Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-08
Letters to the Editor
FAIR PLAY"
To the Editor of the Telegraph;

III
any question without quarreling. The
writer believes in fair play" Just as
strongly as the editor possibly can,
land he assures him that at the bot
tom of the article so severely criti-
cised by the editor is the desire for
fair play" towards those who have
been in the battle against rum for
years. Also, he believes that if the
euitor believes in fair play he will
give this article place in the Tele-
graph.
Fair play" l confess, might have
dictated that an Interrogation point
he placed after the word "camou-
fasc" that headed my article, while
in the third paragraph it might have
dictated the words "it would seemV
hefore the assertion that there must
be something radically wrong" in
dicating that we were waiting to
have a different Interpretation placed
upon the utterances and actions of
Mr.. Sproul.
II Is IllOIt lllti ltlll Pi''S
for those who demand immediate
prohibition of the liquor traffic to
demand that one who seeks the Of
fee of Governor and whose signature
will be necessary to make such leg
islative action law, shall declare
upon this subject. To declare sim
ply for ratification of the amend
ment does not do this, for the Gov
ernor has nothing to do with ratifi-
cation beyond eXerting his influence
upon members of the Legislature 10
persuade them to vote for ratlfca-
tion. He might be unalterablN op-
posed to ratification and the begls-
lature still ratify. ! might in fair
play" make my assertion that Mr..
Sproul can see no farther than rati-
fication of the amendment as calling
COR immediate action" read, "Mr.
Sproul can see nothing additional to
ratification of the amendment as
calling Cor immediate action but l
think that even casual reader
would make both assertions mean
the same. The cruX of the para
graph quoted from my article by the
editor is Immediate action and I
think that even the editor must con-
Tess that the entire paragraph he
quoted from Senator Sprouts address
OF platform, has to do with action to
be taken after the amendment shall
have become the new fundamental
law" as Mr.. Sproul himself calls 1t,
in the lines Immediately preceding
those which the editor capitaliZes
in the paragraph quoted from his
| ,1.,+ q Mr SnrnI1l {.
words exactly as he uses them. If
! Mr.. Sproul will also favor any anti
LIQUOR legislation between now and
the ratification of the amendment.
or rather between now and the go
! ir- into effect of the amendment one
| year after its ratification, to protect
He against the raV9ges of rum, 9s
we'll as favor any anti-liquor leg
| Iislation to cover the period between
the adoption of the dry amendment
ard it's operation as a Fundamental
! law" then the criticism made will
| fall but temperance folk will not
| lie satisfied to permit our state TO
continue to be the prey of the traffic
from now until one year after the
ratification of the amendment when
the operation of the new funda-
mental law begins. And the attitude
Of the Governor towards such a law
| is more vital than his attitude to-
ward the amendment, while the
/ stress of war is calling much more
loudly for immediate prohibition
than even for ratification of the
tamendm
The editor mistakes when he says,
| "No other candidate has gone so
far" The Prohibition candidate and
platform have done so. O'Nell has
done so, albeit his platform" So
called has not yet appeared. He has
so declared in the presence of the
writer. His placards, Make Penn
sylvania Dry" so declare. We call
upon Mr.. Guffey likewise so to de-
clare. If he does not, then the only
difference between him and Mr.,
Sproul will be the fact that the lat
| ter's past has been more pronounced
| " wet" than the former.
| Is It "fair play to say that the
Iliuuor people have set trap for "the
| temperance forces with statewide
prohibition as a bait?" Where are
| the liquor people calling fof sCate-
wide prohibition? They are fearing
it and a goodly number of them re-
| fus;ng to LIT their licenses. l am in
| formed that the secretary of the
Dauphiu County Liquor Dealers AS
sociation and president or ltS BOARD
of control is one of these. Liquor
people are not calling for statewide
prohibition, but their journals are
| full of strenuous warning to the
trade of the danger that it will come
to pass.
| Again, "a Legislature pledged to
national prohibition (Jhe amend
ment) may be expected to look
| kindly upon statewide prohibition
but might not do so, as, for example
the present Maryland Legislature;
but Legislature that is pledged to
"state- wide prohibition" undoubt-
edly will stand for national prohi-
bition by way of ratification of the
amendment. Hence the importance
of calling for this test from every
one that would have a part in Civ
ing dry" legislation. There is such
a thing as such an earnest advo-
cate of prohibition anywhere as to
carry that advocacy clear through
the campaign to the polls, and not
stopping at the primaries as the Ga
zette-Times of Pittsburgh, boldly
proclaims it's intention to do.
Let Mr.. Sproul declare that he will
urge the next Legislature to give us
immediate prohibition, at least as a
war relief measure, and see IL he
does not also bring down the wrath
of the Liquor Dealers Journal upon
him as Denny O'Neil has done. FoI