Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-20
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Harrisburg's strenuous primary
election yesterday was the first to be
held on a Wednesday in the recoI-
lection of some of the oldest voters
and the change made in order to
avoid Jewish holiday appears to-
have met with more or less favor.
although there are still some people
who cling to the idea that Satur-
day is as much the day for a primary
as Tuesday for a general election.
In years gone by primaries used to-
be held in Harrisburg on the nights
fixed by the political committees. Old
newspapers tell of town meetings for
nomination of candidates being held
In taverns, especially Captain Lees.
which occupied the site of an old
Jones and Commonwealth, now the
Dauphin building. Later on open
air caucus meetings were held JIM
Market Square and when Harrisburg
became large enough for the division
INTO two wards, the North and the
south, these meetings were held in
,schoolhouses. Often they were nom
partisan, regular town meetings, but
Sixty or seventy years ago the rise of
parties caused separate primaries to
DC held. Then the use of Saturday
came into vogue because the workers
could get men who were attending.
fraternal and other meetings on
other nights to attend and the bulk
OF Ihe population was more apt tC
take an interest when the week
work was done. However, the pri-
mary elections were generally held
! by the various parties on differen
nights and it was not until the tim5
or the uniform primary act of 1906
that one day for all elections was
| fixed. Even then there were some
| who shook heads over the change
| predicting clashes such as had oc
Cured in former years or wher
| Democratic and Republican parades
| bumped each other. The uniform
| primary advocates started out will
the Saturday idea, but Tuesday was
soon established and continued unit
| this year. The history of primary
elections in Harrisburg is of immense
| local interest with occasional law
suits, some fights, certain damage,
| properties and quite IL few battered
| heads. But now the State runs ,pri
maries as it does general elections
and interference with election laws
often leads to 223 Walnut street or
! Cherry Hill.
The use of the term buddy"
meaning a side partner, fellow
worker or colleague on job ten
mate or pal, has been common
| enough in this State, but it has re
mained for Compensation Comis
| sioner James w. Leech to place
or record in a formal decision o
State board. Ordinarily one of thu
more common terms denoting such
| relationship of men is employed, bu
| the commissioner comes from q Goa
mining county himself and to em
ploy the word seemed natural in
coal mine compensation case. This
! is the way he used it, THE claiman
testified that on the first day h
worked eight hours and on the sec
| ond three and one-half hours, unit
| he was injured, and that some o
J the cars he loaded on the second day
were credited to his buddy"
To-morrow's shoot at West Fair
view, in which shooters from Harris
burg and other places will partici
| pate, will be one of unusual interes
! because it will be for blood betweeI
the marksman of the Cumberland
county town and the HarriSburgers
| West Fairview is one of the mos
remarkable towns in regard to shoot
ing in the country. For over
| century it has been the home o
| splendid shots and they say that the
! first things boys reach for after the
| are born is a gun. There are Severa
| families which have had three gen
esationa of marksmen and Wes
| Fairview shoots attract attentio
from marksmen in many counties.
When it comes down to being fool
1,a, a,flNr hn foil urhn p of
cycles on the Riverside road withou
holding to the handle bars take tn
| prize. In spite of the heavy auto
mobile traffic on that highway ever
day there are some piebald idots VIII
persist In riding cycles at high spec
without touching the bars as a sig
| of their skill Attention of Stat
| Police watching for motor traffi
violations could very well be devoted
| to the River road.
| Dauphin county sportsmen sa
| that the blackbirds must have been
| furnished with early copies of TIL
new game code by DIR. Kalbfus be
! cause there are fewer blackbird
around than usual. Ordinarily abou
| the first of October the hlackbird
! start south, but this year the mobi
| lization caught the war spirit and
| was earlier than usual. The mum
| her of birds being shot is not large
The state Public Service Com
! mission receives some odd requests
| hut the record was established a few
| days ago when a man wrote askin
| that q hearing be postponed. II
said that he was vitally intereste
and that it was important for hin
| to he present He added that h
could not be on hand as he was
Jail.
II xUyr-u LkI/NHvTAt DEODI