The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1874-03-12

The Whiskey War.
The Ohio State journal in a long
article on the. .Women's Whiskey war
says:
If there were no opinion but one
mans opinion, and ii the law were
simply and inexorabIY to express that
opinion and nothing else, one should
Law his hand on his mouth and his
mouth in the dust, and say, as a good
musselman-Aliahi il Allah! and so
fourth.
But the civil law is not framed ac-
cordiDgly. It's duty is to protect the
rights of ALTO protect the property
of all. You may think that a certain
kind Of property is susceptible of very
bad uses-the man who owns il may
think very differently. The argument
we are considering does not dream
that there can be any doubt, or any
other way of looking at the thing thsn
that adopted by the speaker lie
knows he is right, and he demands
tnat the millions of property shall be
destroyed, whether with or without
law, on that assumption. Nor the
fact that we also think the speaker is
right in his estimate as TO the danger
Gus nature of this property does not
/
in tha least degree tempt us to demand
that il shall be sacrificed, even though
the law did not protect it-much less
though the law does protect il. These
other citizens think they have a right
to hold this property, and there is a
bare possibility that our wisdom may
be as wrong as we are sure theirs is.
AT any rate the law says the property
is of a kind that they may hold, and
until the law is repealed or amended
In conformity with cur sentiment, we
have no more right to touch their
pro aerty than they have to destroy
Ths State Journal, because it may adj
Va cate come doctrine which they hold
/ e be pernicious, There is no other
ss fety for your life and property, than
in this bending to the majesty of law.
1t all goes very swimmingly soSiOng
as your sentiments are in the majority,
for you to say, what of il, If the law
does say this property shall be pro-
teeted 2" But suppose these gentry
get the upper hand, and give you a
dose of your own medicine r Sup
pose they say, hat of il, If the law
does say churches shall be protected !?
/ We hold that churches are 8 restraint
upon liberty, and we win burn every
church in the land. The logic fellow
citizens, is precisely the same. Your
argument would justify all the fright
fuI religious prosecutions in which
/ Christians have massacred each other
since the world began.
The only safety for the common
wealth is utter devotion to law. If
| the law is bad change it. That is.
right, But while it remains on the
statute book it is to be executed inn
partially, without Difference to any
sudden growth of religious zeal or
other influence. This influence can
be properly exerted to change the law
mot to break II, on peril OF that very
religious liberty which insures your
own freedom of conscience.
In this aspect, it is too plain for ar
gument that, if the selling of liquor is
business authorized by law, the la
dies have no more right illegally con-
sidered) to beset the liquor sellers
place to the destruction of his busi-
ness then he has to go to the regular
church meetings and oppose them by
setting up bar in the lobby of the
church. We know very well men
and brethern, all that line of argument
about the damnable nature OF the traf-
fic-we need not discuss that. Admit
it. The question is, docs the law
recognize it as legitimate business p
If it does, in the eye of the law it has
as much right to protection as any
other business. If it is the nature of
nuisance such as the law recognizes,
the law provides remedies by which
ii can be abated. 1t is upsafe at any
time for the citizen to substitute pri-
vate trial and private judgement and
execution for the regular authority of
the judiciary. The fact that the object
is praisew orthv cannot be pleaded IN
excuse of bad precedent, which may
be adopted just SIS logically for bad
purpose. The only safe rule is to
abide by the law; and if it is bad law
work with all proper means for lis
abrogation by the regular means. ii
good men and women disregard the
legal rights of bad men from good
motives, they-furnish a precedent for
bad men to disregard the legal rights
of good men, from bad motives.