Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-15
SPLIT" in G. O.P.,
M'NICHOL THREAT
Senator's Mailed Fist De-
ecends When Ware Steam
Roller Works
REFERS TO 1905 RUPTURE

state Senator James p. McNichol this
afternoon hurled at the Ware brothers a
threat that II they fight him too hard a
Republican organization split as destructive
IS that OF 1905 will result The McNichol
mailed fist came out in a speech the leader
made before the Republican city committee
At a meeting called to settle two contests
+ for places in the central body. lie was de-
Tending the claim Of his Thirteenth Ward
leader John f. Flaherty, who is trying to
unscat william II. Jones. Ware man and
present city committeeman from the Thir-
teenth
The committee listened 10 two and
quarter hours Of argument and then, re-
serving decision on the Thirteenth Ward
contest, started TO hear the advocates repre-
senting the Twenty-fourth Ward disputants.
There the fight Is between Blakely ID. Nc
Caughn McNichol leader, and Michael l.
Crane, Ware supporter
After a long hearing Of principals and
witnesses in both contests, the city com
rnittee voted to name board Of five mem
bers to settle the dispute The motion was
made by state Senator Ware and was sec
ended by state senator McNichol
Chairman Ransey named three ware men
ana TWO OF the McNltuOl ItINHdSlNu va
the special committee which consists OF
frongressman Peter +. Costello, James b.
Sheehan Register OF Wills william Camp
bell Magistrate Thomas F. watson and
State Senator Edward W. Patton. Shcehan
and Campbell are McNichol faction mem.
bers
They are to report in thirty days, when
n special meeting Of the city committee
will be held
Jones was represented by Congressman
John r. X Scott, himself a member Of the
city committee from the Fourteenth Ward |
and leader Of his own and Jones territory !
McNGCHoL "HECKLER"
After Scotts presentation of his clients |
case. both were heckled by state Senator |
McNichol Flaherty and Select Councilman |
Harry ]. Trainer. city committeeman from |
the Third Ward. Sheriff Harry Ransley |
Dave Lanes successor as chairman, brushed |
aside many Of Trainers questions by ruling |
them out of order
At the ward executive committee meet |
ing last week some Of Fiaherty's men were |
refused admittance TO the meeting place.
Jones and twenty Of his men formed |
quorum and held a meeting at which Jones |
was elected Scott contcndT that the |
Flaherty men barred from th9 meeting had |
been disqualified by nonrestGence Trainer |
shot queries at Scott and Jones, intended 10 |
show that Jones himself was disqualified |
by nonresidence; therefore that he should |
not have been admitted to the meeting, and |
that If he had not been present, there would |
have been no quorum and no election
Scott protested against the interrogation. |
Chairman Ransley sustained him.
Trainer also tried 20 show that some Of |
the Jones men who attended the meeting |
were ineligible for membership, because they |
held city positions. Ransloy said the Shern |
law, referred to. was not germanc.
McNICHoLs ARGUMENT
McNichol's argument for Faherty was |
that Harry Kelly was a member Of the |
Ward Committee. that his membership |
made the total membership forty-two and |
that therefore the twenty.one Jones men |
present at the meeting did not constitute |
q quorum and had no power to elect a city |
Scott had asserted that Kelly was un- !
known. could not be found and was not "A |
member Of the ward organization McNichol |
said
"Senator Ware was able to find him The |
Senator came 10 Philadelphia and spent |
the night with Kelly to try to get him to !
vote for Jones Kelly was a registrar at |
the registration last week. lie was elected |
10 the ward committee at a meeting two /
weeks before the meeting at which he was |
McNichol said that the four members |
ourted from the ward committee by the |
Ware faction had served for from seven to |
thirty years on the committee and had been |
stanch Republicans.
''Are you going to reward service like |
theirs by letting them be thrown out?' he |
demanded
F'laherty claimed to have a majority of |
the members Of the ward committee in his |
favor, and presented an affidavit from what !
he said was a majority Of the executive |
qualified to cast "A vote that
they favor his election,
Similarly, the Crane followers i'm the
Twenty-fourth Ward claim that McCaughan
without proper notice called a special meet
ing few days before the City Committee
man election: that no quorum was present:
that Crane supporters were denied admis-
sion 10 the meeting and that McCaughan
Illegally filled six vacancies with his own
men McCaughan denies these statements
and claims that he received forty-four
votes as against thirty-ive for Crane.
Cranes claim is that he has thirty-eght
legal votes and that McCaughan has thirty
1--WE