Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-31
Ehfntng Gllat

crossings on the Reading railway
between Hummelstown and Swatara,
which, as pointed out by the Harris
burg Telegraph, form the most am
bilious move made by the Public
Service Commission in it's campaign
! to get rid OF death traps in the coun-
try, call to mind the fact that they
affect a road which has a history of
| almost two centuries and that the
crossings themselves have beer in
use more than fifty years. When
the two subways replace the five
grade crossings, the William Penn
highway Will be practically free of
danger places between Harrisburg
and Hershey. Just what this will
mean to the many people who travel
the artery of the State highway sys-
tenn between Harrisburg and Leba-
non. Reading, Allentown and Easton,
can be easily comprehended. 1t
requires an outlay of 100000 but
brings an end to the distressing list
of accidents that have occurred at
these crossings year after year. The
highway to Reading and Easton was
travelled more than 10 years ago
and along it flowed some of that tide
of immigration that came from New
York and New Jersey and following
the Blue Ridge, crossed the SuSque-
hanna at John Harris ferry and pro-
ceeded down the Cumberland valley
to Virginia and the southwest. In
time 1t became a series of turnpikes
and the Berks and Dauphin, which
was only abolished a few years ago
when the State bought its rights and
franchises and strip of roads, was
incorporated about century ago.
When the Reading railway or the
Lebanon valley as it was first known
came along and recrossed the his
toric road. For long time cross
ings were in constant use although
in this city because of the 'cut"
bridges were erected. The Poorhouse
Lane was among the earliest cross
ings to be bridged. Some years ago
the Rutherford subway was con-
structed ard two bad crossings elimi-
mated and then the traction company
and the Reading combined to get rid
of the Paxtang crossing by subway.
And now the abolition move has
gone on beyond Hummelstown and
the men who laid out the old road
and who incorporated the turnpike
company would hardly know how
to find the original lines.
There seemed to be a good many
ambitious gardeners about Harris
burg yesterday. Indeed, the num-
s ber of mer and women who welded
= hoes and pulled weeds yesterday was
legion and many of them even pass
ed up the parade in order to get
things into good shape for the COM
3 ing of warm weather. Delays in
= the summer schedule have upset
many garden plans, but the man
who had plot ten feet square was
making up for lost time and rainy
= days yesterday just as much as the
man with half an acre.
The river front bathing season
= which has been alternately opening
8 and shutting according to the cap
rices of the weather was started
e again with a splash yesterday from
s one end of the city to the other.
3 In spite of the high condition of the
n Susquehanna and the mud and coal
1 dirt, boys lined the islands and the
s sand bars and many went in from
0 the front steps," Visitors to the
city said there was little doubt of
: the popularity of the bathing and
: that with the new authority given
. by the Wallace act for third class
. cities to establish bathhouses, Har-
: risburg ought to be able to provide
!, dozen of them along its river front
' and as many more on the ISLANDS.
r Harrisburg was up to traditions
1 yesterday in regard to peonies for
f Memorial Day. For many years this
flower has Wed with roses in fur
e nishing the chief decoration for the
f hallowed day and the weather con-
: ditions seemed to fall just right
e within forty eight hours because the
e warm wave brought out what ten
s days of rain had prepared. There
: are some beautiful peonies to be
= seen in the gardens about Harris
| he
dence of Mr.. and Mrs. Arthur H
Bailey, at Paxtang is even pret-
tier than last year. This garden
has been noted for peonies for
k years and some of the rarest flowers
are to be seen there.
e Pennsylvania produced a million
O dollars worth of maple sugar during
l. the revival of the sugar industry
e in the woods of the State during the
:. war according to reports for 1918
e just summarized by the State De-
/, partment of Agriculture. The pro-
n duction is given as 686,000 pounds
e of sugar and $4,000 gallons of
syrup, which raised the State to
k fourth place among producers OF
1t sugar from trees. 1t is estimated
e that almost a million and quarter
: trees were tapped and the produc-
7? ton would have been greater if the
n weather had been colder. The de-
y mand for maple sugar and syrup
Y, jumped in the fall of 1917 and
e greater attention was given to the
e tapping in 1918 than ever before.
, Reports on honey production indi-
= cate that during the winter of 1913
o the loss of colonies was much less
:, than in the previous winter, aver
y aging only six per cent as compared