Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1914-04-17
WILSON AND STRONG
FOR LOCAL OPTION
President and Alaska Governor Give
Views-Webb-Ken Law Upheld

Three noteworthy incidents bear
ing upon the wet" and "dry" ques-
ton, which will doubtless be para
mount in the coming campaign in
this state, occurred during the last
week, being in the order of their oc-
currence, an Associated Press dispatch
to the effect that President Wilson
favors local option and does not be-
lieve prohibition should be a plank of
party program; an interview with
Governor j. F. A. Strong of Alaska
that prohibition had been a farce in
that territory, and a decision by the
Kansas supreme court upholding the
Webb-Kenyon bill passed by congress
at the last session, which gives the
states control over liquor shipments
These all happened after the elections
in Illinois when some 20 counties
went dry" and more than 1000 sa-
looms, 1t was estimated, were put out
of business.
The Associated Press dispatch con-
cerning the presidents attitude on
the question said:
"Since Secretary Daniels prohibit
ed the use OF liquor by officers in the
navy. 1t has been learned that Presi-
dent Wilson will stand by his Glitter
written in May, 1911, while governor
dent Wilson will stand by his letter
B. Shannon of Newark, N. j.. in which
he said:
FavOrs Local Option.
Il am in favor of local option. !
am a thorough believer in local self
government and believe that every
self-governing community which con-
stitutes a social unit should have the
right to control the matter of the
regulation or the withholding Of IL
cense.
"'But the questions involved are
social and moral and are not suscep-
tible Of being made parts of a party
program. Whenever they have been
made the subject matter Of party
contests they have cut the lines of
party organization and party action
athwart to the utter confusion of po-
litical action in every other field.
They have thrown every other ques-
ton. however important, into the
background and have made con-
structive party action impossible for
long years together"
According to the New York World.
President Wilson was not consulted
by Secretary of the Navy Daniels be.
fore the latter issued his orders abol-
ishing the wine mess aboard naval
vessels and prohibiting the posses
sion Of all alcoholic beverages at ma
val stations and yards. Mr.. Wilson
declined to comment on the o"'"'
saying it was a departmental matter.
but he said he had not talked with
Daniels about it, and the secretary
also said Daniels had not consulted
the President"
Prohibition Farce in Alaska.
Governor Strong's interview, which
appeared in the Seattle Post-Intell-
gencer was:
The people Of Alaska should de-
eide by popular vote whether they
wish liquor prohibition or not. and it
Is not question that should be decid-
ed by our federal government, thous-
ands Of miles away was the state
ment Of Gov. Strong. of Alaska when
asked his opinion of the bill intro
duced in congress by ]. A. Falconer,
of Everett congressman-at-larg
from this state. Under our limited
territorial government the control of
the liquor business is one of the
things still vested in congress, but my
stand is that the people of Alaska are
better able to decide questions like
this themselves, he continued.
Alaska has gone through one period
of liquor prohibition prescribed by
our federal government, and it was a
farce. Prohibition in Alaska ended
in 1900, but throughout the greater
part of the time at least IA saloons
operated openly at Skagway, and
liquor was brought into the territory
by the boatload from the Canadian
side throughout the dry period. TO
say that prohibition was'a farce at
that time would be putting it mildly.
Alaska is big country, inhabit-
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