Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-06-02
LOCAL OPTION is A
DELUsIoN AND A SNARE

| As Won have so nobly opened your col
/ unnns for the discussion of the issues Of
| the gubernatorial campaign, and as Esuli
and Terrell have declared for local option
and opposed to state prohibition, and as
Terrell and his campaign managers IN
addition to advocating local option In the
papers are now sending out circulars IN
which they are setting forth sophisucal
arguments in favor Of local option, and as
these fallaeious arguments are so adroltly
| presented as to deceive well-meaning peo-
pie and as they are urged in the interest
of the liquor traffic and Terrelfs candi-
! dacy and against Query and prohibition.
and as prohibition is the most important
| issue before the people.
For months Terrell has been trying 10
drive 1t into the ears of the people or
| Georgia that III counties are dry" by the
general local option law for which he vot-
ed in the legislature of 1885. Whereas.
we have only 107 dry counties Twenty OF
| these counties are dry by special act OF
the legislature. Eleven are dry by hign
license; nine are dry because the ordinary
will not grant license; three are dry by
| the three mile law. making Al, and leav-
| ing 66 instead of III dry by vote OF the
, people. And my understanding is num-
| Der of these voted liquor out before the
/ general local option law was enacted.
| So we see Terrell missed it by at least 81
| counties And as he knows so little about
( prohibition in Georgia as to make such
| a mistake il is to be supposed there are
other things about prohibition in the state
| he wants to govern that he don't know.
/ 1t is possible If not probable that II the
! general local option law had never been
we would have more dry counties by spe-
! cial act and otherwise than we have un-
| der the provisions Of that law. For at
| the time of its enactment about 50 coun-
| tie were dry and others were following
| in rapid succession. And II would have
Of mr.
it would not be liable to have to fight
| the battle over every two or four years,
| nor so exposed TO the disbensary folly.
| Then the liquor men and politicians would
not have had the opportunity to deceive
people and misrepresent and scandalize
the Democratic party by posing as pro-
hibitionists under the guise of local OPP
ton and declaring that the Democratic
F, party has declared in favor Of local OPP
ton.
1t is known that but for the local OPP
| ton policy Mississippi would have had
prohibition years ago. And it is possible,
IL not probable. that but for the deceitful
| sophisms the general local option law
| puts in the mouths of the liquor men and
! politicians we would have prohibition IN
| Georgia now, Certain it is that local OPP
| ton is totally wrong in principle. It Is
now known that alcohol that ingredient
in beer. whisky and other intoxicating IL
auors. sought after when such liquors are
! drunk is the most fearful poison known.
for while II Injuries and destroys the BODY
as readily and completely as any other
| poison known ii also poisons the soul and
the mind. 1t is nothing but poison-no
| more a food that chloroform, and has but
one medical property, heart-stimulant.
Hence it's manufacture and sale for bev-
! erage purposes is a sin and crime. It is
| only stating a fact to assert that the
| beverage liquor traff1c is as clearly q
@AaoT fT1c md
And as 1t is the first duty Of the state TO
protect the people and all the people. and
| especially the weak, ii is the duty Of the
| state to suppress the beverage liquor
traffic.
License laws are themselves lawless-
contrary to law. The supreme court OF
| the United States says: There Is no IN
| herent right In a citizen to sell intoxi-
| eating liquors by retail: II is not privi-
/ iege of a citizen of a state, or Of citizen
/ of the United States. No legislation can
bargain away the public health or the
public morals. The people themselves
cannot do 1t, much less their servants.
Government is organized with a view 70
their preservation, and cannot divest II
self of the power to provide for them.
What would Terrell and his friends
think of a proposition to submit 70 the
| principles of local option the crimes OF
| murder and highway robbery? ABSURD.
you say, and so it Is, but not more absurd
| than the proposition to so submit the
! crime of LIQUOR selling. And it is fact
| that every argument presented III FAVOR
of local option for the Misunderstanding,
home-wrecking, health and life and soul
destroying liquor business is rarIetcheo'
strained Illogical, absurd.
| IT is a well known and significant 1act
! that Georgia's liquor lords, the brewers
distillers and wholesale and retah liquor
men. are clamorous for local option. Ana
/ Ill
man supporting Terrell. And Tor these
reasons no prohibitionist can vote Tor
| Terrell without stultifying himself.
A great general said: Find out what
| your enemy wants and take care that ne
| shall not get it." Our liquor lords and
their henchmen want local option because
they know they can keep black heels and
| white necks in the liquor cursed cities OF
Georgia and continue TO coin millions out
of the weak and helpless.
And they understand Joseph NJ. Terreh
| perfectly, and they want him Tor govern
or. and they want him bad. Report has IL
that they are putting much money INTO
the campaign to secure Terrelfs election
In these last days of the campaign,
| when Terrell begins to hear mutterings
from the people about the naughty oppres,
| sions Of these liquor lords and Favored
mighty corporations he gets mad and de-
nounces as malicious liars those VINO say
| he Is the candidate Of the liquor gang ana
| the corporation Now, II is very Sc
rious matter to misrepreesEt man; out
how are we TO understand the fact tnat
Terrell contends for local option, ting
very thing that the liquor crowds con-
tend for. and the other fact that the liquor
lords are doing all they can to elect Ter
reu9 we have been told that in Savannah
and Macon the homes Of the other two
candidates, the liquor men are supporting
Terrell TO a man. Does anybody know OF
an anti-prohibitionist in Georgia who is
not supporting Terrell?
And the very fact that anti-prohioition-
lists everywhere in Georgia are doing an
thew can to defeat Query points it to be
the clear duty OF every prohihitionlst TO
y-ote for him A. j. HUGHES.
/ Watkinsville, Ca, May 20. 1902.
UNFORTUNATE THAT