Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-07-20
LOCAL OPTION
IS CONFUSING
George |. Record Answers a Let
ter Written to Him by Anti
Saloon League.

Counsel George l.. Record yesterday
replied to the letter of the Rev.
Charles, e. Nash, of Newark, asking
him to state his position on the local
option issue. The preacher is called
sharply to task for sitting idly by for
years and not bringing forward his
temperance movement until the fight
was brought on to rescue the state
from the political bosses and the cor
porations, and for using the names of
d~iscredi'ed politicians to further his
causes. The letter is as follows:
MY general instinct is to work
with any class of people who are la
boring to improve existing conditions
who think they are, and for that
reason | find it hard not to help you.
But I am strongly opposed to your ac-
ton in trying to raise this issue at the
present time. If the subject is to be
taken up at all my conviction is that
high license is a better remedy than
prohibition brought about by the
method of local option. If you are to
have local option it seems to me that
your proposed law ought to require
a vote of more than a bare majority
or the law is not likely to be enforc-
ed if the experiment is to be tried.
This is advisable for two reasons
If you are going to put into the cate
CORY of a crime the personal habits
of a large body of our people, | do
not think it is fair that a majority
of one vote at a popular election
should be sufficient to do it, but the
best reason is that unless you can
carry local option by a pronounced
majority, the law is not likely to be
enforced.
'"The practical objection that ]
have to your movement at this time,
however, is that if o succeed in at
tracing public attention to your is
sue, you will throw into utter confu-
sion the fight for representative gov
eminent in this state. The corpora
lions control our politics by owning
the political machines of both par
ties. This Is a much greater evil
than ~intemperance, in my opinion,
because 1t involves the very existence
of representative government. Some
of us, by almost incredible sacrifices,
and labors, have managed to get this
issue quite clearly before the public.
1.-THE public can only settle n is
sue at a time. Either our issue of the
maintenance of representative gov
eminent and the destruction of cor
poration rule through bosses and ma
chimes must occupy the public mind.
or your temperance issue-one or the
other. The public as a whole cannot
act upon both at the same time, be-
cause some men agree with you and
disagree with us and others agree
with us and disagree with you.' Each
issue must be settled by itself. All
these years you have done nothing
either to attack the corporation evil
in politics or to bring forward in any
practical way your temperance ques-
ton as q political issue, but after we
have succeeded in raising Il issue
and are in the very act of winning
upon it, you come forward and at
tempt to thrust in your agitation,
with the certainty that if you succeed
in so doing you are bound to split
our forces in two.
"If we are defeated this fall it will
be due in my judgment entirely to
the fact that you have injected an is
sue which, however righteous 1t may
be in itself, is not our issue, and can
not be settled at the same time with
our issue. If you succeed in attract
ing any considerable interest to your
issue, the only effect will be to. put
the old political gang back In power
and check the so-called Colby move
ment, and thus make all the work of
the last three or four years in vain.
Practical craftsmanship in this coun-
try must work at one problem at n
time. AS you have waited all these
years before forcing your issue, why
can you not wait at least this year
and let us fight out the question of
the control of our political parties by
the corporations? This fall and next
fall will settle that issue, in my opin-
ion, in our favor, If you help us in
stead of hindering us.
"A perfect Vi lnlS polht
appears upon the margin of the. letter
which you sent me. You are there
commencing to the good people OF
New Jersey who receive your litera-
ture, some of the very worst men who
ever appeared in Trenton in our leg
islature-men who have sold out the
people ever and over again, In favor
of the corporations, and who, in ev-
cry practical sense, are virtually trail
tors to the fundamental principles of
our government. Yet you are APP
parently glad to put forward their
names to the church people of this
state as worthy of commendation. IL
local option has got to be accomplish
ed by the virtual Endorsement OF men
of this character, your Is IN
deed in a desperate way
81 d. not believe that any good
cause can ever triumph by such
means. 1t is your duty, in my judg-
ment, as good citizens, vigorously 10
oppose in public and in private some
of tn men wlloIn you are indorsing
- 49,. .o;,faI .VtNnn