Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-23
Ehrnttg Ulrat'

| W 10 Potly BeHerally agreed that II
was the biggest parade ever held In
Harrisburg. Men who recall some Of
the Fourth of July and other paradei
held In this city during the Civil wal
and made notable by regiments from
camp Curtin and the professions OF
the Dauphin county centennial, sa-
that the parade of two days aga
eclipsed them. The only parade "
recent years which was anything Iike
that of Saturday was the big fire.
mems parade OF 1914, which was
longer and covered a greater routG,
but 1t did not contain as many
marchers. II rain had not fallen
there would have been more partici-
pants, but 1t Is to be noted with
pride that in spite of the drenchins
downpour there were mighty feVs
people who dropped out of line
Those who started as a rule wen
through with 1t and although many
a man was footsore and weary when
the line turned up in the Tenth ward,
there was no disposition to quit. II
| woo ~ pelt al WIllCu
pants were out for definite purpose
and they faced about all the dis
couragements that one could wish.
This spirit was demonstrated when
there would be shouts from men In
the line to people standing on side
walks or on porches during the rain
to come out and fall In.
Probably more people saw the pa
rade than any similar demonstration
in years. This was largely due to the
fact that all business was suspended
in Harrisburg from 2 until s and
everyone turned out, while train:
and trolley cars brought people to
Harrisburg by the thousands. The
traffic from the West Shore towns
was pretty close to a record and
shutting down of plants at Steelton
and Middletown gave opportunity fol
many people to come to Harrisburg
which they did, and many being wise,
brought along their own lunches.
The line of march was massed with
people and 1t was surprising after
going through the densely packed
crowds in Market street to find
Fourth and Sixth lined almost as
heavily. At some of the street inter-
sections in Sixth street there were
throngs of people through whom the
marchers had frequently to force
/ their way. Many people from the
| central part of the city seemed te
/ have figured out that it would be 9
| good thing to go to far up towr
! streets to see the divisions go by
! and found they had lots OF
company. Allison Hill people came
e into town almost in body and were
e welcomed by up town neighbors
= when the rain came down, while
). many city homes were opened to the
1 people from the suburbs.
s A good many of the city's mos
e prominent people were smiling ovel
sore feet or aching limbs yesterday
Y as the result of marching over paved
Q streets because 1t was all in a good
= cause. Men who had years age
l marched for miles in political pa
= rades and never thought anything o.
r it found out that they were older, bu
l. all declared that they would not have
, missed the opportunity for much
= Governor Brumbaugh, who wen
Y over the whole line of march in Moitt
of a weak ankle, was as clipper a.
= the finish as at the start, while 9
S number of the city's professional and
4 business men said that it brought
S back old days. One of the thing!
: much commented upon by persons
e who have observed parades for years
t was the absence of anything like ad
o vertising. Except for one or two in
t stances the delegations from thu
= city's leading business and mercan
= tile establishments carried nothing t.
: designate them. 1t was something
which was much discussed by man!
p of the visitors from other places
e and showed hearty support for thu
committee in charge.
e Harrisburg tailoring establishment
t were pretty busy places to-day. Busi
$ ness suits, uniforms and coats which
II had been in the parade were deliver
E ed in bundles by people who want the
e kinks Strengthened out. 1t will be ;
= couple of days before the cleanint
e and pressing establishments will ge
o clear of the rush of business brought
e by the storm and the parade. Par
e aders scorned umbrellas and the
3 few who endeavored to hoist then
n gave it up as a bad job because the.
IL were "kidded" from the sideline
l. and growled at by their comrades il
the lines. At least three umbrella
were put out of business and thrown
into the Riverside parks betweel
= State and Market streets. Speakin
| of clothing, the NUMBER ana Varlet
of uniforms worn by the bands wa
worth travelling to see. 1t seems O
though the bands of this decade ar
going back thirty years to the bril-
liant uniforms of the seventies AM
eighties. Instead of uniforms Sc
verely military. as used to be tn
case in parades of twenty years o
ID so ago, there were to be seen ol
Saturday garbs that reminded one o
zouave and circus days. Another in
teresting thing about the bands wa
the size of the organizations. Band
of forty and fifty were common
while the drum corps which paradet
on Saturday were as large as th'
bands of other days.
There were only half dozen stop
in the whole parade on Saturda!
worth talking about and they were
If anything, welcomed. Once tn
parade got started it kept movini
and the few times that the lines wer'
halted the marchers were gratefu
for the chance to stand still ever
though 1t was raining pitchforks.