It was heated Summer night in Harrisburg and tension hung like humidity.
Until August 17, 1977, legislators from Pennsylvania were arguing with the recent expenditure plan for over six weeks.
Country For a month he did not pay many of 80,000 employees or 800,000 social care recipients.
About 6,600 employees in the governor’s office were temporarily released. And a lot of protesters came to the gates of the Capitol intricate.
Democrats controlled the state House, but I could not collect enough votes to exceed the Senate approved by the budget worth $ 5.1 billion. The plan would pay bills and employees, but rejected the potential Tax debates until the fall.
After the bill was defeated at home for the fifth time, several representatives from Philadelphia make noise.
Budget fight
The house entered the break and the legislators filled the transitions of the great Italian Renaissance style chamber.
Space-with red carpets and stained glass and mural-vibrations of the Sistine chapel.
What is comical, considering what happened next.
“Four intensity members of the democratic delegation of Philadelphia”, like United Press International He described them, he approached Rep. Philip Ruggiero50ish and 5-meter representative from the Lehigh Valley.
Two from the Philly contingent I caught Ruggiero’s armsAnd the other two shouted and a gesture, apparently threatening to take Ruggiero, who voted against the budget to see state employees and social welfare recipients outside.
Ruggiero “just joked” Inquirer said at that time.
Well, the contingent of Pittsburgh did not know.
High, gray -haired rep. Roger Duffy (who also opposed the budget), turned to Rep. William Rieger, chairman of the delegation in Philadelphia, but he missed and fell, tearing his coat.
Reporter Inquirer Tom Ferrick Jr. He reported that Rieger responded with his left hook on Duffy’s head.
“It was just a misunderstanding,” said Duffy later.
About two dozen legislators joined the fight.
Another guy from Pittsburgh, Rep. Ronald Gamble, caught the muscular democrat of southern Philadelphia, Rep. Leland Beloff, and pulled him away.
Then Beloff threw himself at the crowd of legislators who intend to reach gambling, who opposed the act.
“It became a fight between those democrats who favor the budget account,” wrote a Ferrick reporter, “And those who oppose it.” Budget impasse He was broken Around 1:30 August 20When democratic leaders finally gathered most of the needed.
Point of order
The state police, stationed in the House of Protests, were called to break the fight.
There were touched shirts, torn jackets and ties disconnected, but nothing stern.
But at the end, the protesters apparently threw a plastic mug at the legislator and cut the representative of the representative.
The loudspeaker dropped the house back, shouting: “This is not the third grade class during the break.”
