The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-04-22
PROHIBITION FROM A
STATEWIDE ATTITUDE
And Its Present Vital Relation
To the Game Of Politics
In Kentucky.

|
the Elizabethtown News, has the
following:
The political writer of the Louis
VILE Times says:
According to some politicians who
see no further than the end of their
noses an attempt will be made next
year when the State race is to be
run off, to commit the Democratic
party to Statewide prohibition. and
they claim that the movement has
already started with that end in
view. 1t is learned from some
source that the advocates of State
wide prohibition were really not
ready for the showdown in the last
Legislature and the premature fore
ing of the issue exposed their
hands"
The writer of the above is unfor-
tunate in that he has never been
able to forecast anything political.
He is just as far off in the above as
he has ever been in his life. 1t is a
we'll known fact, that the liquor in
terests, under the most foolish and
incapable leadership, precipitated
the question of Statewide prohibit
ton in the Legislature and then got
| frightened nearly out of their boots
before the measure was finally kill
ed in the Senate.
Kentucky, with its present laws
on the subject, has all the temper
ance or prohibition legislation it
needs. Every county in the State
has the right now and can vote on
| the question of prohibiting the sale
of liquor. If any county in the
! State votes to remain wet then
the dry" counties should not be al
| lowed to NEEDLE. In a few years
every county in Kentucky is likely
to go dry except Jefferson, Kenton
and Campbell. The large cities in
these counties. are all on the border
and adjacent to wet cities on the
other side of the Ohio. If the SEN
timent in these counties is not suffi-
cient to vote the saloon out. then
there could be absolutely no hope
of enforcing such a law by State
vote.
| We do not think any candidate
for Governor will make the race on
a platform of Statewide prohibition
| and if one should be so foolish as to
do so he would be overwhelmingly
defeated for the nomination. There
is but one possibility of Statewide
prohibition becoming an issue in
Kentucky and that would be for the
liquor interest to persist in its eff
forts to control the Democratic par
| ty and attempt to defeat the Demo-
cratic nominee for the United States
Senate If he was not acceptable
to it.
Gov Beckham has SO far led the
fight for all the legislation which
has been adopted prohibiting the
sale of liquor, but Gov.Beckham has
never expressed himself as in favor
of Statewide prohibition and we q"
not believe he favors it or would
support such movement unless it
! became necessary to rescue tie
Democratic party from the clutches
the liquo: interests. There are
thousands of splendid Democrats in
Kentucky. who vote against the sa-
loon, who are not for Statewide
prohibition and who will resent any
effort to make it an issue l.. Ken
lucky unless the liquor interests
force It.
II is little surprising tha' the
Louisville Times. which is so con
servative on its editorial page,
| should allow such unfortunate and
uncalled-for expressions to appear in
its columns as we have quoted
above.
I