davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
When "Old Folks at
Home" Was Written

think it was called-in which the
whole rhythm and movement and
parts of the score of "Old Folks at
Home" were the feature.
1t was something to have grown
up contemporary, as it were, with
these songs. Many of them were
written in the old Roman home
stead just outside of Bardstown.
taught, and for a season Talleyrand
made his abode. The Rowans were
notable people. John Rowan, the
elder, head of the house. was fa-
nous lawyer, who divided oratorical
honors with Henry Clay, and like
Clay, was a senator in Congress; his
son. young John" as he was called,
Stephen Fosters pal, went as min
lister to Naples, and fought duels,
and was, as Bob Acres wanted to
be. "a devil of a fellow" He once
told me he had been intimate with
Thackeray when they were wild
young men in Paris, and that they
had both of them known the wo-
man whom Thackeray had taken
for the original of Becky Sharp.
The Foster songs quite captivated
my boyhood. l could sing little,
as we'll as play, and learned each
of them-especially "Old Folks at
Home" and "Old Kentucky Home"
as they appeared. Their contem-
porary vogue was tremendous.
Nothing has since rivaled the popu-
lar impression they made, except
perhaps the Arthur Sullivan melo-
dies
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
SdlUdtion Arn1y'S Record

The United States Army demobi-
Lies, but the Salvation Army goes
on forever; as long as there are suf-
fering and want and woe in the
world, orphans to be sheltered, the
fallen to be raised, and manhood to
be made over. The Salvation Army
is local, and yet not local, for 1t
fights the battle of life for the poor,
the helpless, and the unfortunate in
sixty-three countries and colonies in
all parts of the EARTH" and in forty
tongues it breaches the gospel of
humanity. The Salvation Army is
back from the war, and yet it never
left the country. 1t is better known
for going to the war, because every
American soldier who was cheered
and supported by the unobtrusive,
but ever sympathetic ministrationS
of the men and women who wore
the Salvation Army uniform is tell
ing the story of their unselfish cour-
age and devotion. From General
Pershing to the private in the Amer
lean EXpeditionary Forces has come
the tribute of gratitude and respect.
The only difficulty has been to put
it in the plainest and most feeling
language.
Having done it's bit in France and
turning with all it's members, vol
unteers every one of them, to the
war from which there is no dis
charge and in which no military
glory can be won, the Salvation
Army is making an appeal this week
in every city and town in the United
States in behalf of a Home Service
Fund.-From the New York Times.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
SHORTENING THE TON
philadelphia Bulletinl

Philadelphia consumers of an
thracite have long purchased their
supply by the long ton, or 2,24O
pounds, and naturally they look with
a degree of doubt on legislation
which proposes to establish the short
ton of 1000 pounds as the legal
standard for retail as well as whole
sale sales. Law is sufficient to re-
duce the measure of the ton, but 1T
has been demonstrated that it is not
equal to the task of reducing, or
regulating the price.
The plea in behalf of the law is a
desire for uniformity in the trade
and the acceptance of a standard
of weight which is recognized
throughout the United States, except
in Pennsylvania, Maryland and the
District of Columbia, and in these
jurisdictions is fixed as to all COM
modities sold by weight other than
coal. Particular force is given to
the plea at this time in the fact that
the National Fuel Administration,
during it's period of control of an
thracite, dealt in short tons, rather
than in the long standard, and there
by aggravated the confusion in
bookkeeping.
The important consideration for
the consumer, of course, is that if
the measure of a ton of coal is to
be reduced. there shall be n pro-
portionate decrease in the price. 1t
would be an injustice to charge him
the same price for 1000 pounds
which he has been paying for 2,24O,
and although it may not be possible
to write into the bill now pending
in the Legislature an amendment
embodying this obvious principle of
justice and fair-dealing, it ought to
be so clearly understood as an un-
written section of the law that no
coal dealer would dare o ignore it.
A reduction of ten per cent
which would fail by a fraction of
being proportionate in the reduction
of Weights to be expected in the
retail ton price of anthracite when
ever legislation shortening the ton
. becomes of effect
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
FOOLISH ROAD-MAKING

