Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-02-01
\ STATE PROHIBITION TICKET.

The announcement is made from At
lanta that the leaders Of the prohibit
tions forces have determined to put
out a full state ticket in Georgia in
the coming campaign. 1t is not APP
parent from the announcement wheth-
er it is their proposition to have their
candidates enter the Democratic state
white primary, or to run as an indie
pendent state ticket to fight the nomi-
nees of the regular Democratic or
ganization. In either event we can
,acio,. something in the shape of disas-
r,,,oanead for the prohibitionticket in
Georgia.
The experience of the prohis in Ala
bama should have been sufficient to
have induced them to avoid this very
step in Georgia. In large degree
they now have control of the Demo-
cratic organization in this state The
majority of the last legislature, elect
ed by Democrats as Democrats, was
prohibition in it's views. There is no
reason to suppose that in the next
legislature, selected in a white Dem
ocratic primary the majority will not
be opposed to any letting down of the
prohibition bars. But that condition
evidently does not suit the leaders of
the prohibitionists, and under the
/ guidance of their national leaders,
hailing from Chicago and other points
north and west, they propose, so it is
stated, to antagonize the regular party
candidates.
If there ever was a piece of foolish
advice given to the leaders of a moral
or reform movement it is that which
/ has evidently been served up to the
Georgia leaders of the anti-saloon
league by Chain and other national
prohibition leaders. When the test
/ comes it will probably be found that
/ Georgia is not quite willing to turn
4 it's political destinies over to the be-
/ hests of the national prohibition
| leaders, and such would doubtless be
/ the case if their advice in this in
I stance proved successful Georgia is
doing very we'll along the prohibitive
lines. 1t has knocked out the saloon
/ of the old fashioned type. 1t is true
/ that in large cities the near beer sa-
loon exists, but that is probably bet
4 ter than the innuumerable blind IT,
gers that would spring up in commu-
mites where public sentiment is le-
/ thargic on the liquor question were
4 there no such vent as these places
/ provide. Gradually the restrictions
| about even this traffic can be tight
ened and made more severe. The an
1 ti-saloon league itself, in its recent
/ circular letter, made all sorts of
claims as to the good that has come
to Georgia from prohibition as it ex-
4 lists. One wonders then, why it, IN
1 der the guidance of the northern and
western leaders, should seek to in
fuse a prohibition state ticket into
the field of Georgia politics, with all
the uncertainties that will accompany
/ the election, and the inevitable set
back that their views will have if, as
it is quite likely, such a ticket is de-
feated by the regular democratic nom
inees.
Discussing the report in question the
Savannah Morning News says:
There is no doubt that the state
would be better off if no intoXicants
could be brought into it or sold within
its limits. We assume that is gener-
/ ally admitted. But it has not yet been
I found possible to prevent the sale Of
intoxicants. We have always con-
/ tended and still contend that the way
/ to get rid of the liquor evil is to ed
ucate the people against it. Laws
which have the support of public SEN
timent can be enforced, and effectu-
ally enforced. The local option meth
/ cd was gradually pushing the liquor
interests from their strongholds It
was educational. 1t made public SEN
timent If that method had been adj
hered to the result aimed at-the WHIP
ing out of the liquor evil-would have
been achieved much sooner than it
will be in any other way-sooner than
by state tickets or presidential tick
cts.