The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-03-10
v. c. I. j. Department
Mrs. E. Van Hood, Editor
Facts Are Convincing

It is a funny thing to study-ths
how" and the why on the part of
men who become either advocate or
apologists on the wrong side of the
whisky question.
over in Mississippi, the state which
led all other states in the south for
years in the progress of local option"
prohibition, and which was far behind
Georgia in banishing barooms from the
state, the present prohibition senti-
ment is SO overwhelming that the
whisky leaders themselves would give
up and quit if it were not for the en-
couragement they get from the weak
kneed brethren" among o-called pro-
hibitionists who prove themselves to
"prohibitionists- they but
all of their influence for the cause
over to the other side.
1t seems that the Hon. w. VI. Nc
Allister, prosecuting attorney of
Wayne county, has ben indulging in
some gloomy prognosticisms about the
future of prohibition in Mississippi, if
the present rate of liquor consump-
! tion continues" or words to that effect
Answering his warning charge that
there is now more whisky sold and
consumed in the state than under the
reign of licensed Saloons" Mr.. w. H.
Patton of Shubuta, says:
you have published to the antfs
and world over your signature affix-
ing county prosecuting attorney for
Wayne county to give it emphasis a
lot of imaginary whisky dope that
believe sianders your county and state.
Statistics will bear you up. In behalf
| of the State w. G. 7. T., and the pro-
hibition men of the state, l challenge
| you to prove that there Is even one
tenth as much sold, even with the in
| crease in population. If we took your
declaration as fact, prohibition would
| be more than a failure. There is not
one-twentieth as much shipped into
the state, and not one gallon in twen-
| ty that is shipped into the state is sold
by blind tigers"
| In speaking of his half century of
observation, Mr.. Patton says:
81 have been living in Shubuta con-
| tfnuousIy for 81 years, have been in
public life since l was IA years old
! Wayne county line is little more than
a mile south of Shubuta. l was here
when the saloons were in full blast
and merchants also selling whisky by
the gallon, and have been here nearly
thirty years of prohibition. I know
that the white people west of Waynes-
boro drink a great deal of liquor AMI
| lWaynesboro has reputation of hav-
ing a rowdy set of drinking young
men. When the local option election
was held in Wayne, I conducted the
campaign for the Waynesboro w. c
T. L., and the white men west of the
NJ. & o. railroad voted wet largely
One missionary Baptist preacher
was a ranting ti-prohihitionist Al
the box of progression there were cast
33 ballots, including three anti-mis.
sionary Baptist preachers who voteC
there, and there were 3S votes for the
sale and the county was carried
against the sale largely by the negro
vote. / must come to the rescue o.
Wayne county's drinking procnvities
1t would be a great surprise to tn,
. prohibitionists if it was a fact tina
Wayne county alone spent $4,000 70
liquors each year. I make the asser
ton they do not spend that much il
five years. Brother McAllister, if yol
can prove they have, I will give yol
the finest hat in Waynesboro. 1 viii
do the same if you will show from tn
: express books that they drank $1,000
worth of liquor for 1912, instead o
SIOO,OOO. YOU are Wild on the mum be
of express trains passing WaynesborC
You can not show that there has eve
been a gallon shipped here from tn
wholesale liquor houses in this state
or that there is a wholesale liquo
house in this state since we have ha
statewide prohibition. The expires
company is a common carrier, and the
carry liquor to bona fide consigneei
but they do not dispense it. The couI
before last, I was foreman OF tn
= grand jury, and had the expires
= books of the county for the previou
six months before me, and I emphat
ically say that there is not one-twer
tieth as much whisky drunk
) Clarke county as there was for 81
r months in 1882 with saloons. 1 toe
the statistics for one year before pro
hibition, and one year after to refut
the assertions of a drinking docto
and there was not one-twentieth 4
much shipped here under prohibition