Last week we encouraged readers to submit nominations for the Greatest Pittsburgher, as a way of modeling The Morning File after Russia's state-owned television, which has a close race going on between Czar Nicholas II and Josef Stalin for the Greatest Russian.

Fortunately, none of the local nominees -- and this is a credit to the great history of Pittsburghers -- is known for mass executions, forced labor camps or wholesale religious persecution. So if we put up our Greatest Pittsburgher against their Greatest Russian in some kind of runoff election, we've got a fighting chance, by objective, non-tyrannical standards.

It's too early to declare a local winner -- we're not like those TV networks that go out on a limb based on early returns and get everything wrong -- since we might decide to drag this out for another 250 years of Pittsburgh history. After all, Dan Onorato could yet become one of America's greatest vice presidents or assistant deputy senior White House advisers for tax policy, and thus worthy of consideration. In any case, here's some of those (incredibly, no Steelers among them) who are getting votes thus far:

ANDREW CARNEGIE

Cassie Ruane of Shadyside nominated Pittsburgh's favorite steel magnate by noting, "He made the single greatest contribution to the economic base that built the city and resulted in employing millions of people over the years."

She noted his support for local libraries and museums and Carnegie Tech, which became Carnegie Mellon University. On a personal level, she observed, "He didn't horde his money or coddle his heirs." And she forgives him and his associate, Henry Clay Frick, for the nastiness involving the use of Pinkertons at his steel plant in Homestead in 1892. "They were dealing with situations with little precedent and experience, things got out of control, and they made a huge mistake, but I don't think it was intentional," Ms. Ruane said.

Marliese Bonk of Swisshelm Park also endorsed Mr. Carnegie's candidacy for Greatest Pittsburgher, while scrupulously noting she has a potential conflict of interest as an employee of Carnegie Mellon University. Still, he's not the one who hired her, so we're going to give Ms. Bonk a pass.

She even acknowledged Mr. Carnegie was a "robber baron," which is not normally a compliment, but, "I believe he did more for this region than anyone else by contributing to education, business and the arts.

"Unlike today's robber barons, Carnegie made his fortune in Pittsburgh but gave much of it back. Today's robber barons just take from the city and then blow the coop."

Ms. Bonk did not name any names there. Maybe she meant US Airways.

JONAS SALK

Multiple votes also came in for the researcher whose polio vaccine created at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1950s represented one of the 20th century's greatest health advances. Granted, it might be a stretch to call Dr. Salk a Pittsburgher since he didn't move here until his 30s (at least the Scottish-born Mr. Carnegie was raised here). However, we're using the former Soviet bloc rules -- Mr. Stalin was born in Georgia, but no one seems to be holding that against him in the Russian voting.

A.J. Wallowicz of O'Hara wrote in as a polio survivor to credit Dr. Salk, saying simply, "If it were not for Dr. Salk, many would be reading this article in the mirror of an iron lung."

Don Walker of Morningside echoed the endorsement: "When I think about the number of lives saved and suffering avoided, I'm left with Dr. Jonas Salk, hands down."

EVERYMAN

Helen DeMay of Bethel Park wrote in nominating her father, Patrick J. Duffy, but not so much for his individual significance. She sought to credit all of the immigrants like Mr. Duffy, who took great risks and endured hardships to start new lives as Americans in Pittsburgh.

"My dad worked in J&L as a laborer, and with money earned and saved, he sent for my oldest brother to join him here in Pittsburgh. With the two of them working, they were able to send for our mother and the other seven children who arrived here in 1926. They settled in Hazelwood and in 1927 they were blessed with an American-born child: me. These are the people who made Pittsburgh and the USA a success. God bless them."