Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-18
TEXAS, Is GOING DRY.
Saloons Are Losing in All but the
Border Counties.


From the Hartford Courant.
There are gains for all our losses" sang
the poet The prohibtionists have had
losses-and pretty serious ones-in this cor
ner of the country. but Just look at the
gains they are making in the southwest
The specially interesting fact about these
gains-though thus far your political pro-
hibitionist gets mad at once II you try to
call his attention to it's that they are
made under local option.
Take the two states Of Mississippi and
Texas In Mississippi the only counties in
which the sale of liquor over the saloon bar
is still legal business are the few that
have cities in them. All the others are now
as dry as law. with public sentiment. can
make them. We think 1t will be an unwise
Mississippi to force prohibition upon the
cities against their will, but all the signs
indicate that rural Mississippi means to do
just that thing. and at no distant day.
What Is the present situation in Texas-a
commonwealth whose 246 counties make
Connecticut's eight look a very tiny flock
indeed? In flfty-seven Of the Texas coun-
ties-nostly on the border or UP in the
sparsely settled Panhandle" region-men
who have the price and are not too far from
a saloon can get their red liquor openly and
unafraid. Frontier conditions and ideas
still prevail. In f1fty-nine counties the sale
Is legalized in the cities and larger towns,
and prohibited outside them. In 100 coun-
ties it is prohibited altogether. Three big
counties-Williamson. Hunt and Falls
have voted the saloons out within a month.
Half a dozen counties will vote on the ques-
ton, under local option, within the next
month The saloon men are putting up
stiff fight but the odds are against them.
To the Chicago Record-Herald a corre-
spondent writes from Dallas:
THE prohibitionists within the democratic
party are organizing q campaign to elect
prohibition majority in the legislature to be
chosen next year, in order that absolute
prohibition amendment to the state consti-
tuition may be submitted to a vote Of the
people Of the state in a special election in
1905. Governor Lanham Is a strong prohibi-
ZIONIST and is being looked to to help the
movement along"
Why have the farmers Of these two states
and Of other states Of the south, improved
the opportunity given them by the local
option law to shut up the whisky shops and
drive out the whisky sellers2 In self-de-
tense, for the protection Of their homes
Because the countryside Ia exceptionally
happy and fortunate that does not have its
quota of ignortant, vicious loafers-wh1te
and black-who need watching when sober
and are devils unclaimed when drunk. It
would be breath wasted to preach temper
ance and sober self-restraint to them The
teal course in the circumstances. They
have done what they can to take the whis-
ky away from the dangerous classes in the
community-white and black alike-and to
keep it away. That 10 common prudence
and common sense Forced, unwilling. alb
ideal thing; 1t isn't. But the southern farm
ers have judged that at the worst 1t is
vastly better for a farmhouse county than
drink madness, hideousi felony and murder