The semi-weekly messenger., 1908-02-07
WHERE THE DANEEE LIES.

Under the heading Great JOY ini
Wilmington Al Fairbrother's Every
thing, Of Greensboro, has the follow
Ing to say In its current issue en- the
prohibition question which the lesisll-I
ture has submitted to the vote ot thel
people:
We receive word that when VIII
mlngton people heard that the WhiS-
Key question. as a state prOpoSitiOn.l
must be voted on by the whole peop!el
mere was great rejoicing, hecausel
the hope is that North Carolina will
not 90 dry. 1t is also believed that
the question of local option for Will
mington Will result in the continual
ton of saloons. Wilmington basl
some fifty odd lar rooms and the IL
cenSe money is a great tnng to look
at-espeCially iii these days when thel
scrip feature is yet fresh in the mindsI
Of all people.
Many men argyle that if the state is
called upon to vote wet or dry, that
the vets Will be in a majority. The
excitement which generally is on
around local option election will be
missing; the country people will not
be button-holed like their city cousin
IS button-hOled; there will be a better
chance to vote as you please. and the
chances are that by the next election
the prohibition wave will not be as
strong as now.
Anyway, the people who were not
in favor of snap judgment, like Geor-
gia and Alabama took, are rejoicing.
The democratic party in North Caro-
lima is afraid of prohibitiOn-afraid
because the republican party has some
hope some day Of carrying the state.
When you tell q democrat this
he wants to pooh hoo the idea-bur
all you need do is to refer him to the
days when Marion Butler and Polk
turned the state aside; the days when
Russell was governor and Pritchard
was United States senatOr-an then
he recalls that the machine which
is now attempting to put prohibition
on the state is the same machine that
delivered the party to populism and
republicanisn, and he walks away
Whistling q mournful ditty.
Wilmington and New Hanover
county will wake up and deliver a solar
plexus blow to the prohibition folk If
they get a chance; Salisbury and
Rowan county are hardly considered
doubtful, while many Of the dry towns
of today will surprise people on their
vote in state election.
1t is all refreshing. Those who want
to continually disturb conditions;
those who want to keep up some sort
Of a revolution; those who forget that
a state always boiling and always
| wrangling cannot hope for the COM
mercial supremacy it would otherwise
enioy are having their inning. and
some day, Just when we 10 rot know,
things will quiet down and all these
mixed and perrlexing problems Will
be given rest.
And the sooner that glad day comes
the better for ali concerned
We think Brother Fairbrother puts
the strength of the wet side too
high, though we know that there is
great diversity of opinion just now
as to what will be the outcome OF the
election.
1t remains to be seen what effect the
| provision in the bill will have which
declares that the Watts law shall still
; be in effect in those towns which have
recently. held elections on the question
under its terms and have voted out
saloons. II the opponents OF prohibi-
ton in dry towns hold that the result
of the election is of no consequence
(! to them because If the state election
were TO result in victory for the "wets"
their condition would not be changed,
then the state viii go for prohibition
BY an overwhelming majority.
Such voters, however. may take the