The leader., 1902-12-03
STATE PROHIBITION.
Call for Mass Meeting at jack
son, February 18th.
The Question to be Made all Is
sue in the Democratic
Primaries.

to prohibit the manufacture, sale and
importation, for beverage purposes, of
all alcoholic liquors throughout the
State, is hereby called at the State
Capitol in Jackson, on Tuesday, the
18th day of February, 1903, at IL
o'clock a. m, to organize for the &C
complishment of this object.
1t is believed by the signers of this
call, and thousands of others that the
time is ripe for an aggressive, decisive
movement along this line For more
than twenty years the soundness of
the principle of Prohibition has been
embodied in the liquor laws of the
State and approved by Democratic
Governors and Legislatures, with only
certain qualifying conditions, such as
local option, exercised by petition or
direct ballot. By this means and
statutory Prohibition in small areas, 63
of the IS counties of the State stand
to day redeemed from the debauching
influence of the legalized dram shop.
1t has been outlawed in those counties
by the votes of the people themselves,
whose representatives have gone to
Jackson and voted for it's perpetuation
in other counties. On the Mobile &
Ohio railroad along the eastern border
of the State, not a licensed dram shop
is to be found, from the Alabama line
on the South, to the Tennessee line on
the North. Along the entire main line
of the great Illinois Central, from the
Tennessee line on the North, to the
Louisiana border on the'Soutb, but one
licensed town is traversed. On the
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley branch,
from Jackson to its northern terminus,
and along the Aberdeen branch ex-
tending easterly through the central
portion of the State from Durant to
Aberdeen, not an open dramshop exists;
while across the State via the Georgia
Pacific, from the Alabama line far into
the Delta, and via the Alabama Great
Southern from the Alabama line across
the State to Vicksburg; along the
Northeastern from the Louisiana to
the Alabama line in Southeast Missis-
sippi, and again from Jackson along
the Gulf & Ship Island to Harrison
county, the same condition prevails.
Only in II counties in the entire State
three on our gulf coast, one in CEN
tral Mississippi, and the rest scattered
through the Delta and along our
Mississippi river border-does the
dram shop exist by sanction of State
law.
This has been practically the situa-
tion for decade. In these counties
the traffic has become fortified behind
a perverted and misguided local
public sentiment, backed by the
money and active sympathy of
the whisky interests beyond the
State, whenever mere local
effort is made to dislodge it. In these
counties the dramshops continue as so
many plague spots, poisoning the moral
and political atmosphere about them
and by plying their boldly advertised
and vicious "jug trade, spread the evil
contagion to the dry counties beyond.
In every local option contest, whether
brought on by Prohibitionists or dram
shop advocates, the brunt of the fight
against the combined liquor interests
nearly always falls upon the Ministry
and the consecrated Christian women
of our State who are thus brought into
hand to hand contest with the worst
elements of society of both races, mar
shalled under the red banner of the
dram shop. The strange anomaly
is often presented of white men, who
will not tolerate the negro at
the ballot box under any other
circumstances, exerting every eff
fort to get him registered and
standing shoulder to shoulder with
him at the polls for the liquor traffic
against the best men and women of
the community.
So much without referring to the
palpable wrong and inconsistency of
the States longer continuing as con-
ditional partner in a confessedly i'm
moral and nefarious business. For
money consideration, the State IL
censes the dram shop. Thereby she
adopts that institution as her own, pro-
tects and dignifies it with her author
ity and laws. and really becomes a CO.
partner in the business, since she re-
ceives 9 liberal share of the profits.
But for what purpose is the dram shop
set up? Simply and solely that the
citizen may go there and get alcoholic
drinks. Then, when he has taken
those drinks until his reason is de-
throned, temporarily, he commits MUIR
der; and the same good State, which
has put the dram shop there that he
may drink, turns right about and
AduSS ulu1 JO1 UuO IL ludIu-
tain her respectability and consisten-
cy, let the good State of Mississippi
either cease to make criminals or
cease to punish them.
It is notorious that alcoholic drink
is the greatest of all incitants to crime
and one of the greatest demoralizers
and disorganizers of labor. In State
with such an immense negro popula-
tion as ours, it should especially con-
Germ our statesmen and all other
thoughtful citizens to remove, as far
and effectually as possible, this crime
and sloth- producing traffic. The
thought expressed by England's great
statesmen of the last century should
become the sentiment and policy of
Mississippi, viz; That the State should
make it as easy as possible for her citi-