Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-22
Ei1ptttttg Chat

impressed people who attended the
hearing held yesterday afternoon on
the Vickerman local option bill, and
there were a number of Harrisburgers
in the audience of the nine speakers
on the measure, was the general
recognition that prohibition is coming.
For years the advocates of legislation
to further restrict the liquor trafIla
have been coming here advocating
local option. For time the small =
units were favored. Lately the coun-
ty unit has been to the front. In fact,
ever since the appearance of the Fair
bill some years ago the local optionistE
have been committed to the counuS
as the unit. Two years ago the sug-
gestion that prohibition either in the
| form of a general law for the State or
by districts or an amendment to the
| constitution was not well received.
| Everyone was then for local option by
counties. Yesterday speakers openly
declared that prohibition was the So
luton and some OF the speakers salH
it was coming within a few years. 1t
sounded rather strange to hear local
option advocates saying that. There
/ were intimatlonS from some OIL the
speakers against the bill that they
recognized the spread of prohibition
and that they considered such an issue
one which should be fought out rather
than local option.
The arguments heard yesterday
were different from those with which
advocates of local option have regaled
Legislators for years. To begin with
the Anti-Saloon League, for the first
time in years, had no conspicuous
place in the list of speakers. The ad-
dresses of Secretary Lands, of the
State Sunday school association, the
biggest and most effective organlza-
ton of it's kind in the country and OF
Governor Brumbaugh were most ell
fective. The Governor took occasion
to pay his regards to those who have
hinted that he has grown lukewarm
and his declaration of advocacy of
local option was about all that any
one could ask for earnestness. That
vigorous churchman, the Rev. A. q.
Kynett, who is well known to many
here, was also an effective speaker and
his blunt declaration that the church
people were coming here year after
year until they got what they wanted
made more impression than was ap-
parent in the hall of the House.
Charles z. O'Malley, the Scranton
lawyer, who closed for the opponents
of the bill, made the best of the wrong
side of the argument as Harrisburg
people familiar with his legislative
ana legal career expected hlm TO DO
1t was unfortunate that the feelings
= OIL IIc duNOCdlGS VI .lOSdl OPtiOli 5ON
away with them when Mr.. . O'Malley
was speaking and they hissed, but his
rebulke made even the speakers and
leaders of the temperance movement
smile, He said that people who Missed
put themselves on the level of those
creatures who were given the hiss us
a means of making themselves heard
the snake and the goose.
Local option will be fought out
about Tuesday. 1t is the plan to make
the fight on it on second reading i'll
the House and the "wet" element in
sists that it's fate is certain. Local
option has not been the feature this
session that it was last year when II
was the big thing about the Leglsla-
ture until child labor and Workmen2
compensation bills got under way. TINS
is largely due to the result of the legis-
latiVe elections. The advocates of the
bill awaited developments and when
none came decided to have hearing.
The hearing was really more to start
things moving for next years cam.
paign and some legislators sat up anS
took notice when j. Denny O'Neil an
nounced the other evening that he
proposed to get every candidate on
record before the primary election was
held next spring.
When the local option bill is out
of the way legislators and those who
follow the Legislature know that the
turn in the session has been reached
For years the advocates of local optlon
have kent it up in the air and at
tracted attention there for popu-
lar interest and in some cases pressure
on legislators. The bill has generally
been allowed to slumber for lew
weeks and then a hearing has been
held. Local option will be out OF the
way soon and the business OF the
} present session ought to start to shape
itself, for which many Will be thank
full.
In connection with local option it is
interesting to note that one OF tne
speakers on the measure was John y
McParran, master of the state
Grange. McSparran spoke on three
bills here this week and two last week,
He has been an advocate oil loca
option for years and is the Grangers
posted on most half of the bills intro
duced and be ready to speak on al,
most anything at the drop of a hat,
said he. "This week L spoke on dalry
inspection and local option within
twenty-four hours"
One of the funniest Capitol Hill
stories came out yesterday. A mar
met a deaf and dumb man in the
corridor. The man wrote down Wnere
he wanted to go. The man took nm
around and when he struck the once
found that the man in charge had
poor eyesight and not having the
glasses he needed with him could moi
read what the deaf and dumb man
wrote in the form of a request for in.
J formation. So the man who mac
volunteered to act as escort had ia
talse what the mute wrote and read
It to the man with poor eyes.
+ 4
Search of old law books shows thai
restrictive measures on liquor have
appeared in the Legislatures regular,
ly for fifty years. Ever since the ClVl
var there has been a gradual move to
check LIQUOR sales and this State has
had a varied amount of legislation.