Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-02-06
SEE
FOLLY OF FACTIONS
[Continued from First Page.l

cent developments at the national
| capital, however, and the breaking
away of a considerable section of
the administration forces at Wash
| ington have aroused Republican
| leaders to the necessity of strong
alignment in the state and a putting
aside of the factional energies which
have caused widespread resentment
among district and county leaders
all over Pennsylvania. 1t is believed
now that within the next two weeks
| there will be a material change and
that some things now misunderstood
will be as clear as day.
Prohibition Question
No issue is going TO be more dis
| cussed than the national prohibition
question. For this particular cam
paign local option has been set aside
for general prohibition. This is pre-
cisely what the liquor interests were
warned against during the last five
years. They were told that unless
| they accepted local option they
would certainly get prohibition. To
meet this inevitable outcome some
of those who were originally op-
posed to local option are said to
fovor state prohibition as against
iloAiOllsli l. IDtlI CildI5t VI
attitude is obviously insincere, as the
temperance people believe. and any
attempt to sidetrack the ratification
of the prohibition amendment for a
state prohibition measure will be
fought to the finish. Those leaders
of political opinion, however, who
favor state prohibition as against
the national stoppage of the liquor
industry take the ground that it is
unfair to permit a group of states,
many of them small, to impose such
an amendment to the national con-
stitution upon other commonwealths
which do not favor such a drastic
regulation of the liquor business.
1t remains to be seen, also,
whether the leaders of the Repub-
lican and Democratic parties will
permit the prohibition question to
! becloud the greater issues. 1t is en-
tirely probable, according to the best
advices here, that candidates for the
Senate and House will be permitted
to take any position on the prohibi-
ton amendment that they see fit,
assuming the responsibility for their
own course in this matter. So far as
the gubernatorial situation is con-
| cerned the prohibition issue will not
cut much figure unless n candidate
end of it as against the dry"
Local Option Error
Four years ago the local option
organization was taken into camp
! by the Democratic bosses and Nc
| Cormick was endorsed as the local
option candidate for governor, not
withstanding Governor Brumbaugh
was an outspoken advocate of the
nnf 10
| there was much criticism of the To-
cal option leaders and their course
| lost Mccormick many temperance
votes.
Notwithstanding that serious tact
| ical mistake the local option organ
! ization is said to have again blum
dered by endorsing j. Denny O'Neil
even before there has been any gem
eral alignment of candidates in the
present campaign. This year. how
ever, the blunder of the local option
people Is much more serious because
! Governor Brumbaugh's successor
next January will have nothing
whatever to do with the prohibition
amendment. lt is simply n matter
of ratification by the Legislature and
under no circumstances
or rejected-will it go to the gov
ernor for his action.
Should Senator w. c. Sproul hap
pen to declare in favor of prohibi-
ton or even indicate affirmative ac-
ton on such a proposition Highway
| Commissioner O'Neil would not have
a leg to stand on. So that any en-.
dorsement of O'Neil at this time by
the organized temperance forces.
simply because he happens to be a
! trustee of the Anti-Saloon League,
J is regarded as camoufiage and a pal
! pable attempt to deceive the fair
minded temperance element of the
state.
Last Legislature
1t will be remembered that in the
Brumbaugh campaign four years
ago a great dust was raised over the
choice of a governor who would be
favorable to local option. This in
! face of the fact that both the lead
ing candidates were pledged to the
measure. But the tom-to toms were
thumped vigorously in the Demo-
cratic camp and the temperance
workers became so excited over the
election of a governor, when both
candidates were favorable, that they
lost sight entirely of the election
OF legislators who were absolutely
necessary to pass such a bill. Too
late to remedy their mistake the
Anti Saloon people discovered their
error and realized what blunder
they had made.
Now it is reported that they have
again failed to profit by previous ex-
perience; that they have again vio-
lated a fundamental principle of
their organization in prematurely
endorsing a candidate of one party
before hearing from the candidates
of other parties. 1t is said to be
one of the cardinal principles of the
league to make no exceptions as be-
tween candidates when all have TAX
en- proper position on the anti
liquor issue. Four years ago the
Democratic candidate having been
approved by the Anti-Saloon organ
ization, against every consideration
of fair play, in Jew of Governor
Brumbaugh's outspoken attitude in
favor of their measure, sought the
aid of preachers and religious bod
les, but when the Democratic cam
paign was going swimmingly the
newspapers printed an appeal from
the chairman of the Democratic
State Committee, addressed to the
head of the State Liquor Associa-
ton, asking financial help in the
campaign. That development caus-
ed q sudden recall of arrangements
for Sunday pulpit appeals for Nc
Cormick and the loss of thousands
of votes which were expected to be
captured at the eleventh hour.
This experience. say those who
are in touch with political move
mentS, should have been enough for
the temperance leaders. But it ap-
hD - L. Il