Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-09
PoeEca ;~
Pe~~oqeOania
BY the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

BY the e -CommitteeInan
Ind cations are that the Republi7
can State organization will get be-
hind the candidacy of Superior
Court Judge William l.. Keller, of
Lancaster for election for the full
term of ten years. Judge Keller
was appointed early in the year to
| serve until the first Monday of next
| January. Nominating petitions in
his interest r being circulated IN
! various counties.
While no announcement las been
made concerning him nc n has
entered the field against him or has
been talked of who is likely to Sc
cure much backing n many in
f1uential Republicans are openly sup
porting him.
One If the surprises of the nomi-
mating petition circulation is the
number of aspirants who have asked
for papers to become candidates for
nominations for associate judges.
These judges are to be elected in
eight or nine counties and the con-
tests bid fair to be as interesting as
in the days when the liquor issue
made them stirring affairs.
1t is regarded here as probable
that Chief of Mines Seward e. But
ton will be retained under the Sproul
administration. No one else has
been mentioned and no opposition
to the chief has appeared. The
salary of the office was recently
advanced.
Reorganization of the State
II -.a.A,.I - -, N-1 -FflI ~rNh
ably be undertaken at an early day
as the outline has been prepared
for the Governor. Under recent
legislation the commissioner of for
estry also has to be reappointed.
Some charges will also take place
in the Department of Labor and
Industry within a short time, author
ity to make them being nov vested
in the acting commissioner under
a recent act.
The election of 1919 is not a
general election and therefore no
proposed amendments to the con
stitution can be submitted to the
people of Pennsylvania this year and
furthermore the proposed amend
ment establishing the graded AK
falls because the resolution offering
it to the voters specifically provided
that it must be submitted in No
Vember, 1919, according to a deci-
sion sent to Secretary of the Com
monwealth Cyrus e. Woods by First
Deputy Attorney General Robert S.
Gawthrop to-day. 1t is held hat
the decision is in accord with a de-
cision by Superior Court Judge Will
liam II. Keller when First Deputy
on "a somewhat similar question I'M
der date of July 10, 1911"
The decision disposes of the
question whether the constitutional
amendments passed by the Legisla-
lures of 1917 and 1919 should be
voted upon this year and knocks
out the graded tax amendment en-
tirely. The graded taX amendment
was passed two years ago and again
this year., but unlike other proposed
amendments it contained a provision
that it should go to the voters this
fall, being advertised three months
in advance of the election. Judge
Gawthrop holds hat the duty of the
secretary of the Commonwealth is
to advertise such amendments be-
fore a general election and that gen.
eral elections are held only in even
numbered years. 1T follows, there
fore. that the publication required
by the constitution cannot be made
before the date fixed in the resolu-
ton for submission to the electors
and that the amendment cannot be
submitted Upon the day named
therein" says the judge.
philadelphia municipal politics
which kept the Legislature all stir
red up have taken on a squirt as a
result of meetings of the independ-
ents and of the Republican city com
mittee. The independent element
held a conference with the Town
Meeting party and the Republican
Alliance to discuss the mayoralty
and the Philadelphia Record, Demo-
cratic organ. says that they met
with the secrecy of bombthrowers"
and deferred action on a slate until
August. Other newspapers are not
so severe and indicate that there
will be a winnowlng of the list of
possible candidates.
The city committee which is a
Ware organization held it's summer
meeting yesterday at which Senator
Edwin H. Ware called the people
uniting to fight him "mongrels" and
~assailed their efforts as those of
"outs trying to get in" The city
committee met for the first time
without the presence of the veteran
David II. Lane and discussed the
registration after several members
had echoed Senator Wares declara-
ton that the other side was en-
deavoring to go back to the old
convention system without authority
of law.
Selection of Philadelphia coun-
cilmen is the subject of some earn
est editorials in Philadelphia news
papers, the Evening Bulletin SAYING
that 1t should be a matter for fspe-
cial exertion and vigilance on the
| part of citizens.
The Scranton Republican is TAX
ing a big interest in the ballot leg
islation and says e~ditorially: lone
of the final acts of the PENNSYLVANIA
Legislature, and one which will meet
with the approval of the people of
the Commonwealth, was to pass the
bill requiring election officers to fol-
low the intent of the voter in count
ing ballots on election days. 1t is
understood that the local courts in
reviewing elections have established
a rule similar to that outlined by
this new law. Some election boards
have followed it and others have not.
The purpose of the court in this mat
ter, and the idea of the law as re-
f1ected in the new act is that where
must be followed and the vote count
II NJ A,II@k -lN,Il l. "