The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-02-05

I showing conclusively that the article
/ in the November Banking Word,
| The effect of prohibition in the
! South" as related to Georgia. was
made up of misrepresentation and
plain lies. The article undertook to
show that 1t had become necessary
| for Georgia to issue three and a half
million dollars worth of bonds to ex-
| tricate itself from financial dlfhcul-
| ties brought about by prohibition.
The Governor and the bankers
showed that these were fefandifig
bonds of a debt incurred more than
thirty years before.
The second statement that school
teachers were not paid promptly was
! by the same authorities shown to
have had nothing to do with 1t. The
fault laid in the system of levying and
| collecting taxes and a statute passed
| in 1915 at the same session of the
Legislature that passed stricter pro-
| hibitory laws. remedied tho situation
/ and the teachers hereafter witt be
paid promptly.
West Virginia Lies Exploded.
Banking World article contains the
! following false statement regarding
West Virginia:
In July. 1915, West Virginia en-
tered its first year of Statewide pro-
hibition, and a years experience fas
resulted in the highest rate OF taxa
ton ever known in the history of the
| State. The Yost law deprived the
State treasury of $650.000 year in
licenses formerly taken out by the IL
auor dealers. The several counties
of the State that had retained the Ii
cense system under local option were
deprived of a like amount. The state
4 increased taxes of all kinds to make
up the loss, and the cities and counties
] did the same. AS a consequence.
taxes are higher than ever before
! throughout the state,
/ Litigation over arrests for vioiat-
ing the prohibition law has choked
the courts until there In demand
for new tribunals and a greater num-
Der OF officers Judging by the many
cases and the testimony given at
trials. liquor is still plentiful in the
State.
These statements regarding West
i Virginia are so absurd that they are
silly II is we'll known that the Yost
/ law has been a great success, that
there are few States in the Union
where the State officials are so ener-
getic in the enforcement of law as in
West Virginia and conditions there,
because OF the effectiveness of pro-
hibition. are among the most whole
some Of any state in the Union.
The. writer OF the Banking World
article. had to stretch his 'imparti-
atty TO the vanishing point to even
ina sirso such nonsense as he has
written regarding West Virginia.
Governor Hatfield Rcpudiates Article.
In letter dated January 5, Cover
nor Fl. D. Hatfield says;
note the reference to rohbition
In this State. I wish 10 assure you
that the people Of West Virginia arc
entirely satisfied with the results OBJ
tanned under prohibition, and that
there IL no truth whatever In @fhe
statement set forth in the Banking
World article.
That the loss of liquor revenue is
not the explanation for shortage in
general revenue. It only remains to
say that in the fiscal years ending
June, 1919 and 1914, respectively.
there were deficits of $4,000 and
$3.50. 900, resectively. Notwithstanding
the State was collecting in such years
tits full amount OF revenue from the
| liquor sources.
In recent years. the State had been
charging her work in the general
welfare Of her citizens and the better
ment of their condition with conse-
2
cost of maintaining her institutions.
=, Sufficient attention has not been Civ
4 en- to this increased demand for reve-
I nue. to meet these changed condi-
tions Now It Is necessary that
needed attention be given to this
increased demand, and suitable pro-
vision be made for the proper main
tenance of our State. and its continued
growth and development has been an
issue since 1900.
Wet Corporation Fought Revenue
! Measures.
without discussing whether the liz
quor interests assisted certain big in
terests in the State to defeat their
revenue measures. certain 1t is that
the LIQUOR interests are showing the
greatest delight of all over the defeat
of proposed revenue measures. The
senators who played into the hands
of the liquor people will proba bly,
find it very difficult to satisfy their
constituents that they were not un-
Willingly made the tools of TIE IL
quor neutrality-suspicious. when it
is remembered that their leader. Sem
ator Rosenbloom, was well known as
spokesman in the Legislature for the
wet people.
Charleston's Mayor I,auds Prohibition.
4 G. T.. Bruce Mayor OF Charleston
the State capitol, in letter dated
January 5. 1916, says
We have not raised the taxes any.
nor were they raised when tho city
went dry. Since the city went dry,
there were four new schoOihouses
built. one just completed and opened
to the public on January I, costing
more than 100000. You will find
the children all In school. well
dressed and well fed. while during the
wet period, many children were ont OF
school on account Of no clothing nor
food, and were burden on the city.
The Whiskey and Beer Association
controlled the politics of the State
for many years. and during this con-
troll, there was a lot of labor agita-
ton throughout the State brought
about by placing saloons at the drift
mouth of each coal mine in the coun-
ty. robbing the families OF the earn
ings of the head Of the houses and
making general dissatisfaction. which
brought on strikes and near to re-
beilion.
During 1919 and up to July 1. 1914.
| we had one of the worst strikes In the
/ Kanawha Valley that was ever
known--many were killed, families