TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915
An unexpected visitor arrived in the city overnight. It was snow and lots of it. The weather service had predicted rain but by 2:00am 2 inches had fallen. It stopped for a few hours but started up again at 9:00am and hasn’t stopped. Today’s high will reach 36° with the low about 23°. The snow is expected to continue throughout the night and into tomorrow. The city has almost 1000 men on the job clearing the streets in center city between Vine and South Streets. The present storm started in the Ohio Valley and is now covering southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
The Board of Education has decided that children between the ages of 14 and 16 who are employed in stores and factories in this city must attend at least 2 days of school per week. Up to 20,000 boys and girls are affected by the decision. The new child labor law requires that every youngster have at least 8 hours of study per week but does not stipulate how the hours are apportioned. Many employers wanted the time allotted in a single day but the School Board thought that would be detrimental to the children. Now children must be excused from work for one morning and one afternoon per week to attend school.
Dozens of men armed with ropes and makeshift harpoons are lining the banks of the Schuylkill River near Chestnut Street in the hopes of getting their wife a sealskin coat for Christmas. It seems a large brown seal has been spotted frolicking in the river near there. The hunters believe the seal fair game for the catching and skinning. The superintendent of the aquarium at Fairmount Park, William Meehan, believes the seal may be one of a trio that escaped last year. He believes the seals may have made their way out to sea and have now returned to the home they formerly knew.
In sports, the lightweight champion of the world Fred Welsh will meet Philadelphia’s own Jimmy Murphy in a 6 round exhibition match tonight at the Olympia A.A., Broad & Bainbridge Streets. Welsh is coming off a draw on Thursday night in Memphis against Benny Palmer. Four other bouts are also on the card.
WAR NEWS
The German, Austrian and Bulgarian armies have conquered Serbia. All French and British forces sent there to assist the Serbians have been swept from the country and are now in Greece or in Salonica. King Peter of Serbia has fled across the border to Albania with his remaining army. On the western front, huge artillery assaults are being directed at British and Belgian forces both north and south of Ypres. It is believed that great numbers of German troops are also moving into the area for a major assault once the artillery barrage is over.
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