Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-08-24

former will create little surprise The
purohibition or anti-liquor, forces of
the state. will at once accept the issue
and the state will be given a thor
CughIy heated campaign with liquor
as the predominant question to 0e
settled at the polls.
There is considerable truth in what
Judge Russell states regarding the
failure of prohibition in Georgia. The
failure, though, is due in a large part
to the refusal of officials to make any
honest endeavor to enforce the law
In the large cities especially, where
the old liquor selling element is quite
a dominant factor in politics, mayors
and other officials prefer to cater to
them and to the drinking element for
support than to obey their Oaths Of
office. In all of the larger cities plac-
es are licensed nOminally to sell near
beer, an article that every one knows
does not exist, but in reality to openly
dispense liquors without regard to the
law. No one can dispute this as a
fact. The officials in question shelter
themselves behind the broad claim
that public sentiment will not support
them in enforcement of the law. How
ever, it is quite noticeable that few, II
any, of them have ever really made
an effort to honestly enforce the state
statute.
1t has been claimed ever since the
enactment of the prohibitory law that
the people had never expressed them
selves on this question and that if
given an opportunity they would abol-
Iish the law and return to local option.
This claim has grown in persistence
and it is probably just as we'll that
Judge Russell has been honest enough
in the expression of his views to en-
able the people to pass upon the
matter at the polls. 1t may be that
the liquor interests, and those who
believe in the maintenance of com
muntty rights, will triumph. But we
doubt it. OF course the liquor inter.
ests will eXpend large sums in SUP
port of their position, as usual with
them in all political fights where liq-
uor is an issue, but we are inclined to
believe that despite this local option
will not be reinstated in its former
position.
One reason for this belief is the
fact that local option is even more of
a farce and a failure than prohibition
Judge Russell and the liquor selling
and consuming interests plead for the
! right of home rule. Yet it is motor
lous fact that they refuse absolutely
to grant the same right that they now
plead for. Under local option every
dry county in the state was invaded
| by host of liquor drummers from
Savannah, Augusta and other cities
The wet counties absolutely refused (
acknowledge the right of the dry coun
ties to keep liquor out of their bounds
That very contempt for the rights o
the dry counties is what reall,
brought on state prohibition. The re
sponsibility for prohibition rests NOR
upon the liquor dealers of Atlanta, Sa
Nannah, Macon and Augusta than upol
any other agencies. They treated tn
local option law with contempt an,
defiance, just as they have treated
prohibition as far as they have darel
to do so.
Judge Russell pleads for local op
ton as a measure of home rule. Blu
will he tell the state, and especially
the people Of the old dry counties. how
he is going to hold down the liquor
sellers of the wet counties in their
efforts to flood the dry counties with
whisky? Has he any measure by
which he expects to really give home
rule 10 the dry counties as we'll as c
the wet counties? The very thing thai
will defeat local option is the fact thai
local option doesn't mean local option
but the rule of Georgia by the we
cities. Judge Russell really mus
know that. If he doesn't he is signal
ly blind to what occurred in Georgia
for years prior to prohibition and tC
what is going on right now undel
prohibition. The trouble with the
liquor interests is that they do not
really want home rule. What they
want is boss rule, with liquor as the
boss. If Judge Russell can devise
some way to compel the liquor dealers
to obey the laws and respect the
rights of the dry counties under local
option he viii strengthen his position
Perhaps he will define his views more
fully in later speeches.
/ Tom Watson saws laws and oa+be q