The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-03-09

ELKTON, MARCH 9, 1872.
Local Option.

Local Option.
The public has been cajoled with the
siren song of moral suasion to cure the
evil of drunkenness till it has fallen into
doze, as it were, from which it has recent
" began to arouse itself to find intemper-
ance, like an uncomfortable epidemic, on
the increase. Moral suasion has heretofore
checked intemperance, and served to keep
down popular rum drinking by making 1t
questionable. But of late rum has been
slowly recovering its lost ground, never
again to be driven from it by moral suasion
That as remedy has been tried and found
wanting to effect cure or stay the spread OF
the disease, other than temporarily. Moral
suasion to a certain extent exercises rem
edial effect in checking the spread OF all
manner of crime, and thereby makes the
administration of justice possible. But
after moral suasion has restrained large
majority of society from the preparation
of crime, there still remains very consid-
cradle minority, that succombs to nothing
less than the strong hand of justice and
law. Moral suasion would never hold IN
check theft, burglary, larceny, robbery
and other crime, for which stringent laws
with severe penalties are provided, and 1t
has utterly failed to prove a necessary
check to the temptation of drunkenness.
The law, in fact, has been and is against
moral suasian that seeks to check and cure
the great evil which desolates more homes
than war, and lends its powerful aid in
spreading the evil of rum drinking. The
law cannot be neutral in this business; 1t
must be either for or against the evil. and
at present and in the past it has ever been
found a co-laborer in the cause OF drunk
enness. This has tended very materially
to mould public opinion in favor OF a Gus
tom fraught with SO much untold misery,
and served as brake TO the force OF moral
suason.
But matters have taken new turn, and
not only in this country. but Europe-ln
England and on the continent-neces-
sity is forcing the conviction upon the peo-
pie, of repeating the license laws as the
only hope remaining to stay the plague
Drunkenness in England is frightful in Its
ravages, and beside the debanchery OF
intemperance in that country and on the
continent, America is temperance land;
and local option is beginning to be as seri-
~, az hnrp
1t seems to have taken possession OF the
public mind of Christendom, recently, that
the only hope of rescuing the mass OF the
people from the fearful ravages OF lntem
perance, is a local option law, or some SIM
liar restraining force which will shut up
the places where the great mass of drunk
ards is made.
Illinois has passed stringent license
law making the property on which liquor
is sold liable for damages, whether owned
by the rum-seller or some other party
Ohio has similar law, and other States
are moving in the same direction. 1t is
plain that the evil has grown to that pitch
that nothing short of placing the law
wholly on tho side of sobriety, and max
ing it the protection of the people, the sole
object of all law, will serve to check this
growing moral and physical disease. Have
we man in the Maryland Legislature that
has plescience enough to recognize this
fact and act upon it? The people are
ready to support the man who steps out OF
party ranks in the Legislature and de-
mands the protection of law for the rising
generation, against an evil more fraught
with death and misery than wars, pesti-
lence and famine.
Since the above was written select COM
mittee Of the Legislature has reported
bill favorable to allowing the people of any
district to decide by vote whether the sale
of spirituous liquors shall be licensed in
said district. Will they enact it into a
law?
&c. P. Rowel & Co., through their
Newspaper Reporter have been the means
Of directing the whole newspaper interest
of the country to the fact that prohibit
tory tariff has been laid on type, and the
type founders OF the country taking adj
vantage of the law, have formed an associ-
,t;op o,l fxaI bo pr;co nf frno ot what