The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1909-03-12
PROHIBITION ISSUE
BEFORE LAWMAKERS
Legislators Will Be Required To Go
On Record As To Submission.
Another Successful Week of Leaisla.
tive Work--Many Bills Passed In
Each House Last Week--Con-
stitutional Convention.

Jefferson City, March 6,-An-
other legislative week is closed
and the record is made up. Ev-
erything considered, it is good
record. Substantial progress has
been made. While no bill has
passed both houses, large num-
Der have passed in each house.
Those, which are now going from
one house to the other for COM
! pletion OF final rejection are, for
the most part, measures of minor
Importance. None of them have
p olitical significance. In fact no
bill of any particular political i'm
portance has yet been voted on.
The most important measure that
has engaged the House is the
county unit local option bill, which
was engrossed early in the week
by a vote, which shows a very
narrow margin-only IA. 1t must
have II on final passage and it is
said that several, who voted to
engross it, will vote against it on
the final test of it's strength. The
same bill is in the Senate Com
mittee on Criminal Jurisprudence
where proposition is under con-
sideration to include it with three
other bills for which the commit
tee will report a substitute. 1t is
the Anti-Saloon League bill and
on that account has some political
interest for the reason that it rep
resents the demand of that organ
ization, which can do som. thing
in the way OF politics if disposed.
4 The Woman's Christian Tenn
Iperance Union and the other
prohibition organizations have at
least lined up here..for the fight for
the submission of a constitution
al prohibition amendment. A res
olution for that purpose was in
troduced in the House Thursday
at their instance. 1t provides for
vote at the general election in
, 1910 on the question of statewide
and absolute prohibition. 1t is
well drawn and means a fight
which the "drys" and the "wets''
| m ust 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-smust and
, will pass, though some, who ad.
} vocate submission, are earnestly
opposed to prohibition. The
Democrats seem to be more ia.
vorable than heretofore toward
! submission. It looks strange to
!. see some Democratic leaders, who
I. have heretofore fought the propo
3 sition and declared against al
1 lowing such question to be sub
t mitted to vote, now lining up with
! the good pronounced "dry'
= members in favor of this resolu
j. ton. OF course, it is politics
. whether good or bad politics re
mains to be seen. These mer
: have all at once become very sen
sitive to the demands of petition
3 ers, whose petitions they have
7 heretofore cast aside as chaff il
9 the legislative halls. Among tn,
: Republicans there is a conserva
Q tive feeling, the leaders not having
e taken as yet any active steps il
a this matter. Governor .Hadle,
and all of the Republican part.
e leaders are unalterably oppose,
3 to tho proposition to put Misscur
: under prohibition. They do no
J believe that it is necessary o
e practical to abolish the manufae
t. ture and sale of intoxicants Il
p this great State, with its cosmo
It politan population, It's big elite
t. and it's enormous manufacturin
I plants even If 1t were desirable
3 do so. If the Democrats hav
II come round to advocacy Of pre-
3. hibition, or even of submitting tn
!, proposition to vote, 1t is q yer
10 recent conversion and one whic G
]. smacks OF political scheming MOI
N than OF devotion to principle {
10 tolerance Of the prohibition ide'
: Because Of the presence OF the ol
issue In the now situation at th