The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1903-03-03
WHAT THE LEGISLATURE IS DOING,

uG - 10000 ~ AOLuO life
Just now, for the per diem of the members ceases
by constitutional limitation on Saturday Of this
week, and there remains yet very much work to
be done.
Last week was the busiest of the session thus
far. The temperance fight practically ended
Tuesday night with the Senate's adoption of the
Watts Bill just as it came from the House. We
gave a brief outline of its provisions last week,
and we are printing it practically complete in this
issue. It must be said that it's passage is not a
very pronounced victory for the Temperance
forces, for it's purpose is largely political. DR..
Ivey, of the Raleigh Christian Advocate, says:
Gas a party measure to redeem certain western
counties, it was deemed necessary, and it would
have passed had there been no Anti-Saloon
League, petition, or mass-meeting of temperance
people,"
But more depends on the people than on the
Legislature, and while it's members have measur-
ably failed to meet the expectations of temper
ance advocates, it is true that there is now less
in the way of the people working out their own
salvation in this matter. There are 548 registered
distiIleries in the State, fully 500 of which are
outside of incorporated towns. They must move
or go out of business, and it is probable that a
large number will accept the last-named alterna-
tive. We have not seen any figures as to the num-
Der of saloons in the rural districts, but the num-
Der is certainly considerable. The weakest point
in the Watts Bill is its failure to prescribe a pop
ulation limit for Incorporated towns, thus leaving
the way open to incorporate any little cross roads
store for the manufacture or sale of whiskey.
We know that there was considerable opposi-
tiOn and some rather strong arguments against
running whiskey out of the country without a
vote of the people while permitting city people to
vote on the matter, but we believe that the plan
is a wise one. The saloon is inevitably and
invariably a source of lawlessness and disorder
and the absence of police protection in the coun-
try is a serious argument against them-as the
Editor came to believe two or three years ago
when a saloon was established on a piece of land
adjoining his fathers farm.
The Watts Bill as passed is also a considerable
improvement over it's original shape in that it
provides for elections in cities and towns, on
petition of one-third of the voters-not one-fourth
as has been often stated-to decide the matter of
allowing bar-rooms, dispensaries or distilleries.
This opens the way for a large number of towns
to change from bar-rooms to dispensaries (until
now a special act has been necessary in order to
hold a dispensary ~election) and the dispensary
has a much smaller number of Objectionable fea-
lures than the saloon.
The Watts Bill is not free from Inconsistencies,
nor was it urged or passed from purely phiIan-
thropic motives, but if the temperance forces are
really in earnest, it should enable them to work
with freer hands.
The Confederate pension appropriation has
been decided on. The amount is $2OO,OO and the
only change from last year is that any Confed-
crate soldiers widow who married again but is
again a widow and any deserter who afterward
returned to the army, may be pensioned.