The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-07-11
4 Clean Weekly Press

ssccAIS 1-EcSS
OF the three hundred weekly papers
published in the state, less than one
dozen of them print whisky and near
beer advertisements. OF the twenty
Eve daily papers quite a number do
not print these ads. We do not mean
to say that this great percentage
make it a rule not to print whisky
ads. because they oppose it, for do
not know their sentiment along this
line, but the fact remains that the ads
are not being printed by them. While
it is fact that some of the state pap
ers favor a modification of the pres
ent law, and always play up" any
news item that will help the cause
along, still a majority Of the papers
favor state wide prohibition. and an
amendment OF the present law to the
exclusion Of the so-called near beer
That the present law is being yiolat-
ed and disregarded in different sec
tions of the state is freely admitted
and commented upon, and invariably
Ihe comment favors the enforcement
and not the abolishment of the law.
And for this purpose law and order
| leagues are being formed all over the
state and they are putting in some
effective work, too
| Reading from day to day the almost
state-w wide sentiment in favor of the
present state law against intoxicants
We do not view with any alarm the
| apprehension in certain quarters In
Georgia and on the part of some of
the prohibition workers that an at
| tempt will be made at the present ses-
sion OF the legislature to pass a local
option law. While there is never any
! telling just what legislature Will or
| will not do, yet there is absolutely no
| demand for such change by the peo-
pie who have the welfare of the state
at heart. and the suggestion Of such
a change Will bring a storm of protest
| throughout the state the like of which
has not been witnessed in years. Were
| the state to vote upon the question.
the statewide law would win over
| whelmingly. in an untrammeled cleo
tfon free from corruption.
| These statements are made after a
close observation of the sentiment of
the people reflected through the state
| press and We venture the assertion
that the exchange editor of any paper
III ihe state. who reads the state pap
ers closely and who has observed the
prohibition situation, will agree with
me to the aforementioned facts re-
garding the attitude Of the press and
the people generally.
Paid to Nisrepresent the south
There is another practice that the
South should resent. Northern and
Eastern publications who like TO boost
their circulation in the South sent
i''special' writer's down here to investi-
gate the success of the prohibition
laws. They, as a rule, only visit the
large cities and if they ever go into
the small towns and country, it is
usually an automobile, and after win
ing and dining" at few Of the clubs,
ani viewing the sale of intoxicants
over club bars. they say in the article
tha; prohibition is failure. Then
upon all over the country. Such ar
ticles do the South shameful injustice
and should be tabooed. To Judge If
1.-The present law is Improvement t
OVER the old. one must be familiar with
conditions here when the open saloon
existed. Let these special writer's go
back four years and view one of the
saloons and its patrons, accompany
some of its patrons home and see the
conditions there-often half-naked
children and thinly-clad wife viii
gree you: view some of the outgoing
trails from local option cities, the
I.ls asIlin, drunken crowds you have to
contend with, when your life is i'm
perilled by stray bullets; let him take
a lady with him and feel the embar-