The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-03-30
3 DITO RIAL


sswe have not observed as yet any com
/ ment from the Democratic Richmond Vir-
pinian on the manifesto of the Legislative
Committee of the Anti-Saloon League,
which cuts the League loose from political
affliasion with the Democratic party In Sc
lecting candidates for public Office.
In recent editorial on tThe Anti-Saloon League
and Political Parties we set forth plainly by
quotations from the official declarations of the
League the blunder into which the virginian-Piot
and other newspapers had fallen concerning the
relation of the League to political parties, ana
stated the view of The virginian on the real rela
zion of the League to the Democratic party.
And now. on the other hand, the Democratic
yircinan will state the relation of the Democracy
TO the liquor traffic. The Richmond Virglnlan
truly hopes that the Democratic party Will not
make the treatment of the liquor traffic a matter
Of party politics To do so will be to play with
Gre and will be disastrous to the party. The liquor
traffic u.s. primarily. moral secondarlly, an econ
nmic, question 1t is political question only be-
cause the liquor traffic is entrenehed in the legis-
laton of the State and claims protection from the
State because of the license granted by the State
III Is a political question in that it is subject
nf legislative enactment, but 1t Is not political
Il question in the sense of coming properly within
the domain of party politics.
The virginian does not understand that the
fiauor traffic has been, or is question of party
\ politics in Virginia When the general local OPP
tion law was enacted, about twenty-five years
ago both the Republican and the Democratic parties
contained local option plank in their. respective
platforms favoring the giving TO the people of
h.,S& he
LIQUOR question itself. When the Mann law was
enacted in 1903 there was no division on the pass
nge ef the bilf on political party lines. When the
Byrd law was enacted there was no division on
political party lines, the eight persons who voted
against the passage of the bill being all Democrats
.three in the House and five in the Senate. When
ahe Strobe Bill was before the last General AS
4sembfy there was no division the question on
anoliteal party lines although it Is true that all
lRepublieans present except one both IN the House
1Knd IL the senate were recorded in favor of the
1t is evident therefore, that, up to the pres
gent lime, The liquor question has not been made
& d matter Of party politics. and the two political
y parties of the State have been recognized as
standing for opposing views that subject. In
that it is not party issue and The Virglnlan
sincerely trusts that it may never become So Those
newspapers which are calling for State convention
& Of the Democratic party, for the purpose OF de-
Gliding whether the party shall declare for or
against Statewide prohibition are giving advice
] that fraught with danger to the party. Should
convention be held and should it decide IN favor
Of the liquor interests it is evident that thousands
Of men. who have always voted the Democratic
ticket but with whom moral convictions are always
stronger than political tenents would resent the
\ effort to bind them on a moral issue, and they
would refuse to accept the action of the convention,
as any proper test of Democracy.
As Mr. William Jennings Bryan recently said:
The Democratic party cannot afford to act as
3 the mouthpiece of the liquor interests. 1t can
L have nothing in common with the selfish mercenary
and constituencies crusade that the liquor interests
q have organized against the home and the State,
4 against private virtue and public morals. In
these words Mr.. Bryan expresses the sentiment of
thousands of as good Democrats as there are In
+ the State, and to attempt to bind these men on
this moral question would split the party worse
4 than did the Readjuster campaign in which the
Democratic editor of the Virginian- Pilot
prominent figure on the Readjuster side and was
elected governor that ticket over John W.
Daniel the Democratic candidate. And yet he
~ Ii useful and honored member of the Democratic
N party to-day. That split in the Democratic party
arose on the issue of the settlement of the State
debt, a question largely of finance involving
q moral element. The present issue is moral issue
Y Involving financial or economic element If men
would yield their convictions the State debt
3 question, and by such failure disrupt the party,
4 how much more dangerous is this liquor question
b Involving chiefly moral issues To declare against
statewide prohibition would be suicidal.
s On the other hand should the convention declare
Tor Statewide prohibition and against the liquor
traffic the adherents of the saloon would refuse to
/ Secept the action as binding upon them, because it
4 would mean the destruction of their business and,