Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-06
PoeHca i~
PenaA4sSa~ia
BY the Ex-Committeeman

tlOHdl committeeman "A. Mitchell
| Palmer, face to face with blame fol
whatever happened to Judge Eugene
c. Bonniwell in November, success
being out of the question, played q
very clever hand in putting the Dem
ocratic state nominee on the defen-
| sive. Viewed from whatever angle, il
is to be seen that the aim of the
rival leaders of the Democratic party
in Pennsylvania is to get into van
tage position for 1920.
The Democratic party is going tc
have fight over the nomination for
President two years hence. No mat
ter whether an effort is made to run
1 Wilson third time or to make Di-
rector General of the Railroads Will
| liam G. McAdoo the nominee, there
will be battle. 1t is due in the Dem
ocracy. Hence. the desire to control
the block of votes Pennsylvania will
have in the convention. These fights
come around regularly. Harrity and
Guffey; Black and Guffey: Palmer
and his pals against Guffey and Hail,
it matters not who the leaders may
be. there are always men to fight
over the control of the Keystone
State Democratic delegation. And
that's about all there is to the pres
ent row. The Governorship has been
farther away from grasp of a Dem
ocratic candidate than it was in
1914, when some illusions were rude
ly dispelled from the minds of GER
tain eminent Democrats by the free
voters of Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia newspapers are
so much interested in the Bonniwell-
Palmer row that they fail to give
much attention to the passing of dis
trict appeal board No. 2, a segment
of the draft system which was gener-
ally believed to be Brumbaugh-Vare
to the core and which was summar-
lily separated from office on direct
orders from Washington after a
series of attacks had been made
against the members by John p.
Dwyer. the managing editor of the
Philadelphia Record, which by the
way. is the Bonniwell organ. This
district board, headed by Walter
Willard, a friend of men close to the
Governor, has been a storm center
for long time, the target of political
charges, and its passing is an inter-
esting coincidence.
ALL parties named by Palmer in
his series of remarkab BILE charges are
vocal to-day. Bonniwell, Sinnott,
everyone rises to declare that il is
not so and the replies range from
plain liar to mistaking of a CONVEX
Sation. Palmer remains silent and is
reported TO be picking additional
rods to lay upon the tiayed back OF
Bonniwell. Oddly enough, the Judge
was in Paln.er's home county when
the national committeeman smote
him and poor telephone communi-
cation prevented earlier interchange
of phrases. But now everyone seems
to be within reach of a newspaper
office and the remarks are interest
ing contributions to the political his
tory of Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia North Ameri-
can prints this interesting summary
to-day: hRepudiation of Judge Bon
wet Democratic nominee for
Governor. at Harrisburg, by A.
Mitchell Palmer brought denials OF
the Palmer charges that Senator
Penrose backed the Bonniwell can
didacy. Senator Penrose, Judge Bon
niwell and John Sinnott, president of
the Wholesale Liquor Dealers Asso-
citation, of Pennsylvania, issued state
ments yesterday giving the lie to Pal
mer. Judge Bonniwell telegraphed
10 his headquarters in Philadelphia
short, but caustic statement from
Milford, Pike county, where he was
yesterday. Delusionai
insanity is the municipal court
Judges description of what he con-
siders the ailment of the ustodian
of alien property. The J-rge, not
having read the Palmer statement,
was rather hazy about its contents,
but he denied them anyway.
The Philadelphia Record gives
an inkling of the ratified condition
Ill lAxr n h q OF N
that Palmer made "a desperate ef-
fort" to elect to the governorship
Senator Sproul whom it styles his
personal friend and classmate at col
iege" and then goes on to print the
Palmer letter of May 81 in which
the national committeeman congrat-
ulated Bonniwell on his victory at
the primary and pledged his support
10 the ticket. The Philadelphia In
oIirer notes that Bonniwell says Pal
mer has "delusional insanity and
gives prominence to the Penrose
comment on the Democratic COM
mitteeman who besieged Penrose
some years ago and was chased over
his own frontier.
The Public Ledger plays up
sharp statement by Senator Sproul TO
the effect that reports that he had
changed his attitude against liquor
or been "silenced" were untrue and
nrints an editorial in which the
iiouor interests are scotched. All
narties il says, look alike to liquor
man The Philadelphia Press says
"Ronniwell must answer" and its
Washington correspondent wires that
Palmer reiterates the charges and
that Penrose declares them un-
founded.
William ]. Noll. chairman of the
Republican County Committee and
secretary to former Assemblyman
William NC. Freeman, of Cornwall,
was appointed by Judge Henry a
member of the Board OF LEBANON
County Commissioners to serve for
the unexpired term OF the late VII
liam, Herb, of Palmyra. The oppoint-
nent was concurred in by Commits
sioners Gilbert and Hartman. and is
loked upon as being equivalent TO the
nomination by his party for the full
term at the primaries next year.
commissioner Noll had served as
commissioners clerk for eighteen
months and is a past state president
of the P. o. S. of A. He is we'll
known here.
Notice of the meeting of the
Democratic State Committee on Sat
urday. September Il, was sent to
Judge Eugene c. Bonniwell. Demo-
cratic nominee for governor, by Sec
retarv Warren vanDyke, of the COM
mittee. together with a certified copy
of the statement of A. Mitchell Pal
mer before the committee and copy
nraCanfa6