Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-08-26
PROHIBITION IN THE SOUTH.
Temperance Laws a Result Of the
Disfranchisemen of tho Negro.

Disfranehisement Of tho Negro.
One result of the disfranchisement
Of the negro in the south, says a re-
cent Washington letter to the New
York Sun, has been the enactment Of
temperance legislation in nearly every
southern state. So long as the negro
was factor in politics he succeeded
in defeating all attempts to deprive
him Of his personal liberty" in the
matter of strong drink.
The prohibition element among the
members Of that race was confined
almost entirely to the ministry and
a few members Of the churches, and
in nearly every instance in which the
issue was raised the temperance ad-
vocates were overwhelmingly defeat
ed.. When the negro had been elimi-
mated from the situation the white
ribboners were enabled to carry out
their plans for the enactment Of leg
islation for the suppression Of the IL
quor traffic.
Perhaps the desire to minimize the
possibility Of drunken disorder among
the 'colored population had something
to do with the movement. but 1t was
principally carried forward by the
white church members on religious
grounds and on the plea that their
young men would be benefited by the
suppression Of the traffic.
One Of the first states to adopt re-
pressive measures was South Caro-
lima, which put into effect the famous
dispensary law after a sensational
campaign and election. Texas follow
ed with a local option law under
which a majority Of It's many coun-
ties have voted against the saloon.
Kentucky, the home of American
whisky, surprised the rest Of the
country and itself by similar action,
and Tennessee and Virginia now have
laws which give their counties avote
on the saloon question. The largest
acquisition Of the temperance ranks
Is North Carolina, celebrated, among
other things, for its corn liquor, both
legally made and moonshine.
The Watts law, which went into ef-
feet this year, was aimed largely
against the innumerable small distil-
leries which f1ourished in the noun
tain region Of the state. It prohibit
ed the manufacture Of spirits, except
In incorporated cities or towns. to the
voters of which was given the privil-
ege of saying whether or not distil-.
leries should be allowed to operate
within their limits.
All the large towns In the state ef-
|cept Winston and Asheville have
voted on the question within the past
month or so, and In nearly every in
stance have gone dry or have con-
fined the traffic In spirits to a dis
pensary. Charlotte, the largest cot
ton manufacturing centre in the
south, was carried by the Prohibition
lists. Raleigh. the capital Of the state,
voted to substitute single .dispen-
sary for its numerous saloons.
Wilmington is the only city In the
Commonwealth in which the person
al liberty" advocates were successful
and the saloons were retained.
The closing Of the many distilleries
has caused the dismissal Of nearly q
thousand Federal employees, such as
storekeepers and gauges. Some OF
the makers of corn juice have trans
ferred their outfits to adjoining states,
while others will probably continue
operations surreptitiously in the un-
frequented mountainous regions, and
it is expected that moonshining will
flourish more extensively than ever.
When the Watts law was enacted
the North Carolina legislature, In ef-
feet, made one conspicuous exception
to its operations by Incorporating the
town of williams. The town did not
then exist, even on paper, and was, IN
fact, vacant field.
In nearby town there was large
distillery which was owned by man
who was prominent in the councils
Of the party dominant In the state
and who was a delegate to the 81.
Louis convention. The inhabitants OF
that town were presumably unfriendly
to the operation Of the dtstillery, and
as the bill gave them the right to pass
upon the question, the chances were
against it's continuance.
After the legislature, through the
influence Of the distillery owner, had
incorporated the vacant field his en-
tire plant was transferred there. The
people of Williams are almost en-
tirely those employed at the distillery
and there does not seem much
likelihood that a majority Of them
will vote to close 1t.
Because the entire town was prac-
tically a private corporation the post
office department, under its rules, de-
clined for some weeks to establish
postoffice there, and it was only after
it had been proved conclusively that
some of its inhabitants who had very
recently moved to the town were not
employed by the corporation that the
department consented to the opening
of an office at Williams.