The Lincoln County herald., 1872-05-02
For the Herald.
81 vis PaesU, Para BellaE.
"If YOU wish Peace prepare for war"

self, 10 speak out bol lily open all subjects
your own sentiments. encourages mo to
cay a word more upon the same subject.
There is an old Latin proverb which
says: 81 ris pacen,, para beVum-"if
you wish peace, prepare for wal" "
Acting upon this principle, the good cit
liens of our town-in orCer that we may
have peace and quiet, and in order that
our town and highways may be freed
from the disgrace of having drunken men
numbering one another in the saloons
that zee petition for, or upon our high
ways and thofoughfars /; or, in order that
We may be freed from the not less dis
graceful. but less criminal occurrences, Of
having drunken men committing all kinds
of lndecer cies and mouthiDg all kinds Of
curses and injecences in the very faces
Of our mothers sisters and wives-have
determined to try to put an end to this
crime and disgrace upon the fair name Of
our town, so far as we may be able, by
removing the cause which leads to this
effect. And as the primcval cause Of
this. SO far as We can see now, is the 50
I-e-e, 60 try 10 nave them removed by
Withholding them license.
This being intended, the question at
once presents itself: Have we any right
thus to seek to interfere with the bust
ness Of other men? Or, the question
may be still further pressed: Have you
any right thus to arraign and crticse be.
fore the public, and lay under grave
charges, the business in which men are
engaged and protected by law? We
wish to meet all these questions fairly,
aud openly, aud honestly, and we will,
therefore, now consider them. Aud We
ask the reader to give them patient pc
rusal. Nay, we will challenge any one
to controvert or retute them.
l We answer the last Of these ques.
,ions first, by declaring that every citizen
has an indisputable right to critcise or to
arraign before The public, for its condem
nation and censure, both the institutions
themselves, and their proprietors and
keepers, because they are established by
law, as public institutions, subject to the
control Of the public. They are just as
much public institutions as are our public
schools, or any public Office Of trust or
emolument, the incumbent Of which is
placed there by the sutfrages of the pub
lie. a saloon cannot exist without the
people say SO and, then, no man can
keep a saloon without the people say so.
The law does not say that the people, Ga
majority of the tax payers it is your will
remember, and therefore Of the voters)
may vote by petition for saloon, and
then any one may keep it; but it says
the tax payers must vote by their peti.
tion, for particular man. The petition
is always specified as to the parties who
are to hold the Office of saloon keeper.
Aud then, still further, the proprietor or
propretors Of the saloon must pay q rev.
anus into the public treasury. So you
see that to all intents and purposes these
are public institutions, controlled by the
public. They are ours as community.
We are all interested in them. They are,
in sense, public property. Now, will
any one pretend to say that any citizen
may not cTiticse and arraign before the
public, for its ccnsure, any public affair,
or any public institution, which he thinks
works badly for the public good? Will
any one pretend to say that people in the
United States have no right to criticise
and arraign the public acts of President
Grant, which our papers are doing all
over the Iand9 Will any one say that
citizens Of this county have no right to
cr,ise any county affair-a county clerk,
or representative? Why, no not one.
Its the shecrest absurdity to say. there
fore, that We bave no right to criticise
publicly, privately, everywhere or any
where, the saloon and saloon keeper.
2. But the same authority that gives
me liberty to criticise, also gives me lib
erty to vote as | please--to seek by nv
influence and vote to abolish that which
think is ruinous and disastrous to the
commonwealth. The right to vote to
establish it, implies the right to not vote
for it, to vote against it. And here, gen
tlemen saloon keepers, you have set the
example. You have opened your saloons
by the vote of the people. You have
asked the people 10 vote 10 this matter,
and now DO you get angry because they
don't want to vote just as you say, and
cry out that those who do not are inter
fering in your business? What would
be thought of any other public man who
would talk thus? And you say that YOU
will have nothing to do with those who
vote against you? What would be
thought Of any other man, dependent on
the public, who would do this? You
wish the public to place certain emolu
ments in your possession, and if they
don't you'll have nothing to do with
them. Well, we understand you now
You wish to force the people to vote fo,
you, whether they desire to o. not. Dc
you know that this is the very auin,es
sence Of absoluteism, despotism ant
tyranny?
No, if yoa don't wish to be criticised
by the public, don't then subject yourse
to it BY seeking the sutfrages of tn,
public, If you don't wish the public t,
interfere in your business, why don't en-
gage in business that you knop is sub
ject to the control of the public Besides