Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1874-01-21
Eerfer Erom harrisburg.
UAnnIspun0. Ian. n. 1874


,ional Reform has been-dividcd among
i've suh.commitlcos. each composed o
three Senators. Wm. A. Wallace. o
your county, is made chairman OF on,
OF these committees, and A. III. Dill
of Union, is cbair,nan of another
Mr. Wallace is also member Of tht
committees on Apportionment aud
Finance. As most Of tho important
work Of this session--thc framing o
laws according to the intent and mean
ing of the new Consli,ulion-will fal
TO tie sub-commillccs on Constitu
,ional Reform, the Speaker was Ger
tainly wise and honest in dividing The
cbairmanships between both parties
Senator Mcclure is chairman of the
important committee on Municipa
Affairs.
Tho House committees have alst
been namod by the Speaker thereof
but there are no striking instances il
any of his appointments of his desir,
to promote the public good only as h,
may interprctt. lie is to be fearec
in tho position hc occupies, as he i,
fully prepared to do any partisan acl
that may be required of him. A week
ago it looked as if the Legislator,
was all for reform, but within day
or two there have been out cropping
OF serious resistance to il by some o
tho Republican leaders.
Tho petition in the Contested Elcc
tion cases Of Hagle vs. Lemon, Thirc
District OF Philadelphia, and of Wag
onseller VS.. Dill, in tho Union ant
Snyder District, were filed in the Sen
alto this week They were submitted
10 the Judiciary General Committee
not TO prevent tho drawing Of a com
miltee to try them, but there is some
doubt since the adoption of tho new
Constitution whether tho Senate cat
act undor the law Of 1889 or whether
there is any law at all regulating con
tested elections. There is also one
case Of contested election in the
House, Amcrman, member from NJ on.
tour.eounty. His case was referred the
same ms tho two in the Senate. Yes.
tcrday, the chairman Of the Gen.
cral Judiciary to whom these case:
were referred, reported to the Senate
as the unanimous sense of that com.
mlttee, . resolution as follows:
"Resoired, That so much Of the act OF Jul,
"a, 1859, as provides for and regulates the selec
ton OF committees to try contested election
cases OF members Of the Senate or House. Ia in.
consistent with those proyis ons of the ninth sec.
ton Of rhe second article Of the present constiiu
ton, which dirseis that each House shall judg,
OF the election and qualification Of its own mem.
bels, and that no committee can be formed and
selected under the regulation of said act. TO try
and determine the petitions now before tho Sen.
ate, contesting the seats Of Bill and Lemon"
This closes this matter finally and
there will hG no further action taken
1t is rather sudden and unsausfac.
tory way of settling such contests( ca.
pecially TO the contestants but il saves
money to the State and wonderful
amount of bother TO the hundreds OF
people who are always summoned us
witnesses in cases OF this kind.
/ wrote you in my last letter of thc
new election bill introduced by Me.
Clure, Of Philadelphia, in the Senate
No objection was made TO it by any
Senator when il was read tho first
time, and IL was supposed to be The
bill which would govern our election
in February When il came up this
week flr snonnd rending. White, Of
Indiana, asked TO amend the new I'LL
by Offering another which radically
changed McClure's 1t appears that
the Philadelphia Ring, who have "a
generously made up tho large maiori.
tics by which Republicans have been
inducLed into Office for tho past four
years, alarmed at tho success Nc.
Cures bill was meeting with in the
Senate, and determined that demand
should be made By somo of tho Re.
publican leaders OF the Senate in the
Ring interest, sent Mr.. Wm. b. Mann
to investigate matters, and save them
from the surc defeat McClure's bill
would give them il ii passed. Ho ar.
rived on the evening of the 14thinst
A caucus OF the Republican members
Of both Houses was called. Mann In
terviewed them, and the next morn.
ing White offers the new election bill
In the language of tho Patriot, "the
bill is intcrminable and full Of pit.
falls" Like the infamous Registry
Law (of which Mann was the getter.
up,) aud which is almost exactly cop
led into this new bill, il Is designed Ia
give protection to rcpeaters and other
dishonest officials, and to emharrass
legal voters in their efforts TO perform
their duties.
The bill is intended not for Phila.
dclphia alone, but for tho whole State.
This act which Philadelphia so lately
repudiatcd by upwards of thirty
four thousand majority, is to bc again
thrust upon them and extended to
every voting district in the State. that
all kinds Of fraud may be perpesrated,
and that the Ring may continue itsell
in power
This can easily bo accomplished II
the Republicans stand together. a
vote was taken on ii in the Senate yes.
terday, resulting in fifteen votes for
it and eight against il. To pass ii will
require Il majority OF all the votes in
the Senate; that is by seventeen
votes 1t is likely to pass with some
few notifications, unless enough un-
trammelled Republicans can be found
who will oppose it.
The first actual winter weather we
have experienced this winter appeared
this week. 1t was quite cold, with
some snow, aud tho warm and COM
Portable halls of the Capitol were pat
ronizcd by hundreds OF people.
Il. Il. II.
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LEGISLATORS. .-.HARRIsBuRG, Jan. Is.