The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-08-25
THE rKoHIBrrION MOVEMENT.

With all due Difference To the sincerity
Of purpose and zeal OF The gentlemen
who are leading the present temperance
movement in this State, We mus; enter q
difference Of opinion as to the method
they have adopted ~ reach The end they
haze in view The enor. 60 pas pro.
hibi,ory liquor la" in iii. Stale can only
work mischief and harm if il should sue
cced The incorporate use Of spirituous
liquors here anl everywhere is i great
social and moral evil. bu, j, il an evil
which cannot be checked by any other
than social and moral influences. Laws
cannot do it until the social and moral
sentiment Of The body polite is in favor
of legislation in theory, and will execute
the laws in practice. This is free
country. In it every man has the right
u think and vote as he plca,cs. and most
generally this right is fully exercised by
all Every vote counts the same d, every
other vote, and, therefore, the advocates
Of any moral reform have no advantage
over their opponents on account Of posi-
ton Whcn it comes 10 the polls the
simple question i, which -ide ha, the
most votes? and it makes no difference
whether all good men vote one way and
the bad men vote another; if the bad
men have the majority Of the votes cast, +,
their side OF the question prevails just as
efcctually as the good men would have
done had they the majority. With this
principle, which governs our law. making
as a starting point, let us sec if public
sentiment in this State favors proh;hi.
tory law. If we judge from the cn;!:u-i-
asm and apparent success Of the pEohi-
bitionists, we wouli conclude that such
law might meet the popular wishes, but.
viewed in n practical way, it seems TO lis
that it must be concluded that South
Carolina is no, ready for prohibition.
In the first place, i, will no, do 10 count
all who have signed the petitions for the
enactment of n prohib,ory law as in
reality favorable To such law, for in
fact some Of them would vote against it
if j, should be submitted for ,hei. suf-
frnges to decide |, must also be rcmem-
bcred that the prohibitionists have been
doing oil or nearly all Of the talking and
writing during this agitation, and the
other side has said very il,:e. 1t does
not, however, signify that there are no
antiprohbitionists in this State.
in North Carolina everything WAS pro-
hibtion- men, women and children.
whito and colored, Jew and Gentle.
Christian and heather, Democrat and
Repnbicans-up to few months before
the election, if we are to Judge from the
newspapers and articles published in
them. 1t looked like there would be no
difficulty whatever to drive out the man
ufacture and sale Of all Intoxicating
drinks, but short time before the cleo
tion the opposition rallied, and tho crush
ing defeat of prohibition by over one
hundred thousand majority was COM
plcte surprise to the friends Of the tenn
perance reform. Our population is not
very different from that Of North Caro-.
lima, and the influences which controlled
the vote there, in our opinion, would
control it here, except that we would be
worse beaten i'll proportion to our voting
population, for we have large colored
majority in this State, while they have a
large white majority in North Caroline.
The sentiment of the majority of tho
voters of the State is certainly against
prohibition, and any attempt to secure it
now will be worse than futile
In the next plsce, let us see if public
opinion would enforce the law if enacted,
and, to decide this, we arc not left to con.
lecture. for the sense of the body polite
is fairly tested by the laws now upon our
statute books. If the present laws are
not enforced it would be unreasonable
to expect more stringent regulations to
be carried out, and yet every one knows
that the laws now of force are most
shamefully violated every day. The
whiskey wagon is going through the
country at frequent intervals in various
parts of the State, and yet we have never
known one reported or an indictment
brought against the owner in any Of ou.
State Courts. The law against selling
liquor TO person Of known Incorporate
habits and to minors is constantly vic.
lated, and yet there are no prosecutions
in consequence Of the violation. 1t is
an easy way of performing q moral duty
to ask some one else to enjon the evil,
and great many persons will be found
who are willing to request another to do
what he ought to do himself, but does
not like the responsibility of, and hence
We find many persons willing TO have a
Jaw passed which they would not try to
enforce. For these reasons we do not
believe that th3 public sentiment of the
State would enforce the law if enacted.
The consequences of success in pro-
curing the passage of prohibition law
would be ruinous to the State for two
reasons: First, because it would induce
an independent canvass of the State in
the next election upon the sole question
of the prohibition law, which would spill,
of from the regular Democracy at least
thirty thousand white voters, who, with
the large negro vote of the State, would
defeat the Democracy by not less than
from seventy to one hundred thousand