Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-16


ago. As legal political party, the
Town Meeting party disappeared al
most Immediately thereafter.
Last Years Primary
''It is only necessary to refer to the
vote in the primary election last year,
when candidates for governor and others
state Offices and for members Of the
Legislature were nominated, SO see just
how ridiculous It is for George Coles,
who is soemnly hailed by the news.
papers as chairman Of the Town Meet
ing party, to continually demand polit-
ical recognition for his party.
''The seventeenth and twenty first
legislative districts comprise the six
West Philadelphia wards and the
fifteenth district comprises the Twenty.
second and Forty second wards. These.
three districts show the most indepcn-
dent strength of any in the city.
THE highest vote cast for any can
didate for state representative on the
Town Meeting ballot in the primary
election in the seventeenth district was
nine. The highest vote cast for any
candidate for representative in the
twenty first district was thirteen.
I'm other words, in these two big
sections of the city just twenty two
Town Meeting votes were polled in
the primary election. The highest vote
cast for candidate for state repre-
sentative on Tive Town Meeting ballot
was for 'Byrpn A. Miner, in the
fifth district. who was the candidate
of the regular Republican organization,
and he got seventy -one Town Meeting
votes.
Estimate Of 1sO, 900
BY way of comparison it might be
noted that the total Republican pri-
mary vote for Governor at the same
election was more than $50, 900.
notwithstanding these facts and the
further fact that the Town Meeting
party no longer legally exists and will
nave no place upon the primary ballot
this fall, Chairman Coles has the ef-
trontery to demand that the registra-
tion commissioners give the Town
Meeting party one registrar in every
division of the city. I think further
comment is unnecessary"
Coles Replies to Ware
Mr.. Coles. replying to Senator yare's
attack, said
1T is childish for Senator Ware to
try to fool the people by his statement
based on a vote on which the Town
Meeting party made no nominations.
I'm the last legislative fight the
Town Meeting voters cast their ballots
as Republicans for the Republican can
didates. The scattering vote which
Senator Ware names was cast by Ware
men with the idea of fooling the Town
Meeting voters. Here and there a
Town Meeting vote was cast as Town
Meeting vote. but the candidates were
not the nominees of the party
The real test of the strength of the
party was in the Scott Beidleman fight
for Lieutenant Governor. In that cleo
tion the Town Meeting party supported
Beidleman and the result shows what
strength they had"
Mr.. Lank in announcing, early in the
day. his opposition to Town Meeting
division registrars, said his opposition
was based on the fact that should the
petition be granted it would rob the
Democratic party of many division reg
istrars.
Mr.. Lank explained that there are
four registrars in every division. Two
of these registrars must be of the ma
jority party and one of the next rank
ing party. In some divisions where the
Republicans are split, it was explained,
the recognition of the Town Meeting
party might mean that the two branches
of the Republican party would con-
yt;t, ha orl tho
party, leaving the Democrats to fight
for the remaining position with any
other factions represented.
Ten huge bundles of petitions of
voters who want their names on the
assessment lists were filed with the
registration commission yesterday by
Mr.. Glass.
Mr.. Glass advanced the argument
that n petition signed by the applicant
and attested to by the division assessor
is a personal application under the
: meaning of the law. The petitions
; submitted by Mr.. Glass, which are said
to number several thousand. are all
| from downtown wards and are part of
the Ware drive to counteract the move
of the Committee of Seventy to cut down
: councilmanic representation in the two
senatorial districts in South Philadel.
phia.
1891 Petitions Filed
Just before midnight f. L. d. Roach.
secretary of the reform committee, filed
1881 strike off petitions with the reg
istration commission.
The bulk of these petitions were to
strike off names from the assessment
lists in the First senatorial district.
which is represented by Senator Ware.
They numbered 500. The number
of petitions filed to strike off names In
the Second district. Senator Salus's dis.
trict. failed to come up to expecta.
tiOns. Only 221 strike offs in this dis
trict are asked by the Committee Of
, Seventy.
Petitions filed by the committee for
the other districts in the city were:
Third. 1877 Fourth. 1887; Fifth, 521;
Seventh, 53S, and Eighth, 1888.
Ware voters from the downtown wards
continued to appear before the regis
tration commissioners to make personal
, application to get on the assessment
lists up until midnight, the hour Of clos
! ing.
Boy Brdgs About