Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-12-16

ne deserves 10 george hSle.
DURD S. PATTERSON comes breezing
- into the Broad Street Station every few
months He's another of Philadelphia in
direct friends and helpers, even if he does
live in Pittsburgh.
lie is, cutting out the descriptive, secre-
tary of the movement to opel an inland
waterway from Lake Erie to the Ohio river.
He has been n familiar figure around Har-
risburg and Washington for ten years. Every
year sees him nearer his goal: nearer the
day when Lake Erie schooners and towing
barges will come down into the Ohio and
Mississippi and then out into the gulf
When that dream of Burd Patterson's
comes true, barges with coal and iron will
be towed down to feed the yawning red
mouths of Pittsburgh's furnaces. But
equally important, there will be great lake
barges carrying grain in bulk from the great
Northwest to the railroads that will bring it
East to feed Philadelphia and the other sea
board cities.
Burd Patterson fairly exudes information
and statistics on this subject. He's the
George F. Sproule Of western Pennsylvania
in that respect. One can't talk to him three
minutes, as was my experience the other
day, until he breaks out into canals al d
statistics.
An interesting phase of it is that Mr..
Patterson has been working all these years
on scheme that is as old as Washington
administration. The immortal George in
spected routes for an inland water link be
tween the Great Lakes and the Ohio river.
lie favored one starting at Ashtabula and
ending at Pittsburgh, now known as the
Lake Erie and Ohio river canal project.
With the Pennsylvania and Baltimore and
Ohio railroads ready to seize the cargoes of
81 harO HON sty rI
and the possibilities of return freights to
Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, this
dream Of hundred and twenty five years
ago is full of possibilities for Philadelphia
and the entire East.
rVNHERE is one thing about Charles b.
i Spatz that his political friends admire
his persistency. Mr.. Spatz-they pronounce
it "Spotz' up in Berks county-is Phila
delphian who at an early age emigrated to
| BOyertown, where they make more burial
caskets than any place else in the country.
| He is pre- eminent in that domain of Democ-
racy as a fighting Democrat Besides, he's
| a newspaper publisher Of thirty five years
! experience.
Likewise, he is the father of the famous
! American ace, Major Spatz, who nearly won
! the great transcontinental aerial race few
months ago.
| Charlie Spatz's persistency is particularly
noticeable in his militant Democracy and an
unwearying disposition TO land a seat in
the halls of Congress as one of the little
handful of Democrats from Pennsylvania in
that body He tried it two years ago, and
he has Just announced that he will make an =
other attempt the coming spring.
As Berks is hopeessy Democratic, why
not Charles b. Spatz?
TVERYBODY that patronizes grocery,
IL clothing and shoe shops which means
all of us, is hoping that Mrs Harry c. Boden
will be able to put over" some anti profit
eering plan that will reduce the high cost of
living, even If she and her associates on the
price fixing committee have nothing behind
them other than ali aroused public sentiment.
Those who know Mrs. Boden and the
work she has performed in the conservation
of food in the past will cheerfully admit
that she has the knack, the experience and
the untiring energy requisite for her task
One thing stands pre- eminent in her ef
fort. and It is the necessity for some sort OF
20 ordination of effort between her com
mittee and the United States district attor
news Office that is, the district attorney s
Office must work in conjunction with this
price fixing movement.
But lack of effective equipment makes the
district attorneys Office sort of sprained leg
in this emergency, ! am afraid