Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-05-29
MISSISSIPPI TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1894


Is. In other words, our annual liquor
bill is greater by 81, ,jO1 ,S02, ,9j1 than
all the dutiable merchandise and tar
iii taxation of one year put together.
II only half of what is here asserted
10y these high authorities were true,
the suppression of this traffic should
be the first concern of every Chris
tian citizen, humanitarian and patriot
in State and Nation and make this
the dominant issue in American poll
tics. That it is al true, as verified
10y facts easily accessible to all, and
the experience and observation of
thousands. should be sufficient to
arouse to sleeplcss vigilance and ac-
tive hostility every lover of God,
home or country. To take any 9th
cr view of the subject and longer de-
lay action. is to tritIc with great
and solemn responsibility.
1t goes without the saying that the
greatest hindrance to The accomplish
mcnt of the desired end is the culpa-
bile Indifference and lack of united no
litical action on the part of the friends
of reform themselves.
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THE AhSoii IL NECESSITY FOR fAliIf
ACTION
in fine settlement of the lionor oucs-
tiou mnst be apparent. The liunor
traffic. a- if exists today. is n creature
of law. II +, recoouiZca and project
ed hy tlc laws of nearly every State
of thr Union and of the Federal Gov-
eminent These #laVS have been rass-
cd lax nolitiraI nartirs which are ma
uinujoird hy. and are friendly to. thr
liIuor interests
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LOOK II TIE NATTER JtSf As IT Is
After years of laborions and cNpen-
siyc effort. local Prohibition has been
obaincd, piece meal, in most of the
state, The Democratic party OF Mis-
siSsippj, which many have tondly but
crr0neouslY persuaded themselves is
"a good enough Prohibition party,
though petitioncd time and again by
non partisan Conventions and other
lnli.E "a my he - TIT a II a y AL
constitutional Prohibition, has refus
ed to do 50. The Constitutional Con.
vcntion OF 1890, composed almost
wholly Of Democrats, refused to pro-
hibit the liquor traffic i'll the new Con
stitntion, or even 90 so far as to sim
ply declare the common GfoS%ttfN
nuisance; anu 'iie De'loeiatIc hcSiS-
1,,,,,',,,I of+Il w p.,tis,r pral,il,i
tiou Convention whose Indictment of
the liquor traffic is above quoted, un-
tremendously killed Il bill for il State
Prohibition law to take effect so late
as July !, 1891. The last January SeS-
sion of the same Legislature refused
to submit to vote of the people of
the State a Prohibition amendment to
the Constitution, though earnestly pc
titioned to do so by another non-par-
tisan Prohibition body. Even so mild
Il measure as county local option
law, which only conceded to a major
ity Of the voters of a county the Sim
pie democratic privilege OF saying for
themselves whether they wished the
traffic licensed or not, was cXtortcd
from a Democratic Legislature only
after years of comparison effort, and
granted at last, cOntcSSedly, simply
as Il matter of eXpediency to avoid
impending party disruption. So much
for the record Of the Democratic party
as relates to State laws for suppress
inr tho lionor traffic.
Now LET us consider briefly
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Il Z 81 '''' ~ ! ~ SUN VI > y = ''> \ =
ASlEtfS'
Under the United States Constitution,
Congress alone has the right to regu
late commerce between the States and
with foreign nations. No State can
prohibit the importation Of liquors in.
to its limits from another State or
from iofelSil power IT cannot even
P'p''l"tS 4I''' Us s' ,t ',,t nf T a"'ro' :
sold in the original package, 4 large
amount of what is kuuwn as blind
/ HqeJism, with Which many Prohibition
counties of Mississippi are afflicted, is
due to the ease with which liquors