Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-03
'ELECTlONCROWD
CUT DOWNBYR RAIN
Umbrellas and Hats Suffer Be.
fore High Wind-And Then
Clear Skies and Noise
UNION LEAGUE PARADES

Pbiladelphians who got their election
returns dished up to them In the warn
glow of the parlor lamp may have won
dered this morning why a broken um
brella adorned nearly every other street
corner.
Briefly that was the favorite way Of
seeing Harding in. .,.'..... o.
The only persons who weren't fran
IDEALLY clinging to the other end Of
umbrellas that had just turned inside
out last night were those whose um-
brellas had turned inside out FIVE min
utes before.
n the few thousands of fun seeking
Phi'adelphians who came down town 'as'
night primed up to give the most hilar
ious overbrimming tribute ever to the
city's new citizenesses we're looking fol
excitement they most certainly found IT,
Only Il was of the unexpected brand.
Every One Runs to Cover
Huge signs blew down. Hats few
Of. The street cutters ran Ike rivers
And the newly made citizenesscs clune
TO male escorts In very unenfranchise"
fashion. Motors with lights gleamine
pale silver in the rain darted here and
there keeping the hapless person on foot
hopping to get out Of the way.
The street lamps trailed like detected
and through it al, binding wind and
rain was driven in such torrentiaI
swirls across Broad street that a mere
presidential election was oil but for
rotten. Creature comfort ranks high
In everybody's mind and everybody ran
20 cover. They huddled in front OF the
boards flashing the returns, they over
flowed in hotel and theatre lobbies and
they crowded the already crowded door
ways.
Then the miracle happened. II
stonped raining. and election night fol
1920 began. Not the wild. riotous one
ho,ed for, but vivid variety that vii
live in the memory of the election crowd
that witnessed it.
Union League Members Parade
At IL o'clock, exactly the hour when
che Union League members said they
would parade, the huge varicolored
electrically lighted eagle in front of the
club with its brand-new sign abelt
Harding and Coolidge burst into a
fare of light. 1t sent the first bit OF
warmth to the heart of cheerful but
disappointed crowd. Then suddenly
some one shouted:
"It's Sproul and Price and Stuart
that's leading them"
And 1t was so. Down the steps OF
the Union League they came, 1000
members strong. headed by present
and past governor and n high ranking
soldier in civilian Clothes.
But the celebrities faded in face OF
something more important. 1t was d
band. As the men formed their line OF
march Sousa's Thunder March crashed
across Broad street. The spirits of the
crowd rose to it like wine. Like magic
the people appeared from everywher
The rain was forgotten. 1t was e'ec-
tion night, and it was enough to ht
alive. If there had been confetti they
would have thrown it. but raincoat
pockets provided none. That's why the
streets are unbelievably clean today
The best they could do was divide q
neasley share of stock ticker tape.
Fireworks Brighten Skies
At that moment some one chose tc
start shooting revolver, from the rooi
Of the Bellevue Stratford, and then al
most Immediately the first piece of fire
works from the Manufacturers Clui
went up. The sky was flooded will
amber and shot with gold stars, and tn,
crowd cheered. For little while thu
affair took on the favor of an old tim,
election. 1t was everybody's birthda,