Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-04-28
A VICTORY OVER THE SALOON.
The Flora w. G. T. U. Defeats Three whisky
81 F .fl Petitions. .. - -ns

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# 81 e. @l Petitions. 81 -a.
A fresh illustration of what a few
active, earnest w. G. I. u, women can
accomplish in the way Of suppressing
the saloons, comes from Flora, Miss,
where Miss Belle Kearney, the valiant
young leader of the US, Mrs. Anna
Goodloe, President of the Flora Union,
and few other ladies, succeeded in
defeating three saloon petitions. Miss
Belle, in writing of the way the victory
was won, says: -=. +.a-t
A few weeks before left home for
Louisiana, heard that three men
Hutson, Clark and Nichols had filled
out their petitions to set up saloons
just outside of Flora. They could not
secure % real estate owners inside the
corporate limits, as required under the
old local option law, and so obtained
them in the supervisors district out
side, and proposed to set up their de-
basing dram-shops ON the outskirts of
the town. Illusions was to extend his
license, really, for he had had a saloon
for some time. saw the petitions
published in the Canton papers and
called meeting of our Union and
asked if they would allow me the pri-
vilege Of securing a lawyer to fight the
petitions before the Board of Superb
sors, which was to meet soon in Canton.
They gave hearty assent, agreeing to
pay the lawyer his price.
went to nearly every lawyer in Can
ton of any standing, but found that
every one l approached was counsel
for the saloon men. Finally / went to
Capt. b. f. Pratt, an anti Prohibitionist
and a Republican, but a fine lawyer,
and he gladly took the case, charging
us 5000, and promising to do his best
to defeat the three petitions mentioned
on technical flaw discovered.
When the contest came on before
the Board of Supervisors the board
failed to see any flaw, and the saloon
lists triumphed for awhile, but Capt.
Pratt took an appeal to the circuit
court, and there the victory was decid-
in our favor and the saloonists defeat
cd. There is great rejoicing here
among the white ribboners. Mr.. VIM.
Powell, the saloonists' lawyer, has
taken an appeal to the Supreme Court,
but we are not borrowing any trouble
on that account.
Another correspondent informs the
LEADER that the applications we're con-
tested before the Board of Supervisors
on the ground that the petitioners
were not recommended as men of
good moral character" In place of
these words in the petition, and which
are prescribed by statute, the petition
ers certified the applicants to be of
good reputation" The argument for
the petitioners was that good reputa-
ton" was equivalent to, and synony-
nous with, the words, "good moral
character" The Board of Supervisors
SO held and granted the license.
1t is probable that the Board took
the view that the moral character"
required was not to be strictly con-
strued, because, as every body knows,
it is morally wrong to keep dramshop.
No moral man would persistently and
continuously violate the moral law.
So that the language of the law was to
be taken in "Pickwickian" sense. To
hold otherwise, would be to abolish all
dramshops. The Board was perfectly
logical, and the pint" is so nice and SO
original, that the circuit court, as we
understand, took the matter under adj
easement, but finally declared that
'good reputation as certified by the
petitioners, might mean the standing
of the applicant for mixing drinks"
and thereupon reversed the order of |
the board granting license and dismiss
ed the petition. .n
Since an appeal has been taken to
the Supreme Court, it will be interest
ing to observe the opinion of that
august tribunal on the delicate point
raised. We should say, in view of the
wonderful legal acumen the court has
heretofore displayed in deciding some
other whisky cases, that John L. Sui
Ivan VS.. the State ought to be good au-
thority for the petitioners in this case.
Meanwhile the LEADER congrat-
ulates the Flora w. C. T. U. on their
victory and commends their zeal to
others, though at the same time
we cannot suppress a blush for the
manhood of Mississippi that shirts it's
duty and leaves such uncongenial work
for refined, shrinking womanhood to
do, ..a g.,.y ..s.t . 4