Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-24
Psesltt;ca i'.3.
Pe~~e4ssania
BY the Ex-Committceman

| VAIN tHc departure OIL GOfeTHOr
William C. Sproul and most of the
state officials and the legislative
leaders from Harrisburg yesterday
the State Capitol settled down to the
new administration and Philadel-
phia will be unofficially the center
| OF the state government until next
week. Governor Sproul accompanied
his mother to Chester and the Sproul
1amlly Will not return here for
some time, it is understood, but the
Governor will spend next week here
attending various meetings.
The new Governor and most of
! the state officials will attend the
dinner of the Pennsylvania State
Society in New York on Saturday
night.
The committees in charge of the
appointment of clerks and attaches
OF the two houses are discussing the
places which will be announced
when the two houses resume sessions
Monday night. Most of the commit
tees named Wednesday will organize
next week.
Newspapers and observers of
politics say that no faction or seq
ment of a faction of either party
represented in the House of Repre-
sentatives appears to have gone un-
recognized by Speaker Robert s.
Spangler in the distribution of COM
mittee places and the SLATE" COM
mittee will have to be remarkably
expert to apportion the patronage of
the lower branch of the Legislature
In the same manner. The task ap-
pears to have been so well done
that there are some who assume
that Governor William C. Sproul,
who has a knowledge of legislators
and their alignments second to no
one in Pennsylvania, looked things
over. The committees of the Sem
ate are not different as far as chair
men and makeup go from what
they have been for several sessions.
The places are more or less appor-
toned by descent and Penrose men
predominate. In the House, where
the task of filling over 1000 COM
mittee seats face a speaker every
two years, such a pleasant arrange
ment as that in the Senate is not
possible. Very few men in recent
sessions have held the chairmanship
of a committee more than two or
three times in succession, and eX-
cept for appropriations, municipal
corporations and a few other COM
mittees of Importance the member
ship changes materially every two
years. And even on these commit
tees the men seldom stay long un-
less they WELD unusual influence.
There are a couple of committees,
manufactures for instance, where
the chairman is a Griest man, but
the bulk of the members are Pen
rose men. John r. K. Scott, a Ware
man, heads judiciary special, but
there are a pretty fair sprinkling of
Penrose and near-Penrose men,
viewed from a Ware standpoint, on
the committee. The municipal cor
porations committee looks very
much as though the friends of
Senator Penrose in various sections
of the state constitute safe work.
ing majority and the same is true
of elections. ]. A. Walker, Ware
man, heads the banking committee,
but there are a pretty fair lot of
Penrose men who are members.
People at the Capitol to-day said
they thought that the much buffeted
of the State Commission of
saw the handwriting on
the wall and placed their resigna-
tions in the hands of Governor Will
liam c. Sproul yesterday. The Gov
ernor placed the designations upon
his capacious table and will act later
on when his plans for a comprehen-
sive reorganization of the depart
ment are ready. The indications are
that the Commission will be abol-
ished and whether there will be any
body is problematical. The
action of the Commission in resign
ing was taken by, all but one who
could. not be present and the ex-
press statement was made that it was
done so as not to tie the hands of the
new. Governor in working out his
plans. Half an hour after he had re-
ceived the resignation Governor
Sproul was in conference with Prof.
Frederic Rasmussen, the new secre-
tary. for whom the Governor in con-
with callers evinces a very
high regard. There were reports that
Prof. Rasmussen was about to ask
for seven designations in his depart 4
ment. From what was learned last
night, in the event that the Fire
Marshaps department disappears in
the march of reorganization, Howard
E. Butz, the marshal, is sure of stay
ing until it does and then may go to
another office not disclosed. SINH
larly, no matter what happens, Com
missioner of Fisheries Nathan r,
Butler will retain connection with
the piscatorial end of the state gov
ernnent f