Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-11-11
Enrntttg U1at

Governor Brumbaugh has gotten
departments at odd times and he has
caused considerable perturbation upon
more than one occasion in the last few
weeks. This was a favorite idea
with Samuel w. Pennypacker, when
he was governor and he disturbed the
serenity of more than one chief ana
his staff BY dropping in when not at
all expected. The governor does not
! like to stay in his office and he often
breaks out" as is said, and strolls
about the reception rooms shaking
hands with people and talking over
matters instead OF remaining in his .
office and receiving them one by one. I
The governor says 1t saves his callers
time and he Is able to clasp hands
with visitors who cannot wait to see
him. When the governor goes visit
| ing about the building he just rides
TO the top of n wing and works his
way down. He has several times
Jared people who were resting be-
tween tasks with feet on desks and
when he gets started no one says any
thing because there is always a chance
to Jolly" people.
Yesterday the governor took a no
ton to visit the Department of In
ternal Affairs of which his old school
friend and rival lecturer, Henry
Houck is chief. 1t happened that Mr..
Houck was making speech to some
Lebanon county people in another
part of the building and the governor
went right back to his office and
wrote n note chiding the secretary
for quitting work at 11.S0 in the
morning and expressing the hope
that he would not let any State bust
Tess slide. The governor also called
on Attorney General Brown the other
day and the chief law officer promptly
closed the door and said he was going
to keep him there to talk over some
matters which he had been trying to
get into the governors office for two
days and had been prevented by the
rush of callers. The governor has
also taken the same plan as Cover
nor John X. Tener when he wanted
to show special consideration for any
visitors He takes them out into the
Legislative halls and the rotunda to
point out the paintings.
If there is one thing which the
governor dislikes to do it is to sign
q death warrant He will put that
duty off as long as possible and have
to be reminded of it half a dozen
times. other governors seemed to
have the same general dislike of
that duty which is laid upon them
by the basic law of the State. Edwin
s. Stuart always accused Thomas j.
k.
of making the duty worse by bring
ing in the warrants after nightfall.
The duty of making the governor sign
lsuch papers falls on Executive Clerk
Deininger. who starts in a week ahead
of the time he expects to have the
grewsome papers signed and who re-
minds the governor. There is no slip
ping such things by the governor
He reads every paper and grasps it's
significance rapidly.
This ability to take up a matter
and speedily master it is one of the
distinguishing traits of the versatile
governor. An educator must neces-
sarily be we'll informed man, but
the governor has the happy faculty
of getting into the core of q subject
about as fast as his attorney general,
whose mental activity and tremendous
industry are much commented upon /
at the Capitol, can present an argu-
nent to court. The governor has
a fashion of wading into contracts.
charters and other things which
make up the routine business like he
used to tackle school reports in
philadelphia. Just to test him a
friend asked him one day when heL
had gone through a big mass of busi-N
ness whether he had heard about a
certain matter. The caller had seen
the rapid fire action on business as
fast as presented and the governor
replled, ON, yes, l just finished my
end or that. 1t calls for so and so,
Smith, Jones, Robinson and others are
in it." The governors ability to make
a speech on anything at all and to
make 1T we'll is proverbial. He strik-
lngiy illustrated that on his cam
paign and agricultural tours. He saws
that one of the reasons is because he
has thoroughly studied the State and
having lectured in many county seats
knows lots of people. However, it is
his ability to get the feel Of an au-
dience that helps.
Governor Brumbaugh has been tre-
mendously interested in the project
for improving the Capitol mark. Inst
as Governor Tener brought about the
extension of the park as the notable
local feature OF his administration the
governor plans to make it's improve
ment a monument to his administra-
ton here. The governor has visited
the whole park extension and has
gone out on Allison Hill and high uD
in the Capitol to get an idea of it's
size. This park is to be the center
of the park system of a great CITY
which is going to use it's natural ad-
IVantages and I want to see the park
something which people all over the
the country can appreciate" was the
way he put it.
The fact that Pennsylvania has
fewer living ex-governors than most
OF the States has been much com
mented upon. This State now has
three living former executives. One
OF the reatons given by men who have
observed the matter is that the term
is four years. longer than the tenure
IN most of the States and this State
for years elected ony men who were
IN the prime of life. In fact John K.
Tener was one of the youngest men
called to the office since Robert IL.
| Pattison.