The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-30
WAR upon THE
TEXAS SALOON
Temperance Folks CroWding
! us AWfuIIy," Is the Cry
From Lone Star State.
PRESENT LAW Is IGNORED
BIG FIGHT IN THE COMING ELEC-
TON. :
PRESENT LAW is IGNORED

Austin, Tex, Augustine action of
the Anti-Saloon League of Texas in
deciding recently to enter on an ac-
tive campaign to drive the saloons out
of every county in the state is looked
on in state Democratic political circles
as the preliminary step toward max
ing prohibition an issue in politics
next year when the members of the
legislature are to be elected. II is as
serted by the leaders of the prohibition
element of the state that the new
liquor law, drastic as it appears to be
on it's face, is not being enforced in
many towns and localities. AT no time
has the sentiment in favor of submit
ting the proposition to the people been
as strong as it is now, according TO
the men in close touch with the situa-
ton.
The charge is made that in FL PasO,
San Antonio and a number of smaller
places, particularly in south and south
west Texas, the new law, which makes
forfeiture of license a penalty for
keeping a saloon open on Sunday or
after midnight, is openly violated In
some instances pretense is made of
selling so-called soft drinks at these
places, it is said. These drinks go by
watha, etc. They are manufactured
by the breweries and are sold in beer
bottles. 1t is asserted by the prohibit
tionists who are keeping up with
things that these soft" drinks taste
like beer and have the intoxicating
effects of beer if enough of it is drunk
Anti-SaIoon League Is Busy.
The Anti-Saloon League members
ing the state into eight districts Each
district is placed in charge of a man
ager, who is charged with the duty of
arousing prohibition sentiment among
the people. Preliminary to the con-
certed effort TO elect none but men
who favor state prohibition to the
legislature, the league will exert itself
in extending the local option territory
to additional counties.
If state prohibition should be made
an issue next campaign it will involve
the several candidates for state Office
in an interesting contest. While the
fight would be centered principally on
candidates for the legislature, there
would necessarily have to be a lineup
on one side of the question or the
other by the candidates for the other
offices. Governor Campbell is counted
as a prohibitiOniSt, but If the efforts to
smoke him out on that proposition
succeed no better than that to dis
cover which side he occupies on the
controversy over Senator Bailey, he
will travel in the middle of the road
i'm a prospective fight. Governor Camp
bell has proved himself an adept at
lodging troublesome questions; at
least questions which he perhaps does
not consider should be issues in poll
ties. The prohibition leaders say,
however, that he would join them
openly and vigorously if the question
is made an issue.
Issue May Be Forced.
The three candidates for attorney
general-R. V. Davidson, T. B. Love
and s. P. Skinner-wOuld be unlikely
to accept the prohibition question as
an issue, unless the proposition should
be forced on them. Mr. Davidson is
spoken of in this connection as a can
didate for reelection. While he has
made no formal announcement of that
fact. il is generally understood that
he has decided TO make the race. Mr..
Love is looked on as leaning toward
the prohibition element. With state
prohibition as an issue. Mr.. Skinner
would likely take the affirmative side
of the question: his friends here say.
In this connection it is interesting
to note the fact that the country press
of the state seems TO be i'm a fair wav
of succeeding in its ayowed determine
ton of causing the defeat of every
member of the Legislature who sup
ported the provision in the anti-free-
pass law which prohibits railroads
from giving transportation in ex-
change for advertising.