Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-29
Pse;tsca ;,t
Pen~aaGSaaio
By the Ex-Committccman

SS' 20 SVhSSfheu, dlLnOuBn the COuh-
terpart of the historic English strug-
gle that is being waged in Penn
sylvania Democratic politics to-day is
bloodless, though wordy. This new
est war of the roses is centering upon
the offices of the Ninth internal rev.
enue district and threatens to fur
ther ruffie the feelings of the bosses
of the disreorganized reorganized
Democracy of the Keystone state
which lost Congressman in the face
OF the Presidents direct appeal and
races the largest Republican repre-
sentation ever known in q Pennsyl-
Vama Legislature as a subject for
new years thought. 1t is question
as filled with grounds for speculation
as tSentity of the Pennsylvanians
| and to have urged the President to
| make his partisan call for election of
Democratic Congressman and lose in
a day the prestige of six years of un-
broken party leadership.
Ever since York secured a hand
some federal building there has been
| room in it to spare and the partisans
of the White Rose city have been
| urging the Democratic bosses to
transfer the offices of the Ninth dis
trict from the old quarters in Lam
caster. Now the city of the Red
Rose is the habitat of one Ben Davis,
the collector of revenue, who has
survived storms in the Lancaster
Democracy and drives against him
at Washington and who has been a
center of complaints, chickering's and
rows, Davis was q member of the
committee which brought about the
reorganization of the Pennsylvania
Democray in 1911 and enabled A.
Mitchell Palmer and his pals to get
control of the machine which this
year. ran away with them. For this
service Davis has been near and
dear to National Chairman Vance c.
Mccormick and others of the bosses
whose leadership has been shot full
of holes again and has contrived to
hold on to the collectorship and to
keep the headquarters flag flying at
Lancaster.
Davis has managed to turn up
with the Lancaster members of the
state committee when needed and
has no qualms about sitting in meet
ings, although q Federal officeholder,
further fact which puts him close
to the bosses. Had not Congress-
man A. r. Brodbeck, of the nearly
always Democratic York-Adams dts
trict, gone down to ignominous de-
feat last month York might have
stood a show for the revenue head
quarters, While Davis machine did
not do any too we'll in Lancaster, he
is in shape to fight back and now it
is announced that Lancaster is go
ing after Federal building. But
York. with Its many cigar factories,
is q big revenue raiser and it is
going TO keep right after Lancaster
and keep Ben Davis awake at nights
while longer,
Comment in Philadelphia news
papers regarding the selection of
Governor Martin G, Brumbaugh as
does not seem to be of kindly ma
ture, The Public Ledger repeats the
editorial attack of few days ago
In even sharper tones and calls the
transaction "A raw proposition"
while the Press objects to the way
the thing was done and remarks that
the Governor Is thrifty" The Dem
ocratio Philadelphia Record reiter-
ates its charges of "a deal on judges"
and says that Senator Edwin H. Ware
is the only apologist for the Govern
or The Evening Bulletin says the
Governor has shown neither dignity
nor propriety nor even an elemen-
tary sense of what Is becoming
either to himself or to the distin-
guished office which he will soon va
cate" The North American and
Evening Ledger also oppose the
choice of the Governor,
The Pittsburgh newspapers give
prominence to the story of the selec-
tion and intimate that the paying
end of the job may ene before it be-
gins. The Democratic Post asks IL
Amy other donations" from the De-
fense Fund are contemplated?
Senator Sproul has given his ap-
proval of the personnel of the Phil
adelphia charter revision committee
named by City Solicitor John P. Con-
nelly. The Inquirer says THE belief
is not general that the various forces
now working for revision will be-
tween them draw up q satisfactory
program" Such a situation, need
less to say, would be hailed up the
state.
David Lawrence, the Washington
correspondent, seems to have lost
his popularity with the Mccormick
newspapers since he began writing
certain facts about the President and
his party.
The Pittsburgh Post says with
the appointment of James Fagen as
Pittsburgh registration commits
sioner THE Democrats regain two
places on the commission"
-Governor-elec Sproul has been
much sought by interviewers since
his return from his vacation. He
said that he had no opinion to ex-
press regarding Governor Martin G
Brumbaugh as historian and when
1T was remarked that much was be-
ing printed about his plans for the
legislative session, the new Govern
or is said to have replied that IT is
now the open season" for reports
and rumors.
John f. McEvoy, the deputy
revenue collector in Philadelphia
has quit. He also feels the need of
attending to private business.
Just as an instance of the wav
the Ware men from South PhiIadel-
phia intends to whoop it up for
Governor-elect Sproul on the occa-
sion of his inauguration can be gain
ed from the fact that Herman P
Miller, the Senate Librarian, has ar
ranged quarters for 600 men. A
third of these men will be quarter
ed at the new Penn-Harris Hotel
$50 at the Bolton and others to he
distributed. The leaders will be at
the new hotel, while the two bands
which will play for the downtown
host will be divided between others