Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-19
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Pe~~oqeOo~ia
By the Ex-Committeeman

Governor Brumbaugh's presidential
aspirations and the intertwined effort
to unhorse Senator Penrose make the
prospects for a strenuous Republican
contest, while the battle of the re-
Mobilization faction of the Democracy
against the reorganization faction
will furnish amusement for people far
and wide.
Governor Brumbaugh is the leading
presidential candidate in this State.
Allen l.. Benson is the Socialist candi-
date. Behind the Governor are the
Wares and various anti-Penrose in
fluences. With Senator Penrose are
the divers and many men who are
opposed to the Governor on various
matters. AS the matter stands the
contest is around the Governor. One
of the interesting features is that but
two of the delegates who are not
known as distinctively Brumbaugh
men have filed pledges to support the
dates are all unpledged. But there
are quite a number of men running
in the interest of the Governor who
declined to file pledges either. So an
other angle is added to an already
many pointed proposition.
One of the surprises of the
tremendous rush to file papers for
nominations last night was that no
papers were filed for Jesse l.. Hart
man, of Hollidaysburg, for the Re-
publican nomination for State Treas
urer. Mr.. Hartman was groomed by
personal friends and his papers were
signed, but after the papers of Har-
mon Nj. Kephart were flied with
Senators Ware and McNichol, Phila-
delphia leaders; David III. Lane and
other men aligned with the Brum-
baugh people on the lists. the Hart
man partisans quit and the big Con-
of Il
Vernon Clark, of Washington county,
as his only rival. Clark is the Bull
Moosers' candidate. He is on the Re-
publican and Washington tickets.
Another interesting thing was that
Frederic W. Fleitz, ex-deputy at
torney general, did not file any petition
to run for national delegate in LaclSa-
wanna. Fleitz seemed to enjoy the
uncertainty.
In all about fifty petitions were
rejected. Some of these came in the
last three hours of the filing period
and the lateness destroyed all chance
of the papers being put into proper
form. One was from western county
which could not be reached in ten
hours. The bulk of the petitions re-
fused did not have enough signatures.
There were also a number which
lacked affidavits, this important fea-
ture being overlooked in probably a
dozen cases. Shortage of signatures
was the most common error. one of
the last half-hour callers presented a
paper for nomination in the anthra-
cite region and it was rejected be-
cause of defects. Half an hour after
midnight he came tearing back to the
Capitol with a paper which turned out
to be perfect. The first paper he pre-
sented was intended to be a supple
mental petition and he overlooked
what was planned TO be the official
petition. Several requests were made
to turn back the clock in the hopes
of getting late papers here, but Chief
Clerk Thorn, of the State Department
refused and when the post Office re-
ported the last mail distributed the
department doors were locked.
The most remarkable feature
about the filing of the petitions was
that about 1000 came in during the
last twenty-four hours. The holding
back was greater than ever known,
due, no doubt. to the political condi-
tions. This eleventh hour rush was
complicated by the continued fling of
supplemental petitions which trebled
the work of the clerks in charge and
delayed the entering of papers. Incl
dentally, it brought out much COM
ment from those who were present
about possibility of limiting the
maximum of signatures as well as re-
quiring a minimum. Every paper
would have been cleared up hours be-
fore the task was finished if supple
mental and additional papers had not
been brought in without explanation,
necessitating scanning of form, count
ing of names and checking up.
The conditions attending the filing
of petitions this year were observed
by a number of people connected with
the State government and it is pos
sible that some suggested changes will
be made in the form of legislation TO
simplify the preliminaries.
A lot of political accidents and
old-timers have appeared on the lists
filed from the siXty-seVen counties. 1t
would seem from a scanning of some
lists as though 1916 bids fair TO bring
to the surface again some of those
who emerged from obscurity in the
upheaval of 1912. Some men whose
chances for being chosen dog catcher
should that position he subject to
the direct primary and direct cleo
ton, would he remote, are running for
offices which have been ornamented
by the biggest men in Pennsylvania.
-Dauphin county furnished some
of the half-past the eleventh hour eX-
citement as several men stood around
with papers in their pockets awaiting
what they deemed the strategic hour
Among the late candidates put on rec
ord were the Rev. DR.. w. n. Yates
for Senator and Ira ]. Mosey for men,
Der of the House.
The businesslike way in which
the Philadelphia organization Re-
publicans handled their papers was
as striking as in years gone by. John
Voorhees, filed for the McNichol peo-
pie and William e. Finley for the
Ware people. They came with every
paper in form, tied up and accom-
panied by receipts which were given
promptly.
The attaches of the State Depart
ment were given many compliments
for the manner in which they dis
posed of the work and celebrity with
which lists of the candidates fling
were made available for the dozens
of interested persons who thronged
the third floor corridor.
Next to the contests for control
of the organizations of the two older
parties and the Governors chances the
big theme of discussion was whether
there would be peace after all in
Philadelphia. The conferences held
yesterday between the Mayor and
Senators McNichol and Ware were re-
garded as significant. Public Serv-
ice Commissioner Magee filed as a
candidate for national delegate in his
diet riot heinP the only ma ior Gfata