The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1910-11-07
UPSHAW,s ELOQUENCE

The genial Georgian, William D. Up
shaw, who is in Ocala today, is a
breezy proposition The enthusiastic
crowd that heard him at the band
stand this afternoon at o'clock I'M
derstand now why he is called the
Georgia cyclone" His manner is
frank and open, he is free from at
fectation, he is perpetual fountain
sort Of "geyser." you might call it
Of spontaneous wit and eloquence and
from the standpoint Of entertainment
the crowd had about as much fun as
going to show. But there was
something besides fun in Upshaw's
speech There were times when his
logic swept everything before it.
Discussing the financial and moral
blight caused by the saloon he con-
tinuously offered any man in the
crowd an opportunity to reply, but on
one took him up. stand up here be-
fore God and man and name one good
thing that the saloon does" said the
speaker, as he leaned upon his crutch-
es and looked earnestly into the faces
Of the men, land I will stop my speech
this minute and let you publish far
and wide in the liquor press that
prohibition speaker was put out Of
business in Ocala today"
But no one made answer. Isn't it
a pity" said the speaker, with smiling
earnestness, that otherwise good men
will vote for an institution about
which not one Of it's friends san say
a single good word. Gentlemen, 1
wouldn't stay on side whose own
friends are not brave enough in a
crowd like this to stand up and speak
one word in it's favor
A very unique argument was his
declaration that the liquor politicians
had not treated the saloonkeepers
fairly in this campaign. THE politic-
ians had their pictures put in the pa
pers.' he said, but they left out the
barkeepers' pictures-the pictures <of
the very men and the only men whose
business is at stake. Isn't it a shame?
If 1 were a saloon man 1 wouldn't
support and pay a crowd that would
treat me like that And the crowd
rOared. But you Ocala folks treat
'em badly, too" said the speaker. "All
these big merchants around here are
allowed to carry on their business for
| anywhere from IS to $50 a year-nO-
body, l suppose, more than hundred
dollars. and yet you make the poor,
dOwn-trodden saloonkeeper, all told,
pay nearly thousand dollars a year
| to carry on a nice business, which you
say is necessary to Ocala's prosperity
and Florida's future. If theirs is a
| good business then in the name of all
fairness put them on the same basis as
any other business and if it is a bad
business, then in the name of your
homes, your wives and your children,
don't allow it at all'
The speaker declared that democracy
| means the rule of all the people of
Florida, and not the rule and ruin of
dry counties by wet counties.
| If it is democratic and right for
Governor Gilchrist and the sheriffs to
close the saloons tomorrow on election
day to preserve peace and order, then
you know it would be right and dem
| ocratic to keep the barrooms closed
every day in the year all the years
from now till the judgment day in
order to have everlasting peace and
quiet"
| The speaker closed with a heart
reaching, tender appeal, declaring that
no man should vote to keep the sa-
looms in Ocala and Florida unless he
is willing for his son or his brother
to habitually patronize that saloon or
willing for his daughter or sister to
marry the man who does" Mr.. Upshaw
dealt in no abuse and won all hearts
| before him.
| Out in the school yard Mr.. Upshaw
spoke briefly to the children on "Pluck
and Get-Up-and-Get." causing much
laughter and then deeply impressing
the young hearts for good. He shows
that he brought his heart with him. >