Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-20
Eurntt,g Gtrat

than ever Defore and the new Cover
nor in travelling over the highways
or Pennsylvania to take the oath
sets an example which many will
douptless follow. The tremendous
interest in the Sproul inaugural is
going to fill Harrisburg with thou
SANDS OF people, and If the weather
pc falr early tomorrow morning or
even tonight, there will be scores,
ana probably hundreds of people
VINO Will head their automobiles for
the State Capitol, to avoid the jam
med railroad trains, and the crowd
ed hotels and be in time for the
ceremonies and the pageant. This
coming to the State Capitol by mo-
tor vehicle is tribute to the Good
Roads" Governor who takes office
tomorrow, and whose career as a
legislator, with few PARALLELS In
state history, has been marked by
a consistent and vigorous effort, Of
| ten in the face of discouragements
| and popular misunderstanding, to
obtain better highways for his ma
tive state. At the same time it
marks back to the days when Gov
ernors and state officials and legisla-
| tors travelled to Harrisburg by
stages to attend to official business,
! and the sessions of the state law
! makers, as was the case in 1914 and
! 1918, were disturbed by acrimonious
DEBATES over desire of some men to
interrupt sessions and go home to
| attend to private affairs, very much
| as was the case in 1915 and 1917. if
we remember rightly. In any event,
the splendid highways which radi-
ate from Harrisburg like the spokes
OF a wheel going out the Cumber-
| land, Juntata, Lebanon and upper
| and lower Susquehanna valleys with
branches leaving them to Gettys-
burg, Pottsville and other country
! towns soon after they are out of
sight of the dome of the Capitol,
constitutes an achievement for the
| Governor-elect even if he had done
nothing else and had not been called
| to the executive chair by majorities
unprecedented at primary and gen.
eral elections. The movement for
revival of the highways, which had
suffered by almost three quarters of
| a century of development of steam
transportation is twenty-five years
old, but 1t remained for Sproul to
put into concrete form soon after
the twentieth century began the
ideas needed to place Pennsylvania
back into its position as q possessor
of good highways.
! Lew r. Palmer, the former head
OF the State Department of Labor
| and Industry has taken hold of the
new department of safety and per-
sonnel of the Equitable Life at its
| general offices in New York, with
the same vigor which characterized
him while in Harrisburg. The first
bulletin to be issued from this de-
partment is just out. 1t deals with
The human factor In our problem
Of Industrial reconstruction" and is
based upon some of the thigh
lights" at the reconstruction con-
gress just held at Atlantic City.
There is a good bit OF ginger of the
Palmer type in the bulletin.
1t is an interesting fact that Cow
ernor-elec William c. Sproul. who
will resign from the Senate tonight,
Is the oldest member in point of SER
vice of either branch of the Legisla-
ture. In fact, except for w. Harry
Baker, secretary of the Senate; Her.
man P. Miller, the Senate Librarian,
and few other officials there is no
one about the legislature who was
in office when William G. Sproul
came from Delaware county as an
insurgent senator, youthful and ex-
Sproul as the oldest member falls
tupon State Chairman William e.
Crow. senator from Fayette. In the
House the dignity of Father of the
House" is held by Representative
John NJ. Flynn, of Elk. but even he
did not enter the legislature until
Sproul was a veteran of six years
service.
Ex-Governor Edwin s. Stuart who
comes for the Sproul inaugural, will
be welcomed by many people here.
The former Governor has been here
but once since he retired in 1911.
Ex-Governor John K. Tener, accord
ing to what his friends say, will
make an effort to be here and in
tends to come to Harrisburg for
some visits this winter.
Here is a new one for the weather
prophets Not in years have the
white beech trees on the lawn of
Patrico Russ at Front and Reels
Lane been as white as they are this
winter. They fairly shine in con-
trast with the bark of the other
trees. This is taken to mean that
it will be mild winter as where the
weather is severe the bark of the
white beech is dull.
Richard j. Beamish, of the Phil
adelphia Press, well known to many
people here because of his long
newspaper experience, is colaborator
in one of the first histories of the
war to be issued. He wrote it in
conjunction with Prof. Francis A.
March, of Lafayette, a brother of
General Peyton C. March, and Prof.
Thomas G. March. formerly connect
ed with the State Department of
Public instruction. The history is
for the parents Of boys in the service
and the general public and intended
to be more of narrative than q
military work.
The mild January weather seems
to have caused some of the dumps
about the city to have gotten into
states of violent eruption. Some of
the dumps appear to be on fire most
of the time, summer and winter.
and can be spotted for blocks by the
odors of burning, but in winter time
they seem to be regular volcanoes
as some people down town and out
on the Hill can testify.