Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-06-23
THE CLARION AND THE DRAMSHOPS

| THE CLARION AND THE DRAMSIIOPS
! That the Clarion in its issue of last
/ Sunday morning should take issue with
! those who are now moving to call
| a local option election in this county
is not surprising. in view of its re
cord, but some of its arguments are,
when considered in the light of certain
we'll known facts. For instance it
says:
I'VE are convinced it is unjudicious
single fact in mind that the recent
Legislature adopted "a new, stringent
and high license law, regulating the
sale of intoXicants. which will become
operative in November.
The Clarion, with a wonderful dis
play of obliviousness for a journal of
its pretensions. overlooks the fact that
one of the most important, and what
many consider best portions of this
same law which it eulogizes as having
met the endorsement of prominent OPP
ponents of the saloon, is the feature
for the holding local option cleo
tiOns by counties. According to the
Clarion's argument part of the law
is good and part evil and that which
allows the jackson dramshOps to ply
their nefarious business without any
other portion of the county exercising
a voice in the matter is the best part
of it,
Those who are acquainted with the
history Of the local option legislation
in this State know that i'll the Legisla-
ture of 1886, determined effort was
made by such personal liberty" cham
pionS as NOrrell. of YazOO. and DR..
Van Watts, of Lincoln. to have local
option apply i'll its operation to mu-
inequalities and supervisors districts,
instead of embracing whole counties.
Bishop Galloway and other leading
champions of the law cOntended that
it must be by counties. because it was 10y
the aid of the vote of country districts
that the hoodlum element so common
to cities and towns could be overcome.
That view prevailed in the Legisla-
ture of 1886. and as we have seen, was
brought forward and made part of
the dramshOp chapter by the Legisla-
ture of 1892
If the editor of the Clarion hasn't a
remarkably abbreviated memory, he will
also remember that when there was an
effort to have the Constitutional Con-
vention place prohibition in the new
Constitution, "a majority of the mem
bers of that convention and the saloon
men themselves were loud in their
praise of local option by counties as
the SuHmttm bORam in the way of leg
islation on the liquor question.
But it is the invoking of the opera
ton of this much Wanted local option
law that throws the Clarion and the
dramshop men into fits. They are ''for
the law, but agin its enforcement"
The liquor men and their organs
have declared that the dramphop law
was intended by the Legislature to
stamp out the liquor traffic by
indirection. In this we agree
with them to the letter, but let
it not be forgotten that the To-
cal option feature of the law is one the
most effective methods of accomplish
ing this, and the people of Kinds are
not going to be slow to avail themselves
of it, especially since the negro vote,
the Sampson locks of the dram
shop in local option contest, is practi-
cally eliminated.
The Clarion's remarkable statement
that "ttere mast be an agency, either
legal or illegal, for supplying the de
n,and for strong drink" is entitled to
greater notice than we can give it here,
and will form the subject of future
article.