Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-03-10
A STRIKING AGREEMENT.
A Wcll-Known Baptist Minis
ter Talks.
Hc Tells What the "Dram-
shops" Chapter should
BE Entitled,
Gives the supporters OF the Measure q
Roasting and Makes AN Eloquent
Appeal for the Legislature to
do the Right Thing.

do the Right Thing.
"The solution of this political prob
lem liquor question: is to be found in
local option" That is the position of
the Wine and Spirit Gazette, official
organ of the wholesale liquor dealers
of New York, as announced in it's own
columns editorially How do Christian
temperance men and women feel in
company with wholesale liquor dealers
and their papers? Is it not singularly
strange, remarkable, that those who
want liquor license policy continued,
and those who are opposed to it, should
be advocating the same policy, with
respect to liquor saloons?
take it that liquor dealers and their
friends like local option because of the
advantages they derive from it, not
because it is real substantial temper
ance measure Enthusiastically liquor
dealers think local option is their bus
mess friend, and whatever else may be
said about them, liquor dealers are not
fools in business matters. They know
what is helpful to their business, and
they think that local option is emil
nently sound in principle" What do
temperance people like local option
for?
The annotated code chapter on ''dram
shops" ought to be entitled: "An Act
/ l. l. r L. 4 a.
establish storm centers and criminal
club rooms in the various communities
of the State, to provide for the trans
fer of the law making power and re-
sponsibility from the Constitutional
law maker to the masses, to provide
for biennial contest between our
mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and
sweethearts, and the hoodlum element
of the various communities of the State;
to provide Legislators with political
ambitions and who are lacking in true
moral, patriotic manhood, a way to
hold, in their future struggles for of
flee, the support of the whisky and
hoodlum element of the State, and for
other purposes" Such title would
very fairly represent some very impor-
tant results of local option.
A gentleman who had been to Jack
son recently says, 1.-The curse of the
State now is it has Legislature com
posed so largely of persons who are
working and blowing more to get an
other office than they are for their con-
stituency's, good" This opinion is be-
coming quite current. There seems to
be an utter lack of manliness in the
Legislature, especially on two ques-
tions. To wit: The penitentiary re-
moval, and the saloon question. 1t is
presumed that no one will deny this
plainly painful fact. There are no
other two questions on which the
white people of this State are more
pronounced. And yet the squirming
and twisting in the Legislature on these
questions is absolutely humiliating to
the people of great State.
The Temperance committee of the
House has announced that it's report
on dram shops" embodied a compro-
mise measure that would come as near
as any thing could giving satisfaction
to temperance people and saloon
keepers alike. This is the response
made to the white people of the State
who ask that the liquor traffic be put
Internationally under ban of law.
Perhaps this is aggressive cOnserva-
tism," but it is utterly lacking in sound,
moral principle and true statesman
ship.
1t does seem that true manliness
would put an end to the saloon power
and debauchery, rather than squander
the peoples money in fixing up a BIZ
ennial fight between the moral and i'm
moral elements of the State, under the
transparency fraudulent name of fair
| ness"
The chapter on "dram shops" con-
tains high license policy, which ought
to make it utterly repugnant to every
moral inhabitant Of the State. Every
chapter stands committed to the Ii
cense policy-the saloon keepers shib-
boleth, authority and legal protection
in his Misunderstanding, crime-produc-
ing and soul-damning business. Multi
piled thousands of the States best citi-
zens will periodically repudiate, with
voice and vote, that good Lord and
good devil" dram shop nuisance, as
some of its supporters will learn when
they ask for that other office, for which
they now seem to be planning with a
zeal worthy of better cause.
Gentlemen of the Legislature, rise to
the high and sunny plane of him who
said, II would rather be right than to
be President" Crown yourselves, as
you may, with the deathless glory that
wreathed his brow and made imperish-
able his fame. The substantial citi-
zens of your good State want no legal
compromise with that which is an IN
mixed evil they want no revenue as
penalty for it's legal existence they
want no evil in their State clothed
with and protected by their legal
authority. Put the liquor traffic I'M
conditionally under ban of law and
hearthe plaudit yelling up from the lips
of the true and noble till your State be-
comes resonant with its glad acclaim
T"well done, good and faithful servant"
Many of you are noble hearted and
want to do the right thing. You
know what you ought to do with
the saloon. You know you ought
to legally exile it from your
State forever, but how many of you
lack just what did the boy who stood
watering mouth beneath the tree,
hanging with lucious fruit, but would
not climb that he might enjoy feast
How MANY Climb gentlemen climb