Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-12-01
Peeiic4 &.
Pe~~eqesoGa
BY the Ex-Committeeman

Refusal of the Supreme Court o.
Pennsylvania to stop the opening o.
ballotboxes in the contest of Tho
Philadelphia election inaugurated b!
the Town Meeting party and the Re
publican Alliance meeting to launch
the state campaign attracted the at
| tention of the state to Philadelphia
yesterday. The action of the Supreme
Court, which was, technically, to re.
fuse to have an appeal act as a super.
sedeas. was blow to the Wares, bu
the down town Senator came. bach
with a blast which read out of the
Republican party men aligned will
the new alliance.
A more serious incident of the day
for the Wares was the action of the
Philadelphia City Council in boosting
the city tax rate to S1.75. Wher
the Smith administration took hole
the city rate was 81. When the schoo
tax is added it means $2.35. Observ.
ers say that with all of the anti-con.
tractor fire concentrated upon the
Wares and an increased tax rate, il
means difficult work for the dowr
town people not only in their owr
city, but in the state at large.
In addition to the Supreme Court
decision yesterday the Philadelphia
judges decided to have ballotboXes
opened in divisions where more votes
We're found than We're on the check
list. Senator Penrose took up with
counsel charges that the Fifty
Fifty" ticket people bought $4,000
tax receipts for voters; and Thomas
w. Cunningham was CHOSEN head )f
the Philadelphia Republican Alliance
which will fight the Wares every
where and which will be aligned with
the Town Meeting party in the state.
The session of council at which the
tax rate was passed was stormy and
sharp things were said about the city
administration. =
-Twenty-tw affidavits pre-empt-
ing the name of the Town Meeting
party for all of the Allegheny county
congressional. senatorial and legis-
lative districts were field in the
Dauphin county court and at the
State Department to-day. They We're
the largest single lot of prescriptions
of the new party name to be filed.
Allegheny has four congressional, six
tricts and elections will be held next
year in all but three senatorial dis
tricts.
B. Dawson Coleman, well known
here, has been placed at the head of
the Lebanon county vigilance board.
The Norristown Register, the
only Democratic paper in Montgom-
cry county, was placed in the hands
of receivers yesterday.
The Philadelphia Record charges
that State administration officials are
"gumshoeing" the state to frame up
the selection of q Governor next
year. Just what federal officials
have been doing for some time is not
explained.
At least one fourth of the coun-
ties of the state have to file their
returns of the election held on No
Vember 6 for county and municipal
officers. The returns were held up
by the soldier vote, which could not
be computed until November 23,
but in spite of the week that has
elapsed there are still some to be
presented for record at the Depart
ment of the Secretary of the Com
monwealth. Some of them are
small counties. The Philadelphia
returns are held up by the contest
in the courts and those from other
counties have been made late by re-
turning boards. Allegheny, Luzerne,
Lackawanna and other large coun-
ties have filed their returns, those
from Lackawanna being on one huge
sheet which resembles a bedspread
Others are on smaller blanks which
will be easier to file. AS soon as the
returns are received official nota-
tions will be made on the records
and commissions issued to the
judges. A commission will be is
sued to the congressman elected in
the 2Sth district imm mediataly so that
he can proceed to Washington for
the opening of congress.
Payment of the expenses of the
commissioners to take the votes of
the soldiers in the various camps
where there were Pennsylvania sol.
diers on election day has about been
completed at the Capitol and it is
not expected that the total will be
much over $1,000 if that. The COM
missioners were allowed ten cents q
mile and the printing and postage
bills being paid by the state. The
latter bills have not been computed
-Ine future status or the state
Board of Agriculture is going to be
one of the big questions when the
Board holds its annual meeting here
late in January, and a number of
the older members of the Board
think, that it should be something
more active in direction of official
agricultural affairs and that the idea
of a debating society twice q year
was neither what it was created for
or in line with the times. The State
Commission of Agriculture is not
considered by professional farmers
as meeting the needs, and has al
ready cost the state a couple of
thousands of dollars.
The money spent on the COM
mission If put at the disposal of the
Board would stir up considerable
more interest, argue men who think
the functions of the Board should
be enlarged. 1t is likely that there
will be framed a demand for abol-
ition of the commission and substi-
tuition therefor of commission to
be made up of representatives of
the Board to help run the depart
ment, study specialized branches and
boss the institutes and other activi-
ties.
Governor Martin G.. Brum-
baugh's delay in reappointment oil
State Game Commissioners John NJ
Phillips, of Pittsburgh, and John S
Speer, of st. Mary's, Is causing much
comment, as the terms of both men
expire this year. When the Gov
ernor did not promptly announce
their reappointment 1t cropped out
that the Governor wanted the
places for some other people, not.
withstanding the service of Mr.. Phil.
lips over many years and the activ-
ity of Mr.. Speer. At one time il