Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-12-27
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Pe~~eqeso~io
By the Ex-Committeeman

Headquarters for the speakership
boom of Representative Edwin r..
Cox, of Philadelphia, opened last night
with a fire of verbal shrapnel, aided by
some big gun firing from Capitol Hill,
against Representative Richard j..
Baldwin, rival candidate for Speaker,
and the men behind him. 1t was the
noisiest opening of a speakership cam
paign known IN Harrisburg for years
and the closest approach to it was the
John r. X. Scott boom in 1913. follow
and is still going.
No less than three statements were
sent out from the Cox headquarters
and one was made by Attorney General
Brown, the latter as an answer to Sen
ator William c. Sproul. The Cox
shrapnel burst about the bastions of
the Baldwin boom, but drew no reply.
The man from Delaware sat in his
headquarters all evening, while the
Cox headquarters buzzed with the
Philadelphians who came with it and
the Capitol Hill people who Joined in
the throng. Loneliness did not bother
Baldwin, who remarked that as far as
he knew there We're less than half q
dozen legislators in the city. The Cox
people put out pictures and placards
galore and let everyone know that the
Philadelphian was strictly in the fight
to win.
The essence of the statements is
sued by the rival headquarters last
night amounts to a claim by Baldwin
hot hn 1n xrrifh IN, eterl 1T
and he said that he thought he would
have 120 in the caucus, and a fiat con-
tradiction by Scott, who said that
Baldwin could not muster sixty votes
and knew it. Scott also made the
statement that if by any misfortune
Baldwin should be electeds it would be
slap at the Progressives and would
mean Democratic victory.
The Cox headquarters staff was
augmented by Director of Public Safety
w. II. Wilson, City Commissioner
George +. Holmes and others allied
with the Ware wing of the party and
they spent most of the evening and
most of this morning comforting with
Scott, who appeared every now and
then to give out statement A. Nevin
DIETRICH was also there and a list of
men who are going to help the Cox
boom was issued.
james II. Maurer, president of the
State Federation of Labor, who is very
strongly advocating the election of
Cox, last night issued the statement
which he had been discussing most of
the day in answer to the letter of j. ].
McDeVitt, q vice-president of the State
Federation, who had attacked CoX's
labor record Attacking Baldwin's
labor record Is q favorite diversion of
the Cox boomers and when McDeVitt
t,,, R,.x
ment that McDevitt should have issued
his letter on stationery of the Bar
tenders Union and not use the State
Federation's.
Presence of x-Representative
Daniel ]. Shern, of Philadelphia, at
the Cox headquarters surprised many
men, as for years Shern and the forces
back of Cox were antagonistic
Senator Ware joined in the state
ment firing from the Philadelphia end
and in a bitter series attacked his
opponents.
Attorney General Browns answer
TO Senator Sproul was read with much
interest, as Mr.. Brown charges that
the fees he drew We're as counsel for
the legislative commission to revise the
revenue and corporation laws He
says: Senator Sproul was chairman
of the Senate finance committee dur.
ing all this time and could. If he would,
have aided some of these beneficial
measures to adoption. but he refused,
Notwithstanding my repeated and
urgent requests to do so. The reason
was that he was financially interested
in the subjects which in the reports he
had recommended to be passed and
personal interest tied his hands and
silenced his voice. During the last
session he was member OF the steer
ing committee of the Senate and House
TO confer from time TO time with the
Governor In aid of good LEGISLATION.
He was the consistent opponent of ali
measures providing for additional
revenue, even though part of 1t was to
build roads which he had bound the
State to oJconstruct and for which there