The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-01-25
The weeks sensauon.

the declaration of war for both won.
ans suffrage and prohibition. made
by Gov. Willis at the time of his last
appearance as governor, when he was
about to present to Mr.. Cox the Ger
tificate of his election as governor.
II is reasonable to surmise that
these declarations astounded the Dem.
ocratic leaders and disheartened
them, too, for the multitude within
reach of his voice, and Y is a power
full one, emitted a cheer which carried
farther than that given the incoming
governor.
This utteranee of Gov. Willis hav-
ing been used in full by but three
newspapers, it is we'll worth while to
reproduce it here.
High Moral Ground.
Gov. Willis was introduced to make
the presentation to the incoming ex-
ecutive of his commission and de-
livered his address:
81 was interested In the statement"
said he, that on this day, as Ameri-
can patriots, we should all afford to
be Democrats. have no objection at
all to that, of course, but the thing
that caused me discontinue was the
fact that It seemed on election day
that they were all Democrats, too.
"My fellow citizens, this is a scene,
it seems to me, to touch the heart of
the dullest man. Here are the chill
dren from the public schools, with up
turned faces, the hope of the world.
Out yonder are the boys, representa-
tives of the Ohio National Guard, and
we have seen upon our streets this
morning the Representatives Of the
Old Guard, of the guard OF honor.
Here in the rotunda of the Capitol are
the battle-scarred and torn banners of
the republic. AS we file through to-
day to pay our respects to the gov
ernor, let us stand with uncovered
heads in the presence of those patri.
otic emblems and thank God that we
have such country, with such flag
and such stalwart men to defend it in
every crisis of its life.
Allu JllCll UCS W Su6SCOL lhClI IuO
presence of so many ladies serve to
call to mind not only the interest that
the ladies have in public questions.
but the great sacrifices they have
made to maintain the national life
My fellow Countrymen, the women
that are brave enough to march in in
clement weather in an inaugural pro-
cession; that are brave enough to give
their brothers and sons to fight the
battles of the republic-those same
women are patriotic and wise enough
to help choose a president at the bal
lot box.
There is another consideration
that appeals to me at this moment.
That is that this is day whose ideals
and aspirations extend far beyond
mere party consideration.
Drive Saloons From Ohio.
"The citizenship en- masse can sue
ceed where parties have failed. For
example, my honored predecessor pro-
posed by legislative enactment and
executive administration to take the
saloon out of politics. In this he did
not succeed. l have endeavored
earnestly to get the saloon out of pol
itics, and in this have failed. But
with malice toward none and charity
for ALL the sovereign people can and
will succeed where individuals and
parties have failed. They can get the
saloon permanently out Of politics by
putting it out of business in Ohio, and
l am ready now and have been in
the past to aid in this reform.
"In the name of this people, earnest,
majestic, purposeful and mighty,
whose honored servant you now be-
come, I present with assurance Of my
personal good will your commission
as governor of Ohio"
Economy Deemed an AffIiction.
The Democrats in the 82d general
assembly are true to Democratic prec-
edent in that their acts show that they
think economy an affliction to be
guarded against. Before the organiza-
tion of the senate, in which there are
rs Democrats and II Republicans, was
completed the majority, by resolution,
appropriated money for So sets of
Paige & Adams annotated codes, which
cost $50 a set. This resolution was
reconsidered in order that an equal
number Of supplements might be
added at $25 the set. Although Sen
ator Terrill showed that the laws of
Ohio, 1913-15, which they now have,
are better reference books for law
makers than the supplements, the
resolution was passed as amended.
This appropriation was from the con-
tingent fund of the senate and needed
not the concurrence of the house.
That body, however, was equally gen.
erous with itself and has three times
as many members.
Representatives Seek Comfort.
In the first session of the house a
resolution was adopted directing the
adjutant general, who, under the law,
acts as landlord to state officials, to
Immediately remove the civil service
commission from the statehouse.
Gov. Willis had moved this commits
sion from building owned by James
Ross, the Democratic boss of Colum-
bus, two blocks away from any other
state Office, in which Cox had housed
it during his two years in power, pay
ing to Ross therefor $4,000. The
house has the power SO to eject the
commission, but strong hand from
somewhere has prevented the pre-
sentation of the order to the adjutant
general. It is arranged that the COM
mission will stay, and the members
will have as many rooms as previous
lawmakers have had, and Mr.. Ross
rryi1I ~ hA yiynar 90