The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-02-23


NEwPoGT NEWS. VA, fcb, ga
When tine convention rcasscE.bisd for
The aiternool session Tuesday the :.
e, l. qu1rtst sang one OF it, famous
temperance rally melodies, and then,
as an encore, rendered Well Vote for
Prohibition iH stfeh scr king fash
ion as to 5riu< dewa the house. calling
forth from Secretary AcAlister side
remark that he wanted The convention
10 give him q vote of thanks for land
ing the quartet as q convenYon at
traction.
The strength and Weakness OF
Local Option VAS then discussed eio-
Quentlv rs lev. W. r.. Medley.
Mr.. Mo. ey said
II we're called upon To bound the
evil Influence Of the traffic III aleo-
holic liquors 7 would use the language
OF an eu ausiastie American. who.
when speaking To- the toast "AmeTi-
ca" said Mr.. President IL Is bound
on the uctth hy the aurora horealis,
on the east by thc dawn OF creation.
or the soH'n by the procession o: the
equinox tn3 on the west ry The Judg-
ineHt'
" should atteup, 20 add any
thing nov 20 temperance lore, either
oral or written, / would he reminded
of that friend of temperance orators
who said The most beautiful intel
lccts that have ever adorned this
country rs written on this subject.
and orators who tongues seem touch
ed with a cts' from the affairs of elo-
queucc and Inspiration have made 1t
their IN me.
II 7 shoa}G desire to strike COM
parison a,etween the ravages % strong
drink and those OF other recognized
national eVile l could do no better
than employ the words Of the most
fertile intellect that ever graccd an
American pulpit. who said: The
strong wind and wave driving to de-
struction tine mighty ship. the eevas-
Eating cyclone leaving death AMI rum
in it's course, the porishing ~ some
majestic structure Of art or the lay
ing waste Of cities and towns with fire
flends. carry not With them anything
half So sorrowful and melancholy as
does the perishing Of the fair and
young. that throughout the length and
breadth OF our country are going
down To destruction every day by King
Alcohol.
But have been asked 10y your ge-
NAL field secretary to leave out all
descriptive adjectives. all attempts at
orator.. oil shyscraping and walk ON
terra hrrna and conhne my speech TO
cold. hard facts.
As most OF the facts concerning
local option are statistical In their
nature. as rpn Of the dryest things in
the world according to Low i. Beau
champ a great Temperance lecturer).
are statistics and saWdust. some Of
you may he glad YOU are in wet ter
ritory before my speech is ended.
My life pi 'losophy is optimism, not
pesslmism Ny temperance alphabet
has ne combination of letters. which
can possibly spell failure. My local
option vocabulary knows no such
word as failure.
Before we can decide upon the sue
less or failure Of local option, we
must be able to answer the qucs-
tions: what Is local option. what h
it's purpose and has II accomplished
that purpose Local option is prohi'
bifion in the county, town or dis
trict in which It obtains, Its purpose
is the abolition of the saloon in said
places.
There are some people who say thai
local option is failure. These for
the most part are country merchants
In small towns. who fear that the
abolition Of the saloon viii cause
-ti1rtr--t.+4-t t4s44ef-- Withdraw tn Ell
patronage and do business in towns
under the wet regime. they say thai
saloons generally have beautiful in
terror decorations and that this vii
increase the business OF the lumber
dealer and give employment 70 the
skilled laborer, that saloon keepers
families usually dress in the fines
style and ride In the Costliest equip
ages. thereby adding 10 the business
of the merchant and the liVerymani
that saloon keepers frequently furnish
free lunches to fhetE customers. thur
keeping the business of the grocer ans
furnishing employment to the chez
and the caterer: that the government
needs money to run its business. ant
that the revenue from the sale al
strong drink will supply that need
Bat. upon ii .esfsfal stu&yles5f Tiss' Sub.
tect IT will be found that those who
make such pleas do go from selfish
motives. either being drinkers them.
selves, engaging in the business
renting property for liquor purposes
or expecting some financial or poll
teal emolument therefrom,
But on the other hand. reason
= observation, common sense eN~
perience. physiology. psychology
philosophy. political economy. teach
ers, professors. morality and religion
say that local option is a SUCCESS
Local option has been success wher.
ever II has been given fair trial. 4
has decreased the revenue of the gov
eminent and also reduced the ex-
penditure of the State. Penitentiaries
poor houses. county asylums and jails
require but a 1.-THE of their former
financial needs and the surpIus thus
obtained Is drawn by the general gov
eminent 10 make up the deficit In
revenue. The State has more muscle
hSn sH 4spIl IL .Isl.
and supply the deficiency Of the in
ternal revenue. Whatever places have
voted out liquor have had "A reduc-
ton In police bills and poor funds
TO the amount of thousands Of dollars,
TO say nothing of the higher gains In
xobriety, morality and advanced re-
ligfous sentiment A county in Mis-
souri, voted out the saloon. Last year
tts property tax levy was nine mills
snsA~