Evening star., 1922-06-10
RATTLES G. o. P. SKELETON.
P1nchot Central Figure as He
Clashes With Bosses.
BIZ y. %. MESSENGER,

PHILADELPHIA. June 1o.-There
is being staged here today a political
orama which. while seemingly of
peculiarly. Pennsylvania interest at
The moment. may prove to be of ma
1ion-wide Importance. 1t has to do
with the sudden flare-up of proges-
sivism in the republican party. reg
istered in the primaries of Indiana,
Pennsylvania and Iowa
a bald narrative of the issue of
the. moment would hardly attract
passing attention, being the selec-
tion by the republican state COM
mittee of a. chairman. and possibly
the election of member of the re-
publican national committee. But
there is much behind these routine
performances and thereby hangs
tale which the correspondent will
seek to unfold
Pfnchot Central Figure.
BY way of window dressing. let it
be said that it will deal with a. very
picturesque character in American
politics a man who is likelv TO
III the fate and fortunes of the re-
publican party. He is Clifford Pin
chot. well known to Washington
ians. the man who started some
thing in President Taft's first adj
ministration which led to grave con-
sequences to the G.. o. P through
a succession Of incidents that ac-
"umulated and which We're beyond
his ken at the outset
-,.:.
the late Col. Roosevelt. was recently
CHOSEN at the primaries as the republican
candidate for the 2overnorship in the
keystone state. He carried sixty-two out
OF the slxty-seven counties apd in addi-
ton smashed to Smithereens the yaunted
old guard majority in the stand-pat
strongholds of Philadelphia and Pitts
burgh and Allegheny
Old Guard stiu Has Grin.
In the same primaries two old-guard
candidates for the United States sem
atorship. Senator Pepper and Mai Feed.
won their nomination, Senator Pepper
over a contestant and Maj. Reed un-
contested. but both appealing to the
same political element. Now comes the
question of choosing a chairman of the
state committee to manage the cam
paign. Mr.. Pinchot claims that as II is
state campaign in his case, having to
do with the governorship. he BY all
pfecedenf should he allowed to name
the chairman n, and he has chosen as his
candidate Gen. Asher Miner, an over
seas veteran. crippled in France. The
two senatorial candidates insist that
there are other candidates besides that
OF tlle soFernorsh1p and that they should
be considered. whereupon they put for
ward the name of w Harry Baker. at
present secretary of the state committee
aud affliiated with the old-guard element
OF the republican party in this state
Mr. finchot insists that he owes it to
the vote WHICH nominated him, con-
strued by him to be a vote of protest
against what is left of the old regime
that controlled the state prior to the
death OF Senator Penrose, to have a
chairman representative of that faction
which nominated him. He is going TO-
day TO make a fight for that principle.
Threatens to Cut Loose.
But he has another principle also
to contend for and which to his mind
is of more Importance than the mere
selection of state chairman He
will insist that it be understood that
the policy in Pennsylvania hereafter
shall be the discontinuance of the
practice of assessing state office hold
He threatens that if this is not agreed
upon, he Will cut loose his campaign
from the state campaign manage
ment, finance it himself and "go it
alone" 1t is no idle threat, for Mr.
llnchot has the means 10 do it and
would not hesitate to employ them
Here is the national angle of the
proposition: If Mr.. Pinchot succeeds
in electing his choice of chairma n,
securing also the pledge as to politi-
cal nonassesSments, we will win a
signal victory over the embattled and
in:renched hosts of old guard in the
most standpat state in the union. 1t
is figured by national politicians that
such victory would Immediately en-
courage and hearten the progressive
elements throughout the country, al
ready elated by the victories in In
diana, Pennsylvania. and Illinois. to
further activity and might indicate a
nationwide swing of progressivism.
Truce in Danger.
If he is beaten in this contest, the
question arises whether 1t will not
result In embittering the progressives
of Pennsylvania, the feeling being re-
fected In other states, and bring on a
clash between the two factions in
the party that have maintained a
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