Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-29
.SPROUL SPEAKS
FOR WAR UNITY
Senator Makes a Ringing
Speech at Lancaster
Club Dinner

| Senator William G. Sproul made
resounding speech. for subordina-
ton of everything to winning the
war and George w. Wickersham,
former Attorney General, decried
| the national administrations atti-
tude toward honest, helpful criti-
cism, at the dinner of the Young
Mems Republican Club in Lancaster
on Saturday night. The club is the
most influential organization in Ian
caster county and the Senator, a ma
tive of the county, was given a splen-
did greeting. Many representative
Republicans were present.
Senator Sproul in his Introductory
remarks with which he eulogized
the Republican party for it's devo-
| tion to duty in the present great ma
tional crisis pleaded for patriotism
and not partisanship under all cir
cumstances in the present emer-
genoy.
THE people of Pennsylvania" he
said were too much engaged now
with the patriotic duties of the hour
to pay any serious attention to those
who would endeavor to divert them
by parading up and down the state
airing their petty factional grieV-
ances and trying to win sympathy
for miserable political squabbles."
THE question of winning this war
is the real business before every
American at the present moment,
and most especially and essentially
it is before the people and govern
ment of Pennsylvania. Without this
cfa 70 ifC and and what
they produce this country would not
be in this war over night. Yes, with
out the cooperation of dozen coun-
ties in Pennsylvania, half of them
in the east and half of them in the
west. America would be helpless in
this great struggle. If we do not
win this war and dictate the terms of
peace, it will be our fate, If 1t shall
not, indeed, be worse, to be resolved
into an armed camp for the next
generation at least.
Every energy of our national life
will have to be given to the training
and maintenance of a great army of
defense and a navy, the like of which
the world has never seen, to keep
the invader from our shores and to
prevent the collection of a tribute in
men and money such as was never
before heard of in history 1t is for
us here in Pennsylvania to bend
every energy for the national need,
and this great Republican state,
foremost in every great crisis Amer
lea has ever known, with it's wealth,
it's productiveness, the ability of its
great captains of industry now serv-
ing the nation, the loyalty and skill
of its women, may be depended upon
to do it's best, its superhuman best,
in this trial.
1T is for us, then, and especially
is it the duty of our leaders, those
charged with the responsibilities of
our government, to set aside every
thing else and give to the thousand
things needing direction and CO.
ordination in Pennsylvania that at
tention which is required, that we
may do our utmost to serve the ma
ton, to serve Democracy and to
serve civilization in this crucial hour
Thisai is no time for pettifoggying
and ranting, the people are not inter-
ested in small matters nor small
men, it is a time for action. We
are hunting elephants to-day, not
mice"
Mr.. Wickersham said, in part:
Comment and criticism are pecu-
liarly obnoxious to the Wilson ad-
ministration. At the very outbreak
of the war, it attempted to pass a
measure through Congress which
would have established a censorship
on newspapers utterly abhorrent to
our entire theory of government. 1t
has displayed a lust of power un-
precedented in American history.