The Ocala evening star., 1911-06-28
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC
In Education, Not In Legislation, Lies
It's Control and Final Ex-
termina alton

termination
The question of control of the moral
forces over the liquor traffic has been
for quite a time, and is now, the prin-
cipa1 feature of legislative halls in the
South; a number Of states having alb
soluteIy exterminated the open saloon
while others have only partially done
so, but in each state in the South the
question is constantly before the leg
isiature. either upon some measure to
dispose of ii, or upon a measure 10 au-
thorize opening such business again.
So we see in one form or another the
ubject is being largely agitated in
the South, SO much so that / fear that
it is the intention of either side TO
carry their point without regard for
honesty Of purpose, integrity or other
wise.
The money that was spent in Flor
| ida during the constitutional amend
ment campaign in 1910 would have ed
ucated five thousand children who are
growing up in this land of liberal
school privileges uneducated. and
would have given them that chance in
/ life whereby they might learn to COM
bat and conquer evil; and did you ever
! think of the class that this money was
| spent on? Did you ever think of the
Icorrupt method in which a great por-
tion of this money was spent? 1t was
spent upon the idle floating negro to
influence him in his only free born
privilege the right to vote | fear
that it was not only the negro that
was thus victimized, but that a num-
ber of our own race was thus in
fuenced- But it was a great moral
question, so if fraud and corruption
was exercised, it must be excused. The
issue was so great that even candi-
date for the office of justice of the
peace to insure the support of either
side must announce his standing upon
that one vital question. 1t was so
great that the ministers of the gos-
pei revised portions of the Bible to fit
the occasion: newspa per men became
so enthused that whole issues of their
, papers were devoted to one side or the
other of that great question. and in
general the whole thing became as two
great band wagons where it was nee
essary to ride on one or the other or
be hooted at and charged with lack
of devotion to the interests of our
government.
, In this l do not mean to impute
wrong to one side the other, but
mean to say that both were wrong
!.
they were after. regardless of whose
. votes they were.
: But the money is now spent. and the
matter stands as it was; the persons
who received it are not helping tC
build up civilization, nor making oul
: | country better: in fact, they did not
= even appreciate the help, If 1t can be
= | called help. So the world moves or
= ready for another campaign, for it car
never be settled by a vote of the pop
u1ace, at least not at this time. 1t may
go either way, but so soon as it has {
more bitter fight is dreamed of, ant
when least expected falls upon us, anC
= again the whole country is thrown int
: a state of war. Just as an Illustration
look at our sister states, Georgia ant
= Alabama. Do you think it is settle'
= there? If So just spend a few day
anywhere in either state, and hea
:, what the people say. 1t is no NOR
settled there than it was five years ag
:. when it first commenced. I do no
- mean TO be understood that prohibition
may lose out. but I mean to say tha
= the agitation will never cease unit
= the time is ripe for it.
~ prohibition would accomplish tn
=: desired result, then l am for it: but
- it will not, l am for the right thing t
accomplish that end which will har
- monize between two such hostile in
terests as there. 1t is true, and l d
- not believe a saloon man will deny i
- that the saloon business is base an
degrading, and not one generally to
desired, but it is still legitimate, an
ie we have no right to censure him be
- cause he engages in it. 1t is likewis
10 true, and I do not believe a prohib
=, zionist will deny it. that prohibitio
~ has never accomplished anything, fc
~ the world is not quite ready for it.
% We find that these two forces al
= bitterly opposed to each other, so bit
- ter that if either one of them cannC
40 accomplish its purpose that they the
q do something to spite the other. AS a
III illustration the act passed by the les
III islature, vetoed by the governor, in RI
- lation to chairs in a saloon. AS al
other illustration, the registering
l" several thousand illiterate negroe
who are here today and some whel
o else tomorrow. to vote on question
that they have no right to dictate
he the honest citizen about. So it is al
parent that a general war is raging G
this very important subject, a subje
at that ought to be settled in a differel
way.
oh The saloon man argues his positiC
that he pays a high license and hell
We in this way to run the governmen
:, | This is utter nonsense, because it
not the saloon man who pays the
ng cense, it is the poor unfortunate tn;
buys the liquor, and the question