Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-04-07

lsinging crowd which could cheer and
pray. too, X also proved that it could
laugh. The big laugh of the evening
lresounded through the hall when Sem
ator Oliver handed out that cryptic
| bit of advice as to how the voter
should conduct himself-should the
local option bill fail.
In Memory of T. II. and Mr.. Flynn
Go home" said the Senator, and
think it over carefully and then look
| carefully to your primaries. And that
applies" said he, whether you are
| Democrat or Republican,"
How about the 'progressiVes - sang
out voice from way back in the hall.
We'll" replied the chairman with
| ltwinkling eyes. IF you're Bull
Mooser, you'd better wait for tip
from oyster Bay or Highland avenue,
| Pittsburgh"
The laugh that went up further
startled the amazed swallows who
were trying their best to get little
sleep in the caves of the market
house.
"The Star-spangled Banner
Just few minutes after o'clock
| Governor Brumbaugh, entering the
! hall via the newspapermen's entrance,
walked up on the stage. Before he
reached the platform the whole audi
torium was a wildly cheering, singing
| flag waving mass of enthusiastic tolks
who felt that they just had to show in
some way how they felt about Penn
| sylvania's governor. Then T. F. Jones,
| McKeesport, the choir leader, took ad-
vantage of a psychological moment
and roared out the opening strains
of the spangled Banner"
And to the massive tune of nun
dreds of throats Governor Brumbaugh
stepped to the front of the stage.
once more during that evening did
the big crowd raise it's voice in wax
to set the steel rafters shaking. That
was at the close of the session when
lied by the Rev. DR.. McClurkin, the
audience chanted the doXology.
Not a Partisan Issue
While there were but three speak
/ ers each emphasized the fact that the
! issue of local option before Pennsyl-
vanians to-day is not par
| tisan issue. Mr.. Follansbee
touched on the question first
when he declared that the Republican
party is not wet party. Governor
Brumbaugh. however, drove the point
home more forcibly than that when he
declared that he repudiated any at
tempt to unload any rum or other in
| terests on his party.
Following a few Introductory re-
marks Mr.. Follansbee presented Sena-
tor Oliver. who rose amid cheers. He
said in part:
Senator divers Speech
Senator Oliver spoke as follows:
Il am here tonight for no other
purpose than to testify by my presence
my interest in the local option move
ment and my intense desire for its
success.
There are Just three ways of han
ding the traffic in Intoxicating liquors.
These three are regulation, restriction
and prohibition. Up to this time Penn
sylVania has confined herself to regu-
| lation; but any man who reads Alright
| the signs of the times can easily see
| that mere regulation no longer salts
| fes the popular demand. and that
some more drastic measure must be
adopted or statewide prohibition will
| be the inevitable end. The question
| of to-day is. What middle course can
| be followed? Pennsylvanians are nat
urally and temperamentally conserv-
ative. They dislike radicalism and
radical measures and they never re-
sort to them unless it is absolutely
necessary to arrive at the end they
| have in view. They want to look be-
| fore they leap-and if the leap seems
| dangerous they are apt to look around
| for some means of bridging the chasm
so that they can cross in safety and
without risk. But they are bound to
get across in some way. and get across
| they will, sooner or later. In other
words. when the people of Pennsyl-
vania make up their minds that any
particular legislation is essential to
their well being, they will not rest
until that legislation is enacted
/ HNOW 7 am firmly convinced that
| the majority of our people have made
lup their minds that some new legis-
/ lation is necessary to restrain the
liquor traffic. The longer action is de-
| layed the more insistent they will be,
and the less easily satisfied. For the
| present all they ask is the enactment
of the very moderate local option bill
now pending in the House of Repre-
| sentatives. If that Is denied them,
they will be here in force two years
from now demanding that and some
/ thing more besides at the hands of
the next Legislature.
''It is not my purpose to enter into
| an argument onl the merits of this
measure. That will be done by other
and abler men. / will only say that
! am firm believer in the doctrine of
the right of the majority to rule and
the duty of the minority to submit
and this doctrine is especially strong
/ when applied to questions relating to
the peace or we'll being of local COM
munities. If, therefore. a majority of
the people in any county of this COM
monwealth want to prohibit the traffic
in liquors within their borders, 1t is
preposterous in the Legislature to deny
| them the right to give expression to
/ their wishes, and to see that they are
carried out. On the 18th of June,
1889. nearly twenty-six years ago, the