Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-03
'Yesstsc4 i~
Ps~~a4ssasia
BY the Ex-Committecman

Mandamus proceedings to get J
II court decision on how to
figure out the way to certify
judicial ticket when there are
seven candidates and five to be
elected, the first suit to be brought
TO test the act of 1919, have attract
ed attention all over Pennsylvania
and the ruling of the Dauphin
county court sought to-day in the
Wassen petition from Allegheny
county will probably help crystal
liZe the feeling that the non arti-
san act of 1913 should be repealed.
The Wassen suit has been threat
ened ever since IL was apparent that
the former state chairman, who was
named 10 place on the Allegheny
bench by DR.. Brum baugh. had run
sixth in the racel State officials
have taken the stand that Wassen
was eliminated because the act of
I 1919 preScribes as Follows: IF it
appear that more than the whole
number of candidates for such office
! to be elected at the ensuing election
1 have received the required number
] of votes hereinbefOre specified, then
the candidates equal to the number
of vacancies in such office who re-
] 'VIN'h Nllt lllSItSt llulllbtt vi NottS
shall he the sole nominees for such
office" The section referred to in
/ this quotation reads: One half of
| the total of votes cast for such Of
I lice at such primary shall be ascer-
tanned by taking the total number
/ of votes cast for all the candidates
| for such office and dividing such
total vote, of all such candidates by
the number of persons each voter
is entitled to vote for at such pri-
mary for such Office and this quo
tient shall he divided by two. and
any candidate who receives
greater number Of votes than the
result obtained by tie above method
of asceuainment shall have met the
requirement hercinbefore provid-
ed"
In regard to the matter the Ga
Zette-rimes says: Owing to the
fact that interest in the primary
centered in the nominations for
county Offices the public was not
generally informed as to what was
happening in the closing hours of
the primary in relation TO the Com /
mon Pleas Court contest. 1t was
generally conceded that the five sit !
ting judges We're to be renominated
and that Judge Drew and Mr. !
Daugherty would poll sufficient /
votes TO put them on the November !
ballot so that the real fight would !
come in November"
A series of radical changes
which it is believed will bring !
numerous new faces into the state |
factory inspection force is under !
way at the State Department !
OF Labor and Industry. the re-
moval Of four Philadelphia in |
spectors and the resignation of |
another having been only the start |
of contamination of the force. /
Several more men arc scheduled to /
leave the state service. There were !
reports here to-day that others had |
been dropped but in absence of /
Commissioner Clifford r. Connolly |
no one at the department would talk |
Ever since the close of the Legisla- |
ture there have been reports of /
changes impending in this Depart !
ment especially in the factory in |
spection force, but they have been /
denied although it is known that |
q dozen or more invest igations into |
official conduct of men have been
made. Reports of changes were
always denied with remarks depre-
catorY of raids" and the hint that
they always brought many seekers
after jobs to the surface. At the
that there was no information on
the subject of appointment of Jacob
Fecker. of Sunbury, as an inspector.
From all accounts the Bonni-
well contingent of the Democ-
racy is not so enthusiastic about
the ambitions of Attorney General
A. Mitchell Palmer TO be Demo-
cratic presidential nominee as one
would be led to believe by the
statements of Assistant Postmaster
General James |. Blakslee They
have not responded to Blakslee's.
harmony" talk and have indicated
that they will he willing to buck
even the president himself in an
effort to prevent Palmer from get
ting solid delegation from the
Keystone State. However. Blakslee
is preparing to launch the Palmer
campaign promptly and to go to the
voters with a smile. His remarks
that Mccormick has had enough"
have caused much comment among
politicians and are taken to mean
that the Washington coterie will
run the Democratic State machine
itself.
A good many interesting things
have developed in the count of the
votes cast at the primary in Phila-
delphia, Chester, Pittsburgh and
other places, but the prize story
, comes from Pittsburgh. 1t reads this
| way: I'm the First District of the
Twenty Ward. the ballot box
has been recovered empty. Some
of the ballots have been discovered
also, but in such a condition as to
render it impossible to count them
The matter was investigated by
Deputy Sheriff A. r. Ankle, who Sc
cured the ballot box in the polling
place which had been broken into.
| The box has been broken open and
| the contents were scattered about
the polling place.
City Solicitor John p. Connolly,
of Philadelphia, who has Just re-
turned from Texas. announced last
night that he accepts the unofficial
returns of the maYoralty primaries
as final and that he intends ito go
the limit" to not only work for the
election of Congressman ]. Hampton
Moore to the mayoralty. but ito aid
in every way possible to make his
administration a success" Mr.. Con-
nelly, as member of the Republican
City Committee and the accredited
! leader of the Eleventh ward, turn
ed in his forces with the Wares for
the nomination of Judge John M.
| Patterson for mayor. The Phila-
delphia Inquirer says like action will
| he taken by other leaders
| H @ Lawson tha naut oh itr,, n =,