The log cabin Democrat., 1912-08-10
ATKINSON SPEAKS
 ON PROHIBITION STATE GOVERNMENT UNIT SAYS WHISKEY MEN HAVE NO RIGHT TO POSE AS LOCAL
 OPTIONISTS.

Zens and including number a ladies greeted Gen. w. E.. Atkinson last night at the courthouse. General At kinson has for many years been in the forefront of the battle for moral re- form. He was introduced by Dr. J. w. Conger, and made an eloquent and able speech. He warned the people that the whiskey men were making ev- cry effort to deceive the voters and that their only hope of success is in being able to deceive q deny to the Whiskey people the right to call them selves local optionists, for when the present advocates of prohibition were Tn the battle to get local option, they fought the then local optionists at ev- cry point and to the last ditch. When they had the choice between whiskev everywhere and local option, they were to man for whiskey everywhere; when it is now choice between whis key nowhere and local option, they are loud in their praise about local option.
 
 That IS to say, they are for all the whiskey they can get, anywhere and all the time; there is not a temperance man among them.
 These same people come to you with the plea that they stand for the good old Anglo-SaXon principle of To- cal self-government. But they falsify this principle. For the unit of govern ment in this country is the state-not county, not the township, not the ward. The constitution of Arkansas recognizes this principle and provided that special laws shall not be enacted by the legislature where general laws can be made to answer. The whiskey men themselves know this, for they raised this very point against us when We first sought to put whiskey out by special acts. They went into court and pleaded that the constitution itself was against the local option process. The case arose in Cleveland county. The supreme court declared that the exigencies of the situation justified the process. We have, therefore, this re- suit: First, that by the doctrine laid down in the constitution and thus in- terpreted by the supreme court, the regular method of procedure is the statewide method, never to be depart ed from, except to meet an exigency: and, second, the Whiskey men them selves are on record with this plea, and were Overthrown in the supreme court on the ground that here was an exigency justifying departure from the statewide method Tn other words. the state simply stands on the original ground of right to govern itself by general laws, applicable to all it's parts, when it proceeds to enact a statewide prohibition law. Local self government never did mean the right to do wrong thing in any place; never meant the right to engage in the business that infringed upon the peace and liberty of your neighbors. Be- sides, these places that have liquor are not after local self government; they are after extending their whiskey- government over you. If Little Rock, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and Helena cared only for local self government, they might be content to sell and drink their liquor. What these liquor men, calling themselves local optionists, want is the right to inter- fere in dry counties, ship their stuff into them, to the ruin of your young men. They want to keep themselves in position to corrupt your elections and debauch your officers. If they be- lieve in local government, why are they so active now in all the dry coun- ties, sowing them down with lying lit erature?"
 General Atkinson paid high trib- ute to the Log Cabin Democrat for having refused the whskey men space for their campaign. He declared that the citizens of Conway ought to build an endearing monument to a man who conducted his paper upon so high plane of honor.
 Following the speech of General At kinson, Prosecuting Attorney G. w. Clark was called He declared that his experience as public officer had con- vineed him of the necessity of state wide prohibition. He cited numerous facts that had arisen in the prosecu- tion of his duties to prove this. There