Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-11-11
E Pse;t;co ;~
.Pe~~a4sa~io
BY the Ex-Committeemap

tion in Philadelphia, in which a
minority city commissionership was
bone of contention, may be one
cause of a determined effort to
abolish minority representation are
being given in Philadelphia news
papers The nonpartisan judicial
act did away with minority repre-
sentation on the bench. although the
superior court has one Democrat.
DIR. Brumbaugh named a Democrat
| for vacancy on the bench toward
! the end of his term, but the voters
did not elect him.
1t is likely that the minority rep
resentation proposition will loom up
much in the political discussions of
the next few months and may also
get into the constitutional revision
commissions meetings. The LeGls-
latures have always fought shy of
making such change.
| In discussing the matter the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin says:
AT the election last Tuesday,
minority representation was u
cause. as it so often has been in the
past, of a lot of petty trades and
cheapest hucksters of the streets.
How absurdly the thing works may
| be judged when we note the size
| of the vote. For example, the cam
| didates of the successful or majority
| party for City Commissionerships
| polled in one instance more than
two hundred thousand and in the
other more than one hundred and
ninety thousand. But the success
| ful candidate for the third place,
which is exactly on the same footing
nfh alppfa6 hN only
| forty-nine thousand votes! But
when the provision for it was
adopted in the present organic law
of the State, it had been seldom
that the majority party had more
than twenty-five thousand votes in
Pennsylvania in excess of the
minority party in Philadelphia. In
deed, majorities would often be
much smaller than these figures.
The Democratic party was contem-
plated as the beneficiary of minority
representation, but it was not COM
mon to suppose that the minority
party would have much less than
nearly one-half of the entire vote.
But to get only one vote in six as
the successful candidate for Com
missioner did on Tuesday is reduc-
ing the principle to sort of fantas-
tic process of election. Doubtless
when the time shall come to frame
new Constitution for Pennsylvania
one of the first things that will be
dropped in toto is minority repre-
sentation.
The Wilkes-B Barre Record says
that Representative Dick" Powell,
of Edwardsviile, one of the active
members of the last House, is to be
one of the new Luzerne county de-
tectives. The record also says that
he has busy time ahead of him,
remarking. LAS n climax TO an
inquiry ipto election fraud charges
before the court on Saturday,
Richard Powell. went before Alder
man Ricketts, and swore out war
rants against certain election Off
GERS of the Eighth ward, Second
district of Wilkes-Barre, and the
Third ward of Larksville, charging
conspiracy to violate the election
laws. Warrants will be sworn out
against election officers in otner
districts to-day, as Republican party
leaders say they propose to clean
UP the crooked election boards OF
Luzerne County as the first work
of the new district attorney.
Controller F. r. Henderstat, OF
Luzerne, may have contest of
-Mayor-elect j. Hampton Moore,
of Philadelphia, writes in the Eve
ming Ledger: Congressman Butler,
the Chester-Delaware representative
who used to be regarded as
Quaker, coming from an agrlcul-
tural section. is now about as much
involved in big Industrial and COM
mercial problems as any other man
in Congress. The river front In
Delaware county has brought its big
industrial and protectiye questions
to the notice of the West chester
member. but that is not all. over
in Chester county they are mining
for graphite and operators like T.
d. Just, of Byers. are contending
that unless they have a duty 1t Will
be difficult to proceed with TINS
business which really originated IN
| the vicinity of Chester Springs. 1t
| is said by the American producers
! that a great deal of British money
is invested in the crucible industry
in this country and that, therefore.
| efforts to obtain production mere
! have been discouraged"
| 1t looks as though Representa-
itive A. e. Rim, of Lehigh. was get
| ting ready to run for reelection
Rim is noted for his bill to make
railroads abolish so many grade
crossings each year and the Allen
town Call notes that Lehigh's Legis-
lator has been active in this line and
that grade crossing accidents are
still going on.
THE York; Gazette says that
there is a possibility of tie vote
being discovered on the sheriff cleo
tion. Think of n Republican candi-
date for sheriff tying Democratic
nominee in that erstwhile bastlon
of Jacksonian Democracy =,
-Bloomsburg newspapers say
that there will be Some interesting
contests made in the Columbia
county election. This is another
Democratic county where the Re-
nublicans have made elections most
debateable.
The Philadelphia Evening
Ledger. in an editorial discussion of
senator Edwin H. Wares latest
sDeech about reformers, rises to re-
mark: 1.-THE professional reformers
are. minor incidents in any election.
The real reformer is the independ-
ent voter who gets no notoriety
and blows no bugles, and simply
makes up his mind that the time
has come for a new deal, lie mas
long patience. yet he never fails TO
demand q reckoning when the time
for a reckoning seems to be at hand
He is even more admirable than any
of the political figures favored OF
disliked by Mr.. Ware. He turns
elections-and goes about his bust
ness. He is without selfish interests