The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1909-03-11
Special Correspondence,

legislative week has closed and the
record is made up. Everything con.
sidered, it is a good record. Sub.
stantial progress has been made
While no bill has passed both houses,
large number have been passed in
each house. Those which are now go
ing from one house to the other fo1
completion or final rejection are, fol-
the most part, measures Of minor i'm
portance. None Of them have political
| significance. In fact no bill of any
| particular political importance has yet
been voted on. The most important
measure which has engaged the House
is the county unit local option bill,
which was ingrossed early in the week
by vote which shows a very narrow
margin-only IA. Itmust have ! on
final passage and it is said that several
who voted to engross it will vote
against it on the final test OF its strength.
The same bill is in the Senate Com
mittee on Criminal jurisprudence,
where a proposition is under considera
ton to include it with three other bills
for which the committee will report
substitute. It is the Anti-Saloon League
bill, and on that account has some
political interest, for the reason that it
represents the demand of that organ;-
zation, which can do something in
the way of politics if disposed.
The Woman Christian Temperance
Union and the other prohibition or
CARNATIONS have at last lined up here
for the fight for submission of con-
stitutional prohibition amendment. A
resolution for that purpose was intro
duced in the House Thursday at their
instance. It provides for vote at
the general election in 1910 on the
question of statewide and absolute
prohibition. It we'll drawn and means
fight which the "drys' and the.
VETS must engage in on the floor of
the House and then on the floor of the
senate. There are many in the House
who say that it must and will pass,
though some who advocate submission
are earnestly opposed to prohibition.
The Democrats seem to be more favor
able than heretofore toward submission.
1t looks strange to see some Demo
cratic leaders, who have heretofore
fought the proposition and declared
against allowing such question to be
admitted to vote, now lining up with
the most pronounced dry members
in favor of this resolution. Of course,
it is politics whether good OF bad
politics remains to be seen. These
men have all at once become very
sensitive to the demands OF petitioners
they have heretofore cast aside as chaff
in the Legislative halls. Among the
Republicans there is a conservative
feeling, the leaders not having taken as
yet any active steps in this matter.
Governor Hadley and all of the Re-
publican party leaders are unalterably
opposed to the proposition to put Mis-
souri under prohibition. They do not
believe that it is necessary or practi-
cal to abolish the manufacture and sale
of intoxicants in this great state, with
its cosmopolitan population, its big
cities and its enormous manufacturing
plants even if it were desirable to do
so. If the Democrats have come round
to advocacy of prohibition to vote, it
is very recent conversion and one
which smacks of political scheming
more than of devotion to principle or
tolerance of the prohibition idea Be
cause of the presence of the old issue
in the new situation of this capital there
is to be lively doings in connection
with it. It would be rather premature
to make a guess as to the final out
come The Democratic whip has not
yet been heard to swish through the
air of the legislative halls. 1t may be