The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1919-07-04


a Personal Liberty League of
Monumental City Were Among
the Marchers
Evidently certain New York news
papers sacrificed accuracy to their
strong anti-Prohibition bent in re-
porting the brewers demonstration
in Washington June Il. The pro-
moters of this demonstration had first
announced $4,000 would be in line,
but as the day approached they mod
estly cut it to 100000. The day after
the parade the New York World re-
ported that 100000 had taken part,
the New York Herald said $4,000 and
the New York Times got somewhere
near the truth by declaring 10000.
Many papers throughout the United
States reported 10000 and this was
generally accepted as more nearly
correct; but it now appears that there
were less than 5000 in the demon
stration and less than 1000 in the
parade. The Brooklyn Eagle of Sum-
day, June Is, newspaper that is by
no means friendly to the Prohibition
cause, but evidently devoted to ac-
curacy in recording news events,
states that there were only $500 in
the parade. Following are some ex-
cerpts from the Brooklyn Eagles ac-
count of the fasco:
Washington, d. c, June l4.-The
big beer and wine demonstration in
front of the capitol this afternoon,
advertised in advance as an outpour-
ing OF hundred thousand persons,
materialized i'll a crowd OF about five
thousand, only fifteen hundred of
whom paraded. 1t was a wet parade
in a dry town on hot day.
Several special trains brought dele
cations from as far as Chicago and
Cincinnati. There was train CARR
ing about 500 persons from the CEN
tral labor unions of Manhattan and
Brooklyn. A large part of those who
came to town did not parade or go
to the capitol plaza at all. They took
advantage OF the excursion to see the
4
purple parasols, who represented
personal liberty league OF Baltimore.
remained faithful to the cause and
earned cheers from the rest of the
crowd
ut had been announced that sever
al hundred war veterans from the
Argonne, the Marine and the Mihiel
offensive would march. There were
twelve men wearing the army uni
form in line. Every feature of the
demonstration had been far over-ad-
vertised and as a result the perform
ance suffered when compared with
the promises.
"The demonstration took place on
the great plaza opposite the cast
front OF the capitol, where every four
years an enormous crowd meets to
see a President inaugurated. By COM
parison with an inaugural crowd to-
days was bet corporals guard. A
hundred thousand people can easily
be placed along the east front of the
capitol, but they were not there to-
day. The center steps were tliled.
There was a parade containing about
/, 500 persons. There were about $500
more who appeared to have a part in
the exercises. In addition there were
about a thousand casuals who came to
see the show. e.
Zone of the paraders blamed the
poor attendance partially on Balti-
more. All the special trains came
through Baltimore, which is only an
hours ride from Washington, and
Baltimore is wet. "A lot of them got
off at Baltimore he complained. 1T
was hot or the trains and they knew
that Washington was dry, so they got
off where they knew they could get
drink and staid there :"