Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-21


Chicago convention.
TNHE attempt TO persuade the voters that
i there Is no hope for the passage of a
local option law next winter unless Brum.
baugh delegates are sent to the Republican
National Convention is an insult to the intelli.
gence of the children in the civil government
classes In the public schools.
They know that the laws of the state are
passed by the regularly elected members OF
the General Assembly. They know, too, that
the Republican National Convention has no
power to interfere in the local affairs of .his
Commonwealth.
There is no relation between local option
and the nomination of candidate for the
Presidency Every delegate elected to the
Chicago convention could be an ardent sup.
porter Of the present Brooks high license law
without in any way weakening the case for
local option here.
The only way to secure the changes in the
license law which p.e local optonsts desire
is by the nomination and election Of enough
members Of the Legislature to carry the pro.
posed bill. 1t Is not necessary that all the
members of the Legislature favorable to local
option should be Republicans. man can
favor enlarging the control of the commune
ties over the sale of liquor and still be in
favor of the reelection OF President Wilson
Local option sentiment exists in both parties.
If we are to have a satisfactory law 1t must
have the support of the best elements in all
parties, just satisfactory national de-
fense program can be prepared and carried
out which does not commend itself to the
best judgment of the citizens regardless OF
their views on the questions which divide the
voters into party groups.
The delegates TO the Chicago convention are
to be elected to assist in the nomination of
q candidate for the Presidency. 1t is probable
tnat the candidate for whom they will vote
will be a resident of some other State who
is not at all interested in the local questions
which agitate the voters here. The delegates
from Philadelphia may believe that the Taylor
transit plans should be thrown in the ash
heap and that Mr.. Taylor should be drawn and
quartered for being guilty of the crime of
seeking to serve the best interest of the COM
munity. But no one cares what they think
about the Taylor plans provided they will
combine with the broad-minded and concilia-
tory delegates from the rest of the country
in the selection of a candidate for the Presi-
dency who can unite the party and command
the full Republican vote next November.
The national issue must be considered apart
from the local issue.
The only way to insure the passage of
proper local option law is to nominate and
elect enough members of the General Assem-
bly, committed to such program. They are
to be nominated at the same primary election
that will select delegates to the Chicago con-
vention. In the preliminary canvass every
candidate for the General Assembly nomna-
ton should be forced to come out in the open
and declare himself on the issue. The local
optionists who oppose the presidential am.
bitions of the Governor entitled to the
support of all other local optionists, regard
less of their attitude toward the personal for
tunes of any man in national politics. And
If any antilocal optionists, who are trying to
get control of the State political machine
with the aid of the Governor, seek nomina.
ton to the Legislature, the local optionists
should have intelligence enough to vote
against such men, not because these men are
backing the Governor on another issue, but
because they are opposing him vital
question of State policy.
The names of the candidates for nomination
to the Legislature will appear on one part of
the ballot, and the names of the proposed dele
gates to the Chicago convention will appear
on another part of it. 1t will be easy to dis
tinguish between the two sets of men-just
easy as 1t will be to distinguish between the
two issues.
1t would be a calamity If the efforts of
those who trying to place the control of
the liquor traffic in the communities of the
State were dependent for their success or
failure on the failure or success Of the men
who are trying to make Governor Brum-
baugh a national figure, But when one recalls
that the Brumbaugh boom is not really in
tended TO advance the fortunes of the Gov
ernor, but TO strengthen the hands of a group
of factionists. IL becomes difficult TO escape
the conclusion that the plan to tie Brum-
baugh and local option together is one of the
most outrageous pieces of political trickery
that has been attempted in many a day.
-----