The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-02-09
viii Prohibitions ProhIbi,e

drinks is likely to be continued
Prohibition, total abstinence, the
church and Christian ministry, NOR
al sauaison, temperance societies
have time again been called into re-
QUESTION, but the progress of the
evil has not been stayed, scarcely
impeded, and to-day this monster
moves on the same it has ever done
in the years gone by. The trouble
in this is no doubt that the tempe
rance s'cranks" have always aimed
at accomplishing too much in q Civ
en- time. Total abstinence, complete
prohibition, has been the standard,
and anything short of these desira-
BILE ends was not to be considered.
Entire suppression, not restraint of
tie evil, has been the watchword for
getting that public opinion must be
educated and entirely changed if
ever Prohibition is to be successful.
Temperance conventions and tempe
rance workers must learn wisdom
from the world. We have excellent
laws for the restraint of the evil,
which if properly enforced would
work incalculable good, but u
great temperance apostles complete
ly ignore them and seem to be sat
isfed with nothing less than entire
Prohibition, regardless of the rights
of others under existing law. Elk
perience and repeated failure in
Prohibition seems to bring no wis
dom to its advocates, the ultimate
result of which is the cause being
brought into contempt and derision'
and suffers accordingly from unwise
and premature attempts 10 accom-
plish an impossibility as public opin-
ion is now constituted. Wherever
entire Prohibition has been attempt
ed such has been the result, and it
has been reasonably demonstrated
TO all common ems people that
"Prohibition will not Prohibit" in
this country with the present gener
alton. The last effort at Prohibition
is in the State of Kansas, and with
what results may be gathered from
the following extracts of a letter writ
ten to the NeaO York Sun, from a
prominent town in that State:
The prohibitory laws have not
stopped the sale of liqnor, but they
have resulted in throwing a conceal
ing veil of dishonorable and unman
ly secrecy about the sale, and have
~necessitated, on the drinkers part,
the adoption of sly and sneaking
ways of obtaining liquor. These
laws cause men to walk in mecca,
sins. The difficulties thrown in the
way of obtaining a drink Of liquor
cause the man who has waded in filth
or walked circuituus and self-respect
destroying ways to obtain it, to drink
much more than is good for him, SO
as to avoid the trouble of returning
X x K
These laws also stimulate dishon.
orable and sneaking conduct on the
part of the advocates for their rigid
enforcement. The temperance men
hire other men to become spies, anG
pay them to inform on liquors sell
ers. They publicly contribute tc
aid in degrading men into sneaks
informers, and pot-house detectives
They raise money to hire able law
yers to prosecute the liquor sellers
their detectives have tricked into vic
lating the law. Juries, packed to &C
quit by Sheriffs, who violate theil
, oath of office by the packing, acquit
men when the evidence clearly con
victs them t~fliquor selling; and thus
the jurymen forswear themselves
The false swearing of witnesses be
fore Grand Juries is notorious.
Prohibition in Kansas has been.
} from its conception in the narrow
minds of office-seeking politicians o.
f calibre too small to grappIe under
s%tandingly with the momentum:
questions of tariff and monopoly, 6
tissue of fraudulent argument and
misconception of the rights of man
1t has resulted in perjury heaped or
perjury, and is debasing the morals
: and manhood of the people. 1t has
vastly increased the consumption OF
i liquor. There is not a town in Kan
sas that does not support from one
to a dozen secret drinking places
each O school where men are laugh,
to be sly, crafty, untruthful, and
mean. Owing to the packing of ju
ries and the systematic perjury o
| witnesses, it has been, until lately
= almost impossible to obtain convic
tions. In some towns, where public
opinion is strongly against the en-
%forcement of the laws, liquor is solc
openly. This has been the case il
Dodge City, the headquarters of The
= Texas cattle trade.
! The effect of the law on irnmiera
ton into Kansas has been mos
marked. Ofthe 700, 900 immigrant.
, entering our ports last year but abou
: 5000 settled in Kansas. The fore
runners who came in advance of tn,
n main body of immigrants fed from
/ the State when they were Informed
of the prohibition laws. In one in
stance the leader of q we'll to do Au
strian colony, who intended to settl
his people in the 80 called Goldel
S Belt, after looking at the lands offer
ed for sale and expressing satisfac
tion with them, and announcing hi
e intention to purchase, was told of tn
prohibition laws by a naturalize,
fellow countryman. When he com
pretended that it was not q grin
e American joke that his brother Aus
trian vas endeavoring to palm o,
Z him he Uoza6 in oman. nyad octoni,b