Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-07-11
RETURN TOOP
POLITICAL FIELD
HAS GOOD EFFECT
Harrisburg Will Elect Mayor
and Councilmen Without
Camouflage
SYSTEM FOOLED NOBODY
Republicans and Democrats
Alike Were Tired of Fake
"Nonpartisanship"
SYSTEM FOOLED NOBODY

Nonpartisan elections of Mayors
and Councilmen in third-class cities
or Pennsylvania are thing of the
past, as Governor William c. Sproul
last night signed the Wilson bill
repeating the nonpartisan elective
feature of the Clark act of 1918.
The new order of things is effective
at once and on September 16 the
thirty or more third class cities will
nominate candidates on party tickets
as they did before the Clark act
became operative.
The time for circulating petitions
Tor such nominations is now here
and as soon as the Governor signed
the bill kilograms were sent to all
county authorities and to officials of
cities AMI of political committees
notifying them of the change in the
law to the old order of things. There
will be a hig revival of party ac-
tivity in every one of the cities.
Not only will Mayors and Coun-
cilmen be elected hereafter on n
party basis instead of nonpartisan
but the City Treasurer, now elected
by Council, will be elected as here
tofore on party tickets.
The Wilson bill was presented in
the House by the McKeesport mem
ber on March II and was once de-
feated, but reconsidered after a
stormy debate and sent to the Sen
ate where it was promptly report
ed out and passed. The bill was C
called from the Governor but sent
back again without any change. Few
measures before the Legislature
have been more debated.
Voters in Harrisburg will have an
opportunity this fall to nominate and
elect by party choice, the men who
are to be in charge of municipal
affairs. During the last six years
under the Clark act the Mayor and
city commissioners were elected on
non-partisan ticket, the term
non partisan" serving merely as a
mask, and in reality never wiping
out the party affiliation of the men
who were elected to office.
This was particularly true in Har-
risburg and a glance over the coun-
cilmanic procedure under the mon
partisan" regime of the last six
years reveals page after page of evil
dence of the fact.
Had Bad Effect
The return to party election of
city officials is welcomed alike by
Republicans and Democrats. The
chief objections to the amendment
of the Clark act wiping out this bit
of camoutlage, for that is actually
what ii was, We're raised by the
members of the League of Third
Glass Cities, composed almost en-
tirely of officials in Office in the vari-
Gus cities of the State. These men
voiced their objections largely, it is
said, because they knew that to re-
turn to the election of Mayor and
commissioners by party choice,
would make the men who were
elected responsible to a party or
ganization and in many instances
would cause some of them to lose
their jobs.
At present under the "non-parti-
san" form of government, the COM
missioners and Mayor of any city
can act independently, being respon-
sble to no one but themselves, and
as a result municipal affairs usually
drag along just to suit the conven-
ience of the administration. In
some instances throughout this State
it is very evident that the official in
charge of. a certain department is
looking more to the next election
and to making votes to secure his re-
election. than he is bothering about
the affairs of the branches of gov
ernment under him.
Voters Not Fooled
Voters of Harrisburg have never
been fooled by the mon partisan"
CONTINUED on Page III