Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-30
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By the Ex-Cornmitteeman

The Town Meeting party ticket
will appear on the official ballot of
the election in Philadelphia next
Tuesday in spite of the efforts re-
sorted to by the Smith-Vare organi-
zation to keep it off. This was as
sured yesterday by a decision of
Judge Davis. who heard the suit
brought by the Republican City
committee in an attempt to prove the
nomination petitions of the new
party fraudulent Thus far the papers
of only two wards. the Fourteenth
and Fortieth. have been dismissed.
Judge Davis decision was in accord
ance with his ruling of last week,
in which he stated plainly he would
protect the privilege of every citizen
to exercise the right of franchise as
he saw fit, permitting amendments
to petitions incorrectly drawn, but in
which no fraud could be proved. The
ticket of the Town Meeting party
as 1T Will appear in all except a few
wards is as follows:
For City Treasurer
William r. Nicholson.
For Receiver of Taxes,
Thomas f. Armstrong.
For Register of Wills,
Walter George Smith.
Owing to the great amount of evil
dence in the case, Judge Davis was
unable to give his final decision until
late in the evening. lie made state
ment at the close of the hearing in
the morning which was equivalent to
decision indicating the stand he
would take. After he had closed the
case in his own court with the hear
ing of arguments of counsel, the
hearing of objections to councilmanic
and Divisional petitions was continued
by Judge Vessels in Court of Com
mon Pleas No. 2 and Judge Carr in
Court of Common Pleas No. 4, re-
spectively.
Until Governor Brumbaugh
names n successor to the late Asher
V. Stauffer, who committed suicide
at Easton last Tuesday while his ac-
counts as register We're being investi-
gated, the probe into Stauffer's af-
fairs cannot begin. A conference was
held yesterday between attorneys
representing the Auditor General and
the executors and bondsmen of
Stauffer. Special Deputy Auditor
General Harry McDevitt announced
that the state would send on an eX-
pert accountant TO go over Staulfer S
books from July, 1914, to last week.
1t was in 1914 that Stauffer paid the
state $1,000 when a shortage was
! found in his collateral and direct in
surance tax account. Stauffer's es-
tate, it was said to-day, amounts to
about $4,000. McDeVitt said the
state would expect to be fully re-
imbursed.
The legal and official feud be-
| tween Controller Kay and County
| Treasurer Wilson at West Chester,
| Chester county, over the right of the
controller to have information as to
the balances the treasurer main
| tains on deposit in banks, was con-
| tinued by court declining to issue an
| injunction against Kay or to grant
| the hearing to force out the infor-
nation Kay desires. The action was
taken without prejudice to either
| party, and a final hearing will be
| held December 10. Counsel for
Treasurer Wilson reserved the right
to renew the petition for prelimin-
airy injunction.
The Supreme Court yesterday
| allowed the petition for the appeal
| in the suit of the various state off,
! cials against the Auditor General
| and the state treasurer TO act AS II
| supersedeas, and ordered the case st
| the head of the list for argument on
| January 1. The plaintiffs are the
/ officials reappointed by the Cover
nor after being rejected by the Sem
ate. They are D. Edward Long, Su-
pcrintendent of Public Printing and
Binding; Nathan r. Butler, Com
missioner of Fisheries; Daniel f. La
fean, Commissioner of Banking, and
Charles E. Patton, Secretary of Agri-
culture.
The fight over the question of
whether or not the city of Johns
town is to issue S775,0 900 for sewage
and street improvements is warming
up and there is much speculation as
to what reception the voters will
give the issue when it is placed be-
fore them at the coming general
i election. Those in favor of the bond
issue believe that it will win in a
walk" The State Health Depart
/ ment has given Johnstown just one
more year to establish a sanitary
sewer system, and the paving pro-
gram mapped out by the Highway
4 Departm will cost. many thous-
ands of dollars. There is only one
logical way in which this work can
be done, argue those back of the
bond issue, and they believe that the
! plan of increasing the Indebtedness
to complete this work will be fav-
\ L. a l.