The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-03-07

lday ont for the cause of prohibition
law enforcement and clean elections
land even II it were possible to enac'
1.-THE pending law enforcement bills
which Ii does not believe 1t Ia pvssi
BILE to enact--it would nevertheless
Istrongly oppose the same, confident
THAT legislation of any character, how
ever meritorious in itself, conceived
lin bad faith and born Of union with
the acknowledged forces of bad gov
|ernment, could accomplish naugh'
but hasten the day when the whole
structure would totter and fall be
fore a good sentiment which would
not tolerate injustice and bad faith
in private or public legislation Or IN
ANY other matters. But waving the
apparent breach of faith involved In
one party or faction gaining power
and patronage by fusion with another
faction, and then using that power
and patronage with new alliance
against the interest and principles OF
| that part Of the fusion which had Civ.
en- the power and patronage. the In:
dependent democrats and the republi-
cans have been unwittingly led into
trap set by the liquor people and
their representatives in the legisla-
ture, who are now openly laughing at
and enjoying the discomfort OF those
who walked into the trap so cleverly
set Two remarkable condolences
occurred before an effort was made to
force the passage of the law enforce
ment bills. First and foremost the
Webb bill-prohibiting the shipment
of liquor into dry territory--the terror
by day and the nightmare by night OF
every liquor dealer in the country
passed both houses of congress by
such large majorities as to make the
veto of the president-as it suhse-
quently proved to be-ineffectiye.
Then every liquor dealer in Ten
nessee determined to bring about the
repeal Of the prohibition statutes in
Tennessee. They recognized that to
do this it was necessary to break
the legislative program of the indie
pendent democrats, the republicans
and : The Shelby delegation. They
knew that this could only be done by
bringing about situation by which
the independent democrats and re-
publicans would be guilty of bad faith
toward the Shelby delegation. This
they then set about to accomplish.
A meeting was held in Nashville on
Friday night, February IA, for the
purpose of bringing about such &C
ton as would result in the repeal of
the prohibition statutes SO that the
liquor people of Tennessee would not
be injured by the operations Of the
Webb law.
: "The second coincidence is that
after the enactment of the Webb law
and the meeting of the friends OF the
liquor interests in Nashville, move
ment was headed by ex-Gox Cox,
whose chameleon convictions upon
this question are well known, and
other relics of the Patterson machine
to pass the law enforcement bills. No
one can think that the old machine,
which has been nourished and sus-
tanned on liquor money for the rast
five years, will finally and ultimately
give the votes to pass this legisla-
tion."
The above is a clear, pointed ana
statement OF the existing
situation in Tennessee. It. is unnec
essary to state that as an original
proposition The Herald favors the
principles involved in the ~so-ca|led
law enforcement" bills. 1t believes
in the enforcement of the law all the
time and everywhere. But first o. all |
it believes in faithful adherence to
plighted faith. A law enforcement |
legislature was not elected last No !
vember. On the contrary majority /
was elected distinctly hostile to law |
enforcement In order to guard the
laws already secured an agreement
was made with the Shelby delega- !
ton that transferred a minority into
a majority; every consideration of
honor and good faith demands that
the agreement shall be lived up to.
In it lies the only hope for the main {
tenance Of honest election laws
without which all reforms are lost.
Liquor organs already declare that !
the liquor forces will either force the
Of the "law enforcement"
bills or repeal or amend existing
laws. OF course. Ex-
actly BY holding over the Shelby