100 YEARS AGO IN THE SARATOGIAN

Tuesday, April 9, 1918. “Spring suffered a sudden relapse about 9 o’clock this morning when a young snowstorm blew down from the north,” The Saratogian reports.

Snow is the last thing Saratogians want to see after a harsh winter, but fortunately “for several hours the snow melted as fast as it fell,” accumulating only half an inch on the ground by the time the evening edition goes to press.

“In spite of the wintry appearance the farmers say that the fall is of great value to them,” one reporter notes, “It improves the grass, and is said to be a sure sign of a productive season, they state.”

Whitney Blocks Sunday Movies

Saratoga County’s representative in the state senate, George H. Whitney, has temporarily blocked legislation that could legalize Sunday night movie shows throughout New York State.

The so-called Welsh bill would grant each municipality the right to allow or forbid movies on the Christian Sabbath. Saratoga Springs currently bans Sunday shows on the understanding that movies are covered under the old “blue law” forbidding public amusements, but some parts of the state allow them, citing a local court ruling that movies aren’t covered by the blue law because they didn’t exist when it was drafted.

Whitney’s opposition to the Welsh bill is reported in a single paragraph on this evening’s front page. His formal objection blocks the measure from advancing to a third reading. His reasons for objecting aren’t given.

W.C.T.U.

Whitney’s move is applauded by the local chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which meets this afternoon at the home of Mrs. Henry Wilcox.

The anti-alcohol activists vote to send a telegram to the senator expressing their opposition to the Welsh bill. The main business of the meeting, however, is the Third Liberty Loan to fund the U.S. war against Germany.

“We must realize that the credit of our Government is vital to the success of the war and it is a sacred duty and should be regarded as a glorious privilege to uphold the Government’s credit,” Mrs. John T. Patten tells the meeting, “Whether the history of 1918 puts the women alongside of the women of ’76 depends on what we do in the next few weeks.”

What’s Happening

Dorothy Phillips stars in “The Grand Passion,” advertised as “a red-blooded story of a man among men,” at the Broadway Theatre tonight.

At the Palace, Jack Pickford and Louise Huff star in “Jack And Jill,” which is not a nursery rhyme but “A Romance of the East and West.” At the Lyric, Margerita Fischer stars in “Ann’s Finish,” accompanied by O. Henry’s “The Fifth Wheel.”