Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-01-14
MISSISSIPPI PROHIBlTIONISTS.
THEIR LATEST OFFICIAL DELIVER
ANCE ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.
They Are Against All License
High or Low.
The Business of Whisky Selling
Characterized in Fitting
Terms.
A Pointer for Mississippi's Law Makers
Now at the Capital.

Now at the Capital.
For the benefit of the Legislature
which has just assembled, as well al
the public generally, the LEADER re-
produces the platform adopted by the
last State Prohibition Convention o.
Mississippi, which met at the Capital
on the 9th of September last. Though
not as large as some former Conven.
tions, the personnel of that body foi
intelligence, patriotism, and all that
goes to make up the best type ol
American citizenship, was equal tc
that of any body of men who ever as
sembled in the State House.
1t was non-partisan body, COM
posed of men of all shades of politi-
cal opinion, who had met on COM
mon ground for the purpose of de-
vising means for driving the legalized
liquor traffic from Mississippi soil
The committee on resolutions was
composed of gentlemen whose names
are familiar at almost every fireside
in the state, ,'and was as follows Chas
B. Galloway, j. B. Gambrell, w. I.
Sullivan, A. A. Lomax, J. r. Bing-
ham, E. A. Rowan, w. a. Hurt, J. A.
Lewis, DR.. r. Abbey.
This com mittee, after due delibera-
ton, reported the following platform,
which was adopted with but one dis
senting voice:
We. the friends of legal Prohibition
in Mississippi, in convention assem-
bled, do affirm the following:
l. That the saloon is an unmitigated
moral, social, financial and political
evil. 1t is at war with the religious
forces which tend to build men up into
better lives. 1t breeds every social
disorder and wars persistently on the
home, and all organized society. 1t
waste the living of dependent women
and children and destroys the produc-
tive energies of the people. 1t seeks
to control for corrupt purposes pOliti-
cal parties. 1t enslaves many public
men, subverts public justice, de-
bauches the. public conscience, trains
its patrons to perjury, and is the i'm
placable enemy of both church and
State. We declare that every effort
to regulate the traffic by license laws
has been failure. That while the
law forbids anyone to engage in the
traffic, who is not of good moral
character, the business has drifted in
to the hands of the very worst class
of men in the country, mostly foreign
born, and without love for American
institutions. And further: in the
main, efforts to enforce the provisions
of the laws against the traffic have
failed for the reason that the corrupt
ing influences of the saloon reaches
the inner courts of justice and sub
verts all law. The license system has
built up great monopoly in our
midst which is stronger than law, con-
trary to sound principles of govern
ment and repugnant to the spirit of
free institutions. High license we
condemn as a snare and delusion.
1t has had only one effect and that is
to make the traffic more powerful and
more dangerous. We declare it to be
the only wise policy for the State to
withdraw from all partnership with
the saloon, to put it under the ban of
law, to turn the whole power of the
State against it as common enemy,
not only bad in itself, but the ally of
all other evils which affiict society; the
habitat of the gambler, the thief, the
thug, the prostitute, and strong fac
tor in all corrupt combines. We
declare that no christian or humani-
tartan or patriot can consistently sup
port the saloon by word, vote or act,
and that it is the part of patriotism
to hold public men to strict account
for their completely with this great
public enemy.
2. We believe it is the right and
duty of the State to legislate against
the traffic in alcoholic beverages, and
to enforce laws duly enacted, and we
unhesitatingly affirm that good results
have always followed wise legislation
when faithfully enforced.
8. We reaffirm the declaration made
by the fivst State Prohibition Conven-
ton July Goth, 1881, and frequently
repeated, s.that the cause of Prohibi.
ton should not be entangled with
party politics. Without disturbing the
party affiliations of any citizen, We
ask his support in this great reform
which should be sacredly enthroneG
above the contests for mere place ani
power. We do affirm, however, that
intemperance should not be counte
nanced in public officials and that nj
drunkard is worthy of our support.
4. We are gratified at the vantag,
ground for prohibition secured by oul
new State Constitution. The old pro
vision that all revenues derived from
licenses should be appropriated to tn.
school fund, does not stain the purit,
of our present organic law. For years
we declared it unwise aud unpatrioti,
to raise revenue for schools out of al
evil and that no reople have the NOR
al right to license sin to obtain tn,
elements of an education. In re
spouse to our appeal that wrong ha
been righted-that unholy allianc,
has been broken. We feel assured
also, that under the suffrage section
of our Observation-Disclosures, as i
does, large numbers relied upon :,
sustain the saloon--we have it in oul