The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-11
FIGHTING AGAINST WHISKY.
The Attack Made by the Prohibitionists
on the Large Cities in Georgia.
Fact in Several Southern. StateS-The
Battle-Ground in Atlanta.
Atlanta Letter in ST. Louis Globe Democrat

Atlanta Letter in st. Louis Globe Democrat.
This CT ty is in a blaze of excitement over the
prohibition question, which has become the sole
topic of conversation. Hotels, churches and
private houses all are turned into theaters for
the discussion of the grave problem whether
the sale of liquor should be suppressed in the
city. The streets are nightly paraded by process
sions headed by brass bands; Democrats salute
fellow workers of color as brother" women are
holding prayer meetings for the success of proh
bitlon. and all distinction between Democrat
and Republican has been for the moment forgot
ten All this has been brought about through
an order for an election, to be held on the 25th
inst, on proposition to suppress the sale Of
liquor in this city.
This campaign to add the capital city OF
the State. and the most noted city in the South,
to the prohibition column, is the outgrowth of
local option. To explain what local option is re-
quires but few words From time immemoral
it has been the custom of the Georgia Legislature
to forbid the sale of liquor within 80 many given
miles of schools and churches in rural communi-
ties. These little acts of prohibition were so
much matter of course that their passage
through the Legislature excited no more atten-
ton than the granting of free license to pedde
to some blind beggar. Neither Democrat nor
Republican questioned them. Right here the
temperance people, who were quietly increasing
IN number and holding aloof from politics,
headed by such shrewd leaders as Hon.
James e. Thrower, their opportunity.
AS they were men interested in churches and
schools, they took care that new institu-
tions were judiciously located, SO as to make
prohib lton territory as contiguous as possible.
Then step further was taken. johnson coun-
ty, far removed from railroads and civilization,
asked that her citizens be permitted to vote upon
the exclusion of liquor. The request was granted
and so remote was the county, when it event
dry" in local parance, the outside world never
heard of it. Then militia districts, here and
there. asked for the privilege of local option as
they called it, and occasionally another back
woods county would come in.
The first sign of discomfort came from the
wholesale liquor dealers. When they announced,
in 1888 that total prohibition prevailed. over
twothirds of the territory of Georgia, and that
In consequence thereof the years business had
fallen off 80 per cent from the figures of the
year preceding, they were scarcely believed.
Yet s. 1T was. The entire northern portion of
the State. large slice of southwestern Georgia,
and all Of southeastern Georgia were as abso-
lutely prohibition territory as if they were por
tons of Maine. Not only was this the case but
the principle of local option had crossed the Dor
Carolina the same tactics were being pursued.
Crossing the entire breadth of Alabama, the
movement had extended into Mississippi, where
1t was already looked upon as distributing ell
ement in politics.
1t was at this time that the 'Little Brown Jug
made its appearance. The singular activity in
the pottery works, which for years had been
doing failing business, was due to the large
demand for gallon and half-galon jugs. These
were intended for service on the "dry route" as
the wholesale men termed the sending of LIQUOR
into dry territory. Regular wagon trains were
established from towns around which lay large
tracts of prohibition territory for the purpose of
supplying, in an illicit manner the demand fo-
strong drink. One wholesale house in Savan-
nah sent out In one month. in this manner, TO-
900 jugs. Thus challenged, the prohi bitionists
laid siege, one after another, to the smaller
towns until at last, out of the 1877 counties of
Georgia. eighty-fve were totally committed to
prohibition. thirty were under partial prohioi-
ton, and in only twenty-five counties was the
sale of liquor unrestricted
Thus victorious and emboldened, and rein
forced by the entire Republican vote of the State.
which was now out of politics. the temperance
people demanded that the Legislature should
pass a general local option bill-that is
bill which would permit an election
to be held in any county, upon the subject, upon
the petition of a given number of citizens and
without the annoyance and expense of special
appeals to the Legislature in such cases This
measure was championed by Hon. c. r. Pringle
in the Legislature Of 1884, ably assisted bv the
famous independent ex congressman. DR.. w. H.
FELTON,. The measure was choked off in that
session, but was on the calendar for the summer
session of 1855
just before the assembling of that session the
prohibition people held a State convention in this
city tor the purpose OF moral effect upon the
Legislature. There was presented upon the
stage a scene never before witnessed in South
ern city-the most hated Of Republicans and
the most ultra of Democrats shook hands in
common cause. White people did not scorn to
sit upon stage where sat negroes as invited and
honored guests
The contest over the bill in the Legislature
was long and bitter, but finally local option won
the day, and in the shouts of triumph which
greeted the measure Democratic politicians stood
mute. while Republicans cheered Justify
This prepared the way for an attack upon the
large cities, and Atlanta was chosen as the first
battle ground. A petition, signed by 2, 800 regis
tered voters, requested that an election be or
dered. which, being the number required by law
was duly ordered by Hon. W L. Calhoun. the
ordinary of Fulton county. At once the most re-
markable canvass ever known in the South was
opened. White Democrats suddenly began TO
affiliate with negroes, and their own churches
were neglected in order that they might stand
around the colored pulpits and drink in the argu-
ments for prohibition that fell from the lips of
Elder Gaines. The colored man found himself
not only invited to vote, out encouraged and
white puipits, too, opened fire. Rev Dr. Haw-
thorne, Baptist; Rev. DR.. Kendall Metho-
dist, and Rev. Sam Jones, general Skin
misher, with Sam Small deuloyed out to the
front, made music in the air. The business
men. alarmed that 81, 500. 900 of invested prop
erty should be confiscated by the passage of pro
hibition, aroused to action. and organized meet
ings at which the colored brother was petted
and fattered. Thus one of the first prohibition
meetings was addressed by the notorious John
E. Bryant, ex-United States marshal the best
hated man in Georgia. and the first anti-prohi-
bition meeting was addressed by Ex-Governor
Rufus B, Rullock. In the meetings held by both
parties the colored man is not asked to sit on
one side or in the rear, but is led up in triumph
to the front where his color ss we'll &c his vote