The Conshohocken Recorder, November 1, 1962

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Vol. 9277 TA 8-4600 Thursday. Nov. 1, 1962 7c A COPY BR 9-0950
Fry-Butera Battle Tops 2nd District Election
Assembly Posl
Last Chance to Win Lucky Bucks At Stake in
—See Centerfold
BIG PRIZE—The top prize thus far—a $50 check-is
handed Florence McGonigal (r.), of 140 E. 13th Ave.,
Conshohocken, by Mrs. Mary Madonna, proprietress of
the Mary Anna Shop, 804 Fayette St. The award is part
of the Lucky Bucks promotion of participating merch-ants
in Conshohocken.
NEXT HIGHEST—Drew Hall, proprietor of War-rell's,
Second Ave. and Fayette St., presents a $30 check
to Mrs. Anna Caucci, 149 W. Seventh Ave., Consho-hocken.
It was the second prize in this past week's Lucky
Bucks promotion. The promotion ends this weekend.
Tuesday's Till
Overshadowing all other issues in
the 2nd Legislative District at next
Tuesday's election will be the con-test
for State Representative be-tween
incumbent Walter C. Fry.
a Democrat, and Republican Robert
J. Butera.
Tlie District is made up of those
municipalities: Conshohocken.
Plymouth Twp., Norristown, East
Norriton Twp. and West Norriton
Twp.
Louis DiGiovanni, Norristown at-torney,
is making an independent
bid for the legislative seat. He's
banking on a write-in vote after
losing to Pry in the May primary.
Pry, who went into office at the
same time President Kennedy was
elected two years ago, faces a real
battle.
Except for two debates witli Bu-tera,
Pry's platform appearances
have been few. Pry signs be an
popping up on poles the past wee :.
Butera has left nothing unturnpc,
using every campaign gimmick in
the book.
During the past two months, the
Norristown attorney has made no
less than 200 personal appearances
at public rallies and neighborhood
meetings in private homes where he
discussed the issues at hand and
-made It clear where he stands on
them.
In addition, Butera, through his
'campaign manager Attorney Rich-ard
Lowe, is backed by a citizens
I committee of prominent residents
1 and has the help of a group of
young ladies who are campaigning
over the telephone.
Throughout his campaign. Butera
has been critical of Pry's poor at-tendance
record at sessions of the
State Legislature, claiming that
residents of the District are virtu-ally
without representation.
Pry. however, contended that he
(Continued on Page Txoo)
THIRD PRIZE—Ed Starr, manager of the W. T.
Grant Co. store at 112 Fayette St., presents a $10 check
to Mrs. Betty Yanisko, 1065 Colwell Lane, Consho-hocken.
Mrs. Yanisko was the third prize winner in a
week of Lucky Bucks activity that saw all prizes claimed.
Last prizes must be claimed by Monday noon.
'Politics,9 County Tells
State in Fuel Tax Row
Montgomery County officials today
ripped into the State Auditor Gen-eral
with charges of "cheap politics"
and "blatant political poppycock."
The anger was triggered yester-day
by news that Thomas Z. Mine-hart,
auditor general, has frozen
future payments to the County from
the State Liquid Fuel Tax Funds.
Minehart was quoted as saying
that some'$200,000 in "questionable
expenses" must be accounted for.
The auditor general Is a Demo-crat.
The County administration is
Republican-controlled.
County ControUer James E. Stau-dinger
lashed the action as "cheap
politics." He called the auditor gen-eral's
"blockbuster ... a dud."
Elkins Wetherill, chairman of the
County Commisisoners, termed the
report "blatant political poppycock."
"You didn't hear them complain-ing
when County highway crews
were out plowing state highways
during snowstorms in order to pro-tect
our citizens from hardships,"
Wetherill commented.
At the same time, Staudinger pro-duced
a letter from Roger Stoy,
director, division of municipal serv-ices.
State Highway Dept.
The letter, dated Aug. 9, 1962, ap-proved
the County's report of ex-penditures
from the liquid fuel fund
up to July and cleared the way
for the next payment of approxi-mately
$300,000 due in December.
"This letter shows that their
quarrel isxwlthin the Democratic
administration at Harrisburg and
not with us," said Staudinger.
Minehart advised County officials.
Including Curtis L. Campman, head
of the County Highway Dept., that
he could not approve the December
payment until he had more spe-cific
information about an item of
$198,000 in the July report. He
also questioned payments for
curbing.
Most of this money, Campman
said, was spent for snow removal,
road cindering and rental of snow
removal equipment during 1960 and
1961.
Minehart's refusal to okay the
item was based on the fact that Che
County had neglected to list the
"streets and highways" that were
plowed and cindered.
This requirement was entirely new
I and had never been requested be-fore,
Campman stated.
Campman recalled that it was
during the hard winter of 1960-1961
that the County had to go to the
aid of hundreds of persofls living
along state highways who were
either stranded or snowed in because
the Commonwealth failed to do
Its Job.
He said that County equipment
and personnel worked "around the
clock" at times to cut through snow
drifts and free taxpayers who were
marooned.
On one occasion, he stated, when
State equipment "was nowhere in
sight," the County went to tlie rescue
of a snowbound woman about to
have a baby. There were numerous
instances of where people wen-plowed
out so they could get to
the store for groceries and milk.
"Since they want to get political
so close to the election," said Stau-dinger,
"I would like to ask them a
question."
"What did the Democrat.1: at Har-risburg
ever do about the personnel
in the local Inheritance Tax Office
where the Auditor General, in 1957.
found flagrant expense account ir-regularities?"
After a special audit, the Attorney
General at that time, Charles C.
Smith, came to this conclusion:
"In our opinion, based on our
examination, the irregularities dis-closed
are of such charactei that
it is recommended the entire m itter
be forwarded to the Attornej Gen-eral
for appropriate action."
Answering his own question. Stau-dinger
said "This matter died a na-tural
death because, if you remem-ber,
the Governor during that period
was a Democrat and Smith was a
Republican."
Staudinger also made cleai th»
function of the Liquid Fuel Tax
Fund. He explained that eaea
County receives from the Common-wealth
every year a percentage ot
the tax money collected on gasoline
This money, he said, must be spenl
for highway and bridqe improve-ments.