MEN WHO UPHOLD THE
REPUBLICAN STANDARD.
Sketches of the Nominees on the
Republican County Ticket.
Portraits jind Records
The Gentlemen who in this Cam
paign Represent the Superior
Principles and Purposes of the
Republican Party A Ticket
Fairly Representative of Every
Element in the Party and En
titled to Every Republican's
Active Support.
Not in many years has the Republi
can party entered a presidential cam
paign under such encouraging aus
pices as in this year of widespread Re
publican prosperity. No president
since Lin oln has commanded in so
remarkable a degree as Wl liam Mc
Kinley the confidence and personal
esteem of the people. No nominee for
the vice-presidency within the recol
lection of men now living has elecit
ed such general and such genuine
popularity and enthusiastic support
from citizens of all classes and locali
ties, as the gallant and indefatigable
hero of San Juan, and still greater
hero of innumerable battles for - civic
progress and righteousness, Theodorb
Roosevelt.
The impetus lent to the Republican
cause by the personal excellence of
the Republican national nominees is
increased by the splendid results of
Republican national administration.
Four years ago the country was in
the trough of unexampled depression,
the direct legacy of Democratic in
competence and unfitness for executive
trust. The Republican party was in
stalled in power upon certain distinct
pledges. It pledged itself to restore
prosperity, rehabilitate the shrunken
federal revenues, and uplift the pres
tige of the American flag. Every
pledge has been fulfilled, and in addi
tion a foreign war has been fought to
an unexpected success, and problems
unforeseen, growing out of the vic
tory, have been met and mastered.
These facts present unanswerable rea
sons for President McKinley's re
election. But not only is the national ticket
well calculated to elicit the enthusiast
ic approval of the Republican voter;
the local ticket likewise presents ex
ceptional features of attractiveness.
For years our county has been the
theatre of embittered factional strife.
This year peace and harmony are ifte
watch words. By the direct and spon
taneous vote of the people at open pri
maries, formerly conflicting interests
have been brought together, and abso
lutely no excuse has been left open
for party apathy or defection. An
organization representative of all the
elements in the party has been effect
ed and perfected, and it now remains
simply for the individual Republican
voter to supplement its efforts by per
sonal co-operation and energetic party
work.
In the pages which follow will be
found brief biographies of the local
candidates setting forth their records
and recommendations:
HON. WILLIAM CONNELL.
It is assumed that with the general
points in the career of the present rep
resentative of this district in congress
the people are sufficiently familiar to
eliminate the need of repetition. As
boy and man William Connell has il
lustrated the possibilities open to en
couragement of the best factors in the
community's development.
A brief sketch of his career since he
entered upon his duties as the repre
sentative of the Eleventh district of
Pennsylvania in the congress of the
United States, is given herewith for
the purpose of showing that in all
matters of legislation affecting the
welfare of his state, his district, or. the
general government, he has proven
himself to be an active, painstaking,
and able representative of the people
who have twice sent him to congress.
Mr. Connell's congressional career
dates . from March 4th, 1897. On as
suming the duties of his office he made
it a point to answer every letter re
ceived. His correspondence was nec
essarily large, consisting of matters
of an official and miscellaneous char
acter. In the three years of his term
he answered over eight thousand let
ters, and now that Senate Bill 1477,
known as the Grand Army Bill, pro
viding for a more liberay construction
of the provisions of the Act of June 27,
1890, as relates to widows, minor chil-
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HON WILLIAM CONNELL.
terprlse, industry and devotion to duty.
From a driver of mules in the mines
at 75 cents a day, of which pay he
invariably saved a little each month,
putting it aside for future needs, to
his present eminence as one of the
largest employers in our common
wealth, with a fortune to show for his
frugality and thrift his rise has been
strictly upon the best American lines
and no asperity of political criticism
or differences in political opinion can
remove the fact of his great upbuild
ing of Scranton as well as in the en-
dren, and dependent parents, and the
consolidation of disabilities of claim
ants under that act has become a law,
the correspondence along that line will
be Increased at least" tenfold. Since
March 4th, 1897, 492 pensions have been
received, docketed and acted upon, a
majority of them requiring many visi
tations to the Pension Office In the
effort to have them speedily adjudi
cated. Of this number 146 have been
allowed, leaving the balance among
the rejected and unadjudlcated claims.
Many of the rejected claims were
claims for increase, where no increased
disability could be established. A few
were for dishonorable discharge from
the service, and the balance of the
cases are still pending, awaiting addi
tional testimony to prove them up. Of
the allowed claims thirty-six thousand
Ave hundred and ninety-four dollars
were paid claims in the way of arrear
ages, and this sum was paid to Lacka
wanna veterans, exclusively.
In view of the fact that it is ten
times harder to get a pension case
through now to what it was years
ago, by reason of the death of the
comrades of claimants whose testi
mony is absolutely necessary to prove
up their claims, makes the showing of
success for Mr. Connell in His pension
business far above the average of that
of any representative in congress for
the territory covered.
He is a member of the committee on
agriculture and of "Mines and Mining"
of the house of representatives and
consequently is keenly alive to the in
terests of both the farmer and the
miner, in which he has a mutual in
terest, j
Every petition, resolution, ovt me
morial that has been sent him by con
stituents bearing upon the seating of
the Mormon Roberts, or in favor of the
Grout bill, for the protection of our
farmers against the Oleomargarine
trust, or the establishment of a post
office, or pertaining to the interests of
the people at home In any way, was
duly introduced in the house of repre
sentatives and properly referred io the
committee to which it belonged. !
Take the Congressional Record and
scan its pages carefully, you will find
that Mr. Connell's vote from the bill
appropriating money to carry oh the
Spanish war down to the present mo
ment has always been in strict accord
with his well-known reputation for in
dependence of thought and action and
what he believed was for the best in
terests of the country.
In political appointments, both state
and national, he has had his full share,
and makes no complaint on that score.
He was unanimously chosen by the Re
publican members of congress from
Pennsylvania to represent the state on
the national Republican congressional
committee.
In company with ex-Senator Quay
and six others, he was chosen at the
recent Republican state convention at
Harrisburg as a "delegate at large" to
the national Republican convention
which meets at Philadelphia on June
19 next. Early in the month of May
Mr. Connell, after repeated efforts, was
at last successful In getting a weather
station located at Scranton, thus plac
ing Scranton in the same class with
New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg,
Baltimore, Boston, and other large
cities where weather stations are in
stalled. Observations are taken daily,
maps printed, and sent out giving
complete weather data, and Scranton
is now noted on all official weather
reports sent out from Washington, D.
C. The station went into opera
tion early In July. Mr. Connell was
also successful in having a branch
postofflce established at Hyde Park,
Scranton, Pa., recently, which has
proven to be a great convenience in
the way of postal facilities to the resi
dents of that section of the city. He
has also made arrangements with the
postofflce department for an early ex
perimental test of the rural free de
livery in the district which, if success
ful, will be extended as the circum
stances may demand.
Mr. Connell has been striving hard to
have his bill, H. R. Bill 4345, to create
a new federal judicial district in Penn
sylvania, to be known as the Middle
district, passed during the present ses
sion of congress.
The Western district, with head
quarters at Pittsburg, has been fight
ing the bill for years, because it pro
vides for the holding of the federal
courts at Scranton, Wllllamsport and
Harrisburg, and detaches thirty-two,
counties from the Eastern and Western ,
districts of the state. The bill was,
favorably reported to the house on