Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-02-06

Legislature met in 1892, and the
body was believed to he favora-
BILE TO the enactment of State
Prohibition Statute, the Doctor
again repudiated his own doctrine
and, without authority from his
co-committeemen, absolutely and
arbitrarily committed the Prohi-
bitionists of the State to "local
option. This, too, when Prohi-
bitionists wanted and expected,
the Legislature to enact Il State
wide Prohibition statute. Re-
markable indeed it is, that
in 1894, more than a decade
after the above editorial warn
ing was published, we find him
fondly clinging to and describing
the beauties of s'local option, y
with its invitation for biennial
elections in every Prohibition
county in the State. Why not
have a permanent Prohibition law
in Mississippi like the one it was
Il grievous mistake not to secure
for poor Ireland! Can DR.. Gal
loway tell why!
To my mind there are several
capital objections to Il "local OPP
ton" liquor law.
1. 1t means license in the al
tentative.
2. Under its provisions the
question of liquor selling is set
tied for only Il limited time.
3. The saloon may be an out
law in one county and in adioin-
inc counties a full-fedged, legal
institutional doing its deadly work
even in the Prohibition county.
+. 1t seeks to and does localize
Il great national question, a ques-
ton that must be settled by this
whole Republic, not by one or
twenty counties, or even one State.
1t would be as wise to reduce the
great tariff question to the whirl-
pool of local option.
5. It practically transfers the
law-making power from the Leg
islature to the masses, which our
Supreme Court says must not be
done.
6. 1t helps to train citizen
ship committed to expedients and
tends to destroy all patriotic spir-
it and cndcavor.
Z. 1t is not founded on the
principles and correct theory of
our great government, but an
tagonizes these at every point.
s. 1t taxes private citizens, in
person and purse, to accomplish
just what legislators are elected
and paid to do.
8. 1t subjects our best men and
women, when Il campaign is ON, to
the vile attacks of the worst ele-
ment in society.
10. Cities with Il large per
cent. of foreigners as residents,
will always have the alternative,
license.
II. Under its provision those
counties and communities that
most need help cannot receive it
as only votes determine results.
u. 1t does not "cnthrone Pro
hibition above partizan politics, "
but makes it a football for polit-
ical partizans, who side-track it
whenever it contributes to the re-
alization of their aspirations to do
so. Besides, every saloon in this
nation is always in politics with Il
vote-making power, equal to that
of one hundred Christian men
like DR.. Galloway. This power is
courted and sought after, by both
the Democratic and Republican
parties. When .'local option
election was held in one of the
counties of this State, certain
ministers absented themselves
from home on election day. | am
told the reason given for this con-
duct was that the liquor men
threatened the political friends of
these ministers if they (the minis
ters) voted in that election. This
is the way "local option sen
thrones Prohibition above ques-
tions of place and power
10. When under its provisions
Prohibition is declared the policy
of a county, that policy is, in
most cases, left in the unwilling
hands of its enemies and is not
enforced. Note the recent Juror
at Prohibition Hazlehurst, where
private citizens were compelled
to organize to protect themselves
against the assaults of "blind IL
oors', manifaStlv baco,,Sa tho off :