The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-10-14
0NSTATE-WIDE:
PROHIBITION
Hon. Seaborn Wright Addressed
Voters In Fort Pierce
BUSINESS STANDPOINT
Speaker Declared the Whiskey Trust the
Worst OF All TrustsIt Is Now Using
1t,0O0Negroes to Control Election

|
Seaborn Wright, the famous Geor-
gia orator, addressed an audience of
one hundred and fifty in the court house
Tuesday evening, on the subject Of
State wide Prohibition from business
standpoint.
The meeting was opened by A. D.
Penney, chairman of the st. Lucie
County Central Committee of the Anti
Saloon League of Florida, who in a
short address, stated briefly that the
object of the meeting was of great i'm
pOrtance to every man, woman and
child in the State, and that the audi
ence would doubtless be pleased to
listen to an address by the man who in
large measure is responsible foriour
sister state of Georgia having adopted
Statewide prohibition. He then in
trOduced Mr.. Wright.
As he arose Mr.. Wright was greeted
with applause, and when this subsidized,
he started in his characteristic manner,
straight to his subject, announcing that
he would not make howery oratorial
effort, but would endeavor to give the
audience some facts on Statewide pro-
hibition from business standpoint that
would convince anyone who wanted to
be convinced of the right.
Mr.. Wright dwelt at length upon the
saloon and liquor interests as cancers
upon the business interests of the
State. He showed that eight million
dollars of Florida money is annually
spent for liquors, and that six million
goes to enrich foreign whiskey trust,
which gives nothing of value in return,
and besides robbing the people Of this
immense sum of money, is actually de-
bauching and controlling the elections,
placing in office men who will not en-
force the laws of the land, and who
are allowing our cities to become the
dumping grounds of the lawless ele-
ment that is driven out of other south
ern states.
Listen, men," said Mr.. Wright,
you people who are so loud against the
existence of trusts are furnishing the
fire for the whiskey trust to fry the
fat out of the nation. Yes, you are
furnishing the biggest trust the world
ever saw with the money and influence
to not. only rob you and your children,
but with the power and privilege to
corrupt your politics, to ruin the lives
of your women and children, and to fill
the country with insane old men and
idiotic children, and what are you get
ting out of it? Nothing whatever of
value"
"Vote out the saloon from Florida
and turn this vast sum of money that
is now going for whiskey into legitimate
channels and Florida will indeed bios
som as rose, and become the land of
opportunity"
1.-THE whiskey trust tells you you
won't have any personal liberty Il
the State votes out the saloon" said
Mr.. Wright. Fifty years ago our dad
dies paid twenty-five cents a gallon for
a better grade of corn whiskey than is
manufactured today. What doyou pay
for it now? The poorest, cheapest
stuff on the market now sells for So a
gallon. The whiskey trust produces
the whiskey for % cents, and you pay
So. Talk about liberty. Where is your
liberty? The whiskey drinker is not
only a slave to whiskey, but profit
able slave to the whiskey trust.
The speaker paid his respects to those
misguided citizens who declare they
favor local option" He showed that
there is no question of local option in
the present contest. 1t is simply
fight for the saloons or against the sa-
looms. On one side is lined up the
Christian and law abiding people Of
Florida and those who take pride in
the development and advancement Of
the state on the other hand is the
whiskey trust of America, the saloon
keepers of our cities and 1l,O0O ire
sponsible negro voters whose poll tax
has been paid by the whiskey interests.
The speal er declared that every local
optionist, on sober second thought,
would not line up with the whskey-
negro element, out would cast his vote
for the amendment.
During the latter part of his address,
Mr.. Wright touched on the subject Of
the negro. He declared that eleven
negroes have been qualified in
Florida by the whiskey trust, to vote
in the coming election. "Names of
of worthless negroes Of the
element have been placed on
your registration books by the whiskey
trust. to tell you white people whether
you want state wide prohibition or not.
tell you, when they did that they
were playing with fire, and the honor
able white people, and the property
owing negro who cares for the respect
and confidence of the white people,
should stand as a iaan against sueh~c-
tons, and cast their votes for the
which will drive the whiskey
trust from the State"