The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-04-27
PRO CAMPAIGN
IS INAUGURATEO
At Largely-Attended Meeting
Held In Waco.
A PLATFORM IS ADOPTED.
Senator cofer Permanent Chair.
man-Great Number of Leading
Men Several Speak, One
a Roman Catholic Priest.

them prominent men, attended the pro
hibttion convention on San Jacinta
day at Waco held in the Cotton Pal
ace, when the statewide campaign was
formally launced.
Hon. Thomas Fl. Ball, chairman o!
the statewide committee, called the
assembly to order. He denied he was
a governorship seeker.
Hon. Horace W. Vaughan was tenn.
porary chairman and Senator Cofel
permanent presiding officer.
Both Senators Culberson and Bal.
ley were criticised for their attitude or
the prOhi bition question, but the Raj
ley issue was not injected.
Rev. Patrick J. Murphy of Dalhart,
Roman Catholic priest, declared i:
was not prohibition against regula.
ton, but the home against the saloon,
Other speakers were DR.. J. B. Gam.
brell, Hon. William Poindexter Col.
A. j. Houston, Comptroller Lane,
Hon. Ell. Bascom Thomas and Rev.
John L. Thomas.
The platform reaf1irms the declara.
ton adopted by the statewide prohi
bition convention at Fort Worth Dec
8, 1910, and declares it the purpose tc
make the campaign upon that plat
form.
Declares there are glaring incon-
sistencies and contradictions in the
platfarm promulgated by the executive
committee ''of the organized saloon
forces adopted April 4, 1911, in the pre-
amble and in the third plank, mani
Testing great affection foa local op
tion and local prohibition, and pre-
tends to view with sorrow the repeal
of the local option provision of the
constitution, thus assuming the posi-
ton of genuine advocates of local
prohibition, yet in the first plank OF
its platform it declares that the pro.
posed adoption of the amendment lis
an attempt to enforce unreasonable
samptuary laws and the abridgement
of the personal liberties of the PEG.
pie, both of which are contrary to the
well-esta blished teachings of both the
Democratic and Republican parties,
and are essentially unamerican In
the seventeenth plank it declares: we
delight in the knowledge of the fact
that in assuming the position that we
do we are following the example set
by the greatest and most illustrious
statesmen which have been produced
by the United States We declare
chat these provisions are self-contra-
dictory and wholly Inconsistent, be-
cause no one who believes in loca,
prohibition or local option can OPP
pose state prohibition on the ground
that it is sumptuary; is an infringe
ment of personal liberty; is undemo-
cratic aud unrepublican, it being that
local prohibition and state prohib
tion are the same in principle.
1t is denied that prohibition is an
injury to commerce, quoting letter
from the late Hon. John H Reagan tc,
the late Hon Barnett Gibbs, as fol
lows: millions of dollars are invest
ed in this business of making men
drunkards and in producing the desc
lation and ruin of women and children
which If employed in agricultural and
manufacturing pursuits and directed
by the talents and time wasted in those
drinking houses would add untold
millions to the aggregated wealth oil
the state and make as many thousands
of happy families as are now made
miserable, because this money aud
time are given to the selling and the
drinking of Intoxicating liquors
Platform declares that with passage
of amendment an end would be put to
the 'ceaseless agitation growing out
of the effor of the liquor traffic to
defeat local option and to render tin
effectual where adopted; state prohi
bition will affect all parts of the state
alike; it is the only way by which the
corrupting and debauching influence
and the power of the liquor traffic can
be eliminated from the politics of this
state; because the protection of the
public morals. public health, happi-
ness, peace, progress and prosperity
OF the state demand it, -
The report was submitted by Hon
w. Poindexter, chairman of the plat |
form committee.
Important business prevented Hon |
Gone Johnson from attending
Executive committee selected Fort
Worth for north Texas headquarters.
Judge A. w. Walker of that city was
chosen vice chairman of the state ex-
ecutive committee.
1t was decided to ask each comfy
to raise2 1-2-cent assessment per cap
tia for a campaign fund, this to be
done at once.
Reciprocity Pasees.
After voting down over fifty amend