Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-12-01
PoeHtc4 in
Pe~~eqeoo~ia
BY the Ex-Committeeman

Concensus of opinion among the
newspapers and those who follow
politics in the State is that the fight
for the speakership between the State
administration and Penrose forces will
not end with the selection by the Re-
publican caucus but will run on
through the session and cause it to be
more or less of turmoil. Men who
have been striving for a short session
and an agreement upon an adjourn
ment date at the start now fear that
chances of a short business-like gen.
eral assembly have gone glimmering
and that the ruction bred of the fight
over the speakership will mean in
vestigations of departments and re-
fusals to confirm some OF the Cover
nor's appointments.
No compromise appears to be in
sight and newspapers in Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh say that there will be
the administration people will try to
keep men out of the caucus in the
event that they find they are short
votes were denied by some of the
brigadier generals of the Governors
forces to-day.
The administration people claim
that they have a majority of the Re-
publican caucus "sewed up" but give
no figures and name no names, saying
it is too early. Taking their cue from
Senator Penrose the captains of his
companies say that they have at least
100 votes pledged to Baldwin.
Both representatives Richard j.
Baldwin and Edwin R. Cox, the rivals
for the speakership, are out touring
the State. Mr.. Cox is to be helped in
every county by the administration
men and it is intimated pretty broad
ly at the Capitol that when men fail
to deliver they can expect scant con-
sideration and that those who fall
down need not come around.
The Philadelphia Record to-day
says that Mayor Smiah holds the key
in Philadelphia and feN arks that de-
spite the claims of the ware people the
mayor has not committed himself,
while the Philadelphia North Amer
lean declares Cox will have strength
not suspected.
The Philadelphia Press says that
Cox's campaign is taking shape and
that it looks well, while the Pitts
burgh GaZette-Times expresses some
doubts about Cox being as strong as
claimed even with the Governor be-
hind him. The Philadelphia Public
Ledger says that canvass shows a
Schuylkill county. Wilkes-Barre pa
pers intimate that the delegation will
be divided with Baldwin having the
better of it.
| "A Pittsburgh dispatch to day
says: Seven of Allegheny county S
| twenty-four members of the next AS
sembly are claimed for Edwin r. Cox,
of Philadelphia, for Speaker, as a re-
suit of the activities here the last sew
eral days in behalf of Mr.. Cox by Pub
| lie Service Commissioner w. A.
Magee. The seven Cox votes here, If
the claims are borne out, will include
three wet" members, headed by
| Daniel A. Malie, of the Seventh Legis-
lative district, who came out for Cox
in q statement to-day. Four of the
seven, elected on dry" tickets and for
Cox, naturally, are ]. w. Vickerman.
Nelson McVicar, DR.. J. r. Wylie and
Thomas Ross. The Penrose forces
headed by Mayor Armstrong, Max G.
Leslie and Coroner Jamison, will not
concede more than five votes for Cox
out of the twenty-four. They are
lining up their supporters for Richard
j. Baldwin, of Delaware, for Speaker.
Counties which do not file their
/ official returns of the vote cast by their
resident voters and their soldiers by
tomorrow morning will be asked by
telegraph to hurry their reports to
the department of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth. About two-thirds of
the counties in the State have filed
their complete returns and several
counties whose returns were sent back
for inclusion of the soldier vote have
failed to file again. They are holding
up the official count. 1t is expected
that the official count will be finished
| in less than a week. The State wide
vote is being tabulated on seven big
tables as rapidly as received and as
soon as the last counties are entered
the counting will be started. Two
counts will be made so that the results
will check up. When the officials re-
suits are known the Governor will
issue the usual proclamations