The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1908-08-27
APPROVED ACTS
OF LEGISLATURE
Governor Attacked For Signing
Bill Democrats Helped
to Pass.

The Democratic campaign commit.
tee is training its guns on Governor
Harris and using for It's ammunition
In tho larger cities his reputed op.
position to the liquor interests. The
Liberal league, an organization back.
ed by the breweries and wholesale
dealers, and an adjunct to the Dem.
ocratic state committee, has been
particularly active in it's fight against
him
BY devious course of reasoning
Governor Harris is blamed for all the
temperance legislation placed on the
statute books during his term in the
chair. But the argument seems to
credit him with more power than he
possesses. The fact has been lost
sight of that without some Democratic
support during the last session of the
general assembly, no legislation of
any character would have been pos
sible. The senate was dominated by
Democrats and any measure enacted
into a law was necessarily approved
by them.
While Governor Harris is not prud.
ish he most assuredly is not an ad-
vocate of the Liberal league prin-
ciples. He is a total abstainer He
approved the Rose county local option
measure as It was presented to him
by the Legislature and there is no
reason for believing that his convic.
tions on the subject OF local option
have been changed.
II is pointed out that the strenuous
opposition by the Democratic leaders
to the principle of local option Is
scarcely consistent with the aged the
ories of the party as to home rule and
the initiative and referendum. Local
option is merely the right Of any
community to say whether or not It
wants the presence OF saloons. II
gives the majority the right to say
whether they shall stay or 20. Local
option is as much a home rule right
as the power of a community to say
whether II wants public improve
ments or betterment of conditions
that affect the public. health. II is the
theory of home rule put into practice.
The opposition of the party toward
temperance legislation failed to de-
velop strength until the nominations
on its state ticket were made The
vote on the Rose bill is enlightening
as to the attitude Of the Democrats
at that time. In the senate there
were fifteen Republican and nine
Democratic yeas. In the house SO
Republicans voted in the affirmative
and 26 Democrats. To retain the
jewel, Consistency, the Democratic
organization must mark for defeat
this fall, every one of the thirty-five
Democratic Legislators who helped TO
pass the bill. Governor Harris took
no part in the fight over the BILL
either on one side or the other. He
conceived II his duty to 'et the legis-
lature perform its functions in it's own
way. And this II did by responding
to great popular appeal That done.
the governor signified his approval of
the bill by affixing his signature TO It.
so far in the campaign, Governor
Harris record on temperance legis-
lation is all that has been advanced
against him by the opposition II re-
mains TO be seen whether the voters |
OF the state will condemn one OF their |
officials for taking a stand for the |
people as against interests" that are
actuated by motives that concern |
their own enrichment