One of the surprises in the November elections was the attitude of the country toward the saloon. In the new state of Oklahoma, the prohibition clause ix in the recently-adopted constitution. Throughout the South there was vigorous campaign against resulting in making Georgia state, while © Mis-Alabama and other commonwealth south of Mason and Dixon's line, will soon be in the ition. Even Kentucky, well-love of "Old Bourbon" thas voted against the sale of liquor in three-fourths of its counties. Booker Washington predicts that within two years, there will not be " saloon in any southern states, Louisiana and Texas possibly excepted.
Prohibition has not been unknown in politics for many years. Previously, however, there has been " Prohibition Party, which by the manner it carried on its propaganda, disgusted the large majority of voters. Various methods have been tried, to lessen the evil, that of local option being the only one to be largely successful.
Why this wave of temperance agita tion should suddenly be successful, is not apparent. Doubtless the statement that it seemed the only way to keep Tiquor out of the hands of the lowest along the negroes, whose deeds of infame sre notorious, had much to do with it.
Many states besides those of the South have a local option law. In Gonsequence of this, more than half th area of the country is "dry." In the Jarger cities there is little or no progress in suppressing the saloon, and in the prohibition states, it has never been possible to close up all these places. Economists tell us, that these saloons are not wholly bad, and that until society can famish some place where the masses can gather as merchants apd professional men de at their clubs, saloons are sure to flourish. In other words, the saloon is the workingman's clab, where he pays for society, amnsement and other advantages, by patronizing the bar. Proviae these men with places where they can get everysheo—s0d the saloon will have a strong thing but drink, and let them pay for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.