Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-04-12
Candidates for Legislature
Next Fall viii Be Placed
SquareIy on Record as to
How They Stand,
STATEWIDE FIGHT HAS
ALREADY BEEN BEGUN
Strong Dry Sentiment Prevail
ing in SpaniSh-American
Communities Causes Vets
Much Worry,
aBy paul 4. F. Walter, Special Cores
nondcnt e the Morning JOurnal)

nondcnt e the Morning JournalO
santa re. April ll.-Political Lead
orc are lying awake nights to devise
means To Keep down and out the pro-
hnIfion issue during the legislative
"annsipn this fall. They are all afraid
oft Neither of the two great parties
10 ANXIOUS to tackle 1t for both are
divided against themselves ON INC
transition. The leaders argue Skill
fnlv that il Is not a political or a par
N question. but those lighting for or
against prohibition are not in MOOD
for academic discussion and insist
mat il is live burning question mat
must be- settled. and settled right. ANA
M this very moment, the prohibition
ISIS. and they include a number OF
odroit politicians, are setting the stage
for Il campaign that they nope VIII
sweep New Mexico into the dly
column.
When the past two legislatures re-
fused or refrained from submitting a
statewide prohibition issue, they
thoupht they had shelved prohibition
with a local option law. But it is one
Of the secrets Of success Of the prom
bitionsts that they never let up tnat
they fight it out along whatever line
is laid down and at the same time
continue the effort to secure new want
age lines.
In the fan campaign, every candl
date for the legislature will be scrutl-
nized as TO his procliVides, whether
for or against prohibition. and Wi, ne
compelled to meet the issue somehow
II was because Speaker OF the House
r.. L. Baca lodged the issue in his
campaign for the mayoralty TINS
month while state Auditor w. I. sar-
gent openly stood against prohibition
that Baca was so numerically showed
under. for no candidate for any pub
lie position today will be permitted Ia
sde-step the issue. He must be either
for or against prohibition
Local Options Sweep.
In the meanwhile. the prohibition
lists have made the local option law q
mighty weapon of offense. OF go pre-
cmcts in the state. fully 400 are With
out saloon. Whole counties nave
been swept into the dry column and
other counties are bound TO follow
The internal revenue office reports
less than q thousand retail liquor li-
censes issued in New Mexico the past
year and among those issued are many
transfers as well as licenses TO dfuk
stores, so that the actual number ol
saloons in the state has propapS
dwindled to about 500, san Juan
county is entirely dry, so dry that the
drug stores are giving up their IL
censes voluntarily and physician.
avoid prescribing alcohol as solvent
for medicines Eddy county is pracuc-
ally dry and so is ChaVes, outside OF
Roswell and Dona Ana county out
side Of Las Cruces These four coun-
ties alone constitute more than one
fifth Of the total land area of NeN
Mexico But there isn't county lhdl
hasn't IFS dry precincts and seNera.
counties like Roosevelt, Curry and
quay southern Union are practically
prohibition
Spanish Americans for Prohibition.
The most astounding feature to pol
hleans has been the practical unani
NIFTY Of Spanish speaking people tol
prohibition. A few years ago, the mar
VINO would have predicted that the
spanlsh-Americans would vote iol
prohibition would have been laughed
Val Of court But note the mighty
ehange. Men like Col. Nenceslao lara
mule, former state chairman Of the re-
publican party. have signed prohibl'
uon petitions, the latter even though
he the owner of d saloon in connec'
nqn with his large mercantile estab'
shment at El Rito.
Juan r. Ortiz. nj Galisteo. also ar
ou republican warhorsc and leader
e9lef of saloon. not only signed
monlbltion petition, but worked tootf
ahu hall TO make the Spanish-A merl'
sah precinct Of Galisteo In southern
raata ne county dry and it Went ioi
9hlnluon hy an overwhelming ma
~ Glorieta. an adjoining precinct
,s su q regular frontier post air an'
me saloons, voted dry last week
ula the adjoining precinct of Pc
=, w. over the line in San Miguel coun
~ another nearby precinct, Leyba
'0led drN q TO rs. but the eloctlol