The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-08
SINCERITY sHoWNsBY VOTES.
Local Option a Failure Says Rev.
Williams in Discussing Temperance

Local Option Failure Says Rev.
Williams in Discussing Temperance
From the subject, Us Political Advo-
cacy of Local Option Sincere?" Rev.
A. NJ. Williams, pastor of Trinity
Methodist Church. preached a short
prelude on the temperance question last
night. He took the position that local
option, so vigorously cried for, is a
failure and in support of his statement
recited conditions existing in verious
Georgia counties.
He further claimed that the people
crying for local option are not sincere,
but rather are doing it more to quiet
the growing sentiment for temperance
than anything else. He closed by ask
ing his people to watch the actions
of the local optionists in support or
against, a bill now pending in Con-
gress.
The text of the sermon was taken
from Matthew VI, 10: And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil"
1T is unnecessary to discuss the
great evil of alcoholic intemperance,
SdlQ INGNs MI. w AllicliiS. NJ SoihNf NHAA7
did, disinterested person denies 1t.
Those who believe they should act as
they pray seek the most efficient meth
DDS to remove temptation to drink.
How can a man pray, Lead me not
into temptation and hang around
uoggerel all day? How can COM
rnunity pray, Deliver us from evil
and let drunkard-m making factories run
seven days in a week and freely open
10 men, women and children. vote
for prohibition is a sincere utterance
of the sentences of the Lords prayer.
Among the people who claim to
favor temperance there are many di-
vergent opinions as to the most effl-
cient method to suppress this iniqult-
GUS traffic. The favorite cry of the
politician to-day is local option Let
the people of each county decide this
question for themselves.
THE position is plausible said Mr.
Williams. When a locality votes to
prohibit, the enforcement of the law is
more probable. Public sentiment does
have its effect in the execution of
law. l do not believe in the princl-
pie. / believe the law ought to llft
men up in the moral scale, and not
men pull the law down. However, l
allow the plausibility of the local OPP
ton argument, even if l do not admit
its correctness.
THE advocates of prohibition might
afford to compromise on local option
if its political advocates were sincere
But local option practically means
liquor legally sold in counties that vote
wet and the traffic pushed by the wet
counties on the dry.
"Bulloch, Burke and Jefferson, vote
dry; Chatham, Richmond and Bibb
vote wet. Chatham, Richmond and
Bibb whisky men flood Bulloch,
Burke and Jefferson with drummers:
In other words, the rule works only
one way This is the reason so many
voters in Georgia favor a state pro-
hibition law. 1t will facilitate the ex-
ecution of the prohibition law in dry
counties
There is now pending in Congress
a measure which will test the SINGER
ity of the advocates of local option.
II is a short bill putting all trans
actions of express companies and for
eign dealers under the operation of To-
cal laws.
This applies to states, counties and
municipalities. 1t places all dealers,
direct and indirect, under the same
law 1t does away with the plea that
prohibition in a county interferes with
interstate commerce laws. 1t extends
power of the police over the foreign
corporation or dealer. The law is fair.
The sincere advocates of local option
ought to favor it, The temperance
people ought TO be able to depend on
their assistance in and out of Con-
gress to secure the passage of this
law.