Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-09-30
PetiEcS III
Pe~~o4tsa~io
By the Ex-CommitseemAn

-Allegneny county court judges,
sitting as a full bench, yesterday took
action to open ballot boxes in the
Republican nomination contests which
have attracted Statewide attention.
1t is possible that there will be further
| legal proceedings as the action of the
court establishes what some men at
the Capitol believe precedent
and which may affect official counts in
number of counties of the Common
wealth.
The judges ordered opened fifty
three ballot boxes to be used in the
primary election September 81 and the
votes counted under the supervision
of the County Commissioners. The
decision was on the petition of William
B. Kirker, candidate for Prothonotary.
who, the unofficial returns showed,
had been defeated by David B. Johns
| by ninety-siX votes out of total of al
most 100000 cast at the primary. The
decision was awaited with interest be-
cause of the many charges of fraud
made in connection with the election
and because it was believed 1t would
throw the way open for a complete
recount of all the ballots cast for the
many candidates on the various tick
cts The ballot boxes have been under
close police guard day and night since
election. The lock on the first box
opened had been broken and the list of
Noters. tally sheet and af1davits of
the election officers had been re-
moved. The count of ballots did not
tally with the unofficial count reported
election night. Attorneys representing
the contending factions were permit
ted to watch the count
Not only State but national at
| tention has been attracted by the
cheering of Senator Boies Penrose as
a candidate for President at the meet
ing of the delegates to the National
Camp of the Patriotic Order Sons of
America in Baltimore yesterday. The
| senior Senator was mentioned as
! Presidential timber by State Senator
John o. Sheatz. of Philadelphia, who
| spoke in the highest terms of his
public service. I'VE of PENNSYLVANIA
are positive that the great majority of
the delegates to the Republican Ma
! tional Convention will be in favor of
our senior United States Senator for
the Presidency of this nation said
Mr.. Sheath. "And, indeed, WINK should
we not be for him in Pennsylvania
For many years he has been a leader
In the political life of our great State
and. so far as we see, excepting those
who may be prejudiced. we feel he
has not made any mistakes in his
political movements" In his address
to the delegates Senator Penrose did
not refer to politics He urged that
the United States prepare for national
defense.
EX-Judge W. D. Wallace. candidate
for the superior court, yesterday aft
ernoon filed his statement of expenses,
showing that he had spent S6S163.
Most of it was advertising.
The Lawrence county court has
held that county commissioners can
not demand recount of votes. The
matter may be appealed. AS result
| S. P. Emery stands as the nominee for
! judge.
1T is probable that Lackawanna
| Democrats will have a fight over
county offices at the polls, just as the
| Daupnin Democrats will do. The ten
sion caused by the primaries has not
relaxed bit.
The Franklin party. the latest
plaything of the Philadelphia inde-
pendents and reformers. was brought
! into being yesterday at an amusing
session. The Philadelphia Press thus
describes the "doings:" "The Frank
lin party as a political organization in
each of the forty-eisht wards of the
city. was brought into existence by
| former Washington party men yester-
| day. The law requires five electors to
make affidavits as pre-emptors and to
secure the party title for each of the
! forty eight wards. Five electors We're
assembled for each ward and more in
the headquarters of the Committee of
One Hundred. None knew what the
new party name was to be. The men
assem- bled, a signal was given. Simul-
ltaneously the representatives of each
| of the wards signed the applica-
tion for pre-emption of title. A notary
was in attendance to administer the
necessary affidavits. Meanwhile the
telephone was disconnected, the doors
closed and the windows guarded. so
that the pre-emptors should be abso-
| lutely cut off from the great world
without the least knowledge of their
conclusions reaching it before formal
application was made. Then while the
| ESQ electors remained under guard
and lock and key. Secretary z. L. D.
| Roach rushed off to the Prothonotary's
Office with the ward papers and also
with sat pre-empting the title for the
city and county. signed by John C.
| Winston. Herbert d. Altman. George
Wentworth Carr. +. t. d. Roach. WEI
| liam M. Longstreth, r Henry Walnut
end John Walton. as pre-emptors.
Only when the formal filing of the
napers had been perfected in the
Prothonotary's Office were the pre-
emptors permitted to leave headquar-