[From the Pennsylvania Farmer
The writer recently saw a gang
of men with teams and road ma
chimes working out their road tax.
These men were farmers and the
road master was a farmer. The
road was an average country dirt
road of a somewhat clayey nature.
and had not been touched since this
time last year. Some of these men
I know to be good farmers. They
are anxious to maintain the fertility
of the soil and to have it in loose,
friable condition. To do this they
nure. etc. They know that such
management will keep the soil from
becoming hard and dry Now, from
their work on the road, it is evident
that these men left all their knowl-
edge of soil nature and its man.
agement at home. Or, it may be
that their minds were not supplied
with a reverse lever so that they
could be worked backwards. They
of course. wish roads to be hard and
dry as much of the year as possible,
but they were doing just what they
do to their fields to make them loose
and mellow. They were scraping
out into the middle of the road
great quantities of sod. leaves and
field wash-material which grow
good corn and potatoes but which
will never become hard and imper-
vious to water. The basic clay of
that locality, properly rounded and
packed by dragging. would make
solid roads; but mixed with humus-
making material-1ever. Why do
men so often leave their good sense
at home when they go out to work
on the roads2
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
The YdnkS on the Marine

Here is ditty," George Pattullo
in the Saturday Evening Post
which has grown popular among
the men of the A. E. F.. The author
is anonymous; title, THE 4anks on
the Marne:'
Oh, the English and the Irish and
the 'owlin' Scotties, too,
The Canucks and Austrilee-uns, and
the airy French poilu;
The only things that bothered us, a
year before we knew,
Was 'ow in ell the Yanks'd look, an
wot in ell they'd do.
They 'aGn't 'ad no trynin'; they
didn't know the gime;
They 'adn't never marched it much;
their shootin' was the SINE;
An the only thing that bothered us
that day in lawst July,
Was 'ow in ell the lined 'old if they
should run aw'y.
The leggy, nosy new 'uns, just come
acrosst the sea!
We couldn't 'elp but wonder 'ow in
ell their guts'd be;
An the only thing that bothered us
in all our staggerin' ranks
Was wot in ell would 'appen wen
the 'Uns 'ad 1T the Yanks.
My word, it 'appened sudden wen
the drive 'ad first begun;
We seen the Yanks a-runnin'-Gaw
Blimy, how they run!
But the only thing that bothered us
that seen the chase begin
Was 'ow in ell to stop 'em fore they
got into Berlin.
They didn't ave no tactics but the
bloody manual;
They 'adn't learned no orders but
"Ooray" and "Give 'em ell"
But the only thing that bothered us
about them leggy lads,
Was 'ow in ell to get the chow to
feed their Kamerads.
oh, the English and the Irish, and
the 'owlin' Scotties, too,
The Canucks and Austrilee-uns, and
the airy French poilu;
The only thing that bothered us
don't bother us no more,
It's only why in ell we didn't know
the Yanks before,
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Gerndny'S. Attitude

Germany may or may not accept
the drastic terms of peace pre-
scribed by the victors in the war
The likelihood is that finally, the
treaty will be signed, simply be-
cause the country is helpless, in
capable of effective military resist
ance against the forces of the asso-
ciated powers, and mere rejection
would bring on a worse domestic
situation that now exists. If the
utmost sincerity of purpose were
to be credited to the present Ger
man government and its represen-
tatives at Paris, it is to be recogniz-
ed that the continuing threat of the
Bolshevist element may warrant 1t
in playing its hand strongly, even
though ultimate captulation is ac-
knowledged. 1t is not necessary to
paint the scene in darkest gloom,
or to discount the victory which has
been won because of passing ap-
pearances.-Philadelphia Bulletin,
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
TRANSATLANTIC FLYING

