Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-06-12
Ehpntttg Ultat

| "oa eiiho ttiiEOdo TdC66 VIII nave
the effect of making the county fairs
and agricultural exhibitions of Penn
sylvania more local in character and
more devoted to farm products than
in half a century in opinion of of
flcials of the State Department of
Agriculture. Thus far sixty-one
iairs have been registered for 1918,
smaller number than last year and
the agricultural premiums show an
increase. There is no decline in the
premiums for horse racing, how
ever, and this Is taken to mean that
local horsetiesh Is to get some en-
| couragement The opinion of off,
cials at the Capitol is that the rail-
road rates will prevent shipment of
many exhibits and that they will
probably force the horses which 20
about circuits to be restricted SO that
the old-fashioned race to see whose
horse is the fastest In the county
Will be the top line event rather than
brushes between animals which meet
each other almost every week on the
tracks of circuits. Not only will the
local horses thus receive recognition
which they have not enjoyed for
years. but there will likely be en-
gendered a rivalry that will last for
years. In addition to localizing the
horse racing feature the war rates
VIII cause local livestock and pro-
duce to receive a greater measure
or attention as the prize-winning
animals that have been shipped
around the state from fair to fair
VIII ee kept at home. This will also
have the effect of bringing the best
OF local cattle and livestock into
competition and the same will be
true OF the vegetable and fruit dis
plays. The premiums reported as
offered for such things are increas-
ing in amount and the county fair
Will likely be this year what II has
not seemed for generation, a local
display without so much attention
from the professional fair people
and their animals and exhibits.
There will probably also be a cur
tailment of fairs and the travelling
amusement people.
The conference of the Church of
the Brethren which is being held at
Hershey this week has brought hun
dreds OF visitors to the State Capitol
in the morning hours, some of them
appearing at the big granite build
ing considerably in advance of the
time when it Is ordinarily open to
visitors. Under the daylight saving
rule the Capitol departments begin
business at o'clock. although theo-
retically some start at s. The busi-
ness, however, generally starts about
.. Most of the visitors to this city
because of the conference of the
) plain people" are rural dwellers
and accustomed to rising with the
sun. They get breakfast early be-
cause Harrisburg being a railroad
| and industrial community starts
D early, and then they go to see the
I sights. Naturally, they head for the
l Capitol. On number of mornings
! the policemen who have been on
!, duty all night and the night watch
men have found people ready to go
: through the building when they
e were waiting for their reliefs and
| the guides have been confronted
: with waiting visitors when they
came around.for duty. The Brethren
D seem to make a point of visiting the
Capitol because they are to be seen
in the corridors in large numbers.
, Coal operators and steel manufac-
{ turers seem to be running a race for
the available labor in the Lykens
, and Schuylkill anthracite fields and
in some of the bitlminous regions
of the state according to what has
been learned through complaints
which have reached the Capitol. It
appears that the coal operators were
thard hit in the draft because many
miners did not specify what branch
of mining they were engaged in and
II is now too late to get needed men
back. On top of this scouts for the
employment agencies supplying steel
mills and iron works have been urg-
ing men to come to such establish
+ ments. The result has been that
men have been leaving mining and
going to shipbuilding and steel
making.
1t seems only few days ago that
autom obile license tag no. 300,000
was being written about as a great
thing in motor vehicle news. Yes
terday the number of licenses issued
to pneumatic-tired machines, includ-
ing changes of ownership of which
there have been many was 315,290.
The number of solid-tired machines
has arisen to 24,9o7..
Uncle Sam is commencing to gath
er in his hay. The hay is the grass
which has accumulated on his lawn
about the Federal building, until
the remodeling and extension opera
tions began the best kept piece of
grass in Harrisburg. And the hay
| crop will be worth about nothing a
ton. By actual count the section of
herbiage cut at the corner of Wal
nut and Court streets contained
twelve different kinds of weeds, some
of them of exceedingly pernicious
variety, while the plantain leaves
were record-breakers. But the men
in charge say they are going to show
Harrisburg something before the
summer Is ended.