Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-03-23
i0Nenl1)6 cbAr

Every one of the fifty or sixty nomi-
mating petitions filed at the depart
ment of the Secretary of the Com
monwealth in advance of the May pri-
mary contains from ten to couple of
hundred names more than the law re-
qulres and II reports are correct some
of those to be filed will be immense
affairs, beating the 10,000-name affairs
or the 1912 campaign and the gigantic
ware petitions in that historic CAM
paign, which broke the record. Pc
titions have been taken out by the
hundreds and some of them have been
distributed by the thousand. The State
supplies petitions as far as necessary,
but the requests for 500 and 1000
blank petitions for nominations which
do not require ten have been filled
only as FAR as che supply on hand per-
mitted Some of the candidates had
their own papers printed with their
names printed thereon and that means
that some huge bundles will be filed.
Every candidate files a petition with a
safe margin above the requirements of
the law. but beyond that 1t is a matter
or pride, apparently, and messages re-
ceived on the "Hill'' from men who
are candidates or who are running
campaigns Indicate that there will be
big petitions filed to attest popularity
of the candidate. Experience here has
regard the size as something in their
favor, as they consider q man signing
nominating petition more or less
bound to the support of the candidate,
and the petitions have in some cases
been battle roll of aspirants for
nominations. Hence the man with the
largest petition considers that he is in
the best shape, although men who
filed big petitions two years ago found
that the signing of a petition was ap-
parently not regarded as an obligation
to vote that way. Some of the petitions
filed are works of penmanship, but on
most the name, occupation, residence
and aspirations of a candidate are
typewriter. The requirement of the
date of signing is followed as carefully
as the residence statement and the
affidavits required by the act of 1913
have been found in order on every
petition submitted thus far. 1t is eX-
pected that there will be a tremendous
rush of petitions in the week before
April 21, when the time for filing ex-
pires.
Judging from letters written to men
active in Harrisburg fire companies,
the greatest interest is being mani
tested throughout the eastern counties
and some of the central in the meeting
Of the State convention of the firemen
in this city in the Fall Some of the
counties in the southern and south
eastern portions will have representa-.
tives of every company and dozens of
the companies will send men to take
part in the demonstration. The fire.
men have not met here for we'll nigh
thirty years and are looking forward
to enjoying the hospitality of the city
and Of seeing the Capitol.
n to Ttn -
is worth while to note that not only
have many members of fire companies
In the State never seen the Capitol,
but there are thousands Of people not
many miles away from us who have
never beheld its beauties. Not long
ago a prominent business man of
Philadelphia had to come here on
some matters and confessed that he
had been in dozen States and seen
most of their capitols, but that he had
never seen that of his own imperial
commonwealth. This man remarked
that there were probably hundreds OF
men as well situated as he who had
never been to Harrisburg to see the
Capitol yet who knew every hotel in
Atlantic City and were up on the best
theaterS in New York and could tell a
lot about Boston. Baltimore and Wash
ington.
National Guardsmen in this city are
making some tests with the landscape
targets which are coming into genera,
use just now and which are destined
to be important factors in the rifle
work of the State militia. These tar
gets are small affairs Of cardboard
with bits of country shown. There
are some which show the ordinary
type of cultivated countryside with
windmills and big trees standing out.
Where it catches the men is to be told
TO sight for house or clump Of trees
AS a whole the target presents a wide
stretch OF country and there is moth
ing better TO test out the men than the
! observation of details.
An immense quantity of snow re-
| mains along roads and in ravines
within few miles of the city's Dor
ders and people who have been out for
automobile spins have been astonished
| at the amount of snow that has es-
capped the rays of the sun in the last
ten days. These banks of snow indi-
cate how great the fall must have
been because the snow has gone from
| fields Some of the gullies along the
| Paxton creek valley are still full O.,
| snow and along the mountains there
| are many places where the hand of
winter was laid heavily and where il
VIII take warm weather to clear out,
| The snow, say farmers, will cause the
| earth to be full of water and to assure
| good flow from springs, while the
ground Will be well watered for Spring.
|