A look back: Sept. 7, 1946

A recent survey of the Bureau of Municipal Affairs of the Department of Internal Affairs showed out of 640 boroughs reporting, in only 157, or 25 percent, did the burgess act as a justice of the peace, Secretary of Internal Affairs William S. Levengood Jr. announced.

The Pennsylvania burgess has three main powers: to veto ordinances passed by the borough council, an action that can be overridden by an extras majority vote of the council; to be the chief law enforcement officer of the borough, charged with the direction of the police despite not having the ability to hire or fire them; and to act as a justice in hearing and determining violations of borough ordinances and other similar cases.