The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-03-18
HEAR HISTORY

HEAH RISIUkY
Continued from First Page)
Dan Morgan Smith. former attorney
Of the national liquor interes> and
now with the temperance forces, was
feature If the night meeting.
Morning session.
Tb. morning session opened with
devotional exercises conducted by
Rev Y ID. Fuushec, following which
Dr. James Cannon made a report for
an" Executive Committee ~ the
League, and Rev. David Hepburn re-
pDrt.d an ms work as assistant super
utcuHeut. outlining the work done by
him dur ug thu past convention year.
Mr. Hepburn showed that he has
Travelled many thousand miles, rece.v-
a Over seven thousand dollars In sub
sor.ptiuns, and had spoken in 1874
churches.
Tn annual report OF the treasurer
Of the league, : i. Jones' was reaG
aa was also the report OF the Auditing
Committee. certifying TO the eXamina-
tiop Of the trtasurerS books, The re-
port was adopted. II shows that the
debt IF he league incurred during the
proh bit'ou campaign has been re-
dHcrd from more than twenty -four
thousand to approximately thirteen
thousand dollars Total expenditures
for the year past were ss4,0o0
Tells of His Historic Vote.
ON the program Of the growth Of
prohibition sentiment in Virginia be-
ginning with the local option law OF
1856. iicutcrant- Governor Fllyson
was the fret speaker He discussed
the various fights of The time. In the
Richmond city Council, where, as
chairman OF the Ordinance Committee
he fought for the enforcement Of the
SUNDAY closing law. the fight In the
Democratic convention for the adop-
ton OF local option plank. the fight
m the Senate and House over the
passage of that bill, and closed by
stating that no vote he had ever cast
had given him greater pleasure than
that he gave for the Ena bling Act In
1914. Speaking FOR the future he de-
Clarcd:
II shall be glad to give my sup
port TO any measures that may be
needed to further carry out the wishes
of the people with respect to the sale
~ liquor in this Commonwealth and
whatever influence | may possess
shall lac exerted in behalf of that
cause. for which SO MANY men Of Vir-
which SO many OF her noble women
! have 80 hcrolcglly suffered"
/ Following Governor Ellyson, DIR.
! James Cannon spoke of the organiZa-
ton of the Anti-Saloou eIague in
1900
Nine Originals There.
/ There were present AT the conven-
ton when DR. Cannon was speaking
Just nine OF he original members of
the league. The league, he stated
is the reply Of the temperance people
to the organized liquor traffic; the
temperance people had been fighting
for years in disorEanized fashion
but the league gathered up all the
church influence IN opposition to the
saloon ana 50 was tittingly described
as THE Church in Action Against the
Saloon II does not know in all
Virginia q dozen Protestant ministers
who opposed prohibition, and the An
u-Saloon Lea que Is the only organiza-
tior that made possible the union o!
all the forces of temperance, DR.
Cannon spoke of the early work OF
he league. how il had found in the
Capitol of Virginia men apparently
unable or unwilling to refuse the bid
ding of the liquor interests on mat
tiers pertaining to prohibition legisla-
ton. SO that finally the league decided
duence TO he saloon and to present
an uitimatun to the liquor crowd, for
said he THE Saloon interests know
no law and respect no master save
the mastery Of force applied through
votes"
He traced the growth of the league
referring TO this ridicule heaped on Its
efforts by the wet press of Richmond
but he said They no longer ignore
us. They give us headlines frequently
inaccurate and rarely accurate, but
they are bound to recognize the league
as a power for righteousness"
A break ia proceedings came when
Delegate Mann, of Chesterfield County
rose and pre- Sented to the convention a
picture of Or Cannon surrounded by
a cartoon shoHlpg thI rodl OF the sa :
Icon forces ia the prohibition election
This cartoon he said. had taken a blue
ribbon at the Chesterfield County Fair
SUD had been placed iu the Chesterfield
Courthouse MIR. Mann related his ex-
pertences as Chesterfield County chair.
man OF the league He had been urged
by HIS friends To run for the House OF
Delegates IN place OF the present wet
incumbent, and while he did not wan,
office n that's what they want me tc
10. I'm a man on the job"
4 fUrtcr WIFE rr1u from ex=tfoveruul
Mann. stating that he was prevented
from attending the convention because
OF cases In court. A brief address was
also read by Hon. II. Il. Byrd. who
Was unable to be present. on the sub
iect cf the Byrd law.
Whitehead Speaks.
Mr. Thomas Whitehead attorney
for the league, spoke in Judge Mann's
place, pointing ont that the kernel ol
the Mann law was that il laid on the
conscicnces of the judges of the state
the responsibility of stating that tho
granting of "a saloon license was not
detrimental 20 the moral welfare OF
the people, This said Mr. Whitehead
WAS the greatest piece of temperance
legislation ever enacted In Virginia
driving out over nine hundred saloons
Mr. VII tehead has tried more liquor
cases than any man ia Virginia
Williams.
Judge Martin Williams told of the
passage of the enabling act through
the House by a "paralyzing majority
att~ibuting To the Anti Saloon League
the greatest influence in the work. He
declared that t1e amended act as re-
ported from the Senate made Il pos
sible for almost any sort of liuuor Ia
he sold unIpY the term ,sf{,v nro3uCt :