Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-05
PseI;c4 &.
Pe~~a4eSa~ia
By the Ex-Committeeman

While the election of Senator Will
liam c. Sproul as the next Governor
of Pennsylvania has never been in
doubt from the day of the primary
In May. the events of yesterday in
the Democratic State Committee
have made certain an.immense ma
Jority for him and the choosing of
an almost solid congressional dele
cation from Pennsylvania. Until A.
Mitchell Palmer, the Democratic
national committeeman from Penn
sylvania, made his sensational
charges before the party's highest
official body yesterday against Judge
Eugene c. Bonniwell, the nominee
of the Democratic voters at the pri-
mary for Governor. there were some
who thought that the liquor men
and others behind the Judge might
engineer a combination which con-
tanned possibilities of cutting into
the Republican vote in Pennsylva-
mia in war time. But not now.
There is no occasion in the tenn
pestuous history of the Pennsylva-
mia Democracy in the last forty years
that is comparable to what occurred
yesterday in the hall where the pres
ent bosses of the Democratic ma
chine won control in 1911. The Re-
publican party in it's most strenuous
days never had anything like it and
1t would seem that a prediction that
the Democracy is due for more years
of wandering would be well founded.
The men who are leading the rival
factions of the Democracy of which
such rosy things were printed after
rn nj 0nf cnf N
who is elected Governor. They want
to destroy each other.
In dramatic intensity the meet
ing yesterday afternoon was rare.
The Democratic national committee
man from Pennsylvania speaking
with the Democratic national chair
man presiding as the direct repre-
sentative of the President of the
United States in party affairs
charged that the nominee of the
Democrats for the highest office in
Pennsylvania was political crook.
And then the state committeeman,
elected at the same primary at
which the state ticket was named,
formally summoned the candidate
for Governor to appear before them
on September IA to show cause why
ticket" AS the nominee is not an
swerable to the committee and there
is no way of recalling his nomina-
ton he can either come here and
have a Bonnybrook fair or he can
stand off and thunder.
The Democracy of Pennsylvania
is going to continue the entertain
ment it has furnished for many
years and the participation of the
liquor men in politics will be marked
by another shining example of bone
headedness.
Immediately after the adjourn
ment of the Democratic state COM
mittec yesterday afternoon the Pal
mer charges, which had been made
in typewritten form, were sent to the
state headquarters and to-day Will
be mailed to Judge Bonniwell with
notice to appear before the commit
tee in this city at noon of Saturday,
September IA. Friends of the Demo-
cratic nominee here said that the
Judge would speak for himself and
not only predicted that he would
continue on the ticket in defiance Of
the leaders OF the rival faction, but
challenged the Palmer-McCormick
men to start either new ticket or
bolt him.
p Before leaving for Washington,
Palmer and Mccormick said that the
charges made spoke for themselves.
Palmer professed only mild interest
when informed that Sinnott had
pleaded abuse of confidence. Warren
VanDyke, secretary of the state COM
mittee, who will send the notice to
Bonniwell, declined to make any
comment beyond advising that the
Palmer charges be read carefully.
The general opinion among OBJ
servers here is that it is a straight
fight for control of the Democratic
organization and that the develop
ments of yesterday headed off a de-
mand for a reorganization after the
November election which would have
been made by the Bonniwell people.
It is also the opinion here that the
campaign against the ratification Of
the prohibition amendment has been
given a terrific jolt and that men
who had been active in efforts to get
a big registration to-day will suffer
some disappointments and that in
terest in the Fair Play party will
laneuish, 1t is interesting to note
that to-day no pre-emptions Of the
name were filed. 1t is the first day
since last Friday that none has ap-
peared.
The nominations on the Fair
oIav ticket must all be filed before
Tomorrow night. If any additional
party is going to be launched by
ANYBODY it will have to appear by
that time.
I'm addition to the interesting
spectacle of Palmer and Mccormick
standing up and protesting to be
purifiers of the party because Nc
Cormick as cheer leader for Palmer
demonstrated that he was with the
righteous, The people at the state
committee meeting heard the ma
tional chairman call demand, for
getting of politics in one breath and
the election CT Democratic. Con-
gress as an essential in the next. 1t
is very evident from what was seen
and heard at the Board of Trade
building yesterday that there is no
intention CT adjourning Democratic
politics, state or national, for a while.
The only persons who should adjourn
that pastime according to the view
expressed by the chairman, are Re-
publicans, whose recovery of con-
gressional seats in Pennsylvania ap-
pear to be causing Mr.. Mccormick
irritating dreams.
Another thing that is botherlng
the leaders of the reorganized dis
organized Democracy of Pennsylva-
ria is that railroad men have been
forced by the order of Director Gen
eral McAdoo, highest Democratic
authority next to the President, to
get out of every political connection
from precinct registrar to candidacy
for the Legislature. For years rail-
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