Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-11-27

Wednesday VIII Close the Most
Remarkable Contest Ever Carried
on.
ATLANTA, GA, Nov. 21-On We'd
nesday next will close the most re.
markable contest ever carried on in
any Southern city, when Atlanta will
decide whether the sale Of liquor shall
be prohibited or not. For ten years
the temperance agitation has been
carried on in Georgia, which has so
far succeeded that now, out of 1877
counties Of the State the sale Of liquor
is only allowed in fifteen. These fifteen
counties are the seats of large cities,
where the liquor element has large
property interests at stake. The prin-
clple by which the agitation was carried
on is known as that of local option. 1t
has been preached in each community
as a moral and police measure, thus
meeting the support of both political
parties Of both colors and the entire
moral element Of society. 1t was not
until the movement reached the large
cities that any serious opposition was
met. The local option elections were
held under special acts of the legisla-
ture. The business interests of the
large cities was always strong enough
to prevent the passage of such local
option act so far as they were them
selves concerned, hence the legislature
passed a general option bill under
which the ordinaries of the }ountieS
were required to order .lections
upon the petition Of a given number
Of citizens, the first city to which this
was applied was Atlanta. An election
on the question was ordered by Ordi-
nary Calhoon on the petition Of $500
voters to take place November 18th.
Then began a canvass which has de-
veloped most remarkable features.
The highest vote ever cast even in a
presidential year was a little over 5000.
The registration in this election has
run up to 5000. The Prohibitionists
organized a strong committee. backed
by nearly all the preachers
in the city with Senator Colquitt,
District Attorney B. H. Hill, and
other prominent men actively at work.
The brunt of battle, however, has
fallen on the shoulders of Rev. j. B.
Hawthorne, the celebrated Baptist
preacher, Rev. Sam Jones, Col. Sam
Small, Rev. Atti3us G, Haygood, Rev.
w. H. FELTON, and others have for ten
days been addressing audiences of
from 5000 to 5000 in Sam Jones
gospel tent; the anti-prohibitionists
have been equally active being led by
Julius Brown, son of Senator Brown,
Hon. Albert Cox and many
others. They have teen partic
ularly active in committee work.
The most remarkable political feature
of the campaign has been
the breaking up OF party and color
line. The meetings of both parties
are attended by white and black, and
earnest efforts have been made by both
sides to capture the colored voters;
for this purpose have speakers of both
sides addressed large bodies of colored
men, but they have imported promi-
nent colored speakers such as Bishop
Campbell, of Philadelphia Bishop
Tuener and Ex-Congressman jeff
Long. The ladies too have taken up
the contest with vigor, in a word, every
element Of society, all ages, sexes and
colors are stirred up, and nothing else
is talked of but prohibition. The
general feeling is that if Atlanta goes
tor prohibition the movement will
spread rapidly through all Southern
States.