Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-06
POLITICAL STATUS
NEARING CRISIS


Continued From First Page
to him that Governo rumbaugh is
utterly Indifferent as ,is own ten
tative candidacy for presidency.
He has declared TO friends who have
/ discussed the matter with him that
/ he is ready at any time 10 detach him
self from the situation and do every
thing possible to restore harmony
within the party. 1t is also known
that he is fretting somewhat over the
fact that the injection of political mat
ters during the few weeks has in n
measure so engrossed his attention as
to divert him from the constructive
work of his administration.
Statement Coming soon
/ The Governor is expected this after
noon TO indicate in no uncertain way
whether he will permit the further
use of his name in an effort to reunite
| the factions upon the lines set forth
in his recent letter to Henry G. Was
son. the present member of the Re-
/ publican National committee. Rumors
have been flying thick and fast during
the day and that in the way OF n def
mite decision is looked for is indicated
| in the frequent kilograms which have
come from Philadelphia inquiring as
to the situation here.
/ Governor Brumbaugh went to his
office at the Capitol this morning and
! soon after noon met Attorney General
Francis Skunk Brown. After being
closeted few minutes the Governor
and the chief law officer of the Com
monwealth went to the Executive
| Mansion where they went into CONSUL
| tation and declined to see any one.
{ While no one was in position to tell
the nature of their discussion, all
avenues of communication having
/ 2
determination of the Governors course
was under consideration.
Disaster In Contest
| 1t has been pointed out to the Gov
| ernor that only general decentralization
in the party and in his administration
as we'll would follow factional con-
/ test, which would be as prolonged as
it would be bitter. Rumors of reprisals
| OF ali sorts have been flung far and
wide and these rumors give added in
| terest to the situation which has
aroused Capitol Hill to an extent never
known before and which has stirred
| up the big cities of the State.
From every direction to-day as a
result of the reported harmony nego-
/ tiations in the morning newspapers
came excited requests for further in
! formation, the trend of these inquiries
indicating a general desire for peace
and a widespread satisfaction over the
! OuiiOOh lot harmony.
IT has been suggested more than
| once during the last few weeks that
| Governor Srumbaugh never antici-
! pated a controversy over party control,
| but was simply looking to the use of
| his name in the preferential primary
| as a means TO restore harmony. He
| even stated in his letter TO Mr.. Wasson
that he did this reluctantly and under
| the circumstances those who are most
/ familiar with conditions are disposed
TO credit the afternoon rumors of his
retirement from the race and the drop
! ping of the fight under the Brum-
! baugh banner.
The Philadelphia Ledger this morn
ing printed a rather sensational story
/ TO the effect that Attorney General
I Brown, who has been the field marshal
: of the Brumbaugh forces in the pre-
! liminary contest thus far, would retire
| from the Governors cabinet in the
| event of his chief concluding TO drop
any further interest in the factional
activities. II is said that Mr.. Brown
simply smiled when somebody asked
him about his resignation and said
nothing.
Governor to Retire?
| Among the interesting bits of polit-
icai gossip from Philadelphia to-day
is the making up of a list of delegates
at-large to the national convention
which would include such persons as
! Colonel John Gribbel, of the Cover
nor's staff and president of the Union
| League; Alba b. Johnson, president of
| the Baldwin Locomotive Works; Col.
James Elverson, Jr., president of the
Philadelphia Inquirer, and other
prominent men who have already been
mentioned. Most of these men would
be acceptable to both sides.
Whether Governor Brumbaugh will
be among the list of delegates-at-
large, according to the political gossip,
depends upon himself. There seems
to be no doubt that he can go to Chi
cago if he desires.
While the trenches about the Execu-
tive Mansion were closely guarded and
outsiders could not get near them late
this afternoon, there seemed to be a
well-founded impression that Cover
nor Brumbaugh was about to separate
himself from the big political row.