Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-07-29

the Federal executive and the Congress-
is concerned tho liquor traffic has been
turned over to the States, and SO Della
ware must take the judgment for her
manner Of dealing with the LIQUOR
traffic. She can not only suppress the
traffic within the State, but she can
mike 1t criminal to bring liquor in
from other States.
Taking IN the local option clause in
the Constitution of Delaware, Mr..
Small stated that he had watched the
making OF the Constitution with care
as be knew there was opposition TO
Delaware making any form Of provision
on the subject. In Ohio they had made
constitutional provision for prohibition,
that there should be no licensing of
no license in Ohio. When the shrewd
lawyers who had made the Consti.
tuition went home they convinced the
court that the convention did not mean
to prohibit the liquor traffic but to put
it on the basis of other business and the
result is that the tax of $3.50 is not a
license hut privilege tax. Here the
opponents of local option wanted the
matter left out of the Constellation and
then when any hundred in the State
tried to stop liquor licensing within
its borders they would hsvs gotten cot
mandamus requiring to show cause
why no license was issued and the
court would rule that because the Con-
stitution says nothing the hundred
must say nothing except to Xix the
price for license. Then they said put
in the local option scheme SO that it
will be easy to work." and so they did
make it ensy for its friends. With all
his knowledge of local option MIR.
Small declared that il he had sat down
to draft a local option clause be could
not possibly have made out such an
iron clad cinch for local option az that
made in the Constitution. They sim
ply overdid the thing, for they have
put the question of local option in the
State of Delaware like burning coal
of fire on the hand of every politician
in the State who aspires to seat in
the General Assembly for on this
account his position on the question OF
local option may affect his election.
The speaker went on to show how diff.
cult in some States it is to get local
option legislation begun.
Taking up the progress OF local
option he said that of Sc counties ia
Mississippi only two have unrestraiued
liquor traffic; while in so it is abso.
lutely prohibited and 10 four 10 quail.
fed. OF the l37 counties in Georgia,
through the local option cause pro
hibition now exists ia 123. In the IL
States comprising the Solid South with
population of q. 600, 00O over lG, 600.
600 live under absolute prohibition oI
their own making. In Texas the people
at one election voted against prohibit
tiou but accepted local opium and
within three years nearly all that State
will bs under local option. Tennessee
voted against prohibition, yet under
local option more than two thirds oil
the State Is now under prohibition.
The speaker declared that theee were
not statistics of long haired cranks anG
short haired women galloDing around
the country on hobby.
He held that the reason for the sue
cess of local option il that it is brough'
home 10 each individual citizen, being
the principle OF home rule applied
lie reverted TO the interest taken by
| Americans in Home Rule for IrelanC
and declared that in one year more arr
evicted from homes in America by tn,
liquor traffic than IN 10 years in Ire
land by the landlords He referred alst
to American interest in the war inCuba
but declared that the results OF thl
liquor traffic here were even more ter
rible than Spanish cruelty there. II
took similar view of the Armenian out
rages of which he spoke most vigorously
He urged the recognition of the fac
that the citizens here have the consti
tutional freedom to deal with tn
liquor question and to provide for tn
total and absolute extinction of tn
liquor traffic from their politica
division of the State. II Dalawar
wants to he free no one can stop her
for she has the power TO make hersel
free.
He also had word to gay to tn
newspapers, asking them not to us
quotation marks in his name, which i
Sam. nlain Sam Small He was Dor
that way, he said; he lives that wa
and expects TO die that way. He wa
better off than some for he knew wher
he got his name. My name ain
Samuel either; I'm no uuel," h
added.
The meeting concluded with til
bonediction pronounced by Mr.. Small
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