The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1917-04-03
Senator Smith and Prohibition.
Editor Dawson News !:


; great public questions, trusting that time
will ultimately prove him right, but willing
to go to defeat for his conscientious beliefs
if necessary. And because he is farseeing,
his vlndlcatlon too often does not come until
he is dead. Once in while, however pub
lie enlightenment advances rapidly enough
to recognize a statesman while he is vet
alive. In the great crucible of the United
States Senate, where the gold is slowly but
surely separated from the dross, how MANY
are there who stand the test? How MANY are
statesmen instead of politicians? How many
stand upon their own convictions, take or
ders from no one but their conscience and
do not consider expediency in matters of
legislation? Possibly the number could be
counted on the fingers of one hand That
is one reason the sturdy figure of Senator
Hoke Smith towers above the rest.
The agitation in recent years of the pro-
hibition question has emphasized in re-
markable manner the truth of the forego-
ing paragraph. How very few were the men
IN the inception of this agitation who were
brave enough to take their stand on the
then unpopular side of this great question.
to risk their political fortunes by incur
ring the enmity of the powerful liquor
forces. But Senator Smith was a leader
among those few, willing, if need to be. to
sacrifice his political future for the sake of
! advancing this humane cause. He did not
| stop to consider the effect upon him per
/ sonally OF this course, for he recognized this
to be question vitality affecting the well
| tare OF the people, question as great in its
! tar reaching effects on this republic as the
/ question OF slavery-indeed, one can safely
| say 1t is more important, for the curse of
liquor knows no race, color or station. 1t
ruins alike the lowly and the exalted. it
creeps In stealthy and insidious WAYS in
every avenue and walk of life 1t trails its
no!Some slime into the farest homes, it
polsons the happiest of the innocent, it par
alyzes the highest instincts, the nobler i'm
pulses of its victims and leaves its blighting
rum wherever it goes. Yet for wears and
years we tolerated this monster in our
midst because 1t had money, power, influ-
ence and because men of the caliber of SEN
! ator Smith were too few to cope with it.
TO come out openly and fight this evil was
10 incur almost certain political death and
men sidestepped and compromised and
eVaded
Senator Smith was one of the few who
initiated and led this fight He saw from
the time he became interested in public cues
lions that the beginning of all efficiency, of
national morality and decency must be the
eradication of the liquor evil and he dared
say 1t and fight for it in season and out of
season, trusting to the sober second thought
OF the people to bring him vndication Time
ana events have proven his the sound and
righteous view of the question This has
been demonstrated in a most remarkable
way by the action of the foreign nations now
engaged in mortal combat When the
rulers of those countries realized that thew
were facing a struggle for their very exist
ence their first step toward making their
nations more efficient was the suppression
of liquor. Take Russia for example. She
was receiving from taxes on vodka a hun
dred million rubles year, Yet she did not
hesitate to wipe out this evil because of the
hot Sha
the efficiency and sobriety of her soldiers
and civilians than would offset the loss Of
the hundred million rubles, much as she
needed the money. True, she needed this
money, but how much more in her great
hour of peril she needed the best her peo-
pie could give her in clear thinking in in
dustry and efficiency. SO the vodka had to
go even though went with it a fortune each
year in revenue. Surely such an example
ought to convince us of the speciousness of
the argument so often advanced as to the
necessity for the internal revenue we re-
celve from liquor. We are a wonderfully
rich nation. But if we are poor as the serfs
of Russia; as much in need as the little band
of colonial patriots who left their blood
stained footprints in the snow; as destitute
as the war-swept and stricken Southland in
the days OF the reconStructiOn-still our
need would not be great enough to Justify
us IN permitting this traffic in human souls
AoI CHe sake OF tne revenue 1t yields.
In a speech in the United States Senate
on January 9th Senator Smith outlined his
views on this question and said among other
things:
Let me stop moment to say that if thew
Visitors to the captal) come. | want them
to see that the national Congress at the ma
| tlonal capital has closed barrooms and has
forbidden the sale of liquor and want them
TO go back from here with the inspiration of
knowing that their national legislators are
helping them in a fight which pray God will
/ close such places everywhere from ocean to
ocean and from the Lakes to the Gulf"
In reply to the suggestion that foreign
diplomats might be offended, possibly, at the
! absence OF wine, Senator Smith replied in
erect that our course should be guided with
! references to our own needs and in accord
| anc with the principles of true Americanism
/ that while we would not Intentionally be dis
courteous to any other nation if the law
prohibited the serving of wine then foreign
! diplomats would have to be content with a
glass of water. He concluded his speech bv
saying:
With me opposition to the use of spirit
Gus and intoxicating drink has been a grad
ual growth. When | leave myself free to
think about it and realize the skeletons
FOUND IN almost every home as the result
OF Its use | have reached the place where |
am wiling in my state this next summer to
help make 1T absolutely dry, and | hope the
people of the state are ready to give up en-
tirely the use of Intoxicating drinks"
II Senator Smith had never done any,
1