Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-07-07
Athens Still Again.

Mr. EDITOR: claw and Order" and
" Anti Whisky" in the CHRONICLE, under
take to give the other side of the Athens
corporation controversy, and in doing so
they dodge and entirely ignore the only ma
terial point made against the corporation,
and in favor of the taxing district viz:
That the one perpetuated the four-mile law,
while the other revived and brought to life
the retail grocery system: the one prohibits
the sale of whisky within four miles of our
chartered university, while the other legal
ICES it up to the very line of our college
compus; the one promotes tenn
perance while the other fosters intern
perance.
1t is a fact that, under the taxing district,
the citizens of Athens would be clothed with
every right, privilege and franchise for pur-
poses of local self-government that they
could acquire or enjoy under letters of in
corporation, except the retail of whisky
AS Andrew johnson used to say, "This is a
great fact" Now, is it not little singular,
inconsistent and Illogical, to say the least,
that Messrs. Law and Order and Anti
Whisky should both choose the corpora
ton, and utterly reject the taxing district :;
| that they should by their votes that speak
| louder than words, say away with temper
| ance, let us have free whisky?n Oh, what
civilizer a retail grocery must s.be in their
estimation. What happy and salutary in
| huence it would exert upon the boys and
young men of Athens. as well as upon
those who are sent here by fond and doting
parents to be educated in science knowl-
edge and virtue at our University And
further. what benefactor grocery-keeper
must be to his race!
[ have always been taught to believe that
retail groceries were the ulcers the plague
spots of society; the very nests and breed
| ing places of crime; schools of vice, where
drunkards and gamblers and assassins
were graduated and from which we filled
our jails, penitentiaries, asylums and poor
houses, and are ourselves impoverished to
pay the expenses and costs therefor
The retail of whisky to be drank as a
beverage is a great crime against society
and humanity. A vote for the corporation
of Athens is a vote to legalize the retail of
whisky where now prohibited, and, there
fore, a vote for the corporation of Athens
is a crime against society. This follows
as logical sequence. This great fact is
what is troubling and hurting these gentle
men, but there is no escape. If whisky is
sold in Athens, let it be contraband let it be
illegal, and let it be sold as it has been fo1
the last two yeats, In violation and in def
ance of law, and let the responsibility for ii
rest where it justly belongs, with the courts
and juries Of our county. Has the law be-
come powerless, and is our criminal system
a dead system? If our courts and juries
stand ready to condoue crime and falsely to
sympathise with criminals then society in
the future has nothing to hope or expect
but that lawlawness, crime and assassina-
ton will be rife and rampant throughout.
l understand thata certificate of incorpora
ton was received here on Saturday last from
the honorable secretary of State at Nash.
vile, and was put to registration, &c, anC
that an organization will be effected yer,
soon under it. We will now see what WI
will see. Reaffirming the truth of the state
ments heretofore made by me in regard tt
this matter, | now dismiss the subject
Our whole community was great,
shocked upon the receipt of the news o
the attempted assassination of Presiden
Garfield, and the CHRONICLE was looked TO
with much anxiety for details on Sunday
morning.
Wheat threshing commenced in our coun
ty last week, and the results are very unsat
isfactory to farmers. The yield il
small and the quality of grain very poor
5 weighing only about so to 50 pounds to tn
measured bushel. HoMBBE.
Athens, July 4, 1881.