Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-28
Ehrnttg Ul1at

While considerable merriment has
been caused at the State Capitol BY
the appearance of bills providing
certain closed seasons for the skunk.
the muskrat and other animals
more or less unfavorably KNOWN
the fact is that men have been writ=
ing to people connected with sthe
State government that unless steps
are taken before long in that direc-
ton, these animals will be as rare
as the beaver and for the same reas
son. High prices of furs, war de-
mands and foreign trade have
caused a boom in the business of
supplying the skins of these little
beasts and they have been cleared
out of districts where they were apt
to interfere with comfortable camp
ing or outing trips and the hunters
have all but eXterminated them in
several counties. In some sections
of the State where they used to be-
nuisance, they are now raised with
as much care as hogs and the skunls
| farm has become a profitable enter
prise. Two bills on the subject have
come from widely separated sections
of the State and men behind them
agree in the reasons. These bills
would prevent the animals from be-
| lIlS nunlGu pclWtSh dhL
| November IS. One bill has been
changed so that even the hunting
can be only by means of traps or
| dead falls" as they are known,
while another forbids the taking of
the animals by shooting or smoking
out with chemicals, while the favor
| ite pastime of boys all over the
State of digging out muskrats is
forbidden entirely. Where the ami
mails become a nuisance, they may
be killed just as a farmer may kill
deer or bear when destroying crops
or orchards. Literally thousands of
muskrats, which used to furnish
amusement for boys along the Sus-
! quehanna watershed and along
smaller streams in the State, are
now hunted for their pelts and the
polecat, instead of being an object
of fear is sought with eagerness
for his fur.
The question of just what the
Federal Railroad Administration is
going to permit in the way of aboli-
ton OF grade crossings in Pennsyl-
vania this year bids fair to assume
an acuate stage in a short time. Re-
Gently, urgent representations were
made at Washington by officials of
the Public Service Commission that
some of the crossings condemned
and for whose abolition had been
lapproved be undertaken. The WASH
lington people contended only minor
work should be taken up. Lately.
there has been such an increase of
automobile traffic with resultant
dangers and the State has adopted
a policy of getting rid of crossings
or. main highways as soon as pos
sible. A dozen or more have been
complained of.
The controversy over the methods
- of abolishing the grade crossings in
Derry township, between Hummels-
town and Hershey, where the Will
lam Penn State highway crosses the
Philadelphia and Reading railroad.
will be heard finally by the Public
Service Commission on Thursday.
This matter was started by the Pub
lie Service Commission almost two
years ago. 1t filed complaint that
the crossings were dangerous, but
the war came on and railroad ex~
penditures were curtailed. Mean
while plans were made by the State
and the railroad and neither set ap-
peared to meet approval of residents
of that section and a series of con-
ferences and hearings has been held,
with Commissioner John S. Killing
sitting. 1t is now hoped to have a
final proposition made to the Com
mission. so that an order can be
made and the matter taken up with
the Railroad Administration. The
travel over the highway is increas-
ing rapidly because of automobile
travel to Harrisburg.
| Considerable qualification was ex-
pressed in Harrisburg and through
out the State generally when the
decision of Judge K. NJ. Lands, OF
the United States court at Chicago,
that the Postmaster General did not
have authority to fix telephone rates
was reported. People connected with
the State government and the Legis-
lature commended it. This decision
is square1y in line with the opinion
of President Judge Kunkel, of the
Dauphin county courts, which in the
language of a man at Washington,
has given the Federal officials
more trouble than anything else
said on the subject" The Kunkel
opinion is regarded as an important
announcement on States rights and
was much referred to in the argu-
ment before the United States Cir
cult court at Pittsburgh last Mon
day. when the Attorney General.
who brought the action which Judge
Kunkel decided in favor of the Com
monwealth. appeared in the Burle-
son suit. The opinion was discussed
at length by the judges and lawyers.
"And now the cherry trees are
said to have suffered from the cold
, snap. Thus far, every kind of fruit
has been reported to have been
killed, but when we send out men
to look it up, they come back and
report very little damage done," said
State official to-day. "If you will
take trees or a crop such as we have
to follow up and observe there is
little damage, except retardation,
, ever found following windy
weather such as we have had"