Evening star., 1929-12-19
DAVIS MAY SEEK
POST AS GOVERNOR
Labor Secretary Says He
May Be Forced to Enter
Campaign by Friends.

So insistent have the Pennsylvania
friends of Secretary of Labor Davis
become that he cast his hat into the
ring as a candidate for governor of
the Keystone State that he may con-
slider himself forced to become not
unwilling candidate for the gubernato-
rial nomination next May. Candidates
for the nomination must file their dec
lsrations in Pennsylvania early in
March and the primaries are held in
May. Nomination by the Republican
party for such a high post as governor
of the State is considered tantamount
to election in Pennsylvania.
May Be Forced To Yield.
Mr.. Davis today reiterated a state
ment made yesterday at the Capitol
that so much pressure is being brough
on him to run for governor against the
Pinchot- Grundy combination in Penn
syivania that he may be forced to yield
to the insistence of his friends. aban-
don his cabinet post. and undertake
an aggressive campaign for the highest
elective post within the gift of the
people of the State.
He made no formal announcement
of his candidacy for governor and would
not speak of his resignation of his cabi-
net berth, other than to say that "if
Mr.. Hoover wants to appoint new
Secretary of Labor, all he has to do is
to send the nomination to the Senate"
From all classes of voters in Penn
sylvania, from hundreds of his friends
and from every source the Labor Sec
retary is receiving, he said, requests to
declare for the nomination for COVER
nor. IF the pressure continues, I do
not see how l am going to get out OF
running for the governorship," he said
His original statement along this line
was made yesterday at the Capital,
where he was interviewed by a Pitts
burgh newspaper man.
Post Not Unwelcome.
Repetition of Mr. Davis name as a
possible candidate for Governor OF
Pennsylvania has come so often in the
past eight years as to make it one of
the political by-words of Washington.
But this time, according to the Secre-
tary his friends and political associates
have become so insiStent that he may
not find it possible to put them off
further His own attitude, although he
does not say so in so many words. is
said to be that he considers he has
served his term as a member of the
cabinet and that the post of Governor
of Pennsylvania would not be unwel-
come Mr.. Davis and Secretary of the
Treasury Mellon have served conSecu-
tive terms in their respective cabinet
posts since the Republicans came into
power, in March, 1921. He insisted to-
day, however, that he has not yet made
up his mind, declaring that continuance
of the insistence of his friends would
be the determining factor in his polit-
ical future.
Candidacy Would Lend Color.
From sources close to the Pennsyl-
vania Republican organization it was
declared that formal announcement OF
his candidacy for the governorship
would put healthy competitive color
into the situation in Pennsylvania.
Senator Grundy is supporter of Git
ford Pinchot, who also is watching
closely the developments in the Key
stone State with the view of running
for the gubernatorial nomination in
1880. Grundy, however, has put the
imprint of his anti-social legislation
on Pinchot, according to political OBJ
servers. and would reflect through
Pinchot his antagonism to organized
labor.
On the other hand, Secretary Davis
fundamentally is friend of organized
labor, and his work along social service
lines as a member of the cabinet is
known throughout the Nation. He in
dicated today that If he does run for
governor he will emphasize immigration
broadening and enlargement
of social service legislation and regis
tration of aliens, matter he has fought
for for years.
Secretary Davis is known to be a
friend of William S. Ware, recently
booted from the Senate, but how the
Ware organization would line up in case
Davis and Pinchot ran against each
other in the Pennsylvania primary is