Voices from the Past

In his inaugural address. Pennsylvania's Scranton told of a troubling remark made to him by a young man during the campaign: "I can't for the life of me figure why anybody would want to be Governor of this state." And even as Scranton was taking the oath of office from State Supreme Court Chief Justice John C. Bell Jr., 70, who served 20 days as Governor in 1947, the problems of being Pennsylvania's chief executive were recalled by seven other ex-Governors. Their bitter sweet memories, as published in the Philadelphia Bulletin:

> Former Democrat George H. Earle (1935-39) is 72 and writing his memoirs. Says Earle of his governorship: "I was happy because I felt I was doing something constructive, unhappy because of the disloyalty right in my own party. If I had to do it all over again, I'd never run for Governor." Originally a New Dealer, Earle later became a Republican, is now "so disenchanted with both parties'' that he refuses to belong to either.

> Republican Arthur James (1939-43) is 79, still goes every day to his Wilkes-Barre law office. James, a tiny (5 ft. 5 in., 135 lbs.) former coal-mine breaker's boy, once said he "wouldn't cross Broad Street to become Governor." Now he remembers: "The Democrats were in control down in Washington. What a bunch they were . . . When I was inaugurated, there were 1,000,000 unemployed in this state. We had a $90 million deficit. The Democrats knew I wanted to balance the budget. So what do you suppose they did? Every time I was about to balance it, they would slash the WPA rolls. Once they knocked 100,000 off the rolls, making Pennsylvania put them on relief. That was a terrific added burden. But I guess that's politics."

> Republican Edward Martin (1943-47) is 83, heads an oil and gas company in Washington, Pa. Recalls Martin: "Politics is an expensive game. I'd have a lot more money today if I'd stayed out. But I enjoyed it. Besides, it's a citizen's duty to serve."

> Republican James H. Duff (1947-51) is 80, visits his Washington, D.C., law office "only by appointment." One of the original backers of Eisenhower for President, Duff says: "My term didn't last long enough for me to accomplish the things I was doing. Otherwise, I have no regrets about it. But there was my term as U.S. Senator. That stemmed from being Governor. If I could have quit the Senate with dignity, I would have after three years. They had me on the Post Office and Civil Service committees. That was terrible. I was wasting my time."

> Republican John S. Fine (1951-55 ) is 69, practices law in Wilkes-Barre. Says he: "I had enough of the governorship. I wouldn't want any more, not with what I encountered: a fight in my own party, a lot of ingratitude, friends who failed to stand behind me."

> Democrat George Leader (1955-59) was Governor at 37, a defeated Senate candidate at 40, and is now a banking executive at 45. Says he: "I blurred my image by pressing for so much legislation." As Governor, Leader raised state taxes and suffered the consequences: "The new taxes cost me my popularity and a seat in the U.S. Senate."

> Democrat Dave Lawrence, 73 and recently named chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing, alone among the ex-Governors had only comfortable memories to pass along to his successor, Bill Scranton: "We showed greater gains in traffic safety than any other state. And, of course, we balanced the budget--something that hadn't been done for a long time. I'm especially proud about that. So I guess I'm leaving office without a regret, with no animosities."

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