The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1907-03-08
NO sign OF Lid
FOR LOUISVILLE.
Failure of Governor to Keep
Faith Inspires Resentment
only Holds Good in Country
While 1t is Violated in
Big Cities.
Mondays Louisville Herald

MONDAY Lonlsville herhiu.J
Fallen into disuse has the cid" in
Louisville, and it is now apparent thai
the efforts of the advocates of Sunday
closing will not prevail during the in
cumbency of the present State admin
istration. Since the appointment OF
County Attorney Robert w. Bingham
and Kennedy Helm, as special counsel
for the State, Governor Beckham has
done nothing to enforce the Sunday
law.
For several weeks now the saloons
have been wide open, the screens have
been dispnsed with and the blinds
raised. With only two exceptions every
saloon in Louisville was open yester-
and it is easy to see that the "old
times" are back again. Even at the
hotels, where the bars were screened
for months after the Sunday closing
movement was inaugurated, all for
mality is dispensed with,and one can
now get drinks with meals or order
them at the bar, which is wide open.
Out in the State the Sunday closing
law is rigidly observed. In Ovens
boro, for instance, under the direction
of Mayor w. NJ. O'Bryan, Republic
an official, the cid" is on good and
strong. Several saloon keepers vio-
lated the law and they forfeited their
licenses to do business and were heav-
lily fined in the Police Court. Mayor
O'Bryan says that he has experienced
little trouble in enforcing the law.
The same conditions exist in other
Kentucky towns, including LeXing-
ton, Madisonville, Henderson and Bow
ling Green.
1t is only in Louisville, Covington
and Newport that the law is so flag
rantly disregarded. During the cam
paign preceding the Democratic pri-
mary Gov. Beckham promised to close
the saloons in Louisville on Sunday.
He made this promise in all of his
speeches, and thus won the support of
not only the anti-liquor people, but
that class of voters who favor Sunday
closing.
In the State II is generally believed
that the lid" is on in Louisville and
it is only recently that the people have
had their eyes open. At the Seelbach
recently were two prominent Demo-
cratic politicians who had supported
Beckham because of his advocacy of
the Sunday closing law. They were
surprised on their first Sunday in
Louisville to find the saloons wide
open and doing business as on week
days.
'If the situation in Louisville was
known to the people out in the State
Gov. Beckham would be severely con-
demned,' said one of the politicians,
who comes from an anti-liquor coun-
ty. 1.-The hope for Democratic success
In Kentucky next year is to wage the
campaign on the platform on which
Beckham was nominated. However,
people will not be fools enough to
take a promise next time; they will
have to have results"
st is evident now that Beckham
was simply making promises during
the campaign. He has had several
months to show that he was sincere,
s. id yet the saloons in Louisville are
Vide open. The people want the law
Enforced. They want the saloons clos
ed on Sunday. If the statutes did
not give the Governor ample author
lity. then he should have called the
legislature in extraordinary session
and had the law amended. The. peo-
nile would have supported him, but
It is now apparent that he has broken
faith with the people who nominated
him. He wanted the nomination. He
got 1t and is evidently now contented
However, the voters are yet to be
heard from. The State ticket must
be elected this fall. Beckham has
given the Republicans an issue, and
they will take advantage of 1t. They
will raise the cary of false promises
and thus arouse the voters. The
Democratic ticket will be In danger
of defeat, for scores of voters VIII
scratch the ticket, believing that they
are voting for Beckham, the man who
proved false to his promises. Beck
ham believes that he is not In dan
ger, but If the State ticket is de-
feated, and even though Democratic
Legislature is elected, be will not go
to the Senate. No, iac-ed, many