Butts County GaArchives News.....Prohibition In Butts August 1890
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Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 January 7, 2004, 10:12 pm

Middle Ga Argus
Prohibition in Butts

Let me say a word or two about the democracy of Butts.  In the first place I 
want to say that the prohibitionist of Butts are as good local democrats as 
there is in the country.  And the strange part is, the executive committee 
excluded the sober men and declared them from voting in the primaries and at 
the same time allowed “old Henry Price”, colored, who has been drunk in this 
county for forty years to come up to the polls so drunk that he don’t’ know 
whether he is standing on his head or his feet and vote in the primary.  It has 
been the custom in previous primaries to drench Henry before leading him up to 
the polls.  He has been full during the late campaign, and the poor old man met 
with a horrible death last Sunday night while on the railroad by being hit by a 
passing train.  He was found about one mile and a half below the depot in a 
cut.  The committee forged the ballot box by throwing my vote out and letting 
Henry’s stay in, and my vote was paraded and shown around I supported Dr. Mays 
from principle, and because he declares publicly that he would use his vote and 
influence in the next legislature to drive the liquor traffic from Georgia, and 
I feel proud that I supported a man who didn’t blow wet and dry both.

In conclusion we let the curtain fall on the above picture by saying that if in 
future nominations the prohibitionist puts a man out before the people in the 
general election don’t’ fall out with us and say that we won’t work in the 
organized democracy of Butts County.  And if the national prohibitionist are 
forced to organize, they will hold the balance of power for temperance, and 
this disfranchisement of the prohibitionists is a lively step towards diving 
the local democracy we love so well.  If you separate prohibition from 
democracy out sober southern democracy will soon be like the rum-soaked 
democracy of the north.

S. J. Smith

Middle Ga Argus - August 5,1890


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