Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-02
STILL AN ISSUE.
A. Il. Leslie, ESQ.,, Offers Some
Anti-PrOhibitiOn News,
INVOLVING LOTS OF CASH.
New Legal Moves to Bring BOttlerS
and Wholesalers Up in Banc.
GOSSIP ON THE ABSORBING TOPIC.
Anti-PrOhibitiOnists Meet and Look Toward
Naturalization.
VIEWS OF LEGAL UNLICENSED SALES

Squire A. H. Leslie, Secretary of the Ex.
ecutive Committee which is managing the
Constitutional amendment campaign in
Allegheny county, has returned home from
a meeting of the State Central Committee at
Philadelphia. he said to a reporter last
night that, although there does exist an
apathy among church people, he still be-
lieves that the public sentiment in Penn
sylvania is for absolute prohibition, and
that if this sentiment can be crystalized the
Constitutional amendment will be adopted
on June is.
The liquor men, though, are putting
plenty of money in the fight against US, l"
said Secretary Leslie. "About two weeks
ago they levied an assessment all over the
State for campaign purposes. In no instance
was the contribution to be less than $50. By
this one collection there was raised in Phila-
delphia alone between S30O,O 600 and S5OO,0OO. A
single firm in that city gave $4,000. The
amount raised in Reading and Lancaster was
very large. We do not know yet how much
was contributed by the brewers, distillers and
liquor dealers of Pittsburg and Western Penn
sylvania, but the sum total of that one assess
ment throughout the State was enormous.
HOW IT is USED.
1''This money they use in various ways" con-
tinued Squire Leslie. 1--WE have discovered
that they have many agents and canvassers
under salaries to travel through the country
districts and work up an agitation among the
farmers on this hard cider scare. These men
carry tracts with them, indicate that they have
plenty of leisure and either stop at the farm
house for dinner or go out to the fields with
him. Before he leaves that farm he has proba-
bly, left the farmer and his men in a very much
disturbed state of mind about the result of the
amendment upon the future of cider.
Then again. the liquor men are paying some
of the more prominent wOrkmen in mills and
factories of this city to keep alive an agitation
against the amendment in his gang of laborers
or in his particular department of the mill
This is wild assertion. We have investi-
gated, and we know it to be true that some of
the 1oudest-mouthed haranguers in mills are
under pay from the liquor men. Besides all
this the liquor interests are flooding the States
with tracts containing ancient arguments by
some well-known writers against absolute pro-
hlbltion. They do other literary work also.
They are paying for the naturalization papers
of great many foreigners in Allegheny and
Philadelphia counties.
PROHIBITIONISTS HARD UP.
"On the other hand" continued Mr.. Leslie,
''the temperance people are not so plenty of
money. Ine committees managing the cam
paign are hard up. Of course the work is not
crippled. but still goes on. We are altogether
dependent upon what the people voluntarily
contribute to, the cause. We can make no
arbitrary assessments, not being able to hold
out the lpr0nise of future financial reward
she liquor meh, who have a money
making business at stake do. But we have the
popular side of the campaign, and our friends
should and will contribute of their own free
will We have not yet collected all the money
which was at first subscribed for the campaign
work"
Mr.. Leslie further said that it was difficult to
estimate the effect of the wholesale refusal of
liquor licenses upon the amendment cam
paign. He scarcely thought that there is logic
in the popular idea that the large reduction of
saloons will make votes against prohibition,
because people are chiefly crying monopoly"
while that is one of the evils of the high
license principle" said Squire Leslie, ''the de-
feat of prohibition would not better matters.
One old German whom know has become a
convert to Constitutional amendment since
Judge Whites decisions because he says it will
knock out the monopoly in Justice to those who
didn't get license"
The Secretary declared there was no founda-
tion to the cider question. He contends that
il the phraseology of the proposed amendment
Will stop the manufacture and sale of hard
cider, then the cider business is not legal under
the present or under past license laws. b..