Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-14

case OF pubic SerN1Cet banking or
! other companies whose activities fall
branches of the government they
are passed upon by the proper Of
! ficials.
Several years ago the late E. NJ.
Bigelow, when Highway Commis-
sioner was asked by an enthusiast
to locate landing places along the
State highway system then in en-
bryo and had studies made of vari-
GUS spots and of the air currents
as far as was then possible.
Danger From Rats-'The great
est wheat crop ever produced in
| PENNSYLVANIA is now being harvest
| ed and grain elevators and bins will
soon become veritable treasure
places into which rats and mice
| will try to break" says q bulletin
issued by the State Department of
Agriculture warning farmers to
start killing off rats. Secretary Ras-
mussen has issued u statement that
! farmers are not counting the loss
they suffer from rats annually and
that the rodents are dangers to the
grain crops to be eXterminated now.
Ruling on Influenza - The State
! Compensation Board in an opinion
by Commissioner Paul w. Houck in
the claim of Pleam VS.. State of
| tained Referee c. W. Cummings
that influenza can not be considered
on the same plane as anthrax in
| compensation cases. 1t is stated
that while the terms accident and
personal injury have a wide signi-
| ficance it is very doubtful whether
the contraction of influenza which
is an acute infectious and moder-
ately contagious disease can be in
cluded within those terms" The
statement is also made that sit has
never been shown that the employ
ment of the person stricken had any
thing to do with the contraction of
the disease" In the case of anthrax
or dermatitis, says the opinion, the
time and place of the contraction
of the disease are known almost
positively; on the other hand, it can
be known with no degree of GER
tainty when or where influenza is
contracted" The husband of the
claimant. Anna c. Pleam, was en-
ployed at the State Arsenal and the
claim was made that he contracted
influenza while checking material
returned from the emergency hos
pitfalls which the State established
during the epidemic.
Compensation Cases Recent
Compensation Board rulings are
that where a claimant is willing to
do such work as he is able to per-
form and the employer does not
furnish him with such work the
employer is obliged to continue pay
ment of compensation. This was
held in Myers VS., Canonsburg Gas
Fuel Co.. Canonsburg. where the
company filed a petition for termi-
nation of payments on the ground
that the claimant could do light
work. In Completa VS.. T. A. Giles
pie Co., Pittsburgh, in which the
Italian Consulate represented the
claimant. it is held that where
man meets with an accident in
course of employment and is killed
and his refusal to submit to an
operation before he died could not
affect his dependents, the award of
the referee should be sustained.
Rehabilitation Soon-Action by
Governor Willian c. Sproul upon
the Smith bill establishing a bu-
reau of rehabilitation for persons
injured in industry is expected with
in the next few days and steps to
begin the survey required by the
provisions of the bill will be taken
Immediately by the State Depart
ment of Labor and Industry. The
new bureau will be under that de-
partment and the idea is to supple
ment the information gained the
last two years in collecting the
character and number of injuries
in various industries and the expert
ence of the State Workmen's Com
pensation Board by new surveys
which will include the periods of
greatest activity due to the war.
The act limits the benefits of the
act to persons residing in this State
and injured in Pennsylvania indus
tries and provides for special train
ing to tit men for various occupa-
tions where their disabilities would
permit them to work.
To End Crossings - The Public
Service Commission is about to
complete an extensive series of
hearings on complaints of the State
Highway Department against grade
crossings on main travelled roads OF
the State an borders for abolition
in the next two years will be issued.
Under provisions of orders recently
made the railroads and the Federal
authorities have agreed to have
work started at half a dozen places.
Many thousands of dollars will be
spent for construction of bridges
and subways under these orders.
Laws in Demand-Demands for
copies of the sedition law and the
changes to the State compensation
system. the latter being effective in
1920. have been so great that addi-
tional copies of the measures have
had to be ordered printed. Except
for the PHILADELPHIA charter no acts