Page:The autobiography of a Pennsylvanian.djvu/424

 to the call as I had made it, and, acting on the principle of firing shot instead of a single ball, I accepted his suggestion. On the 9th of January I issued a supplemental call, and it may be added that upon contest the method adopted met the approval of the Supreme Court. This call included these subjects:

First.—To revise the laws relative to primary elections in such a way as to provide for the holding of the primary elections of all political parties within the commonwealth on the same day, at the same time, under the supervision of properly constituted officers, and to make such change in or additions to these laws as may seem advisable.

Second.—To establish a civil service system by means of which the routine offices and employments of the commonwealth may be filled by appointments made after ascertainment of qualifications and fitness, and the incumbents of such offices may retain them during good behavior.

Third.—To designate the uses to which moneys may be applied by candidates, political managers and committees in political campaigns, both for nominations and elections, and to require the managing committees and managers of all political parties to file with some designated official, at the close of each campaign, a detailed statement in writing accompanied by affidavit of the amounts collected and the purposes for which they were expended.

Fourth.—To enable cities that are now or may hereafter be contiguous or in close proximity, including any intervening land, to be united in one municipality in order that the people may avoid the unnecessary burdens of maintaining separate municipal governments. This fourth subject is a modification of the first subject in the original call and is added in order that legislation may be enabled under either of them as may be deemed wise.

The third subject, a Corrupt Practices Act, was included at the suggestion of Judge Sulzberger, who wrote to me calling attention to the provisions of the English act. 406