The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-09
LEGISLATION AMI
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

/, hell-kettleS at Advance, SnOre ana
Williams and other like crossroads In
corporated as towns. Legislators
should remember that all this din they
hear-or most of it-comes from the
paid lobby of the distilleries-a lobby,
for the most part. that has little inter-
/ est in the Democratic party.
The voters at home-those who are
| true-blue Democrats--resent the sug
gestion that the Democratic party can
be destroyed by wiping out a few
cross-road stilling towns. The Demo-
cratic party will be living and flourish
dead and forgotten.
The Democratic party can be in
| jured only by doing wrong. If it has
| the courage to do right, the party will
continue in the ascendency. The MEM
| bers of this legislature have chart
| by which to be guided in temperance
| Legislation. 1t is the Democratic State
platform and the declaration in that
| platform is in these words:
1--WE approve the general principles
OF the Watts law regulating the manu-
facture and sale of liquors, and limit
ing the same to localities in which
there may be adequate police prOtec-
ton. The principle that no saloon or
still shall operate except under police
protection is as sound as that whiskey
shall not be sold to minors, to drunk
ards, or on Sundays, or near the
schools and churches. The General AS
Sembly has the power, and when con-
trolled by the Democratic party can be
trusted to make all amendments that
experience and conditions may demon
Strate to be wise and proper.
The duty of this legislature, in view
of this platform, is to define adequate
police protection" No reasonable
man will say that there is ADEQUATE
police protection in Shore. Williams.
Advance, Myrtle or any other little
still town that is dominated by distil
leres. To permit the continuation Of
such so-called towns-(nothing but
distiliery oligarchies) -is to repudiate
the very words of the Democratic
State platform and to thereby weaken
the Watts law and in several counties
| bring it into utter disrepute. If per-
mission is given or continued to a few
rich distillers in Williams. Shore. Adj
vance or some other still settlement
| in no real sense town, because the
owners are rich and powerful. or be-
cause they belong to particular
party, or have a pull then the dec
laration of adequate police protec-
| ton is repudiated and special privi-
| lege is given to the few. The Demo-
cratic party will suffer ten-fold more
| by such a reputation of its rock-bot-
| tom principles than by adhering TO the
! Democratic doctrine of equal rights
| to all and special privileges to none
| Last week the legislature had
1 Myrtle under consideration: last
month Hoffman and Hamlet were for
| hidden to sell or manufacture liquor;
yesterday the distillers and their
henchmen at Advance sought to con-
vince the legislators that stills inn
proved the morals of town; next
week bills will be pressed to abolish
Williams and Shore and other dis
| tillery oligarchies' fictitiously called
| towns The stills will be driven out
| of all these co-called towns if the
Democratic State platform declaration
| is carried out Then. when these stills
| can no longer operate in their present
| rural abode what will they do? They
will seek to subsdize some other in
corporated farm, move there. domi-
nate it to its ruin. and the legislature
of 1907 will be beseiged to give them
the same medicine that will knock out
Williams, Shore. Advance, Hoffman
and Myrtle, and we shall have every
legislature troubled with appeals to
abolish cross-road whiskey towns.
OF course Williams and Shore and
Advance will be abolished. There is
no other course open. But does the
legislature wish to be called upon to
legislate upon this and that little still
hamlet? Is it not wiser to formulate
reasonable regulation that will at
once and for all time prevent the
whiskey domination of crossroads
places called towns?
The Ward bill has been drawn to
Democratic declaration on the Watts
law 1t defines the size of a town
that can give adequate police pro-
lection" There is no way to make
such definition that will be self-acting
except by prescribing the number of
voters or number of people who shah
make town big enough to afford
adequate police protection" uncon-
trolled by stills. The Ward bill makes
the number 1000. Some think the
number should be 500 and others put
it at 1900, The number should not
be large enough to affect a town that
is real town, with enough permanent
Inhabitants who could always regu-
late their affairs and overcome the
influx of a distillery population. But
some fixed number should be settled
upon so as to stop Shore. Williams,
Advance, Myrtle and like still towns
and prevent the moving Of other stills
into other little incorporated farms