Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-07-30
Enrs1tup Gtat


full crew bill was the longest he has
written. The Governor has been a
busy wielder of the AK and SOM OF
his vetoes have been long. He
seemed to prefer to administer re-
proof in many of his vetoes and few
of them had the brevity of the Tener
messages or the terse statements of
the Stuart documents. The Governor
in few of his vetoes seemed going
In the style that characterized Sam
uel w. Pennypacker, but he pre-
ferred longer documents than that
noted killer of ill-advised legislation.
The Brumbaugh decoments are not
able for the argumentative style. In
many of them the Governor argues
With the sponsors for the bill, ask
ing many questions and showing In
many instances a comprehensive
grasp of what is desired. In a num-
Der of instances the Governor sharply
criticizes the motives behind bills
in others he lectures the sponsors for
their schemes. and in some he de-
nounces the measures. The number
in which he raps the Legislature for
carelessness or for failing to enact
what he considers as necessary COM
plements is far larger than in 1915.
The vetoes are a rich contribution OF
legislative and political history OF
Pennsylvania.
In another respect the Governor
adopted an unusual plan. He had
many explanations for signing bills
Few other Governors have ever gone
to as much trouble to explain rea-
sons for approving bills. Most OF
them have signed them and let it go
at that. The Governor issued al
! least a score of statements in ex-
planation of his approvals, some OF
which will be entertaining reading
In years to come and will furnish the
student with an idea of situations
existing at this time. Between his
numerous proclamations during the
early weeks of the war, his legis-
lative messages. the vetoes and the
explanations, the literary output of
the Governor this year has been ex-
tensive and varied and certainly in
teresting.
1t is doubtful whether any Gov
ernor ever assembled as much data
about legislation as Governor Brum-
baugh this year. He sent the bills to
the Attorney Generals department
to be studied and for opinions on
form, phraseology and other points
and he wanted the reasons for and
against from the law men; he asked
heads of departments to furnish re-
ports on why acts and appropriations
were necessary and boards and CON-
missions had to supply data of all
kinds. All this was supplementary
to the elaborate study of the state
government made by Harry S.
McDevitt for the State Economy and
Efficiency Commission. Furthermore,
the Governor had reports and briefs
from counsel and people interested
in projects and the data of the legis-
lative appropriations committee and
the State Board of Public Charities
was provided for him during con-
sideration of appropriation bills. And
in addition he had reams of letters
and reports from institutions wanting
appropriations. The remarkable part
about It is that he seems to have
| read them all, as men who discussed
bills with him found him well in
formed on everything and were kept
busy answering or parrying the ques-
tions he seemed to delight to throw
at them in rapid-fire order.
crkitto. dticflgf .rCGroundofwhos. fl
On the Capitol Park extension and
Camp Curtin memorials the Gov
ernor loaded up himself with in
formation that the average Harris
burg man does not know. He argued
with business men about values in
Capitol Park and said he would like
to talk over Camp Curtin with Pro-
fessor j. Howard Vert or anyone
else who had made a study of it. He
knew the number of properties and
their values in the park district and
he went up and walked over the
Camp Curtin tract to see what it was
like and approved the parcel which
it was proposed to buy before the
Legislature was half over. The one
thing people here seem to have over
looked was getting him interested in
the site of Fort Washington and the
real high water mark" at Oysters
Point.
James c. Deininger, the executive
clerk, who read the Governors proc
lamation of the vetoes of the session
of 1917 to a mystifled assemblage of
five visitors from rural districts, two
Capitol policemen and guide shortly
after o'clock Saturday night so that
everything would be legal, has per-
formed that interesting ceremony or
taken part in 1t six times. He was
formerly connected with the Depart
ment of the Secretary of the Com
monwealth and helped do it before
it fell to his lot to run the procla-
nation. Chief Clerk George D.
Thorn, of the State Department, has
attested to the proclamation and
listened to it ten times. Charles r.
Willetts and A. L. Shomo, of the
State Department, who also took
part, has assisted several times. The
proclamation is the only one of all
that Governors put out that is ever
a1IU rnad Wars fhnV lIGa6 fO
so out on the portico of the old
Capitol and assail the air with the
information. When the present
Library was built the proclamation
was read one time from the roof OF
the porch and characterized by much
levity, especially among those gath
cred before. When the new Capitol
was built the corridors of the south
wing were chosen, but four years ago
it was decided to have the ceremony
in the rotunda. The only thing II
/ dc 20 Io,.iao honIs tho Middle Apes