Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-06-26
Poeiscs = L.
Pr'.sqeea~ia

WIN tne eleCIlOn OF tne WnOlo re-
publican state ticket assured and big
Republican delegations in Congress
and both Houses of the State Legis-
lature a matter of course and the
Democratic party engaged in one of
its quadrennial family fights, the at
tention of men active in politics in
Pennsylvania is being devoted to the
Supreme Court elections. nomina-
tions for which must be made by
nomination papers.
| Both of the justices recently ap-
pointed will be candidates for full
} terms and their friends will soon get
busy in their behalf. There is pro-
nounced sentiment for President
Judge George Kunkel, but the Dau-
phin jurist is silent on the subject,
! and there are number of men
urged for the places. Among Demo-
! Gratis who are being urged to file pa
pers for Justice Mestrezats seat are:
Henry Budd, a local attorney; ex-
Senator Webster d. Grim, of Bucks
county; Charles B. Lenahan, of Lu-
zerne county; Judge Henry o. Bech-
tel, of Schuylkill county, and Judge
Charles B. Copeland, of westmore-
land county.
Judge John w. Kephart, of the
] Superior Court, is regarded as GER
tain to file papers and several attor-
neys in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
have ambitions, some of which are
not regarded as likely to get very
| far. Judge Kephart, who is a
shrewd politician and who upset
some apple carts a few years ago,
will likely have something formal
to say soon.
Judge Bonniwell is in confer
ence with friends in Philadelphia
the remainder of this week regard
ing campaign plans. He will issue
another statement about Saturday.
Pittsburgh councilmen have
again passed ordinances over the
mayors veto. The mayor and the
council are having a strenuous time
on different ideas of government.
-Reappointment of Public Serv-
ice Commissioner Michael ]. Ryan
is expected TO be announced within a
few days. His term expires on July
l and he will be named to serve un-
til the end of the next session of the
State Senate.
The lawyers who are gathered at
Bedford are not only discussing the
Supreme Court nominations. but they
are also giving attention to the
tangles which now exist in the nom
partisan judicial selection law. This
is a subject which has presented
nothing but difficulties since it went
into nnarafinT, and q 7. (Ear-
son, former Attorney General. yester-
day submitted a report reviewing de-
cislons and making suggestions. To
remedy this confusion an act OF As
sembly is recommended which pro-
vides that the Secretary of the Com
monwealth, in certifying the names
of judicial candidates to be printed
upon the official ballot, shall present
the names of those candidates re-
Ceiving more than fifty per cent. of
the electors who voted for such can
didateS. In the event that fewer
nominees are thus obtained than
there are judges to be elected, those
candidates who receive more than
separate and distinct printing, and
shall be printed on the official ballot
as sole nominees for an equal num-
ber of vacancies to be filled; and
twice as many additional names as
there are additional vacancies to be
filled shall be certified for printing as
distinct group, according to exist
ing law, and said additional names
shall be separately printed on the
official ballot as nominees for the re-
mainder of said vacancies and for
them only. The proposed act also
provides that the names shall be
printed on the ballot in the order
of their respective plurality of votes,
the name receiving the highest vote
appearing first.
| Much attention has been attract
ed in state political circles by the
activities of the group of men head
| ed by William Wilhelm, who Is pres
ident of the State Progressive League.
These men are understood. according
to dispatches from Pottsvilles to have
tentatively agreed. il is asserted,
upon a state ticket which will be
headed by Senator Sproul, Republi-
can nominee for Governor. They
have selected ]. Washington Logue,
the Democratic nominee for Lieuten-
ant Governor, and Asher R. Johnson.
the Democratic nominee, for Secre-
tary of Internal Affairs. as running
mates for Sproul, and also will put
in the field candidates for Congress
lat-Large pledged to prohibition. A
meeting will be held at Philadelphia
next month, when plans for the cam