Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-05-03
WILSON fAVORS
LOCAL OPTION
Governor Would Not Have
it Made Party Issue.
Special TO the EVENING NEWS.

Newark, May "a letter has
been received at Anti-Saloon League
headquarters from Governor Wilson
In which the governor says he favors
local option. Governor Wilson says:
Il am in favor of local option. l am
q thorough believer in local self
government and believe in local self
government and believe that every
self-governing community which
constitutes a social unit should have
the right to control the matter of
the regulation or Of the Withholding
of licenses"
The letter from Governor Wilson
was in reply to an inquiry from the
Anti-Saloon League for a statement
from him preliminary to their cam
paigns throughout the counties.
Governor Wilson's letter, which is
dated May /, in full is as follows:
The Letter In Full.
MY dear Mr.. Shannon:-The
question asked in your letter of
April twenty-seventh about my atti-
tude toward the important question
of local option is, of course, a per-
fectly legitimate one, and you are
entitled to a very frank answer. l
WOulu nave ISpll6u SODu6E ndu i NOT
been prevented by imperative public
engagements. / have explained my
views to you In private but have, Of
course, no objection to your making
them public.
I am in favor of local option.
am a thorough believer in local self
government and believe that every
self-governing community which
constitutes a social unit should have
the right to control the matter of
the regulation or of the Withholding
of licenses.
But the questions involved are
social and moral, not political, and
are not susceptible of being made
parts of a party program. When
ever they have been made the sub
~ject-matter of party contests,
athwart, to the utter confusion of
political action in every other field.
They have thrown every other ques-
ton, however important, into the
background and have made construc-
tive party action impossible for long
years together. So far as l am my
self concerned, therefore, l can
never consent to have the question
of local option made an issue be-
tween political parties in this state.
My judgment Is very clear in this
matter. l do not believe that party
programs of the highest conse-
! quence to the political life of the
State and of the Nation ought to be
thrust on one side and hopelessly
embarrassed for long periods to-
gether by making a political issue of
a great question which Is essential
ly non-political, non-partisan, moral,
a~nd4social in it's nature.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signedl WOODROW WILSON.
Mr.. Shannon's Comment.
Superintendent Shannon, of the
Anti-Saloon League, made the fol-
lowing statement in regard to Gov
ernor Wilson's letter: This en-
dorsement of local option was all
that we expected. We did not ask
him for any more at this time. 1t is
very gratifying to the friends of
local option throughout the state.
1t will mean a great deal 10 our
cause In framing UP the contests in
the counties where the campaigns
are to be waged. We agree with the
governor In the point which he
makes that it is a non-partisan, or
indeed, omni-partisan. We support
both Democrats and Republicans
oftimes In the same county. 1t IS
true that in some states this local
option question has become a par
tisan matter, but where it has, 1t has
always been due to the drift of
things and not because of the IN
sistence of the Anti-Saloon League
or those furthering it; it has been a
matter of nolitfcaI uolicy."