Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-19
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By the Ex-Committccman

| Inere nave Deen more SubStitu-
tions and changes and incidents of
the unusual kind about the certifi-
cation of the nominations this year
than l have known for long time"
remarked George ID. Thorn, chief
clerk of the State Department, who
is now acting deputy secretary of
the Commonwealth. ITO begin with
! there were many candidates for
nominations and then came along
whole new set from the Fair Play
party. Then Prohibition candidates
began to withdraw and substitutions
TO be made. Then other men found
1t lneXpedient to run and now after
we have certified the nominations
changes keep on being made. Some
OF them have been necessitated by
deaths, but some have not We have
certified the names; if the county
authorities can change the ballots,
all right
The nonpartisan nomination sit
nation has been unprecedented"
continued Mr.. Thorn. After names
had been certified for the superior
court at the primary n candidate
tries to withdraw and finds he can
not. Then after the primary there
are two supreme court justices to
elect and the nominations have to
be made by nomination papers.
Two constitutional amendments are
on the ballot, too. 1t all goes to
show the unusual character of 1918
in politics"
Mr.. Thorn remarked that the bal
lot in spite of all these incidents
was not as bad as some in the old
days. In one year there were
eleven columns right across the bal-
lot; this year is not in 1t with some
of the old timers said Mr.. Thorn.
1t takes one mark for straight
ticket and two marks to indicate
preferences for judicial candidates.
Now that the Liberty Loan drive
is about over. the men who direct
politics in Pennsylvania are trying to
figure out what influenza is going
to do to the campaign. From all ac-
counts Judge Eugene c. Bonniwell,
the Democratic nominee for gov
ernor' intends to continue his tours
of the state and will become very
active in the next ten days, although
whether he holds meetings or not
depends on health conditions.
The Republican state campaign
is uncertain. 1t was planned last
week to have the state candidates
begin a tour of the western counties
and then gradually work. their way
eastward, but the death of Senator
Sprouts son-in-law upset all ar
rangements
Senator Edward E. Beidleman,
the nomine for lieutenant governor.
said to-day that he did not know
when the tours would start, as the
influenza epidemic would prevent
meetings.
w. Harry Baker. secretary of
the Republican state committee, has
been in Philadelphia all week, work
ing on details of the campaign.
About half of the headquarters staff
are sick.
Warren VanDyke, secretary of
the Democratic state committee, and
other ringmasters of the reorganiZed
Democracy are meeting in Philadel-
phia to-day in an effort to fill up
some of the holes in the Democratic
ticket and to decide in what way the
state windmill may figure in the
campaign without damaging its
wings. The state headquarters peo-
pie would like to have ]. Washing
ton Logue go out and make speeches,
but that would emphasize the split
caused by the Palmer Mccormick
tention will be concentrated upon
Congressional fights.
The Prohibition state campaign
has also been affected by the influenza
epidemic, although up to date there
does not seem to have been any di-
minution in the activity in substitu-
ting Democrats for Prohibition candi-
dates in Allegheny county. The course
of the Prohibition state managers is
one of the puzzles of the campaign
and the York county situation affords
some interesting displays of the pol
icy adopted by the cold water ma
chine.
j. r. wylie. Prohibition and
Washington candidate for the Senate
in the Forty-fourth district, filed his
withdrawal to-day and Carl D. Smith
was substituted for him on the Pro-
hibition ticket. In the Ninth district
H Wesley Lynch withdrew as Pro-
hibition candidate and James II.
Paine was substituted, while in the
Tenth Allegheny. Thomas Paxson
withdrew as Prohibition and Wash
ington candidate and w. H. Barn
hart was substituted as prohibition
candidate.
The policy to be followed in nam
the votes of Pennsylvania soldiers in
the various camps will be finally de-
termined between to-day and Tues
day and much depends upon infiuen "a,
Reports coming here from the various
camps indicate that camp command
ers are rather anxious about the cpl
demic and inclined to establish quar-
antines, while some of the men offered
commissionerships have declined the
honors. ..
There are grave doubts here
whether men who have filed with
drawals from various tickets in the
last few days will be able to take
down their names or to have sub
stitutes entered as word coming to
the State Capitol from various coun-
ties is to the effect that in many of
them printing of the tickets has been
started.