Article October 19, 1907 Issue

Georgia's prohibition bill was signed on Aug. 7 by...

The World To-day

Georgia's prohibition bill was signed on Aug. 7 by Governor Hoke Smith and the temperance forces of the State rejoiced in the successful issue of their long campaign. The change is not so violent as might appear to persons who have not followed the growth of local option in the South. Nearly all the rural counties in most of the southern States are already prohibition territory under the operation of the local option system. The larger cities have hitherto held out against the "no license" party in the country districts, but in Georgia the prohibition forces succeeded in gaining a majority and putting a State prohibition law on the statute book. A significant feature of this prohibition campaign in the South, which was once alleged to be the stronghold of the whisky power, is that it arises in no small degree from the practical necessity of keeping intoxicants away from the negroes. Wherever this has been accomplished, crime has notably decreased. The enforcement of the prohibition law in Atlanta and Savannah is expected to be difficult, as it is always difficult in cities where public sentiment is divided. Georgia's experiment will be watched with interest by those who insist that State prohibition is impracticable in the present generation. A good deal will depend on the attitude of the Governor, who is understood to have signed the bill as a concession to public opinion, though not personally convinced of its wisdom.

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