HvOT even Columbus, sailing out
M upon an uncharted sea, dared
more or faced so many un-
known perils as did the trans
Atlantic f1iers who so bravely steered
their frail barks out the air route over
the treacherous waters of the At
lantic, risking everything in an ef-
fort to prove the possibility of flying
from America to Europe
But their effort marks a tremen-
dous step in the progress of trans
portation since the discoverer of
America set out in his three tiny
caravels to find new world, and a
no less important development in
aeroplaning since Bleriot surprised
the world by performing the hair
raising feat of planning across the
English channel from France to
England. The whole world went
wild over the Frenchman's exploit,
but nobody at the time was hardy
enough to suggest transatlantic
flight and indeed it would have been
foolhardy to undertake such a jour-
ney in the fiimsy machines Of that
period.
/, There have been few sensational
sAavelopments in the science of flying
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
WAR A BLOW TO ISLAM
[From the Dallas News.l


One of the most striking results
of the world war is the new prestige
with which Christianity. as world
religion, emerges. 1t is true, as
Judge Wesley O. Howard of Troy,
n. Y, points out in an article in
the New York Herald. that the gi-
gantic conflict was in no sense a
religious war. Christians and Mo-
hammedans, on one side, fought
against Christians and Hindoos on
the other. The struggle was pri-
marily between Christian nations.
In the aggregate, however, and as
an incident of the war. Christianity
has made immense inroads into the
ranks of Mohammedanism.
The three great centers of Islam
ism, Jerusalem, Bagdad and Con-
stantinople, have fallen into Christ
ian hands. Judge Howard tries to
envisage for us the significance of
this one fact:
There will, of course. be absolute
freedom of religious worship in all
the conquered lands of the Turkish
territories, and the Mussulman will
be as much at liberty to cry out
to Allah as ever he was; neverthe-
less, the dethronemen of Moslem
rulers and the eXaltation of Christ
tian governors will exert a deep in
f1uence upon the IN nds of the Mo-
hammedan peoples. And the adj
vantageS and security of the Christ
ian civilization will ultimately ap-
peal to the Islamites and will have
a tendency at least to incline them
toward the superior civilization.
Moreover, their communities will be
invaded by groups of Christian col
onists secure now against Turkish
outrages and oppression, and there
will be intermingling of family and
business interests.
Industrial enterprises, stimulated
by Western zeal and money, Will
spring up in Jerusalem, Tarsus,
Damascus, Bagdad and other Mo-
hammedan cities and revolutioniZe
the customs of the people. CONNER
cial houses and manufacturing es-
adjustments will be built, railroads
will be stretched, mines developed
and wells bored. and all these en-
terprises will be directed and H.
nanced by people of Christian ma
tions"
But most destructive of all to the
power of Mohammedanism is the
defeat of the Sultan of Turkey. This
ottoman monarch was head of the
Moslem Church. His person sacred
in the eyes of every Mussulman, and
his debasement and impotence must
convulse Mohammedanism to the
foundation and shake even the IA
natic faith of the Islamites.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20

sive hotels to attend court? And how
about the litigants?
The greatest good for the greatest
number must be considered in this
as in all other matters relating to
state government, and that being the
case Harrisburg is the logical loca-
tion for the courts. 1t is easily reach
ed from any part of the Common
wealth. 1t is the railroad hub of
pennsylvania. Thousands of dollars
year in railroad fares alone would
be saved to lawyers and others at
tending court if the upper tribunals
sat permanently here. Unquestion-
ably the Hess bills are economical
measures and they should be passed.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Labor in the Peace Treaty

