State leaders fear fight in primary would impair strength of party
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania –
Governor Edward Martin, in a statement here last night, disclosed that his campaign to prevent a Republican fight in the April primary had been successful.
He said the Republican organization, led by himself, Joseph R. Grundy and Joseph N. Pew, will not oppose U.S. Senator James J. Davis for renomination.
This will be the first time in the five campaigns Senator Davis has made that he has not been opposed by one or more potent factors in the Republican Party.
Primary fight feared
The Governor for weeks has been arguing against trying to defeat Mr. Davis in the primary. The Senator and the Governor were primary opponents in the 1942 primary for the governorship nomination, Mr. Davis losing for the first time in his career.
Mr. Martin’s main objective is to carry Pennsylvania over the New Deal ticket in November – something the Republicans haven’t done since 1932 – and he fears a primary fight would imperil that objective.
The Governor also announced that the Republican leadership (meaning Messrs. Martin, Pew and Grundy) had agreed to support former Governor Arthur H. James for one of two nominations for the State Superior Court. At the same time, Mr. Martin disclosed his appointment of Mr. James to this bench to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Joseph Stadtfeld. The appointment will run until January.
Justice Hughes endorsed
Also included in Mr. Martin’s announcement was Old Guard endorsement of Justice Howard W. Hughes of Washington for the State Supreme Court nomination and Common Pleas Judge J. Frank Graff of Armstrong County for the second Superior Court nomination. Justice Hughes is now serving by appointment.
He and Republican State Chairman M. Harvey Taylor, who held a joint press conference, declined to name the candidates on the rest of the Martin-Pew Grundy slate.
But it is apparently well settled that City Treasurer Edgar W. Baird of Philadelphia will be on the ticket for the State Treasurer nomination, and State Senator G. Harold Watkins of Frackville, Schuylkill County, will be picked for Auditor General.
Decision ‘almost unanimous’
The Governor said the decision to drop all opposition to Senator Davis was “almost unanimous.” He did not identify any who did not approve the plan, although obviously Mr. Grundy accepted it reluctantly.
Mr. Martin said:
I am for Senator Davis for reelection because we need in Congress men who are imbued with sound American ideals and who believe in the American way of life.
The Democrats have already rounded out a slate consisting of Congressman Francis J. Myers of Philadelphia for the U.S. Senate, Federal Judge Charles Alvin Jones for the State Supreme Court, Superior Court Judge Chester H. Rhodes and Auditor General F. Clair Ross for the Superior Court, State Treasurer G. Harold Wagner for Auditor General, and Ramsay S. Black, third assistant postmaster general, for State Treasurer.
Judge Graff slated for GOP race
By Kermit McFarland
Common Pleas Court Judge J. Frank Graff of Kittanning will be a candidate for the State Superior Court on the Grundy-Pew ticket now being formulated for the Republican primary in April.
This will be his second try for the Superior Court. He served a few months on this bench by appointment of the late Governor John S. Fisher in 1930, but was defeated in the ensuing primary and reappointed by Mr. Fisher to the Armstrong County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Graff is almost as well known in Allegheny County as in his own district, since he has been one of the most frequent visiting judges on the local Criminal Court bench.
To run with James
As an organization candidate for the Superior Court, Judge Graff will run with former Governor Arthur H. James of Plymouth, who yesterday was appointed to the vacancy on this court caused by the death of Judge Joseph Stadtfeld in December. Mr. James sat on this bench six years before he became Governor in 1939.
Two judges will be elected to the Superior Court this year because of the vacancy and the fact that the term of Judge Chester H. Rhodes of Stroudsburg, the only Democrat on either appellate bench, expires.
The Democratic organization has already slated Judge Rhodes for renomination and Auditor General F. Clair Ross for the vacancy.
May fill vacancy
Judge Graff is 56, graduated from Princeton University and the University of Pittsburgh Law School, was a major in the 28th Division in the last war and became a judge in Armstrong County in 1924.
In 1930, after the death of President Judge William D. Porter, Judge Graff was appointed to the vacancy. He served from Feb. 18 to May 22, in the meantime losing the Republican nomination at the May 20 primary, and when Judge Graff was defeated, reappointed him to that bench. He was elected to a new 10-year term in 1931 and reelected in 1941.
The Pew-Grundy organization will back Supreme Court Justice Howard W. Hughes of Washington for nomination to a full 21-year term. He was appointed by Governor Martin last month. The Democrats have slated Federal Circuit Judge Charles Alvin Jones of Pittsburgh for this post.