The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-02-07


The Senate agreed last Friday by a
large majority Us to 81 to take up Senate
Joint resolution No. 0 out Of Ito usual or
der, and on motion Of Senator Faulkner II
was made the special order for next Fri
day at 2.3O o'clock. The resolution pro-
vides as follows:
Resolued, Thst the following amendment
10 Article VI OF the Constitution OF the
State, be and the same ia hereby proposed,
towit. That section 40 OF Article vi Of the
Constitution o. II now Is, be stricken out
and the following inserted in lieu there.
nj: mThat the manufacture and sale OF
Intoxicating liquors shall be forever pro-
hibited in this State, except Tor medicinal
scientific and mechanical purposes; and
tho Legislature shall enforce the same BY
appropriate legislation"
The section Of the Constitution which
this amendment proposes TO amend Is as
follows:
Section 4O-ArtiCle VI. Laws may be
passed regulating or prohibiting the sale
Of Intoxicating liquors within the limits oil
this State.
There are already a multitude OF petit.
tons before the Legislature, signed by
about nineteen thousand people up
to this time, representing every
part Of tho State, and also all po'
litica parties, as well as every variety Of
religious creed and faith, praying the two
houses to submit the amendment which
we have quoted, The present indications
arc that the Legislature will decide to
submit the question, to be voted on some
time during this year, Many OF the menu
bers tako the ground that such an act on
their part Is nothing more or less than
what is respectful and right towards the
large and influential public sentiment Of
the State which requests such action at
their hands. In this position they are
clearly right. No matter what their own
private sentiments may be-no matter
whether they intend to vote for or against
the amendment at the polls-it Is their
duty as legislators to take CognilanCe Of
the wishes OF nineteen thousand
respectable people in the State,
and at their request give them
and others Tor whom they speak an oppOr.
tunity to test public sentiment touching
tho necessity or expedienCy Of adopting
the proposed amendment.
We have already alluded to the move.
ment making among our Ohio neiShbors
on this question. They sre moving over
there for local option lsw-suCh a law
as was before the people Of Pennsylvania
not long ago. AS we understand it, there
are now decided majority Of counties In
Pennsylvania which Intoxicating liquors
arc not allowed to be sold as beverages.
Indeed, here in our own State there are
about one.halI Of the counties that do not
grant license 10 sell liquors as beverages,
and II Is not to DO disguised that the gtow.
inp and aggressive public sentiment Of the
State ia radically In the temperance direc.
ton. The statistics Of crime, poverty, va.
VrsnCy, illiteracy, insanity and psupet-
ism, have so constantly pressed them.
selves on the attention Of the PEG.
pie in connection with the discussions
Of the liquor question, and have
made such profound impression, that
public sentiment has ripeued into an at.
tituds Of decided hostility to the whole
traffic. 10 such an extent Is this the
status Of public opinion to-day that there
Ia at least all even chance, II not pre-
ponderance Of chances, that the proposed
amendment 10 the West Virginia Cohsti'
tuition will DO adopted II submitted. The
people have studied tho records Of the
penitentlaries, the insane hospitals, the
isils, warehouses aud Childreh's homes,
and have seen that very large tnsiotity
Of tile inmates owe their presence In these
places to liquor in some shape OF other,
and they have steadily progressed toward
the fixed conclusion that the great foe
above all others with which the ClvllSa.
ton Of tho age has to grapplois the lnCfeas.
ing proportions Of the manufacture and
sale OF liquor as beverage.