Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-11-29
PeeittcA i~
Pe~~oqeSonia
By the Ex-Committeeman

Representative Edwin r. Cox, of
Philadelphia, sponsor for the Brum-
baugh child labor bill last session and
chairman of the committee on manu-
factures of the House in the last three
sessions, was last night brought out
by the Ware e-Brumbaugh- -Magee-O'Neil
forces as their candidate for speaker
of the next House against Richard j.
Baldwin, of Delaware county. The
battle was Joined last night after Sem
ator Penrose had come out with a
statement in which he said that he
was for Baldwin to the finish and that
there would be no compromising as in
the organization of the House in 1915
and after State Chairman Crow had
failed to get the Ware brothers to
agree to Baldwin for speaker. The
fight is on. There are ITO members
of the House who are Republicans and
the administration forces deny that
they have attempted to induce any
men to stay out of the caucus or that
they are behind any contests to un-
seat Republican members not of their
way of thinking.
The selection of Cox is believed to
have been agreed upon at the confer
ence held at the Executive Mansion on
Wednesday night by Governor Brum-
baugh. Mayor Smith. of Philadelphia,
and Congressman Ware. All parties
to the conference declared that the
speakership was only indirectly" dis
cussed at Philadelphia last night and it
was admitted that it was the theme.
The Governor and the Wares have
personal antipathy for Baldwin, and
it is believed that to get Mayor Smith
in line they were forced to drop their
idea of taking an upstate man like
Williams of Tioga, or Walter of
Franklin, and to take a Philadelphian.
In order to get the support of the Phil
adelphia Mayor it is also understood
that an agreement was made that no
ripper" legislation was to get past the
Governors desk. Smith has not made
any announcement but the Penrose
people are not counting on him.
Senator Penrose. who beat the
Wares to their launch of Cox by a dec
laration for Baldwin, said: Without
having any desire to interfere in any
way with the actions of the Legisla-
ture, it is evident to me, from .nfor-
nation that l have received, that q
large majority of the members favor
Baldwin for speaker.
las far as / am personally concern
ed, am very friendly to him. He also
is the only candidate who up to this
time has announced his candidacy or
who seems TO have any large following
in the Legislature. II believe that he
will be elected speaker of the House of
Representatives from all that I can
learn by a sufficient number of Repub-
lican votes to constitute a majority of
the whole Legislature"
The Philadelphia Inquirer says
This statement was made after he
had been called upon by Republican
State Chairman William e. Crow, who
had previously met Senator Edwin II.
Ware. The Penrose claim is from 110
to 120 Republicans for Baldwin out of
a total of 169 Republican members of
the House entitled to participate in
the Republican caucus. They claim
''at least seventeen" out of the forty
| one representatives from this city, con-
ceding the full force of the Smith ad-
ministration to be back of Representa-
tive Cox for speaker. They claim also
| nineteen and possibly twenty of the
twenty-four representatives from Allie
gheny county. Delaware and Chester
counties have already gone on record
soiidly for Baldwin, and two votes
each from Montgomery and Bucks are
| also signed up for "the pride of
Chadds Ford" While Mayor Smith
| yesterday took no stand publicly on
the speakership, the Ware men expect
! Mr.. Cox's announcement says:
"I am candidate for election as
speaker of the House. To be the speak
er Is great honor and one of which
any member has the right to be
proud. In the next few days I propose
| to make q canvass of every member
elect and to submit for their consider
alton my record in the last four ses-
sions of the Legislature during which
I served and shall ask for their sup
port as speaker on this record Upon
1t have every confidence that shall
receive the support of a majority of
| the members"
The Philadelphia Press, which
boosts Cox, says: Representative Cox
was one of the few Philadelphia men,
bers, who. two years ago, voted for
local option. He fathered the child
labor law as 1t was placed in his hands
by Governor Brumbaugh and fought
| for 1t until 1t was enacted. During all
his terms he especially addressed him
self to the enactment of legislation
which would exterminate the money
loan shark. The Cox law has been
sustained by the local courts. He also
supported the Wilson cold storage
law. the workmens compensation law