The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-05-16
Pennsylvania Woman Keeping Politicians Of
 Old Line Guessi7ag

with a majority in the rest of the state big enough to more than coun- ter balance whatever vote Alter gets in that city. The bitterness of the factional strife raging among the Republicans in every section of the state has been further accentuated by the charges of irregularities and incompetence which Pinchot has levelled at the state ad- ministration and by the grave al1e- gations that some S729,O00 of state funds were so juggled for a period of 19 months that the state was rob
 bed of the interest due on them. The latter have been emphatically denied by former State Treasurer Harmon M. Kephart, who was closely identified with the Penrose machine, and who insists that the state received every dollar to which it was entitled Audit Made Public.
 The strange part of those charges is that it was Penrose himself who not long before he died started Audi tor General S. S. Lewis on the in vestigation of the state treasury
 which has just resulted in Lewis making public an audit of the state funds in question to support Pinchot's contention that they were tempered claimed that Penrose was actuated by an open break he had with Gov. Sprou1 / and Senator William B. Crow; by several former Penrose
 
 That Penrose feared that the al legged mishandling of state funds would be exposed by the Democrats and that he preferred to have the Republicans make house cleaning that might be necessary here. Pen rose is quoted as having said to Lew is: "Go ahead, Sam; get at the bot tom of 1t no matter who it hits
 And both before and since Pen- roses death Lewis has gone ahead although the Alter men are accusing him of seeking on the eve of the primary to make political capital for Pinchot, Lewis being an adherent of Grundy, who while the chief spokes- man for the manufacturing interests in Pennsylvania is reported to be working hard for the Pinchot camp. The long feud between Grundy and Sproul, Is one of the main springs of the present fight. Grundy is said to be encouraging Lewis in their ln- vestigation of the state treasury which many Pinchot supporters be- lieve has already done much to fur ther his candidacy
 On top of prediction that Alter, and not Pinchot would win the gu- bernatorial nomination Governor Sprou1 issued a long defense of his administration today in which he stressed the fact that flor some time past much effort has been made to turn into political capital the alleged mix up in he accounting in the state treasurer's office. and that while his administration Is blamed with condi- tions there, the governor and officers appointed by him have no authority or control of the treasury.
 "Where they are any derelicuons, however in the treasury or elsewhere i'll the state government the Attorney General has a very definite duty to perform Gov. Sprou1 continued. And MT. Alter has promptly and eff Actively met the issue by appoint ing a skilled lawyer and businessman of an opposite political faction abso- lutely dissatisfied with affairs at liar risburg to act in the matter and see that full justice is done.'
 Sproul attacked the critics of his administration as 'Loose-lipped, ig norant and Irresponsible agitators," and declared that t'No government in the world is sounder financially" than that of PennSYIYania.