Evening star., 1932-03-25
Atlanta's Defeat of Recall
Called Free Speech Victory

Mayor James L. Key of Atlanta, by
winning the recall election With vote
OF l7,l78 to ll,744, Is hailet In public
comments as champion Of free speech.
The petition against him vas based on
three grounds-his utteraJce question
ing the good results of prohibition while
a member of a party Of mayors travel
Ing abroad, his veto Of bonus to a
group Of labor men, and his stand
favoring Sunday movieslfor charity.
The outcome is a yictory for per-
sonal rights and political courage" in
the opinion of the Roanoke Times, land
establishes Atlanta as city in which
man, even though ne be politician,
may speak his mind honestly and
openly without fear of the consequences
The attempt to punish Mayor Key for
being brave enough to criticize prohibi-
ton in the heart OF the supposedly
dry South has met with the success 1t
deserved; thai Is, none at all. Mayor
Key doubtless Is good executive, else
he could not have survived the ordeal
of his recall. However, the result is
more than a victory for the mayor; 1t
is a victory for free speech. 1t is sig
nificant evidence that the time has
now arrived when a politician may
criticize prohibition without being
drawn and quartered for his offense
The friends of prohibition may well
ponder the meaning of what occurred
in Atlanta on Tuesday"
"The result is heartening," declares
the Akron Beacon Journal, holding that
"it argues that the Nation is not so
obsessed with the prohibition urge that
it is vet ready to clap a ban on the
right of opinion" The Omaha World
Herald calls it "one of the strangest re-
call elections in American municipal
annals" and comments: Mayor Key
or any other American mayor might
have expressed doubt about any other
article of the Constitution but the
eighteenth amendment without giving
offense. He could have declared the
income tax amendment failure and
its partisans would merely have at
tempted to set him right by friendly
argument. Prohibition alone is q COW
SO sacred that it becomes malfeasance.
misfeasance or even treason itself to
question either its wisdom or its eff
cheney. The people Of Atlanta, however,
were evidently not swayed by these
emotions, for they Endorsed the mayor
by substantial majority. That does
not prove Atlanta wet, but it has be-
come safe for political Skeptics."
1T does not, perhaps" according to
the Charleston IS. c. Evening Post,
prove that Atlanta has fallen of the
water wagon nor that 1t will not con-
tinue to be classified as a prohibition
community. But it looks very much as
if Mayor Key was talking the language
of the greater part Of his constituents
when he spoke out against the eight
eenth amendment and VolSteadism.
Whether or not there Is any real i'm
portance to be attached to the demon
stration We do not pretend to say. A
dry town with wet mayor Is no great
anomaly in these confused times"
Recording that 1.-The vote was the
largest in the history of the city, the
Chattanooga Times 'reads with more
or less amqzement the charges on which
demand for the officials recall were
based" and asks: rs it possible for
any reasonable person to read the
charges against the Atlanta mayor
without regarding his victory as trt-
umph of common sense?" The Nor
gantown Dominion-News says: Mayor
Key was admittedly o good mayor. He
was popular with most responsible ele-
ments of his city until last year. when
In public declarations he announced that
for him prohibition has had trial
enough. without mincing words, he
made known his belief that prohibition
has failed; that it is not enforced; that
it does not prevent drinking, and that
it has corrupted public officials. Horri-
hsd at this blaSphemy, the forces OF
ess went into action. What
matter If he had been pillar of his
church? Hal he not sai1 prohibltiSn
Is a failure? He had. Out he must 60.
But a great majority Of the people of
Atlanta thought differently. This was
Indicated when, after Mayor Key had
been refusedsnermissiop 70 continue DO
Zach ,... s,s n,s ;soa ee.. Fapy,