New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-19
Both Sides Claim Victory;
Exclusive Back Bay Is
Split Up in Fight
SPEAKERS CROWD
ALL STREET CORNERS
Sunday Holds Mammoth
Meeting and DenounCes
Liquor Traffic
-r,em st.r ce-r..rnna.n. 0, N. 7,Lsun. ]

From star Correspondent o' The 7tbun.l
Boston, Dec. Boston may 20 dry
tomorrow; it may 20 wet by 10000.
That. in a nutshell. describes the sit
uation tonight at the close Of the
most remarkable license fight Boston
has ever known. Publicly both sides
are claiming victory. Privately the
leaders say anything may happen.
In this fight all lines have been
broken, such conservatives as Major
Henry Lee Higginson, Dr. Charles ".
Eliot and J. Randolph Coolidge lining
up with Thomas b. Fitzpatrick, treas
urer of the United Irish League, and
Meyer Bloomfield, the sociological
worker, with the mo license" forces.
The Rev. Paul Revere rockingham and
the Rev. Howard y. Brown, OF Kings
Chapel. most conservative and eXclu-
siyc of all Boston congregations, are
also openly working for mo license"
as are a few Roman Catholic pastors
in slum districts.
Ordinarily the conservative Back Bay
element, represented by Major Higgin
son and these clergymen, can be de-
pended upon TO hold strictly aloof from
no license fight.
Even the Back Bay Divided
Not all Of the Back Bay crowd are fot
no license, however. This morning an
effort was made to make it appear that
the Massachusetts, Real Estate Exchange
is for license. This afternoon officers
Of the association repudiated the az
ton OF some of their associates. declar-
/ ing that the executive committee had
. declined TO commit the exchange 10
such a position. The liquor men were
counting on the real estate interests
TO perhaps save the day.
Even now the liquor men declare that
the possibility Of 1000 buildings where
liouor is now sold being made idle will
swing the real estate vote almost solid
/ ". On this and the possibility of an
enlarged vote on license the vets PIN
/ their hopes.
Edward II. Pinkham. the executive
head Of the Massachusetts, Liquor
League and the directing spirit Of the
wet crowd, says he is satisfied that the
city will remain wet if the votes can
be gotten out.
license" he said tonight. whoever
can get them will win. ! expect we
will get more than the other side, more
than enough TO win
lie comedies large gain in the no
license vote. On the other hand, Ar
thur J. Davis, secretary Of the Masss-
chusetts Anti-License League, says
that the license vote will be larger than
IL was a gear ago. but not large enough
10 offset the no-license gains.
LIQUOR Men Spending Money
The situation looks good TO me to-
I night" he said. "Certainly the liquor
crowd are scared, so scared they are
spending a barrel OF money.
1--WE have had very little money. but
tomorrow we will have all the help at
the polls We can use, and more auto
mobiles than we can use.
I'VE look for some repeating to-mor-
row. but We can take care OF that. All
that can beat US is the eminently re-
! spectacle Back Bay and Dorchester.
! The poorer sections of the city, where
substantially all OF the saloons are To-
Gated. show every indication of giving
large increase in our vote"
Under Mr.. Daviss direction two hun
dred no-license orators are tonight
making a flying circuit Of the city,
speaking from autos at fifty street cor
: ners and at as many other places az
crowds may be attracted. Several hun
dred more are ringing door bells from
one end of the city to the other, max
ing pleas for mo" votes. and others
a. the various temperance headquar-
tiers arc making final plans for the
morrow.
Sunday Denounces Booze"
Supplementing this, the Rev. Billy
Sunday, who ordinarily takes Monday
as day Of rest. spoke tonight to n
mammoth meeting in the tabernacle
in denunciation Of booze" From
this meeting half a hundred speakers
FASTENED to the downtown district to
address the crowds leaving the the
aires. Whether they wished TO hear
no license talk or not, the crowds had
no choice but 10 listen. Wherever
/ they turned there was meeting As
/ rule there was little or no disorder a.
| these meetings, as much because 81
| the strict orders given 10 their follow
ers by the liouor dealers not TO modest
no license speakers as TO the work OF
the police.
On their part. the license interests
are also conducting house TO mouse
canvass tonight. At sunrise they Will
set not less than 1900 men TO work az
the polls with as many more assigned
IN automobiles TO get out voters. FOR
,Sis nurnose they have hired every
nublic automobile and cab in the city.
They have also arranged TO MOOD the
,elenbone exchanges with calls IN the
eerIv morning. Every dealer and his
emnioyes are under orders from head
quarters TO telephone all their rela-
tiyes. friends and business connections
who vote in Boston to get out early and
vote. The drys, likewise, will resort TO :
the telephone, having assigned men
and women TO definite districts for this
purpose.
Appeals in Newspapers
Roth sides also appeal to the voters
to-morrov through the newspapers,
which will be heavy with license ad-
vertising. that Of the vets predominat-
ing. one important advertisement in
favor of license, printed several times
last week, will be conspicuous BY It's
absence. II bore the names OF large
number Of merchants who favor con-