The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1907-01-23
Dawson, Ca, Jan. 81.

TO the Voters of Terrell County:
IN making this statement of personal
nriviIege | feel that am justified
under the circumstances. I pub
HcIy. early after l was nominated
for the legislature, promised to
amend the dispensary law SO as to
improve what was at one time the
most perfect dispensary management
that nave ever known. Now,
believe if the voters will hold up
NV hands | will succeed in the I'M
dprtaking If there is man in Ter
rpIl county who hates the curse of
the whiskey habit more than | do
have not found him. All good men
should do all in their power to gov
ern the sale so as to improve tue
morals of the people. 1t is a self
evident fact, known to all men who
have taken the trouble to investigate
if Il have made it a special study
for the last few years. that where
the legal sale is prohibited the most
immoral conditions prevail. First,
because the large profits to be made
bv the illegal sale of the vilest stuff
at eXhOrbitant prices cause even
men who would otherwise be fairly
good citizens to engage in the bust
ness of standing between the distill-
er and the blind tiger. These men
never get in the changing, where
they should be, but induce some of
their neighbOrS to take hold and dis
tribute what they order for them,
making them engage in the illegal
sale as a side line, while they are en-
gagged in another work, of which they
barely do enough to keep from
being arrested for vagrancy. In 9TH
er words, it makes a larger number
Of bad citizens in our community
Second, it stops one place of sale
and makes hundreds of places. 1t
takes the sale of the internal stuff
out of the hands of the law and puts
it into the hands of the worst ele-
ment
Some of the reforms l have in view
are: First, TO have the commissioners
advertise for bids in November OF
each year for approximately a year S
supply, the bids to be opened about
the first of December and ac-
companied by sealed samples that
have been analysed by chemist Of
the state department, or some other
chemist of repute. When bids are
accepted by the bOaru let samples
and analyses be kept in the vault OF
the oruinary's office, and when snip
ments begin to arrive, as needed, let
the packages, before a drop is sold
out of them, be sampled and the
samples sealed in presence OF wit
nesses and forwarded to the chemist
to be analysed, and if the analyses
show anything wrong, or that the
goods do not come up to the samples
let them be rejected.
Second, my bill will provide that
only pure and unadulterated liquors
shall be bought and sold.
Third, it will provide that no
cheap liquor (liquor worth less than
% cents a half pinto shall be sold.
am frank to say that il l be-
lieyed the dispensary would continue
to be run without some radical
changes | would cast my vote against
IT, not that / believe the management
has been vicious, but because er-
rors have by force of circumstances
been gotten into as a natural re-
suit of a desire to make money:
When we have pure, unadulteraIeu
liquors sold at a reasonable proIC
It will make improbable the pima
tigers, which are a disgrace to the
so-called dry counties of Georgia to-
day and always will be until the peo-
pie, by education of heart and nina,
reach that state where they 90 not
want and do not use alcOhOllcS'
When | hear a man say we asG
going to the "demnitiOn boW-Wo"5
know he's wrong, as the facJs uQ
not Justify the assertion. Wneh q
came to Terrell county, nearly 0 00
Years ago, I found that at least ~
per cent. of the men drank WhlskeS,
whereas now it is not to be denleu
mat not 40 per cent. of the Wnl.0
men drink. 1t is even a noticeable
TACT that a great many negroes az
,o'al abstainers. We are crowns
oeJter, without a doubt. In Dawson
last Christmas week there was PEI
Ter order and less drinking, l daio
say than in any town of its SIZE IN
Georgia which has so-called prom
bition.
| wrote something on this line IasV
year when this question was asl,
lated, and some over-zealous gooG
men answered it and tried to misleau
tne public to believe that l was d
Thlskey advocate, when any reason
able man could have seen that l was
Just the reverse. I do not drink It.
I despise it on the face of the eartn
II IS my heartfelt desire to chaIn
i! !. down closer, and my vote for Ine
ulSpensary will be dryer in realty
man if l were to vote against IL;
a vote against the dispensary Woulu