The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-03-07
HARRISBURG LETTER

That the organization Republicans
are progressive and have a harmoni-
GUS plan for advanced legislation has
been apparent from the start, and
now some of the details are begin
ming to come to the surface. The
Senate will not sit this week, but i'm
mediately after it reconvenes March
10th work on a comprehensive re-
form of the election laws will be
started and it may be asserted with
confidence that the short ballot and
other Improvements and safeguards
will be put into effect. A public SER
vice commission bill with teeth in it
will be adopted and there will be tax
alton reforms and mass of legisla-
tion cleaning up isolated wrongs and
abuses and embodying progressive
ideas will be placed upon the statute
books. The program will be COM
prehensive and progressive enough
to commend itself to any member of
the legislature who is sincere re-
former before he is politician and
self-seeker.
The enactment of this progressive
legislation will proceed with consid-
cradle rapidity from now on. Last
week the Rockwell local option bill
was swept out of the way and the re-
moval of this piece of legislation al
ways results in relief to both sup
porters and opponents. The commit
tees of both Houses have their work
well in hand. The general appropri-
alton bill carrying a total of over
SAP, 100000 has been introduced.
One of the apportionment bills also
is in and in many other particulars
the work of the body is we'll in hand
March 18th the introduction of bills
will cease and by that time it will
be possible to get some idea as to the
possible date for adjournment.
The ten Democrats who voted for
Begelow argued that after all it
is no affair of theirs, inasmuch as
the Highway Commissioner would be
a Republican in any event. Never
theless their action has thrown some
element of their party back into the
habit of viewing with alarm and
making direful predictions. Sever
al of the more vehement Democratic
newspapers have even read the ten
out of the party. In the circum-
stances these Senators might be ex-
pected to go about wearing an air of
gloom, but as a matter of fact they
are quite cheerful. Naturally this
attitude gives great pain to- Demo-
cratic State Chairman Guthrie who
is never so happy as when he is sus-
tanning the role or a party boss -
and making good. At the opening Of
the session Guthrie's scheme of eau
Gus rule irked the unterrified to such
an extent that they upset some of his
cherished schemes and he subsidized,
but not for long. His meddlesome-
ness soon reasserted itself, this time
in the form of a series of letters in
which he assumed to point out to the
Democrats the course they should
pursue.
The House reconvened on We'd
nesday night at o'clock and the
Senate will meet again next Monday
at o'clock. House committees met
Thursday.
The State Water Supply Commits
sion has recommended, after thor
ough study of the Pymatuning
swamp conditions, that the State
build a reservoir to impound the wa
ters and drain the land at cost of
$1,600,000 This would give a great
portion of the 10,600 acres area to
agriculture and regulate the water
supply for the industrial valleys of
the Beaver and Shenangoa.