The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1883-04-12
rAx1No THE BULL ny THE HORNS.

The Ohio Legislature has Just passeu an
act by which two amendments to the State
Constitution are to be submitted to the people
First-'"The General Assembly shall regulate
the traffic In intoxicating liquors so as TO pro-
vide against evils resulting therefrom, and its
power to levy taxes or assessments thereon Is
not limited by any provision of this Constitu-
ton"
Second-"The manufacture of and traffic In
Intoxicating liquors to be used as beverage
are forever prohlbited,and the General Assem-
bly, shall provide by law for the enforcement
of this provision"
Now on political grounds we are vigorously
opposed to all such legislation. 1t is one OF
the foundation principles of self-government
that men shall be unrestrained in their private
affairs, that there shall be no encroachment
upon individual preroeative. But on social
grounds we are disposed TO be violent advo-
Gates of this policy. 1t has been demon
strated, over and over again, and is
demonstrated every day, that the people
OF this country, as Of other countries,
are not capable of sell-government 1t
is mockery to talk of the self-government of a
people whose vices run away with them, who
can be bought like cattle for money, people
that are poweress against money corpora
ton no matter how infamous, who habitually
debauch themselves by political practices
that disgrace the country. That is the kind
OF music which the legislation of to-day has
to face. The criminal calenders OF the coun-
try are chiefly the creation of the whisky
power, and this is, hence, a wise and neces-
sary measure in the Legislature OF Ohio. 1t
is taking the bull by the horns, and we hope
its example will be followed by every state in
the Union. Let prohibition, everywhere, be
engrafed on the organic la wso that it cannot
be shirked or evaded, SO that it will constitute
part of every officials oath of Office, so that
it will become the tenure of the voters fran
chise. So as to close the door on dishonesty
and subterfuge that have so long
baflled statnte law. II has been often
proved, not in one state but many, that it is
idle to make statutes against guzzling whisky.
They never are, and never can be, enforced
till public sentiment sustains them, when they
will not be required. But constitutional pro-
hibition is different thing. When man is
deprived of his voting franchise, shorn Of all
political privileges, virtually made nonentity
in society by his devotion to the cause of rum,
he will withdraw his support from that cause /;
and men of all classes will begin to discover
how much more happiness, more enjoyment
there is in temperate life than in an intern
perate one, how capacity for enioyments OF all
kinds is enlarged by abstaining from the
abuses of life, which are now SO common,
and to the folly of which men are so blind.
But there is a lack of craftsmanship in the
structure ofthe amendments; ora third should
be added providing an official oath, to.be adj
ministered to every official, to the effect that he
has not participated in nor in any way coun-
tenanced any Infringement of such prohi
biton, making it terse, strong and. final, and
sure the duty imposed is made imperative on
the, Legislature, the word is "shall, moi
may" Hence only a corrupt Legislature
and corrupt judiciary combined could evade
| III,
people behind them. But nothing should be
needlessly rested upon the shifting sands oil q
Legislature as a base. In Louisiana in the
case Of dueling, the fatal instrumentality was
the oath which is contained in the constitu
ton. There never was any habit, no
drunkenness, nor any vice, to which people
we're more unreservedly prone, and which
constituted a more iron-handed tyranny thar
the addiction of the people of Louisiana,
few years ago to dueling. A statute had beer
passed against it and one offeuder tried anC
acquitted. At last it was adopted as con
sttutional amendment, and dueling ha
virtually ceased. Beligerents sometime
go into Mississippi and fight
duel against which The amendment nigh
and should have been guarded But the snak
has been killed, not scotched. 1t has revolu
: tionized public sentiment.
I And when the example Of Ohio shall b
followed by every state in the union, and til
, people of this country shall have become
temperate people, they will be prepared t
take in hand that other more monstdrous evi
tobacco. They will be ready to reclaim
from the spoiler the millions of acres of fer
tile land, the gift of benehcent Providence
that should TEEN with sustaining products
that are now exclusively applied to the growt