The summary of the peace treaty
goes more into details as to the labor
plan than any other authoritative
report from Paris, although there
are still sections which will not be
clarified until the full text is made
public. 1t is not the design to bring
high class labor in the United States
and a few other unusually favored
countries down to the general level
of the world. Its ultimate purpose
is rather to lift the level of world
labor. There are some prohibitions
of working conditions deleterious to
health of workers and some con-
structive provisions which most en-
l;ghtened states have already in
force. Adjustments will be difficult
owing to differences of climate, GUS
toms and economic development, but
great good should come from the
moral effect of the annual interna-
tional conference and the frequent
reports of the international labor
office.-St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
TUESDAY EVENING,

since, in October, 1902, the Wright
brothers came into prominence by
gliding 622 feet at Kitty Hawk, their
flight being of fifty-nine seconds
duration. From that time on 1t has
been merely matter of expert
and trial. Careful scien-
tific investigation has brought the
art of flying step by step to its
present development, and we have
made only a beginning.
But great feats have been accom-
plished in the air since Wilbur
Wright in 1908 broke all records by
remaining in the air two hours,
twenty minutes and twenty three
seconds, and the transatlantic at
tempt comes at a time when the
daredevil adventures of our airmen
along the French front have led us
to believe that the aeroplane is as a
toy in the hands of the skilled avia-
tor and that almost any accomplish
ment is possible.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Henry Watterson in the Saturday
Evening Post.l

Evening Post
x TEPHEN FOSTER, (author of
~ "Old Folks at Home"D was the
ne'er-do-well of a good Penn
sylvania family. A sister of his
had married a brother of James
Buchanan. There were two daugh-
ters of this marriage. nieces of the
President, and when they were
visiting the White House we had
shall | dare write it?-high jinks
with our nigger minstrel concerts
on the sly.
Will s. Hays, the rival of Foster
as a song writer and one of my re-
porters on the Courier-J Journal, told
me this story: Foster" said he,
was a good deal of what you might
call a barroom loafer. He possessed
a sweet tenor voice before it was
spoiled by drink, and was fond of
music, though technically he knew
nothing about it. He had German
friend who, when he died. left him
a musical. scrapbook of all sorts of
odds and ends of original text.
There is where Foster got his melo-
dies. When the scrapbook gave out
he gave out"
took it as merely the spleen of
rival composer. But many years
after in Vienna I heard concert
given over exclusively to the per-
formance of certain posthumous
manuscripts of Schubert. Among
the rest were selections from an
unfinished opera-"R osam onde,' l
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20

ID old bet; the new wager {, i,
dollars for doughnuts," and
it's a sure thing.
Tomorrow, pretty girls, returned
soldiers and members of the Rotary
land Kiwanis Clubs will sell dough-
nuts on the street corners.
That's where the doughnuts come
in.
Those who pass the booths are eX-
pected to buy doughnuts at prices
that would make a food profiteer
die of envy.
That's where YOU come in.
OF course, you know that these
doughnut sales are to raise money
for the Salvation Army. No use
making a point of that. But the
point to be emphasized is this
That if these young women, these
returned boys who enjoyed the boun-
tiful blessings of Salvation Army
ministrations in France and these
very busy business and professional
men think enough of the Salvation
Army to give their time to help ii
raise funds with which to carry on Its
work, you can do no less than buy
the doughnuts they will offer for
sale.
It's perfectly clear, isn't it, that
you are going to buy doughnuts at
record breaking prices tomorrow
1t is?
Thank you.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
ECONOMICAL MEASURES

rHE complaint of a Philadelphia
newspaper against the perma-
= nent location of the State Su-
preme and Superior Courts In Har-
risburg, on the ground that it would
be more expensive than the present
arrangement, is so clearly a mis-
taken notion that it is scarcely
worthy of attention.
To be sure, the holding of the
court sessions in Philadelphia would
be cheaper for Philadelphia lawyers,
but how about those from all the
other widely-scattered cities and
towns of the State who must journey
long distances and put up at expen-
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Our Hinerdnt Government

