ha, Il;
business the time he has given to
the work of the State Committee of
Public Safety the last year." When
asked what he meant this observer
replied: "Well, McClain knows
more about the livestock business
than nine-tenths of the men in that
business and the coming of war
opened rare opportunities for him.
1t also opened rare opportunities for
him to be of public service. Nc
Claim would have liked to shoulder
gun, but he was not exactly of an
tage for such service. The State Pub
lie Safety Committee, now the
Council of National Defense, re-
quired just some one with the
energy, brains, commonsense. ac-
quaintance and experience of Frank
McClain to sort of keep a hand on
things. The result was that before
he knew it McClain by virtue of his
office. and his willingness was CIV
ing two, then three, and then four
days a week to the work of the
Council. He is one of the few men
who has it's whole gigantic busi-
ness in his grasp and he is serving
for nothing. Other States have their
big men we'll paid for doing what
McClain is doing just because the
work is to be done. 1 hope when
the next administration comes in
he will be fittingly honored for what
he has done"