Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1908-08-21
[Staff Correspondence

GStaf Correspondence
Lincoln, Neb.-Liquor men of the
United States need not worry over the
possibility of the nomination and cleo
ton of Hon. William ]. Bryan as presi
dent of the United States. His record
on this issue has just transpired in
public interviews and letters and holds
out no encouragement to the Prohibi-
ton Democrat. Mr.. Bryan is a total
abstainer, but is on record as having
voted and openly stumped the state
against Prohibition in Nebraska in
1889, where the liquor power of the
patton concentrated its forces upon
that state, padded the 1890 census re-
turns of Omaha, Lincoln and other
cities to enable them to cover up whole
sale ballot box stuffing and hired thugs
to assault Prohibition speakers and in
timidate voters and bought up the lead
ing newspapers to achieve the most
corrupt victory ever won by the booze
trust.
His latest attitude is shown in the
recent interview for the Associated
Press June u.
These facts are detailed as follows,
as given by State Chairman AlonZo e.
Wilson of Illinois:
"a conspiracy seems to exist be-
tween the two leading national parties
to ignore the liquor question in their
platforms. The interview with Will
liam ]. Bryan" said Mr.. Wilson, "giv-
en- to the Associated Press and pub
lished in many papers throughout the
country on June II declared:
"T do not expect it Prohibition) to
be made an issue by either the Re-
publican or the Democratic national
convention
"AIr. Bryan says he has received
many letters on this subject and has
answered them all the same way. This
Bryan letter, one of which was re-
ceived by a friend in Texas, confirms
the recent interview and contains this
remarkable sentence:
81 think that | am sufficiently in
formed to predict that the Prohibition
question will not be discussed in the
platforms of either of the leading ma
tional parties
at appears that there is an under
standing between the two leading ma
tional parties to ignore this question
which has forced itself to the front in
American politics and that Mr. Bryan
is aware of this fact"
"Who was Mr.. Bryan's infOrmant?'
asks Mr.. Wilson. "Mr. Bryan says
that he thinks he is sufficiently in
formed. 1t would be very interesting
to the voters of America to know the
source from which this information
came. 1t will be observed that Mr..
Bryan says it is sufficient. call upon
Mr.. Bryan to explain to the country
this amazing statement in both his in
terview and letter. If he declines to
do so the people will watch with inter-
est the action of the two great con-
ventions which will settle the question
as to whether or not there has been
an agreement, as Mr.. Bryan intimates."
Last April Lincoln, Neb., Mr.. Bryan's
home. went through a terrific battle
for local Prohibition, which was lost
by only 17S votes. Mr.. Bryan's per-
sonal support might easily have
changed the result. but he was not
heard from during the canvass.
The national Democratic party in
1884 directly antagonized the Prohibi-
ton reform and catered to the liquor
traffic of the nation with the platform
declaration, I'VE oppose sumptuary
laws which vex the citizen and inter-
fere with individual liberty" This
pronouncement on the Prohibition is
sue has been the UNMARRIED attitude of
the national Democratic party for
more than thirty years.