The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-08-02
ROANOKE DISTRICT
CONFERENCE REPORT
Calls Virginia Place the Making and Enforcement of Pro
hibition Laws In the Hands of Friends of the Law.
Recognition of Richmond Virginian's Work.

Salem. Va. Aug 1.-The Roanoke
District Conference of the Baltimore
Annual Conference, Southern Method
isl Church, which opened here July
20, came to a close after very sue
cessfuI session. One of the features
of the meeting was the adoption OF
a report on temperance which as
cussed the advancement OF the pro-
hihition cause in Virginia and through
! out the world. The conference ex-
| pressed its appreciation of the WORK
! of The Richmond Virginian, the Fir-
ginia Anti-Saloon League, and many
| temperance organizations in their ef-
forts for prohibition legislation, par
! ticularly for the ratification OF the
/ enabling act last September.
! Referring to the present legislative
campaign, the report stresses the I'M
! portance OF electing to the House ana
J Senate men who are in sympathy with
! the bills that will be introduced to
make prohibition effective in Virginia:
The report is as follows;
Recent Progress.
we have reason to be profoundly
grateful to the great Head of the
Church for the abundant success that
has attended the efforts of the tenn
perance forces during the year just
passed IN tnelr HEuL against thC ioSaA-
ICED liquor traffic.
brilliant victories have been won
in this conflict within the borders of
our own Commonwealth, in sister
| States, within the sphere of our ma
tional life. and In the world at large.
In Virginia.
Just a year ago we of the Old Do
minion were in the midst of hotly
contested campaign for Statewide pro-
! hibition The lines were sharply
drawn. On the one hand we're the
| liquor men, with something like three
quarters OF million dollars, 1t Is said,
contributed as a simple business prop
ositlon by the liquor interests; allied
with them. lending an air of respect
| ability to their cause. and disbursing
their funds. was the Local Self-Gov-
| eminent League of Richmond,
"On the other hand. with no re-
sources save free-will offerings made
! without hope of financial return, were
all those who had made up their minds
| that the licensed saloon must GO
| not lot of cranks who fondly hoped
that the State could make men sober
by statutory enactments, but men OF
| clear vision, profoundly convinced that
! the State owed II to her citizens not
so beset their pathway with stumbling
firmly resolved that never by their
ballots would they be guilty of the
crime of putting the bottle to their
neighbours mouth.
Praise The Virginian.
"The prohibition forces were
ably and gallantly led by the Anti
Saloon League of Virginia. and
too much praise cannot be be-
slowed upon Its leaSers for the
Ax. xf.sA. a.
| paign was conducted. nor too
much credit given to the leagues
official organ, The Richmond Vir-
{ gilman, for its services to the
cause of prohibition throughout
the campaign.
with zeal and assiduity worthy
of n better causc, fallacious argu-
t ments and misleading statements
4 were scattered broadcast through
out the State by the advocates of
the licensed saloon, but the print
ers' Ink was hardly dry upon their
leaflets before the columns of The
yirginian supplied refutatfon for
the one and correction for the
other.
\ The argument that prohibitor.
law was in direct contraventton of tn
Z right of local self-government wa
shrewdly conceived. and 1t was strong
ly urged by the advocates of the IL
censed saloon, and doubtless It wol
votes for their side, but. to the iastln
credit of our State be 1t Is said. tn
majority of our voters place highe
| valuation upon a moral issue ina
7 upon a question of political expedi
I ency. and the result was that whel
j the ballots were counted 1t was foun
!. that the "drys'' had won by a ma
n iority of more than thirty thousand
= In Other States.
Encouraged by the example or VII
h @inia, other States have since joine
r the ranks of prohibition. Nationa
:. leaders tell us that the effect of Vir
;. gtnia's victory was one OF the great
8 est factors contributing to similar vic
:. tories in Colorado, Washington, Ore
0 gon and Arizona.
c THE good work goes on more rap
idly, Ii may be than some or us ar
{ aware. Mere then 50, ooayo 900 OF th
: population of the United States nov
= live under prohibition. Inoludin
the five States which voted for pro
hibition in the fall of 1914 30 pc
= cent of the area of our country
!, dry. OF all the people living in sa
9 loon territory in the United States
one-half live in four States, one
. fourth in six cities-New York, Chi
. cago. Philadelphia st. Louis. Bosto
and Cleveland. The total number o
I saloons In thrty-six States is less tina
4 that in New York City. Within tn
last year the number of prohibition
States has increased hundredfo1d-
/ from nine to eighteen.
4 THE vitality of the temperate
| movement is evidenced by it's growth
8 beginning with local option In rura
= districts It is soon extended to tn
= smaller towns, the larger towns, tn
g counties city wards, cities. and the
the Statewide movement followed
ever increasing the area of the DIR
unit and pushing farther away tn
wet centers from which intoxicatin
v liquors can be shipped into dry areas
And now, we'll aware that eve
Statewide prohibition can never real
t ize to the fullest extent the hopes o
4 it's advocates so long as there remain
{ a single wet State from which In
. | toxicating liquors can under the in
I terstate commerce laws DE shippe'
Y into dry States. we are looking to ma
e | tionwide prohibition as the final an
= only adequate solution of this grea
D problem.
$ That this Is something more thai
1 the dream OF Missionaries and fanatic
4 is evidenced by the vote in the las
. session of Congress on Mr.. Hobson'