Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-05-12
PeGt;c4 ;~
Pe~ns4esa~io
By the Ex-Committeeman

A very general desire for the
Legislature of Pennsylvania TO fin
ish up its work and go home is
commencing to be manifested in the
newspapers, and likewise by many
of the men in the General Assembly,
and unless some action is taken
within the next week or so to fix
a date for adjournment there will
be q renewal of the call for deter
mination when the session shall end.
The patience of the members of the
two bodies in the face OF delays in
presentation of bills discussed weeks
and months ago and the time lost
on the Philadelphia bills has been
a matter of comment, but the last
| few days there has been an out
cropping of what one Quaker City
man aptly called small town feel
| ing"
This expression does not seem to
have been used in any comparative
sense, but a realization that the Leg
islators from the smaller cities and
boroughs and the townships of the
State cannot be expected to sit quiet
| ly by in summer days while rival
| factions in Philadelphia bang on the
Governors door for him to decide
WI snail 81 llllO lllc ISNlSSo SIldl
ter.
When the session started, there
was a general belief that 1t would
end the middle of April. However,
the announced program did not in
clude many things which have as
sumed Importance as consumers of
time and some of the propositions
/ expected to be ready were not pre-
pared. Ten days ago the Legisla-
ture could have been in a position
to close UP before Decoration Day.
Now it looks like the middle of
June.
The Philadelphia bills occupy
the position Pittsburgh bills used to
hold some sessions ago. Until they
are out of the way and the revenue
policy, held up largely by the big
city bills, is determined upon, little
real progress can be made, although
the House may sit three times
day and pass bills on to the Senate
by the bale.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, one
of the staunchest Republican news
papers in the State. give prominence
to an interview with Speaker Rob
ert s, Spangler, of York, who voices
the feeling of his colleagues that
the session should end as soon as
possible. Newspapers in Scranton.
Erie, Wilkes Barre, Altoona and
other cities have been intimating
| rather strongly that the session
should end soon and while Pitts
burgh newspapers have been silent
on the subject, there are men in the
Allegheny delegation hoping for the
fall of the gavels on the last day.
The Inquirer quotes the speaker
as seeking early adjournment and
then says: "Philadelphians look for
an early settlement of the charter
and election law legislation affecting
the Quaker City. They will please
every member of the General AS
sembly from the interior counties
by getting these issues to a vote at
the earliest date, and thus allowing
the entire time of the legislators to
be devoted to matters that affect
other sections of the State and
which do not involve factionaI or
other political issues"
The Philadelphia Press in an
article by Odell Hauser, has this to
say about the troublesome Philadel-
phia bills: The all-important coun-
Gil section of the Woodward char
ter revision bill will emerge from
the reshaping it is to experience in
the House with single chambered
council of thirty-three members. of
which the mayor is to be one. That
is the present Judgment of Governor
Sproul. There is very little probabil-
ity he will change his mind in the
short time which is now to intervene
before the charter revision bills are
amended to their final form and
come to the floor of the House for
action. The Governor has also made
up his mind as to how certain other
important features of the council
section of the bill are to be finally
constituted. There Is now one
( thought uppermost in the Governors
mind in relation to the charter re-
vision situation. and that is to re-
move the whole subject from the
mire of factional manipulation"
The Philadelphia Record and
Public Ledger. like the Press, have
very little time for anything con-
nected with the session outside of
the Philadelphia bills. The Even
| ing Bulletin is concerned about rev.
enue and the Evening Ledger, in a
series of articles by Thomas E. Will
liams, has given considerable atten-
ton to the relation of Senator PEN
rose to national affairs.
The Philadelphia Evening Bull
! letin contains an interesting letter
addressed to Penn" editor of its
special editorial page column. 1t is
| signed by Leslie Chase and reads:
Permit a layman to say of Judge
kunkefs decision: Citizens may sep
arate man from his office that it
is the most far-reaching legal phrase
since Bacon's aphorism There is
no law for injustice Judge Kunkel
reatirmed the essence of our ma
tional pact: To form a more per-
| feet union as against The law of
! the Medes and Persians that chang
eth not In the orgy of legislation
that afflicts US, Judge Kunkel Of
| fers refuge for the man who fol-
| lows Addison: The post of honor is
a private station 1t is doubtful if,
| in 1920. when the Republicans re-
place Bryanism, the Law of Sedi-
| ton will be repealed. The Repub-
| licans. formerly, allowed criticism.
Will they now better the instruction
/ and change the law from 'wilful ut
| terances' to Wilson utterances o.
Until Judge Kunkel's opinion, the
words, under the guise of law, had
suffered from what Cicero calls:
! 'Summum jus, summa injuria.'
Thanks to an American Judge, we
can. after 1000 years. now reply
definitely to Juvenal. 'Guis custodiet
custodes.'