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This newspaper page contains 13 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Harrisburg Telegraph
Location
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Dec 22, 1917
Page
2
City leaders weigh three options including higher water rates as ash removal, tax changes, or abandoning the ash collection plan. Water rate hikes are seen as the least offensive, given rising wages, coal costs, and system extensions.
The proposed reform shifts control to a superintendent and board, likening voters to stockholders who elect directors and empower the manager to run operations. Supporters say centralization will improve building maintenance purchases and accounting, with Superintendent Downes credited for past improvements.
A long column urges Christmas giving to aid the needy in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, citing Governor Lowden and George Creel’s Public Information budget. It notes forestry and water conservation efforts, county and city reclassifications, and political maneuvers across the state, including third class city status and Prohibition activity.
Grangers back Auditor General Snyder in pushing payroll cuts and demand justification for appointments. Some newspapers and supporters who praised A. W. Powell’s early actions now resent Snyder’s inquiries. The annual fight over Berks county funding for meals by inspectors resumes as the issue hinges on whose interests are affected.
Ford advertising chief C A Brownell declares daily newspapers are the voice of the people and eyes of the multitude. He notes Ford spent over 15 million dollars annually on ads and compares total circulation in 51 cities: 15.5 million for papers versus 880 thousand for magazines. He cites magazine pages costing 7,500 versus under 6,000 for equivalent newspaper space.
A wartime urging readers to counter German espionage and propaganda in the United States. The piece claims spies are widespread in states cities and towns and urges citizens to trace and expose incendiary lies and propagandist networks. It invites all ages to participate in running down sources and locating those peddling German favorable news.
Dr Frank Billings notes Russia faces food distribution failures due to prolonged war and revolutionary mismanagement. Transport chaos limits river and rail logistics, northern provinces lack grain, and rye bread remains common though gritty. He contrasts Russian cases with Chicago, observing fewer malnutrition signs in Russia than in Chicago, except among beggars, in a Cartoons Magazine commentary.
A Harrisburg Telegraph reader denies a motor bus ownership rumor and Rev C D Rishel of South Enola extols the Red Cross symbol. He links its emblem to Christian sacrifice and wartime service, urging the public to display it widely and to join in relief efforts for millions suffering through the war.
A reflective pennant of memory and loss features a speaker recalling a son named Jimmie who died at Arras. The piece blends personal grief with religious imagery, noting his singing and the comfort found in faith as the family endures the war’s shadow. The text ties wartime sacrifice to sacred tunes and hopeful reunion.
In Stroudsburg residents dine on bear meat from a large black bear reportedly shot by R. D. Melvin, 502 pounds, with the killer sharing the meat. Lebanon joins a Christmas morning chorus at nine, with a patriotic appeal issued for 1917. Lancaster reports its first war prisoner, John Kimmel, 22, of Chester Street, a U S S Meraldos gun crew member, captured by Germans in the North Sea. He writes to his mother saying I wish I was home, the only message the censor allowed.
Humorous dialogue snippets pit a restless widow against a suitor described as clever but impossible. A commuter jokes about a late return and a dream appointment, while a car crash recovery tale adds a light sting to the mix.
Harrisburg police note heavy snow and a coming cold snap as sled sales surge and youngsters plan coasting on Market and Paxton streets. The piece recalls historic coasting spots from Dauphin to Maclay streets, old bridges, and the drift of streetcars, with named hills and landmarks, plus colorful local sleds and the figure of "Chiefy" Gilnor visiting city offices.
Walter Nf. Greevy leads Blair county home defense organization as Col. Henry W. Shoemaker urges U S action on the Mexican problem. C.8 Cook of Pittsburgh comments on community losses and conservation. General W. G. Price, Pennsylvania levy head, visits Philadelphia and praises ongoing efforts.
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