Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-02-09
THE FAILURE OF LOCAL OPTION,

prohibiting the sale OF liquor at
retail. To those who live in com
munitics that have tried "locul on
ton" there is something ludicrous in
the idea that the sale Of liquor can he
stopped in q city like Greensboro, and
a county like Daviess, which may be
called the fountain head of the liquor
traffic IN all this part of Kentucky.
The Kentuckian does not know
how the election, which has been
cilled for the 10th inst. is likely to
result, out the prohibition people are
very certain to play a losing game,
no matter how the contest may be de-
cided. IL they win at the polls, It
will be victory barrenFof fruits, fof
it will be utterly impossible to enfor e
prohibition in Greensboro and Dsviess
county. The sale of liquor in quanti-
ties of five gallons and more would not
be interfered with, and the presence
of wholesale houses in the city wodld
make it even more difficult to prevent
the drinking of whisky than it was in
Eiopkinsvile, where all of the liquor
consumed had to be imported.
Under the circumstances that exist
in Greensboro, the holding of an cleo
ton on the subject of local option
cannot be regarded otherwise than as
a foolish undertaking.
The Kentuckian can cite some his
tory along this line. Hopknsville
and Christian county have given pro
hilton a fair trial. On Nov. 2. 1886,
an election was held to prohibit the
sale of liquor in Christian county aud
in hard fought contest the Dry
side won by the vote of 2944 to 2S70.
The small majority of "a showed how
close and doubtful the struggle Was
and how evenly divided was public
opinion. On Jan. i 1887, all of the
seloons closed and for two years and
three months the county was suppos-
ed to be rs dry as IA powder. horn.
But was it? 1t is matter of record
that forty licenses were issued by the
government for the sale of liquor, at
least twice as many as were granted
in the absence OF prohibition law.
Although the county Judge was
prohibitionist and the city council.
was supposed to be prohibition in
sentiment, it was utterly impossible
to enforce the law. "Blind, tigers
hourished everywhere and they were
so Bold in this city that they even
sent out solicitors who took orders in
the court house itself while the grand
jury was in session. Occasionally an
indictment would be found, but the
feeble attempts to enforce the law
had 10 percep5ible effect on the
"blind tiger" business. While the
law was being hagrantly and almost
openly violated in the very teeth Of
the officers who were powerless to en-
force it, the buying of whisky was
going on in another way, not forbid
den by law. The jug trade was i'm
mense. The express delivery was
saloon on wheels. 1t came in jugs of
all kinds and sizes. 1t came in coal
oil cans, gasoline tanks and mineral
water bottles. The supplies were only
transferred from barrooms to private
residences and business offices, and
drinking went Oh worse than before,
because the temptation was con
slant one.
Prohibition in Christian county was
a miserable farce, complete and dis
astrous failure. This is the deliber.
ate judgment of one who voted for
the law, and who is now and has al
ways been a practical and consistent
tenn etanCe man. The law seemed to
offer premium on drunkenness. The
liquor sold by walking vendors was
the worst and cheapest made and
seemed to promote disorder of all
kinds. There was an increase of law
lessness due to drunkenness and the
police were kept busy in making ar
rests. An examination Of the records
would show that there was an increase
of crime under prohibition, as shown
by the arrests made and indictments
returned.
All of this time the city was losing
from $1,000 to $4,000 revenues annu-
ally and the county was also deprived
of considerable revenue from this
source. Many steunch prohibition
L II Al. f-lI-