The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-09-30

AMENDMENT
The Issue Before the People at
The November Election
FOR OR AGAINST LIQUOR
The Is No Middle Ground = Every Voter
Must Align Himself With the Forces
of Right or Wrong.

The News has few words to say be-
fore the campaign over the prohibition
amendment gets fairly started.
The preliminaries have all been ar
ranged. What has been done so far is
only preparatory.
The contest is over an amendment to
the state constitution only that, and
nothing more.
The issue involved is recognized of
tremendous Importance to the state,
and too it's every interest
The liquor traffic is already ou.lawed
in over thirty-four of the forty-six
counties.
If the amendment fail, the saloons
continue their deadly work, not only in
the wet counties, but in every other
county to which they ship and sell.
If the amendment passes, the liquor
traffic becomes an outlaw all over the
state.
Pass the law and Florida no longer
becomes the refuge and dumping ground
for the crowd Outlawed in Alabama,
Mississippi Georgia, Tennessee and
North Carolina.
Pass the amendment and the several
counties will have no more county OPP
ton contests. 1t will be a matter of
law enforcement, without the backing
of blind tigers by rich and powerful
liquor and business aggregations in
Jacksonville, Tampa and Pensacola.
Pass the amendment, and we make
prohibition the permanent and state
wide policy of the commonwealth. Sub
sequent legislatures, elected by the
liquor interests of America, cannot
change the policy.
Defeat the amendment and the same
liquor forces now crying local option"
will organize to extend the wet territory
and make whole map license and black.
The leaders have been chosen. For
months the liquor men have followed
the plans and lead of one "Pleas. A.
Holt" That he is shrewd and unscru-
pulous as to means, no one denies. he
is the general-in.chef of all the wet
forces. He is still at the helm. His
brain is directing the campaign. He
wrote the Price letter, photographed in
the Floridian, showing he was helping
to elect the legislature. He has quail
fled venal negroes to help carry the
amendment regardless of law and De-
mocracy.
Without rejecting on the high char
acter of many of the gentlemen who
recently convened in Jacksonville, The
News is sorry for them. They are the
allies of Pleas. A. Holt, and the liquor
interests of America. Their work. in
fluence and votes will help fasten and
extend the corrupt allied liquor power
of Florida. The purity of motive of
men cannot change the effect OF their
alignment and influence. The liquor
crowd, under whose general and banner
these Christian gentlemen fight, do not
believe in county option. The liquor
men rejected Bryan and county option
in Nebraska. They have fought for
liuuor option in Marion, Escambia,
Monroe, Hillsboro, and in every county
where an effort has been made to free
the county of barrooms.
There is money by the thousand and
the million on the side of Pleas. Holt
and his dry (?) Christian allies. Their
paid men are already in each county,
talking and working.
Opposed to this aggregation stands
the Florida Anti Saloon League. This
organization is controlled by trustees
all Floridians. 1t has no money, except
from the contributions Of the temper
ance folks. A full account of every
dollar received and expended-and from
and to whom, is open to all.
The Anti-Saoon League appeals to
none but the highest motives. 1t does
not buy votes or violate the law in
qualifying the illegal and vicious.
The News does not hesitate to follow
the League, rather than ''Pleas, even
though he can command booze, Doodle,
and few preachers, and some good
church and Masonic brethren. -DeSoto
County News.