Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-02
REPUBLICAN FACTIONS
IN OPEN WARFARE AGAIN
Party Split Wide Open During
Closing Hours of State
Legislature

Tho ractional warfare that cropped out
during the closing hours Of the Legislature
smashed all plans for harmony between the
two factions Of the Republican Organization
Tor the gubcrnatorlal primary next spring,
and split the party wide open.
The initiative in the last-minute fac
tionalsm was taken by the Penrose forces,
when the Senate refused to confirm eight
Brumbaugh appointments, and when the
Pcurose leaders attempted to slip into the
general appropriation bill several riders
aimed at the Ware -Brumbaugh faction. The
Ware Brumbaugh forces won the last VIC
tory by forcing the Pcnrose leaders to drop
the riders" and their victory did not serve
to make their opponents feel at all inclined
toward harmony
II Is generally understood in political
circles that n harmony agreement on state
Senator William c. Sproul as candidate for
Governor was reached several weeks ago
Since the facuonal outbreak however, the
Wares refuse to say whether they will sup
port Senator Sprou and Senator Penrose
is serving notice on them that 1T must be
Sprou or a nght" lie even indicated that
he has Auditor General Snyder under con-
slderation as his gubernatorial candidate.
READ TWO OUT or PARTY
The refusal Of the Senate to agree to the
appointment of two Of the appoiutees re.
iccted was for strictly political reasons.
These two appointments were Robert X.
Young. OF Tioga. for Public Service Com
missioner and Daniel +. Lafean, of York.
for state Banking Commissioner In reject
in
read out Of the party" by the Penrose
Senators. The confirmation Of J. Denny
O'Neil as state Insurance Commissioner is
credited to the efforts OF william +. Grow.
Penrose has bitterly opposed O'Neil
In conncction with the action Of the SEN
| ate on the Brumbaugh nominations, It has
become known that late Thursday after
noon Senator Penrose tclephoned his lieu.
tenants at Harrisburg from Washington.
Did they confirm Young?" he asked. He
| was told they did not
Did they confirm O'Nel?" Yes" was
| the answer
Then he asked whether Lccch and La.
| feau had been confirmed. lie was told
! they had been rejected.
well" said Penrose. "the session was
| worth while after all"
Another sidclight of the closing hours OF
the session cleared up the mystery Of the
| exodus from Harrisburg Of many lcEisla
tors just before the fight on the appropria'
| ton bill started.
| Flyers were sent out to intercept every
| Representative who was known to have left
as the first vote showed that the Penros
forces had only eighty-nine votes, hftecl
less than the number sufficient to pass tn,
| bin with the riders" in II, Representative
| Dawson. Powell and Davis were overtalieI
, at Sunbury and forced to turn their auto
mobile back toward Harrisburg.
AND SIXTEEN GOT AWAY
on train going west to Pittsburgh
| however, were sixteen members from tn,
western end of the State, thirteen from
| Allegheny County and three from nearby
counties All were Penroso men, the Ware
| Brumbaugh members from those counties
! having remained in Harrisburg
Max Leslie who was prominently identi
fed with the transit Company's lobby ant
with the railroad lobby had invited tn
entire sixteen to go west with him as hi
guests.
Telegrams telling him to Immediately re
turn with the kidnapped" members wer
sent to Altoona and Johnstown, The frs
reached him at Altoona. lie kept on goini
west, however.
When the party reached Johnstown an
| other message was there signed by m
same name as the first, informing him tia
the original message was a Joke and not t.
pay any attention to it, So he and tn
missing sixteen votes did not return, an'
the Wares and the Governor were able t.
force the Penrose leaders TO restore tn
appropriation bill to its original shape ant
adjourn the Legislature.