DR.. w. Biddle Gilman. of Lake
View, N. C., descendant of colonial
stock wants to know:
with the President most of his
cabinet, many of the Congressrne en-,
an army of minor officials, expert
advisers. press agents and numerous
interested American delegations
having taken up more or less per-
manent residences in Europe will 1
have to remove to the other side
of the Atlantic in order to live and
eventually die under the jurisdiction
of the United States Governments"
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Ready For the Budget
[From the Erie Dispatch

lffom the Erie DiSpatch1
Now that Congress is going into
action once more, there is a little
matter which wise taxpayers will
develop sincere interest in if they
make the most of their opportunity.
The psychological moment for the
working out and putting across of
a budget system for government fl
nances seems to have arrived.
Practically everybody seems in
favor of the plan. President Wilson
has declared for it. Former Presi-
dent Taft favors it. The last two
chairmen of the appropriations
committee favored it, Leaders of
the new Senate are said to be urg-
ing a national budget system, and
the prospective speaker of the
House is on that side of the argu-
ment.
Students of finance and govern
ment have demanded something of
the Kind for years. 1t is n theory
which has been tested practically.
Even poor budget system would
work so much better than the pres
ent hit-and-miss method that one
wonders why we have neglected il
so long.
The answer is found in the indif-
ference of voters and taxpayers
These worthless have remained stu
pidly unconcerned while govern
ment expenditures have scared
Taxes are necessarily higher than
ever, and still the old wasteful sys-
tenn runs its eXtravangant course
through the public funds.
There is no general opposition to
the budget system-only this large
public indifference. Now is the time
for the people who really are the
government to brace up and take an
interest in their business. Just as
soon as they do, they can and will
have the budget system.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20

X AMUEL D. SCHWARTZ, Phila-
delphia real estate dealer, writes
~ the Philadelphia Public Ledger
that
The postal service is rotten. The
good old days of the stage coach put
the present service in the shade"
Mr.. schwartz's grievance is that 1t
required a letter he mailed in Phila-
delphia five days to get from a box
at Twenty Ninth and Lehigh avenue
to Broad and Chestnut streets.
Mr.. Schwartz is an unreasonable
fault-finder. Why right here in Har-
risburg we have evidence to prove
that a letter-special delivery and
registered - required nearly nine
days to go from Harrisburg to Wal
Washington, and yet the sender
raised no objection. lie knew it
wouldn't help any.
What does Mr.. Schwartz expect :?
Does he imagine Mr.. Burleson has
time to fool away getting a pesky
little two-cent letter from one part
of city to another, especially when
the sender might have carried it to
it's destination and thus saved the
postal department unnecessary ef-
fort, not to mention two cents for
himself in postage? Mr.. Schwartz
should know that the postal depart
ment is very busy institution. 1t
is still trying to get out from under
the Christmas rush.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
THE SECRET

It was the House of Quietness
To which I came at dusk;
The garth was lit with roses
And heavy with their musk.
The tremulous tall poplar trees
Stood whispering around,
The gentler flicker of their plumes
More quiet than no sound.
And as wondered at the door
What magic might be there,
The Lady of Sweet Silences
Came softly down the stair.
THE Rocking Horse" Doran)
Christopher Morley.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
WELL KNOWN PEOPLE

John b. Townsend, who has
been director of the Red CrosS-in
Pennsylvania, has been elected a
manager of the University of Penn
sylyania hospital.
-Adjutant General Frank D.
Beary has been a member of the
National Guard since 1888.
Major Frank A. Warner, who
served in the 10th, addressed the
Philadelphia Business Mems club on
the work of the regiment in France.
E. J. Cattell, the Philadelphia
city statistician, is urging union Se
museum activities in Philadelphia! (
The Rev. DR.. j. Gray Bolton,
Philadelphia minister well known
here, is celebrating forty-four years
as pastor of Hope Presbyterian
church.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
PICKING LEMONS

The diplomacy of this administra-
ton began with William J. Bryan
an dconcludes with Link Steffens
and George Heron. Those who
thought after Mr.. Bryan was picked
for Secretary of State that nothing
worse could happen did not fully
comprehend the resourcefulness of
this administration in the lemon
picking line.-National Republican.
Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-20
Suggestion to Conference

Cutting Germany down to a Navy
of that size may lead to criticism.
1t does seem as though the confer
ence might have thrown in a pair of
oars.-From the Detroit News.