Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-01-13
PeeItcA IL
Pe~~oqe0o~ia
BY the Ex-Committeeman

FenroSe legislative leaders IN con-
ference yesterday at Atlantic City de-
cided upon their program upon the
local option issue.
Following declaration from
Speaker Richard ]. Baldwin that he
proposed to have free and open de-
bate of the liquor license problem and
that his pledge to the opponents of
license that their bill shall be reported
out for discussion on the floor must be
kept, it was agreed that the Law and
Order Committee of the House shall
be so composed that there will be no
delay in passing a resolution in the
committee to report the bill as COM
mitted for early action by the House.
Speaker Baldwin made public the
contents of a letter which he received
from George w. Williams, of Tioga
county, who was chairman of the Law
and Order Committee of the last
House. Mr.. Williams, who was a
candidate for Speaker and withdrew
few hours before the Republican
caucus met and turned in for Edwin
r. Cox, TIE Vare-Brumbaugh choice
for the Speakership, informed Mr..
Baldwin that he did not wish to be
named as member of the Law and
Order Committee. He was disap-
pointed over not being the Governors
choice for Speaker.
Unless there shall be q change in
the tentative list of committeeman,
Representative William c. Wagner, of
Allegheny county, will be made chair
man of the House Committee on Law
and Order. There will be a good rep
resentation of the dry" members OF
the House on this committee, but a
majority, it is declared, will be affili-
ated with antilocal option cause. Mr..
Wagner was a member of the last
House and voted against the Williams
Local Option bill.
Mr.. Williams in asking that his
name be omitted from the Law and
Order Committee asked that he be
included in the membership of the
Committees on judiciary, General
Elections, and Corporations.
AS the outcome of As hours of
sitting of the requests of tie 2O6 MEM
bers of the House, there being one
vacancy, for committee assignments,
there has been an agreement that 81
chairmanships shall go to interior
counties, five to Allegheny county, and
seven to Philadelphia. This is an un-
usually large proportion to the coun-
ty. The list as at present made up
calls for the appointment of Frederick
Boyer. of the Forty-third ward of
Philadelphia, as chairman of the
Committee on Judiciary Generals Isa-
dore Stern, of the Fifth. ward, as
chairman of the Committee on Judi
ciary Special, and Sig ]. Cans, of the
Thirty-eighth ward, on Public Health
and Sanitation.
Thomas f. McNiehol will not be re-
appointed to the Committee on Elec-
tions. He is q Ware man. 1t is not
expected that the Ware men will get
much consideration in the House, but
| -, AE-AT T..1.
among those who have been adyocat-
ing harmony.
1t is authoritatively announced
that Senator Edwin ii. Ware will be
reappointed to the Craftsmanship of
the Committee on Municipal Affairs.
Senator Penrose's recent statement
that he would welcome every agency
in support of a legislative program
which would insure the passage of
progressive and other measures cal
culated to improve conditions in the
administration of State affairs, was re-
called when it was stated that there
will be strong representation of tie
Democratic members of the Senate
and House upon all important COM
mittees.
President pro tenn. E. q. Beidleman,
of the Senate, as well as Speaker
Baldwin, has had submitted to him
the names of Democrats for various
committees
The significance in this un-
usual consideration of the Democracy
directs attention to the predictions
that if the Brumbaugh administration
at Harrisburg or the Smith adminis-
tration in Philadelphia, skall under
take to undermine the Penrose State
leadership through 'unseemly or
overt" factional employment of the
use of patronage, or other political
submarine tactics, there will be found
to be a working agreement in the I'm
terest of good government" in which
the Democracy, for partisan reasons,
and TIE Penrose supporters for selfish
interests. will cooperate in the pass
age of legislation designed to curtail
the powers of officials in State or
municipal government, says the Phila-
delphia Inquirer.
The determination of the Penrose
leaders to put none but true men on
guard" whether in Senate or House
Committee or in other honorary or
profitable place, was emphasized to-
day in the announcement by Senator
william G. 6proul, of Delaware aoun-
ty, who was delegated by the Repbli-
can Senate caucus to name q Slate.