The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1890-10-30
Mr.. GAMBRELL RESIGNS
THE SECRETARYSHIr or THE STATE
PROHIBITION BUREAU.
An Oppfr Letter tn DIR. Black, in
Which He Points OUtthe
Weak Points in the
Prohibition Policy.

to Succeed, Must he the Same.
Special to the Memphis Commercially
BRoOKHAvEN, Miss, Oct. 4.-Rev.
! j. II. Gambrell, who has been engaged
/ for the last ten years exclusively in
/ prohibition work in this State, as State
| lecturer and corresponding secretary
! of the State Executive Committee and
( Prohibition Bureau, has written the
! following letter to DIR. W. G. Black,
which will be of public interest. Mr..
, Gambrcll has done great deal of pi-
oneer work in this cause. and to his
persistent and untiring efforts, more
than those of any other man in Mis-
sisgippi, is due the great advance in
temperance and prohibition sentiment
during the last decade. Having seen
the prohibition territory during that
time grow from one to forty out of the
seventy five counties of the State, and
having had the fullest opportunity for
observation, the conclusions he eX-
presses have no doubt been reached
after the maturest reflection.
/ MIR. GAMBRELL's LETTER.
/ hereby tender my resi- gnatiOn as
/ Corresponding Secretary of the Mis-
! sisSippi Prohibition Bureau, to take
effect January |, 1891. may be per-
mitted to say in this connection that
{ ,,.I,n I 1nf / tn,
perance aud prohibition work to give
ten years of my best effort to it. The
time allotted to the cause, exclusively,
was completed last July. Ten years
since every county in the State had
saloons; now forty counties have none.
resign all official connection with
the prohibition movement mainly for
three reasons. a. 70 enter the pas
torate. (2.) Home considerations sug-
gest the wisdom of it. (3.) A knOwl-
edge OF the situation cOnvinces me
that the prohibition cause must be adj
justed and projected on practical po
litical lines to finally succeed. The
saloon is the most powerful political
factor in this State, and must be Crap
pied with as such.
l believe all history fails to record
an instance where political reforms
have been wrought by nOn-political
organizations. Prohibition in this
State, and elsewhere, is constantly be-
ing traded off by quasi friends, when
tlFeir political aspirations, or those of
their friends, seem to require it. a
large majority of our white people are
Prohibtionists, but politicians snub
them on every side. Why? \ non
political body, however numerous, is
non effective or nOn-available body in |
politics. Note what was developed |
in the Constitutional Convention last
consideration. Capt. Frank Burkitt,
though elected by the white people of
the entire State, voted against abol- |
ishing saloons, because four saloon
keepers at his home, Okoiona, requir-
ed Of him pledge to do so. The will |
of these four salOOn-keepers is more
potent than the will of a large major
ity of the States white population.
1t is believed that Senator George
could never he elected to the Senate
again were he to incur the dispIeasurc |
of Mississippi saloon keepers. 1t is
believed by many that the Hon. r. G.. |
Patty, who is at the head of the great
Alliance movement, would disappOint |
the aspirations of his friends for him |
to be Governor if he were to antago-
nize the saloon keepers. Why is this?
The answer is easy. The saloon
keepers and their institutions are
vote winners, and they are in politics
to stand by the men who stand by
them and to knife all others, withOu
reference to fitness for the public serv-
ice. Reference is made to the above |
named gentleman simply as illustra-
tons.
Again, | ask, with a large white ma
jority, and it representing confessedly |
the moral interests of our State, ask |
ing for prohibition, and forty coun-
ties under prohibition with delegates
in the Constitutional Convention,
making a majority of the body, why
was prohibition defeated? A state
ment Of the case clearly indicated the
answer. If ProhibitiOnists in the
forty 'dry' counties in the State were |
in position to enforce by political
action their just claims, their repre-
sentatives in the Constitutional Con- |
ventiOn would have voted differently, |
and the new Constitution would abol> |
ish saloons. Less than one thousands
saloon keepers, most of them foreign |
born, manipulating our public men
and debating public policy, as the re-
suit of the present prohibition policy.
Another matter should, in my hum
bic Judgment, claim the earnest con-
sideration of all genuine Prohibition
lists. Several speakers, opposing a
prohibition clause in the organic law,
said. alt cannot, must not be done,
because the matter was not an issue |
in the election of delegates composing
this body" Prior to, and during the
campaign, those same politicians,
helped by some unwise Prohibition
lists, said, "Prohibition must be kept
out of the campaign. The party has
not delivered itself on the subject.
We hold the solidity of the Demo-
cratic party above all things else," etc.
PrOhibitiOnists wanted the last Leg
islature to give them statutory prohi-
bition, but that body said: "Wait
and present your petition to the COM
ing convention and have constitution
al prohibition. The question was not
an issue in our election" All this
means keep prohibition out of the
campaign, and that will be good
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