The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-20

I L
| to discover any statistics OF the num-
| Der Of bar rooms abolished by the
| Watts Act; but ! have reason to think
| that the number was not great, since
| for years the bars had been finding
| the rural districts too good for them
! For the year 1903 the United States
Revenue Report shows a reduction of
retail licenses from 1855 to SIT. This
| indicates the number of saloons closed
| 36S Fifty more have closed since.
/ We have had local option elections
| in So towns and cities We have car
lied for prohibition S follows: States
| Vile, Elizabeth City, New Bern, Gclds-
| boro, Wadesboro, Greensboro, Dur
ham, Roanoke Rapids, Charlotte.
! tain, Graham Scotland Neck and
| Rockingham.
We have carried for disDensary, as
| follows: Raleigh, oxford, Wilson,
| Greenville, Kinston. Henderson and
Fremont.
We have been defeated in ten places
/ as follows: Washington, Whining
ton, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Weldon,
| Spring Hope, Reidsvlle, Salisbury
and Marion.
Bar-rooms and distilleries are per-
| mitted to exist now iii only twenty
| counties as follows: Buncombe Nc
| DoWell, Burke, Rowan, Rockingham,
| New Hanover, Richmond, Halifax,
| Edgecombe, Pitt Green, Martin,
| Chowan, Halifax, BERTHE. Nash and
| CasWell
| And before the present Assembly
shall adjourn, the days Of the saloon
! in two others will likely be numbered.
! Two years ago saloons were licensed
| in fifty counties.
| From Wilmington TO Ashevile along
!
be sold save at Hamlet and Hoffman.
From Morehead City to AsneSiile
| through the centre of the State, LIQUOR
! may be obtanied of bar-rOomS at
! only La Grange, Salisbury, MorgantOn
and Marion.
With prohibition in Ashevlle, Sails
bury. Morganton, Marion and Winston
Salem, we should have practically the
entire portion of the State west of
Raleigh under prohibition.
1t is evident that the most of our
work that remains TO be done lies in
the east; and in the east most OF the
saloon towns are between the Attain
tic and North Carolina Railroad and
the Virginia line They are many
Of them small towns, ana, therefore,
easily dominated by the mercen2ry
LIQUOR element. Many of them have
long been subject to that class Of poll
iticians who condoued their own I'M
fitness by holding up the awful threat
of the negro's unftness-a class that
must pass out now that the negro no
'onger remains to afford a fattering
background for their unWorthineSs.
1t becomes Us here to salute with a
cheer the noble men who have led in
the actual local battles, and 10 whose
patriotism wisdom and zeal, the vic
tories have been due: and it becomes
us no less to honor those who have
l.
that nothing can daunt-Which shall
never know real defeat. For we fol-
oW the captain who presides over the
ages.
| would thank, too, the public press,
UNCONVENTIONAL and\political. for its
readiness to give us. access TO its coll
umns. And l would make record in
particular of the good work lone in
our general cause by The News and
Observer. OF Raleigh, and that Char
lotte News of Charlotte, and | would
not forget the earnest work, of the
Dispatch Of Wilmington.
/ take it as my duty to submit to
you not Only an historical record. but
also such suggestions as my work
may have discovered to me.
think it timely to make a plain
statement OF our policy 10 this eff
feet
we would under no circumstances
form a pohtical party, but, on thel
other hand that we will not be trified
with. We will throw the weight OIL
our influence for temperance without
regard to parties.
CD That temperance laws must be
enforced. De are on trial now. III
our cause fails, we shall-and ought |
Ito take a back-seat Tor ten years. |
AMI all depends upon rigid enforce !
mcnt of the laws 1t becomes us, |
therefore, as we love our cause and |
value the achievements of these two |
years-the heritage of more than one |
generations prayers and laborS--to /!
insist in imperative temper that the |
laws must be enforced. Let us say
this respectfully, but earnestly, to the !
Governor, to the solicitors. to the sher- |
ifs, to the mayors. Let us make law |
enforcement an issue in every election. |
And yet us ur
And let us urge the judges to inhict |
the penalties of the laws as they
never have before.
CD 1t is timely to make a declara-
ton relative TO the dispensary. L am
sure of your applause when ! say
that we should declare that our aim
is prohibition and nothing short OF
it. l have a higher aim, however
and that is-the permanent cure Of
the drink-evi. I believe in prohibit
ton as the best remedy in rural dis
tricts and small towns. But I must
believe in the dispensary or some 9TH
er restraining and regulating substi-
tute as temporary step in towns of
1000 population or more. And ]
have been forced to this belief by the
history of prohibition in the United
States. IN a word. I advocate the
dispensary us a step toward prohibit
ton where experience has indicated
that the step from high-license TO
prohibition ctnnot be successfully
taken.
(4) We must also reckon with tse
quite Widespread desire for a general
election with State prohibition as the
<rssyy, GggA