The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-02-19


that they were unimpOrtant things
II you did not know better. you would
believe morality was not at par in North
Carolina. You would believe the rural
districts were sunk in all kinds of mi
uuity AS for him, he was proud of being
North Carolinian. and still she had
never been a prohibition State. The
Legislature had never put this measure
upon the State against the will of the
people.
He was told that liquor drinking was
out of fashion and growing more and
moro so every day in all walks Of life;
vet we are asked to violate a funda-
mental principle of our government on
the plea that we are confronted with a
great emergency.
Many people thought that North Caro-
lima ought to be a prohibition State. and
for the sake of argument he would agree
TO that 1t was also true that it was
generally considered that going to church
every Sunday was right and proper but
they were not ready to say that all the
churches in the land should be made
prison-houses once a week by law.
All that was best in the virtue and
character of the people of any nation was
due, not to legislation, but to education.
You could not take a wolf and beat him
into shape as a shepherd dog. That took
generations of training. And the same
way with all such things. 1t was devel-
cpment, not legislation, that accomplish
e3 the best results.
II was true that there was great
popular demand for temperance legisla-
ton, and he would grant that this de-
mand should be heard. He was only
saying that they We're coming to the
wrong tribunal They ought to go to the
people.
Mr. Watts asked if a delegation had
not come here asking that the people of
Catawba be allowed to vote on a c-rtain
measure and if he was not opposing it..
Mr.. Self said it was true that a dele
CATION was here asking him to vote for
Catawba measure. But no delegation
or fetition had come to him from Ca
tawba asking for the Watts bill. Gap
plause.)
lie resented the idea that the country
people were deficient morally and needed
protection on this subject.
AS to the argument that the women Of
the State wanted it, he had been study
ing the dear creatures for twenty years
with all the ardor of a devotee, and he
bad never yet been able to know what
one woman was going to do, much less
several hundred of them. He for one
would agree to give the women q vote
and let them express their will on this
subject. But he was not willing to take
what some gentlemen said they wanted.
TOD Nv Tor- Iowa
tho LIQUOR men, In his county he know
that Democratic distillers had voted
against their own party, driven thereto
by the internal revenue men. But that
did not make a prohibitionist of him. 1t
might make him hate the Republicans
little more
It had been said that in some parts of
the State the liquor traffic dominated
over the moral forces of the community.
He did not know about other communi
ties. but he knew of no such condition in
Catawba.
No threat had ever been made to him
that he would not be reelected If ne
opposed this bill. He had no fears on
that score.
Mr.. Self closed with an appeal to The
House not to take from the people the
right to vote upon this great, far-reach-
ing question.
MP. WATTS.
Mr.. Watts then spoke for his bill. II
had been said, he declared that his bill
was not a temperance measure But if
the members of the House would con-
slider the number Of distillers and attor-
neys for the liquor men who were here
lobbying against his bill, they would
think there was some temperance in it.
1t was the country distillery and dog
gerry that was the greatest evil, greater
than the traffic in the towns Most o.
the Northern States prohibited the sale
of liquor in the country districts. ana
now Georgia and Mississippi had passed
similar bills
Mr.. Smith said the Mississippi law pro
vidcd for a vote bf the people.
Mr. Watts replied that ii provided Tor
a vote in the towns.
Mr. Abel asked Mr.. Watts if, out of
all the thousands OF petitions that had
come up to the General Assembly, there
was one that asked for a discrimination
between the country people and the town
people, or asking fer the Watts bill
Mr.. Watts said there was not, but they