The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-07-13
NEW SERIES. VOL.. XIV. mo. 81.

s2l gallons Of spirituoas Iqaors, 90 ID
crease Of Is, 7so s566 ,gaIlOns above a.
product Of the preceding year..
The liquor was made BY. ., ,44e iicenses
distilleries, and much was made ~ illici
establishments, of which Hundreds ar'
said to exist ass rg.g.
To make this liquor it took Is, ass, IA
| bushels of corn, 2,s36, ,oSs bushels Of rye
and 2, 2,eof ,s07 gallons of molAsses, besides
oil the fruit made into brandy. is
All this liquor was made for people q
drink, and nearly all "to drink - bev
erage."
To get this liquor to the consumers
sale deales, and l55, $50 retail dealers o.
this army OF retail dealers, 4ls are in our
own State. That is to say, there 10 Ii.
censed retail liquor dealer in the State Of
of Florida to every 400 inhabitants.
The people pay into the treasury Of the
United States annually $63, eco, 900 - d.
rect tar on spirituous and, malt iquors,
besides State and local taxes. They pay
this tax for the. privilege of spending
nearly one billion Of dolz0rs annually over
the counters of the liquor dealers for in
toxicating drinka
The direct cost of liquor to the people
of the United States would wipe out the
national debt in less than three years, and
ever thereafter support q good school in
every community Of our entire country.
Reliable authorities tell M that when
we take into consideration the amount of
money necessary to protect society against
the crimes caused by drunkenness, and to
punish the criminals, the money necessary
to sustain the lunatics made by intemper-
ance, lat least one-half of that unforta-
nate class the money expended In relief
of the widows and orphans of drunkards
dependent upon public or pri vate charity,
and other items of expense incident 70 the
sale and use of Intoxicating drinks, it costs
the American people &2s for every dollar
of revenue sccruing to the United States
from the liquor business.
But liquor costs the people much that
cannot be estimated in dollarA It costs
them tears and sorrow, poverty, sickness
and death. 1t ruins the health, fortunes
and character of the living. 1t destroys
many of our best and noblest. It trans
mits untold physical, mental and moral
evils to generations yet unborn.
The despotic and demoralizing inhu-
ence of drink and the liquor traffic, on
politics, is one of the most glaring evils
of our times.
The people feel the oppression.
Bar-ro0m keepers and the hangers-on
of their establishments are often the most
influential men In local and political meet
ings. Liquor dealers boast Of their power,
and snap their fingers at virtue ard reh-
gion.
The presence of bar-room in . COM
munity is an unmitigated evil. In the
eyes of the good, it cannot possess one
redeeming. feature. 1t is the rendezvous
of the worst elements of society. IL ID 4
school of vice. 1t tempts the weak. It
leads astray the young. It makes men
waste time and money. 1t prevents re-
formation in many who desire to get free
from habits of intemperaRce
Shall this evil be forced on the people
against their will Shall the State give
men the right to maintain these dens of
infamy in our midst?
y Undsr ID. Py paT present a. State laws any man
for county license and $50 FOR hcdhee
in an incorporated town. can open bar
room wherever he can get land enough
for it to stand on. And more than that,
fellow-citizens, he can sell liquor to your
sons who are under age, and you cannot
interfere.
How long shall these things beY Until
you know your power, assert your rights
and say through those who represent you
in the State Legislature that this iniquity
shall come to an end.
The people of hundreds of communities
Of our fair land want relief; they want
protection from this curse, and they have
only to cooperate heartily and they viii
get it. .....s...ss...a,
We do not ask for general prohibition,
but we ask, yes, we demand, local OPP
tion." We want law giving the people
of counties, towns and communities the
right to say whether they will allow the
liquor traffic in their localities or not.
According to the principles of both the
Republican and Democratic parties, ma
jorities control. And shall not the ma
jority be heard when it speaks for the
cause of country and humanity
But "local option" is prohibition in
principle. Is prohibition right? Il it
sound political economy? @
They say hquer is an article of CON-
merce, and prohibitioneuinterferes with
legitimate business. Quarantine il pro-
hibition. It interferes with commerce.
Quarantine laws are enacted and enforced
to protect the country from pestileace
But the liquor traffic desolstes the land.
is not confined to latitude or season, :, aud
slays more men In q decade than yellow
fever has in a century.
The laws of nearly al States prohibit
lotteries and all kinds of gambling. They
do it because of the injurious and i'm
moral tendency of the gaming spirit
But gambling causes few crimes compared
to drunkenness, and occasions little loss
of money compared to the vase sahs
squandered for and by drink. oje
Il The fire fiend 10 justly dreaded, and in
some States arson is punished with death.
Regulations are adopted, systems ihsti-
tuted, art and science applied 70 festfsin
the ravages Of FIRE. And shall nok lewhl
measures be used to restrain thai ,niakty
stream Of liquid fire, kindled by the
flames of he'll, that sweeps over the land.
infaniing all the bad psssions II men
With FIRE that shall never Be quenShsd |?
They say that distillation afI6rdsa re-
munerative market for our sarplhs train.
God gave M this grain to sustain liie. not