Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-20
Poei;cu i~
Pe~~oqeso~io
By the Ex-Committeeman

Immediate steps are to be taken
by Secretary of the Commonwealth
Cyrus e. Woods to work out a plan
for taking the votes of the soldiers
from Pennsylvania at the November
election, in accordance with the re-
quest of Governor Brumbaugh, and
commissioners will be selected next
month. Mr.. Woods will be governed
by the decisions of the Attorney Gen.
erals Department in the case of the
taking of the vote at the Mexican
border, but it is recognized that the
proposition this year is the greatest
that has ever confronted the State
In the Civil War, when the act
for taking the soldiers votes was
passed, the men were all in this
country and in 1898 they were either
in the United States, Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippines. The send
ing of commissioners was compare
lively easy as the greater number of
the men were in Pennsylvania organ
izations. Now men are scattered
through all branches of the United
states military service and in addi-
ton to the men in Keystone State or
ganizations at camps, there are the
thousands of drafted men and those
who are in the Army units in France.
The Federal government will prob
ably be asked to furnish informa-
ton as to homes of men, but as this
is a year for county and municipal
elections the number of different bal
lots that will be required will be
immense.
Returns of the primary elections
held for nomination of all judicial
candidates will be certified to the De-
partment of the Secretary of the
Commonwealth by county commits
sioners. The returns from the 2Sth
Congressional district, will also come
to the Capitol. The figures will be
entered here and the nominations
certified to the proper counties for
the November election.
While here and there over Penn
sylvania some notable political fig
ure was tumbled in yesterdays prim-
aries the general results were incon-
elusive. In Philadelphia the Fifty
fifty" ticket was nominated by the
Republicans as outlined by Mayor
Smith, but there have been some
very unpleasant things said about
the mayor because he failed to use
mony in the Fifth ward where blood
shed occurred. The Philadelphia
judges were all renominated. In
Pittsburgh, +. V. Babcock, Penrose
candidate, leads for mayor, with Will
liam A. Magee. State administration
candidate second. DR.. j. p. Kerr ran
third and much of his strength will
go to Babcock. Pittsburgh, like Har-
risburg, must fight it out all over
again at the general election. Scran-
ton had a very close mayoralty fight
which will leave some after effects.
Lackawanna and Luzerne counties
had the usual strenuous politics.
The various judicial fights
brought few surprises. Judge c. c.
Evans, the dry" judge of Columbia
and Montour, was defeated by John
G. Harman, former legislator and
well-known Democrat of the old
regime. Judge r. c. Stewart won
again in Northampton and Judges
Bechtel and Berger won in Schyl-
kill. Nothing has come from Erie
where a fight was made on Judge
Whitteisey, the Governors appointee,
Luzerne, Susquehanna, FayeIte or
Allegheny, regarding the judicial
fights.
1t may take a day to figure who
is nominated for associate judge in
the seventeen counties nominating.
The battle between vets and
"drys" was pretty fierce in many
places.
An independent movement is
likely in Philadelphia as a result of
the primary.
Candidates favorable to n city
manager plan were nominated in
Altoona and the rest of the State
will watch IL work out
With the primary scarcely over
the Democrats have hoped into the
limelight with gubernatorial talk.
The Philadelphia Inquirer in a Wash
ington dispatch says that in Phila-
delphia there will be held to-day "a
conference of State leaders of the
party, called by the Democratic
State committee. The understanding
is that the conference has been call
ed for q discussion of plans for the
Congressional and gubernatorial
campaigns for next year and to con-
slider candidates for the State ticket.
National Chairman A. Mitchell Pal
mer and Joseph +. Guffey, acting
State chairman, will attend the con-
ference" The dispatch from the Cap
ital also says: In the discussion of
the Democratic Congressman here
to-day Representative M. clyde
Kelly. of Pittsburgh, was suggested
as a probable candidate for Lieuten-
ant Governor on the Democratic
ticket. Mr.. Kelly, who was formerly
Republican and later Bull Moos-
er, was elected to Congress last fall
as a Progressive, with the Democratic
endorsement. Vance c. Mccormick
is the choice of nearly all of the
Democratic Congressman for the
nomination for Governor. All of the
members of the Democratic delega-
tion in the House will be candidates
for reelection. The Democratic
mem bers who will attend the Phila-
delphia conference are Representa-
tives Guy E. Campbell, of Pittsburgh;
A. r. Brodbeck, of Hanover; J. V.
Lesher, of Sunbury; Bruce +. Ster-
ling, of Uniontown; A. G. Dewalt. of
Allentown, and H. j. Steele, of
Easton."
This is something to bear in
mind in connection with the pri-
mary results: There is provision in
the primary election ballot which
states that under certain conditions
candidate on the nonpartisan ballot
can be practically elected If he polls
sufficient vote at the primaries as
his name will be the only one certi-
fed for the general election ballot.
Chief Clerk George d. Thorn, of the