The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-01-25
WILKES CO, LIQUOR
Warm Argument on Prohibi-
ton Brings Out Sharp
RetOrtS.

self.
This year it looks as if it were going
to be Wilkes whiskey.
The discussion yesterday afternoon over
the Wilkes prohibition bill before the
House Committee on Propositions and
Grievances is what warrants the above
statement
1t was a warm argument, and at
times was intensely amusing, especially
when ]. c. Curtis. of Buncombe, and
General Bryan, of Wilkes, banded repair
tee.
About two days representative Kinsland.
of Haywood. introduced a bill for prohi-
bition in Wilkes county
Now, Wilkes county is represented by
General Bryan and DR.. Pegram, Soth
Republicans, and they were both a little
nettled that such bill affecting their
county should be introduced by a repre-
sentative of another county.
esterday afternoon Mr. Kinsland ex-
planned that he had simply put in the
bill by request from large number
nearly one thousand, of good citizens of
Wilkes county.
r. n. Hackett, chairman of the Demo-
cratic executive committee, of Wilkes
was present to oppose the bill. He wished
to have the discussion of the matter
| postponed, so that a delegation from
| Wilkes could be heard. or that the bill
| be amended to submit the question to a
vote Of the people of Wilkes.
General Bryan opposed the bill on the
ground that it was unjust to a very large
part of the people of the county, per-
haps a majority, and contendcd that the
matter should be put to the popular
vote of the county.
Frank D. Hackett, speaking for the
| ill, said that the liquor traffic was an
abiding evil and blot upon Wilkes, and
| the people were tired of it. But they
| knew it would be defeated, il put to a
! popular vote, because of the great In
| fuence and bribing power of the liquor
| traffic. Wilkes was known as the liquor
producing county of North Carolina. and
| the people did not enjoy that reputation.
| They knew that General Bryan would not
! be willing to introduce the BILL and for
that reason appealed to friends outside
of the county.
| Rev. W. r. Bradshaw, a young Baptist
minister, of Wilkes, made an impas-
stoned, fervent appeal to the committee
give his county prohibition. AS to the
claim, he said, that it would hurt Wilkes
! politically, he would say that the lead
ing Democrats were the very ones that
wanted it most 1t was when he spoke
of the material good the measure would
do the county that he grew dramatically
earnest in his plea.
"You can tell" said he, when you are
approaching a government still by the
houses out of repair. the broken down
fences, the poor crops. the pinched faces
of the women, the ill-nourished chill
dren."
Then it would be the moral salvation
of the county. At one convention a
| FIVE gallon pail of whiskey was set out,
with an ordinary dipper, for every one
to help himself He had seen more than
hundred drunken men that day, and
| heard the vilest oaths ever uttered. at
| is a blot upon civilization" he cried,
land we appeal to you. 1 do not believe
| there is a single one of you that will be
| influenced by any paid attorney of the
| whiskey men,"
DR.. Pegram said he represented Wilkes
| to some extent, and belonged to the
| same church as DR.. Bradshaw. NotWith-
standing what the latter haid said of the
| dilapidation caused by the stills, Wilkes
was as prosperous a county as any in
| North Carolina. Il am prohibitionist,'
! said he, but when | was asked to give
Wilkes prohibition over the heads of the
| people, I refused because it was not
| brought up in the campaign on which 1
was elected. During that campaign |
did not look into the faces of drunken
men. We make the whiskey in Wilkes,
| but we do not drink it. know of a
distillery within 300 yards Of a Mission
airy Baptist church, run by d deacon Of
the church. but he never gets drunk and
does not tolerate any drunkenness around
his place.
THE way to get prohibition is to get
it in the heart of a man. If the good
people of Wilkes tell me they want it,
/ will support the measure"
Mr.. Watts gave notice that he would
offer an amendment to Mr.. Haekett's
amendment, that the question should be
submitted to vote of the people at the
general election in November, 1904. That
would give them a year and half to
| try prohibition.
| General Bryan made quite an extended
speech in the beginning of which he
| paid his respects to DR.. Bradshaw, who
| had referred to him as an old man, with
one foot on eternity, throttling the good
| people of Wilkes II don't believe"
| said General BRYAN, that DR.. Bradshaw
thinks there are any good people except
Democrats and prohibitionists. His OBJ
| ject is to save peoples souls. l have
read the scriptures myself for so years,
but I want to say that there is no leg
| islature that ever met that could save
| any man, or legislate any man into
Heaven. We are taught that it is by grace
that we are saved. and I would advise
Dr. Bradshaw to preach that doctrine"
| When General Bryan spoke OF good
class of men that ran the stills, Mr..
Curtis asked: Gould a man believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ and go on running
a still?"
General BRYAN: "He would feel like
that church deacon brother Pegram spoke
of just now 1t is the drinking of liquor
that ruins men, and not the making OF
it"
In this connection General Bryan de-
clared that he represented the good peo'
ME of Wilkes and said he believed III