The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-08-13
CONSERVATIVE
LARGE DA|LIES
Much Exercised Over Conditions
in all Prohibition States.
ON THE SIDE OF GRAFT
History of Every Movement Shows Big
Daily Newspapers are Generally Against
Movement TO Destroy Public Evil.

Some of our rural contemporaries
seem to be alarmed at the heavy edi-
torials appearing in the great dailies
of our state. We refer to the great
(?) arguments of the Tampa Tribune
and the Jacksonville Times Union.
The noble city brother editors are
much exercised over the conditions pre-
valing in the prohibtOn-cursed (D
states. In their opinion the present
conditions in Alabama, Georgia, Missis-
sippi, North Carolina and Tennessee
are worse than when booze was king.
Now he is AN outlaw; but, according to
these wise brethren and their cores
pOndents, he is more in evidence than
ever. These excellent papers would
have Florida believe that materially
and morally the prohibition states are
ruined.
Well, we are not alarmed. The sys-
TEN of regulation has been no regula-
ton, and the liquor traffic as licensed
and managed has aroused the righteous
Indignation of the moral forces of
America. The Model Liquor Leagues
efforts at reform are too late. The
liquor publications, if read, will con-
vince any fair-minded person that the
whole trade is fighting for its life.
prohibition never prohibits they
write; but in the same publications the
cry for money is made to fight the on
ward sweep of prohibition. Funny, if
more liquor is used in dry than in wet
territory.
Unfortunately the daily papers, with
few exceptions, have ever been against
all efforts to destroy public evils of
long standing. The abolition of the
great Louisiana lottery was accom-
plished without the help of the big
papers.
In 1888, Florida passed a statute re-
curing a majority petition for the APP
plicatOn for liquor license. Those who
read the papers will recall the stand of
the Times Union. 1t fought the law
editorially and gave large space to A.
S. Mann and a liquor wholesaler in
favor of it's repeal. However, it was
not repealed until '99, after the Local
Option Article XIX had been adopted.
When the constitution was pending
in '86, this article was either opposed
or ignored by the city papers. Yet it
won by a larger majority than the other
parts of the new constitution.
In 1904, when a movement for re-
peal of the law favoring the Honduras
lottery 1.-THE Louisiana under new
name) was being pushed by j. 5. Por-
ter and others in the interior, the poll
tcians and big papers Except one)
were opposing and ridicuing the matter.
However it was repealed and the old
house built at Port Tampa stands yet
as mOurnful monument to the folly
of opposing a righteous cause that IS
sure to win sometime. These same
great papers, including Tampa Tribune
and the Times Union, used all their
mighty influence to prevent the last
Legislature from submitting the pro-
hibition amendment. Yet it won be-
fore both houses by a big majority.
paign for next year. The great papers
that are getting so hot must be uneasy.
There is no cause for alarm. Knox
vile, Atlanta and Birmingham have
not been ruined, but helped by closing
out the liquor establishments. OF
course, the law is violated Why not?
The trade openly boasts of millions at
command for defeating and repeating
all anti-liquor laws.
In South Carolina, the open saloon is
gone. Half of the counties have coun-
ty dispensaries, and these counties will
vote for dispensaries or prohibition two
weeks from last Tuesday. 1t is safe to
say that as result of those election
over one-half of the counties so voting
will join the tall dry column.
Let not our people in the interior be
alarmed. The articles now appearing
against prohibition in the daily papers
are only part of the propaganda
planned by the liquor forces. If a pa
per wants to be on that side, there is
plenty of money for space. We are
not on that side. -DeSoto County News.