The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-08-29
ProhlbItion at the south.
10 the Editor ofthe Press:

10 the EuttOf oJ tHe Hfe5S.
have read with considerable interest your
recent editorial on the temperance move
ment in the Southern States, especially
Texas and Georgia, and beg to correct a
wrong impression likely to grow out of it
and similar articles.
The Democratic party in both the above
named States, as well as in Alabama, where
the temperance wave is rolling high, is too
strong to be injured fatally by prohibition
ticket. Such ticket would have at the
head a Democrat, and nearly every member
of the Legislature would be a Democrat.
There are already in the Georgia legislature
three negroes and half dozen Republicans,
and the number would hardly be increased
by the success of Prohibition ticket.
Here is just how the matter stands in
Georgia and | think it is the samein the other
States. If the legislature now in session
does not pass a Prohibition, or ''local option"
bill for the whole State, then the temperance
people will see to it that the next general
assembly is made up of temperance men.
They will go into the primary meetings and
control the nominations. This is the way
they will carry the temperance question into
politics. 1t is possible temperance man
may be insisted upon for governor, but do
know that the people are aroused and will
not be satisfied until they have a legislature
in favor of giving all the people of the State
While it is true that the negroes and most
of the Republican leaders are in favor of
Prohibition, they can gain nothing political
ly in the success of the movement. They
are sincere temperance workers, many of
them Maine men, and desire only to see the
curse of open bar rooms removed. They
seek through this uprising of the people no
rupture of the Democratic party and no ad-
vantage for the Republican party.
Now Georgia has tried prohibition in
manV COMMITTEES and from all nf fhen oonoa
good reports. The people are happier,
healthier and more prosperous where liquor
has been banished. Trade instead of being
depressed as foretold by opponents to the
liquor in jugs is carried into these counties,
yet Judge Simmons says he can see a vast
Improvement in the morals of the people.
With such a record, covering over half of
the State of course the friends of temper
ance desire to see prohibition extended to all
the other counties, by vote of the people of
those counties. But the big cities are fight
ing the movement. In Chatham county,
Savannah has an immense liquor traffic in
Richmond county, Augusta is not for behind !;
in Bibb county, Macon has quite liquor in
terest In Muscogee county, Columbus has
somewhat smaller interest; ; in Fulton county,
the capital of the State, the whisky ring is
strong, and controls the city and county
elections and holds many of the public
offices. The liquor dealers in all these cities
have contributed literally to a fund to fight
prohibition to the last ditch" In Clarke
county, with the city of Athens and her bar
rooms, the friends of temperance carried
the day and every bar room is now closed.
Of course liquor can be had there, as in Port
land, but the people have rid the town of
open bar rooms with their drunken loafers
and made it possible for a weak man to walk
the streets and not be tempted to so in and
squander his money over whisky. If the
people of Atlanta could all see Portland
without open bar rooms, they would to-mor-
row vote for prohibition. A GEORGIAN.