The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1910-05-02


League is not in politics in Missis-
sippi; it has suddenly been seized
with the idea that this is a benighted
people and that campaign of educa-
ton is needed; the aforesaid League,
therefore, is sending out circular let
ters to the Mayors of the large towns
and more important cities, also to the
editors of newspapers; and further
this deponent sayeth not.
The first complaint OF this sub
chapter of the National Liquor Deal
ers' Association is that the prohibi-
ton wave which has been passing
over the country has increased the
per capita consumption of distilled
and fermented liquors fifty per cent"
Such an increase these hard times
ought to be satisfactory to even as
Dealers Association; but strange as
it may seem, they are insisting upon
the repeal of the laws which have
yielded their business such a heavy
Increase. Another strange thing is
that the Liquor Dealers Association
should expect anybody to believe such
fool thing as that Any law, any
code of laws that would increase the
sale of alcoholic drinks fifty per cent,
would have the active cooperation
and support of the liquor dealers;
don't you know it would? Their
statement is not even a plausible lie.
-
Prohibition" they say, destroys
millions of property and revenue"
We do not quite see how that can be,
and yet make for an increase of bust
ness. They evidently got their wires
crossed the first dash out of the box
But If it does destroy millions of
dollars of property and revenue Its
a consummation devoutly to be wish
ed" The Liquor Traffic destroys not
only millions of dollars of property
values every year, but millions of op-
portunities, millions of lives, millions
of homes, millions of hopes. Along
this line the Prohibition people have
been inviting the liquor dealers to
show down for many years, but they
will not; they content themselves by
f1ocking to themselves and making
statistics which no sensible person
can believe,
''The people and the press of this
country" rhey say, "are demanding
obedience to law" and their answer
to that is, that If the liquor dealers
are permitted to make the laws, then
they will obey them. No, they do not
go quite so far as that; they merely
consent to be punished if they dis
obey them-and are caught. They
favor a permanent license system;
that is, license giving a man the
right to sell poison until he is caught
then punish him little and give him
another permanent license to sell I'M
til he is caught again; then bump him
hard: and this permanent license,
they say, will rsmove the saloon
keepr from politics"
So, hol The saIoon-keeper is in
politics, is her We invite the atten-
ton of the Jackson News to the fact
that, according to the statement of
The Model Liquor License League,
the saioon-keeper is in politics. And
where there are no saloon-keepers,
the League takes hold of the political
situation first hand. II there were
saloons in Mississippi, the keepers of
those dives would be handling the
political end of the business. |
But there being no saloon
keepers here, the Model License
League and the Liquor Dealers Asso-
citation will flood the mails and send
their emissaries here to see that their
interests are properly taken care of
in political primaries, etc.
49, K
Let's stiek J pin right there: rhs