The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-05-12
Should a State Prohibit the Sale OF
intoxicating Liquors.
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0IUtlIu q 000tO l. 4VAA0AV SeAN Ns~~S -
intoxicating Liquors?
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In our last article we advanced the
position that government did not have
the inherent right to pass law.prohib-
ting the sale@of intoxicating liquors
that such Law would transcend the
proper functions of government, and vi
olate the rights of property. We now
further take the ground that such a lsw
woald be impracticable, and therefore
worse than useless, even when passed.
We will NOT here enter into detail as
to the many and various ways in which
laws restraining and prohibiting the Ii
quor traffic are evaded and violated. We
will not do this, in the first place, because
our remarks might be construed into per-
sonalities, aud we assert that we have no
personal feeling in the matter. In the
second place, this would be useless, as all
are aware that such laws are evaded and
violated, and they further know the ways
in which this is done. We maintain,
then, that if the laws are violated in those
special cases where prohibition is limited
in extent, and if, as is often the case,
people will violate the laws which sim
ply imposes tax upon the prosecution
of their vocation, they will even more be
disposed TO do so when the prohibition
extends over whole State, and, as they
feel, seeks to deprive them altogether Of
one of their dearest rights-the right to
prosecute their chosen vocation.
HWell," says some one, 'if it is thus
that you argue, by analogous reasoning
yon can say that the State should not
prohibit murder and arson, for laws
against these are sometimes violated"
No, MOI my friends, you are wrong
the cases are not analogous at all. In
the cases of murder and arson the crimes
are exceptional cases-are committed in
spite Of the Law, and with the full knowl.
edge that they will be punished. These
offences are contrary to all law, divine
and human; they are q direct violation
of the rights of others, and public opin-
ion will see the statute in regard to them
enforced. Every citizen of the State
will be in favor Of punishing the man
who is found guilty of these ofEenses.
But in the caseof the liquor law, it s0iN
not5e enforced because public opinion soiH
not enforce It; because men all over the
State, and good citizens, too, hauing full
knou1sdgs Of its uiolation, aoiH not bring
TIE offenders to justice.
stAh," some one replies, Though pub
lie opinion may not have been sufficient
" strong up to this time, yet it will be
after this. People are thoroughly aroused
on the subject, not only in this State, but
all over the country, and several States
are discussing prohibition" In reply,
We wonld say that great deal of this
apparent excitement is not really in favor
Of prohibition: A few years ego, at a
municipal election in this State, the peo-
pie were voting as to whether they would
allow a bar-room in the place or not.
Towards the close Of the day some one
approached prominent citizen and
asked him how he had voted. Said he,
ST voted the dry ticket; ] always vote
the dry but drink the wet" This is
no isolated case, but there are hundreds
and thousands of men all over the State
who, in order to be in accord with public
opinion, will vote the "d,y" ticket, but
are always careful to obtain as much
liquor as they wish. They clamor for
prohibition and the suppression Of the
liquor traffic in order to win the esteem
of the prohibitionists, but they will buy
their liquors the same as they always did,
and never expose the seller, either
These men are not so very much to
blame for acting as they do; they feel
that they have right to drink if they
choose, but, yielding to the great pres
sure of public sentiment against man
who will oppose prohibition, they thus
act with duplicity which, under any
other circumstances would be almost un-
pardonable.
So much for the impracticability Of
enforcing such law. When law is
thus rendered impracticable by the want
of public opinion to enforce itr-when
the very best of our citizens thus refuse
to see it enforced-it will readily be seen
that such a law is acorse than useless: for
it not only fails to accomplish the pur-
pose for which it was intended, but it
causes the people to lose respect for the
laws as we'll as for the government that
passes laws which it cannot enforce.
As to the remedies for intemperance,
we would, in the first place, reiterate
what we have already said as to moral
and religious influence. Let such an in-
fuence pervade our land that men will
do right for its own beauty's sake, and
will constrain others to follow their ex-
amples. Let those who advocate tenn
perance not only preach it, but practice it
let them both preach and practice it
from sincere convictions of duty, and
not because they are bound up by pledg-
es, or are forced to be abstainers because
they cannot obtain liquor. We believe
one MAJ, who abstains from strong drink
from conuiction Of moral and religious
duty does far more for the cause of tenn