The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-18
Committee Feels 1t Has
Heard Enough About
Statewide Bill.
MANY SPEAKERS
GROW ELOQUENT
Cannon Willing to Have Dry
Law, if Passed, Go Into Eff
feet January !, 1e12. if
State Measure Is Not
Considered by Finance
Committee.

SAAoAoSASO ny F1ndnce
Committee.
In the hands OF the Senate and House
committees on Privileges and Electlons
now rests the fate OF the Strobe STATE.
wide prohibition bill. After treae,Ina
the beaten path OF arguments. thrice
| repeated at three separate hearings,
.he local option and State. wide forces
last night closed their case, In obedi-
ence to the mandate of the two com
mlttees which met In executive session
just after the hearing was concluded
ana decided that the case had been
fully argued and did not need to ba
prolonged. The local option adherents
wished more time. bu. by thi. act;nr
1t was denied them.
The principal speeches of the Ana,
nearing We're those of Captain ID M
smith, counsel for the Model Lfcensa
League OF America. and w. A. Ander-
son. of Norfolk, for the local option-
ISIS and Captain j. NJ. Smithers and
Dr. James Cannon. Jr., for the State
woe measure. Mrs. Howard NJ Hoge,
representing the State Women's Chris
t'aH temperance Union, also spoke.
| Must Try 1t Out Now.
Dr. x. Fl. Pitt, of Richmond. opened
ior statewide prohibition He said
that ne is convinced that the question
must be tried out now. and mat
though a conservative, he felt that the
popular dsmand justified the passage
OF the bill
Mrs. Hoge. representing the women.s
Christian Temperance Union. snoks
briefly. disclaimlng a desire Tor s,,r.
frage, but asking protection for .our
homes. Most of her time was devoted
10 refuting the opponents arguments.
colonel Johnson, of Roanoke. said
that he thought he represented the
majority of sentiment in that city, and
that In his opinion 1t is a dry senti-
ment. He argued against the possi-
bility of subsidization by the iiauor
people of the negro vote
/ A. I. Wright, of Waynesboro. asked
favorable vote on the bill ..in the
name OF the motherhood OF Virginia
With due humility the Statewide
advocates seek the passage of this
measure, declared Professor D. L.
Jordan. of ataunton. "and not with
,hat arrogance which certain truth-
oe1osglns newspapers have ascribed
to them. They base themselves on
mat right of petition which George. III.
oehled the American colonists..
In good old camp-meeting style.
george +. Adams, treasurer of Motto
way. welded his javelin upon the
Fniilstines of anti-prohibition. II pray
God to give this General Assembly the
| wisdom Solomon prayed for" he said
as he exhorted the wet. legislators to
bench.
,en the local option orators came
TO the fore. w. A. Anderson. of Nor
tolk. said that if the bill passed 1t
would put men out OF employment at
such an age that they could ger no
other work to do.
Paris. the wickedest city in tho uni
verse, and consuming tremendous
amount of liquor. had shown only fif-
teen murders last year. he said, while
Georgia. rocking in prohibition. had in
the same time shown forty-five.
Speaks for Liquor Eolk.
Daniel Morgan Smith. an expatriate
Virginian, now living in Kentucky,
appeared as counsel for the Model
License League of America For
solid hour he unfolded word pictures.
tributes to the Old Dominion, her wo-
men. her gallant sons. her love OF
liberty. interspersed with arguments
against Statewide prohibition. II have
stood on the banks of the beautiful
Rhine" quoth he. but I am glad to
get back to the muddy James,
1t was his wish, said he. that that
here that exists In Germany. The
law he advocated was one requiring
one saloon for every 500 people who
desired it, the fine imposed for the
first violation of tho law to be Inn
posed. without any exercise of discre-
tion on the part. of the Judge; the
second offensc to mean forfeiture OF
the license.
Maine and Georgle as dry States, he
fo 60
| reality. Most OF the States of the
| Union had tried nj one time, or an
other prohibition and they had failed
signally. Prohibition he said, us a
Joke, and an absurdity OH the statute
books"
! Padded statistics were used, he
] thought by the allies OF prohibition,
/ "It is better to have regulation that
| regulates" he declares, than prohf-
| bition that does not prohibit The
| prohibittonists arc like the people who
burned the witches at salem. Ihey
| feelithat they are right but later they 4
will find they are wrong"
"You forget the difference in peonle
when you compare conditions IN Maine
with Kentucky In Maine. = man
calls you a liar YOU make him prove &4
IL. If he steals your wife you sue him
for alienation OF affections. but In
Kentucky we XIII him.
with a ringing. appeal to the lests-
,lators to take General Lee as their
example and not to fear to do the
right courageously, even though y NJ
might mean defeat. he closed.
Local Option Principlc.
A. G. Monoura, of AieSandria, said \
that the tprinciple~ of local option Is at
the foundation of Virginia govern
ment. II a vote were taken, he sail.
~ would be 3 to g In favor or local
option, for many people who would not I
vote local option IN county elections \
would so vote IN State elections be-
cause they belieYe in the local option
principle rather than the Statewide
principle.
Mr.. Grittin. Of Petersburg, said II
might he Very Well to make Virginia
dry so as TO Keep liquor ont az North n
Carolina, but IL Virginia Is shipping
10 much TO North Carolina now "tor