Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-01-23

township. The principal features of the
bill may be found in another column of
the HERALD.
Weshould be glad to see such law in
full force in every township in our State.
In principle. it is right, and nobody who
believes in the spirit and form of our
GOvernment-ho man who believes. in the
right Of the people, through their repre-
aentatives, to govern; in short, no man,
who believes in the great American prin-
efple, +'tlIat the win Of the majority of
the people shall rule, = can consistently
object to local option.
In the first place, however, we have not
the renlotest idea that such a bill can pass
the ordeal Of legislation while prepon-
deranee of our Iaw-making power is con-
stituted of men who have neither the viii |
nor the nerve to grapple with q growing, |
giant evil, that is productive In its results /
of more poverty, more misery, more
crime and more murders than all sources |
of evil combined. And, even if bill of |
this character should pass the Legislature
fthe idea is preposterous), it would meet
an obstruction to its being carried into
effect, fronf the: e:provisions of Section 26,
Article 11of the State Constitution, which
reads as follows:
| Sec. %. All laws of general nature
shall have uniform operation through
out the State; nor shall any act, except
such as relates to public schools, be passed
to take effect upon the approval of any
other authority than the General Assem-
bly,, except as otherwise provided In this
| Constitution.
We do not think the vote upon local
ioptiohis is one of the exceptions referred
ito. We know not, then, by what con-
struction of the above section Of the Con-
stitution the Legislature has power to en-
act local option law, law that would
depend upon the subsequent vote of
majority of the legal voters within GER
tain prescribed line for its vitality there
in. The people, under our excellent sys-
tenn of government, have delegated the
power TO make their laws to their especial
Representatives; and it seems to US, un-
der the State Constitution we have adopt
ed, no subsequent direct vote of the peo-
pie can change the laws already made by
their legally constituted Representatives.
We are not lawyers, but we very much
doubt, If our Legislature should adopt
local option law, whether the Courts of
the State would give the law their Judicial
sanction.
AS is well known, the Constitution of
our State prohibits the Legislature from
passing a law permitting the Issuing of
license to traffic in Intoxicating liquors
> and, having no power to regulate the traf-
flc by a well-guarded license, the only
. thing left the Legislature to do, is to re-
1 strict the traffic-as we are authorized to
y do under existing laws-but which we
have hitherto been unable to do, with sat.
isfactory results. The law to restrain
fails of its object; because, perhaps, ne
= one feels it his particular mission to en-,
force its provisions against violators.
Can we prohibit the traffic by genera
:, law for that purposeS First, we canno
E, procure the passage of such law, and il
ofi the next place, the people are not edu
le Gated up to the point of prohibition i
.e they were, the saloon-keepers would fint
le that their occupation was gone, and they
De would starve to death for want of victims
lei the liquor-traf1c question, and the re
n strictions of the Constitutional provisions
Of how are we to deal the most successfully
f, with this fearful curse and deathly bligh
~ upon our whole land and Nation?
Te Our Ideals, to remove all Constitutions
al Instructions in the way of legislative en-
actments and procure the enactment o
such laws. as the people, through thei
y law-making power, may think the mos
e efficient in securing the ends desired. ]
IL may be regulated by laws that will hav
h' a greatly restrictive effect upon the traffic
en- but an experience of twenty-eight year
en- in Ohio without the regulating power {
M license law to restrict the sale can nt
oo have failed, 1t seems to us, TO have cor
Hu vinced every observer of events that til
stn present system of controlling the trait
OF has amounted to little less than mise
as able failure.
We have always shared with our brett
ted ren, in the advocacy of total abstinenc
,si. in the opinion that it was inconsistel
In with the true principles to legalize, by
m license, the traffic in any business whiC
in6 we believe to be radically wrong. Ho7
tba ever this may be, we have an existir
air evil fastened upon us; it has invade
,li- the families of all classes of society, al
In strange to say, while this is true, it is al
true that all classes acknowledge it to
the curse of our civilization. 1t is a mo
of ster in our midst, destroying its thousan
un- annually, and we ask: would it not
ear wisdom to deal with it as we would wi
nts any other monster that threatened Il
lice lives of our children and the peace al
0ot- sacrednessr of our homes. If we cam
( to kill it let MS adopt the next best meth
of disabling and controlling it, so it M
,,., do us the least harm-even if that be
-, means of license. Let us do somethil
~ to throttle the monster, and we care lit
~ what the implements used may be, SO tn
-. temperance, sobriety, peace and MOI
sentiment and practices prevail throug
NAL out the land.
has --s-n-.
Selecting Candidates.
We most heartily concur with O
but uaiOhbrtr of fha al, T3o,s,bJso