The Sentinel=record., 1911-12-03


 the sentence for the man myself if he l were convicted" As campaign | classic. consider the following re mark Of the mayor of Nashville 10 the governor of Tennessee one Of the best.
 T want to say to Maj Stahlman and the governor that. before they seek to clean up Nashville. they should clean up their home town. Newport has only 5000 inhabitants, and it would be an easy matter 10 enforce the state wide law there. Start in Newport, gov ornor. for have got the goods on you!"
 Bigger Than Governor,
 Mayor Howse, of Nashville, who claims to have two clergymen and as many women as the opposition has with him. Is making no bones about lrot enforcing the liquor laws in Nash vile He is today heart and soul in mud-slinging campaign, his enemies. charging him with all the political sus in the calendar, while he replies, chal lenging the sincerity of purpose of his rabid opponents. Here then, is a typi cal local campaign in a statewide pro hibition state, in which an incumbent mayor is using for his principal polit ical platform the ignoring of the stat ute laws of the state. Here is cam | paign in which a mayor places himself as an executive above the governor openly challenging the bigger officer | to enforce the laws he is pledged by ! oath of office to enforce if he possibly can. Here then is the strongest indict | ment of the state. wide prohibitio, laws they are considered in most O.. | the cities in the Southern statewide | prohibition zone. Is it B wonder, then that iaw-abiding. long-sufferins ci. zens in these cities say, Whats the use?" when asked concerning the working of the prohibition laws. Enforcing Laws.
 In justice to many of the small towns and small cities of the South, it must be said that the prohibition laws are pretty well enforced, when the cit izens of those small towns and small cities demand strict enforcement of | their local officers Take a bustling, hustling, progressive little city like Athens, Ga. Under local option this city derived enough income to give it. self excellent sewers. costly paved streets and other improvements. Un- der state-wlde prohibition. selling of beers and liquors goes on in Athens, l but the city gets no rich revenues to continue paving streets and building sewers The beer men and whisky men are the gathers.
 Local Option Next.
 There are states which have profit ed by the mistakes of these five state wide prohibition commonwealths. 1 Florida and Missouri have refused to enact Statewide prohibitory laws. They prefer to stick td@acal option. Statewide prohibition never could be enforced in such cities as St. Louis, Mo, or Jacksonville, Fla. Public opin- ion would be so strongly against pro hibition in those cities as to make a joke of the state laws. There are many small cities in the statewide 1 prohibitory states such as Athens, Ga. which regulated liquor traffic we'll under local option, keeping good order strictly enforcing the laws. and getting much revenue for public improve mems. These cities today are at a 1 standstill as far as public improve ments are concerned, the prohibitions lsts objecting strongly against in l creased taxes on their property to pay | for the building of good sewers, paved | streets aud sanitary school houses. From my observation and from the | opinions l gathered from men of au- thority in three of the five statewide prohibition commonwealths, it will be but matter Of few years before these states go back to the local op- ton system again. North Carolina may hold out longer, but Georgia Ten nessee and Mississippi will try again the local option system.