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Show I Wright, Prohibition Leader la Uw Georgia Legislature. WHAT IS THE MATTER? Tho Honor of Every State Is Outraged Where License Prevails A. A. Hopkins. You Northern lolks, back In the sixties, six-ties, charged us down In tho South with an attempt to nullify law. I have heard that word, "nullification," before, and 1 remember that .nsr ; fathers, under Abraham Lincoln, took I tho position that laws could not K' nullified !u this country. What did I your fathers do? Did they gay to us when the Issues came up, "Defy tho laws of this big republic If you will, destroy the union"? Not a bit of It. They shouldered their muskets, kissed kiss-ed the wife and baby good-bye, went I down into my land, and said, God ! helping" them, they would die for the laws of the republto and the old flag. 1 thought that wnr was a brutal thing I then. 1 did not understand It. Put ' when I grew older and read the . sperches of your Garrlvon and your Wendell Phillips, when I saw how holy and sacred liberty is, I learned, i iis tho whole South ha learned, that j slavery Is eternally wrong; and when your fathers abniuhed It. they did right. Your father did not count the cost I In dollarn. They did not suy. lt us license slavery and mako a revenue out of It. Ah, they were not made of that material. They said It was wrong, and went down South, and I abolished It. Do you know whnt voti I people up here In the North need to-j to-j day? Here U a modern slavery tho slavery of your own people, of your ; own race, your own color the galling, ' aye. stinging slavery of tens and hundreds hun-dreds of thousands of men to the saloon sa-loon system that you established and keep Up Do ou know what you need today, you men? A rebaptium of the spirit of the m?n of tho sixties In this 1 fight. The time has come w-hen yoo want to quit counting the coit. You want to do right. You want to Btop making dollars, and go to making men and women' This spirit of lawlessness and this fear of tho lawless element aro growing. grow-ing. Wherever I have been In th- large cities of tbla country, I find big. strong business men timid, shrinking, shrink-ing, afraid of losing a dollar In a contest con-test like this. I find professional men, I find all classes, saying to me: ' It is an evil that ought to go, but if I tackle It, my business will bo boycotted." boy-cotted." And to In their shrinking cowardice they let this great foe of righteousness, of good government, of law, go on and on to the ruin of our people. There arc men who look me in the face today, who would say to me. "Mr. Wrlpht, 1 would fight to put the saloons out, but I am afraid wo would have In the place of the open saloon the secret boot logger and the blind tlper; we would have those things planted In our cellars hero and there " Afraid! Afraid to make an effort to enforce the law! Here you are. In your heart of hearts admitting that this thing is an evil, tbat It In going to destroy tho government of tho people peo-ple (f It Is not stopped, and yet la your cowardice you ar shrinking bo-fore bo-fore a gang of criminals hiding themselves them-selves In your cellar and In the alleys al-leys of your cities. If these criminals crimin-als are here, where did they como from? Who made them? Did the dry sood huMnose make them? Did your manufacturing, establishments mako them? Did your railroads make them? Did they come off from your farms? Ah, you know where they camo from; they came from your saloons. They are tho product of your saloons, growing stronger, more arrogant and powerful day by day. And you big men are afrsJd to Ucklo them. Afraid to enforce your laws! ThAt Is the trouble with you. What is the matter mat-ter with you people. Ara you afraid of this element? Has It got you men In Its grip uxtll you are cringing In cowardice bs'ore Ail yoa need Is the backbone and courage of your fathers of tb slxtUs. Hoa Seaborn |