The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-07-23

History Of the Prohibition
Movement.
Bilkinsville. y. c.. July. Is, 1908.
Correspondence of The Caucasian
Enterprise.
Well, my old friend an fellow
Dymakrat, William Jennings Bryan
heZ bin nomernated fer the presi-
dency ergin, or rather he heZ NOM
ernated himself, ergin Billy liz a
bird. II | wuz in the habit ov usin'
what the quality call slang" I'd say
that Billy Bryan IL a hot number
But ter cum down ter the fackts.
Billy wuZ not nomernated. While
most ov the delegates wuz out look
in at the sights, includin' the brew
cries, Billy made one ov his celly-
brated heart-rendin' speeches an hav-
in an understandin' with the chair
man ov the Convenshun. he declared
Mr. Bryan the nomernee.
But | reckon the Republicans had
sumpthin' ter do with hit. They air
awlways happy when the Dymakrats
put up a feller that amt hard ter
beat, an Billy IL that man. He heZ
bin on the champane before several
times an the Republicans found that
he wuz whut sum people call easy
money, or in other words, wuz not
hard ter beat. That iz the reazon |
awlways feel like the Republicans
maybe help ter put him up. An hit
may be that they put up sum ov
the money fer campane purposes, fer
if they kin git Billy ter stump the
country an talk a-plenty, the race
liz won rite now, fer he awlWays talks
hiZ head off. Billy is a slick talker,
an he awlways sweeps everything
clean until the votes air counted
Then they find that they haint bin
any fite at all. So I'm not worryin'
any erbout who will be the next
Preserdint ov these United States,
an / don't reckon anybody else feels
scared.
Betsy cellybrated her birthday a
few days ergo | told her I'd write
ter the newspapers an try ter give
little report ov the event, fer purity
nigh awl the quality in Bilkinsville
wuZ on hand. She seemed pleezed
with the idea till | told her that hit
would be necessary ter tell how
many mile-posts she had run by, an
then she backed out. She lowed that
the newspapers had no buziness
KNOWN how old she wuz. Then I
told her hit would not be much ov
news item with the most important
feature left out. I awlso told her
that hit wuZ bein' rumOred erround
that the next legislator il goin' ter
pass law requirin' awl ladies, mar
ried an single, ter eport their ages
ter the Clerk ov the Court once
year an that he would be required
ter publish their names an ages in
one Ov the county newspapers once
year She sez she hadn't hearn moth
in ov sich a law an she didn't be-
leeve hit had bin discussed. She
wanted ter know what the law wuz
fer. I tole her hit wuz ter be in the
interest ov fairness an justise; that
the female sex had awlways bin sor-
ter ticklish erbout lettin' anybody
know how far they had gone on the
journey ov life, that they had SO Of
ten deserved the poor men in regard
ter their ages that the pollytishuns
had desided ter hev a little reform
elong that line, awlso, hit bein' a
red-hot reform legislator that will
open the days purseedin's every
mornin' with prayer an close them
at night with the benedickshun, pur
vidin' they iz not a flte or two dur
in the evenin' sesshion." By that
time I seed that Betsy wuz gittin'
sorter hot under the collar, an took
| the keroseen can an went up ter
the grocery store ter hev hit filled
an let Betsy hev time ter sorter cool
off before | went back. She didn't
speak a sivil wurd ter me fer two
days, an when she did begin ter
| talk little hit wuz on another sub
| jeck an her voice sounded like a
cross-cut saw runnin' through a
knotty log. Members ov the last leg
islater had better not cum up erbout
Bilkinsville till dog days air over,
anyway, fer the ladies air watchin'
| fer the first one that dares show
hiz bald head, an they air riled rite.
[ am thinkin' erbout runnin' down
sum insurance agent an try ter git
out a polisy ter hev in case ov trou-
BILE. Insurance il guide thing when
you need hit real badly.
A feller up here wuz akin Bill
Moody erbout the history ov the Pro-
hibishun movement yesterday, an if
he thought hit likely ter becum an
epidemick like the boil weevil an
the seven-year locusts. [ wuz not
far off an l hearn Bill talkin' ter
him. Frum what l could catch Bill
didn't give him much consolashun.
GOV course hit will peter out" sed
Bill, ''but nobody knows when nor
! how. A thing that started in Maine
an spread ter Kansas an then tel
South Caroliny IL apt ter becum a
: plague before hit let's up"
"Why. prohibishun liz the only re.
ligion they hes in Maine an Kansas
sed Bill, "an they never adopted that
till they found that it wouldn't be
= hard to got the stuff an make little
: show of bein' guide. Hit would be
, hard ter find two States with more
immortality than exists in Maine ant
| in fha