Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-11-28
Pse;ttce IT.
Pe~~a4esa~ia
BY the Ex-Committeeman


Washington county, which was es-
tablished by the Legislature this
year. is declared by the Attorney
Generals Department to be against
the constitutional provision relative
10 such officers in an opinion just
rendered to Secretary of the Com
monwealth Cyrus e. Woods, who is
IN charge of the bonding OF officials.
The opinion is the first to be given
Following the elections OF IS1U u.u
was written by Deputy Attorney
General w. NJ. Hargest. 1t disposes
or a much discussed incident in the
arrangement of county ballot.
The Washington county authori-
ties placed the candidates for clerk
of quarter sessions and oyer and
terminer courts on the ballot as can
didates for clerk of the orphans
court and Mr.. Gregor was duly GER
titled as elected to those offices.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth
sent the question OF whether Mr..
McGregor could be recognized as
clerk OF orphans court to the legal
department, as it was discovered
that the act creating the separate
orphans court for Washington
county contained a provision, in ac-
cord with the constitution, that the
register of wills should be he clerk
NAAO vi Phdlo SOuEI WhtH e6tdp-
hshed as separate court. This
constitutional enactment was car
ried into effect by an act of 1889 and
Mr.. Hargest says that There can
be no doubt that the act of 1919,
following the constitutional require
ment, makes the register of wills
the clerk of the orphans court of
Washington county. The fact that
E. c. McGregor was voted for and
rnnniund ha htrh ~
votes cast for clerk of the orphans
court, does not have the effect of
making him such clerk" The sec
retary is directed to see that John
Aiken, register of wills-elect quail
fies as clerk of the orphans court.
AS a preliminary to the meeting
of the new Constitutional Revision
Commission the members will be
furnished with copies of q study
made of the United States constitu-
ton and the various State constitu- |
tions by James n. Moore, director |
of the Legislative Reference Bureau. |
These copies are now being especial |
ly bound. Other material being as
sembled summarizes various pro-
posed amendments that have ap-
peared in recent years. The COM
missions for the new mmissioners
al lilS lllSl VI Tic hllu eNSES
pared at the Capitol.
The boom launched in Philadel-
phia several days ago for Harry S.
McDevitt, secretary to the Cover
nor. for the Republican nomination |
for Auditor has been taken |
up in the Western end of the State |
and both the Pittsburgh Gazette
Times and the Chronicle Telegraph |
-
McDevitt's picture and devoting |
much space to his experience in the |
various departments of the State
and his expert knowl- |
edge of the Auditor Generals office,
in which he was formerly a special
deputy. Mr.. MeDevitt has not said |
about his ambitions, but |
if Governor Sproul should become a |
Presidential candidate it is thought |
the Governor would desire to keep |
him with him.
The nomination of Auditor |
General Charles A Snyder for State |
Treasurer seems a foregone conclu- !
sion in the minds of many political |
writer's.
The Public Ledgers, morning
and evening, continue to have some |
thing on their minds about the Con- |
stitutional Revision Commission. |
Most of the comments appear to be |
about possibilities.
DR.. William Draper Lewis, !
mentioned as likely to be one of |
counsel or secretary to the Commits |
sion, has been active in several |
movements which had matters as
revision in view.
northumberland county COM
missoners, whose majority is now
Republican, are said to have GEN
eral c. NJ. Clement in mind for
together with other central Pennsyl- |
vania counties, swing from the
Democratic column this month, re-
pudiating party management which |
has been preached from this city's
windmill.
The Scranton Times devotes
considerable space to reports of a
shake-up in Scranton city govern
ment, which will be dominated by
Republicans just as is the Lacka-
wanna county government.
The Pittsburgh Post, in an edi-
torial on the trend of the times, says
that 1t is no surprise to find NUM-
cipal expenditures doubled, but that
it should cause councilmen in their
capacity as budget makers to "con-
slider every item strictly on it's
merits Similar expressions are
being heard in many cities and in
view of the way the elections went
there may be some councilmen who
will do it.
Those two Johnstown incorrigi-
bles, the Tribune and the Democrat,
are at it again. The Democrat is
distressed because it sees a move
ment to head off free speech and
the Tribune remarks: IF it will do
the esteemed Democrat any good
we will admit that this paper has
never met up with conditions which
had even the appearance of an at
tempt to deprive it of the rights of
the free press or free speech. OF
course, we have had objections to
and criticisms of many of our edi-
torial utterances, but those who
made them were merely exercising
their rights. We have never re-
garded those who disagreed with us
as either fools or knaves. Our ad-
vice-without invitation or charge
to the esteemed Democrat is to
cease regarding itself as a misun-
derstood institution and to quit
posing for martyrdom."
1t Is probable that much will be
heard in the State for a time over
the opinion by the Pittsburgh city
solicitor that it is illegal for city
firemen or other employees to join
labor unions. The question has been
more or less agitated in a dozen
Pennsylvania cities since the Boston
affair and try-out of the question