The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-07-21
SECOND AMENDMENr ONLY.

lWeglVe worthy citizen nearing on
the second amendmenG, without end0rs-
ing or being respOnsible.-ED. DEM
The most common and frequent Objec-
tiOn urged against voting for the second
amendment only is that 1t is not prae-
tical, that the people are not prepared
for 1t, and that prohibition does not pro-
hiblt. All such objections are raised by
the liquor traffic, the "wish being
father to the thought" The facts are
that prohibition has always been better,
enforced than "license laws, and the
longer prOhibitOry laws are enforced the
better they are observed, while "all llc
ense laws" the longer they are observed
the more lax and inefficient they be-
come. The following remarks, mainly
taken from the Evangelical Messenger,
are right to the point. The question Is
not whether prOhibitOry laws utterly
exterminate the evils OF intemperance
All enlightened, civilized nations are
agreed on this, that evils must be pro-
hibited by law, with certain penalties
inflicted upon ViOlatOrs. The laws exist,
and the evils exist In sufficient number
to require police and other officers of
law, courts, prisons, etc. No one claims
that there Is more crime In consequence
of prOhibitory laws and penalties, and
no one claims that there Is none because
Of these. By universal consent the laws
are suffered to exist, and the expense Is
met, as a matter Of course, nOtwith-
standing that crimes are still COM
mitted. The effect of prohibition by
law and punishment Of theft, counter
feiting and murder is not the abolish
ing of these crimes, but the reduction
of their number. 1t is comparative pro-
htbitiOn. This Is all that Is expected
from the law, judging from human ex-
perience, and la all that the law can do.
Now, If we look at the question of
prohibition of the liquor business, COM
mon sense demands that we should not
put Ii to a seVerer test than we do the pro-
hibitiOn Of other evils. If 1t has the effect
to lessen, reduce and restrict the evils
/ of intemperance, then 1t prohibits In the
common acceptatiOn of the term prOhi-
| bitlOn when applied to matters of legis-
latiOn against evils In society. In this
sense, therefore, in which the term Is
used in reference to other evils, prOhi-
bitlOn does prohibit, ever has, now
does, and always will. Let few facts
| be referred to:
1. 1t prohibits manufacture. The
| liquor dealers themselves confessed that
the local option law Of Pennsylvania In
| 1874, In one year shut down 154
/ breweries in that State. Similar has
| been the result in Kansas, while in
Maine the fires of all the breweries and
distilleries in the State are put out.
2. 1t prohibits crime. In the State of
Kansas in which the rum-lOVers say
prohibition Is failure, in the two years
of Gov. st. Johns administration, the
commitments at the State prison were
reduced from 81 to 240, a reduction of 20
per cent, while at the same timeithe in
crease of population was about 20 per
cent.
3. 1t prohibits expense in corporate
towns and cities. The New York Even
| ing Post Is responsible for the following
statement, and yet the Post is anti-prO-
| hibitiOn: "YOnkers, New York, with q
population of about 5000 has 145 sa-
looms, and an income from saloon lie
ense of about $4,000, but it's police and
poor tax amount to $50, 800 per annum.
| Vineland, New Jersey, with q pOpula-
| tiOn about the same, with no saloon, has
an annual expense of $476 for police and
pOOTP The man who can see no differ
ence in such figures is 'as blind as a
bat"
4. The action of liquor dealers yielda
the best Of evidence that prohibition
does prohibit. 1t Is not ON record that
| any man interested in the liquor trade
ever spent one dollar in favor of pro-
hibitOTy law, while hundreds of thOus-
ands have been spent by them to prevent
such a law.
| Every man WIFI bnb leaBG u0Rroo OF
reasoning power must admit that pro-
hibitOTy laws go farther to suppress
any public evil than "high tax law" or
''license," permitting the evil to exist
by paying certain sum of money.
Then why not vote for the second amend
ment only. 1t does not interfere in the
least from your voting the entire Demo-
cratic or Republican ticket, as you may
prefer. Then "haVe the courage to do
right" A prominent lawyer in Wooster,
o., after reading one of our articles last
week. favOring the second amendment,
wrote us as follows: "YOur temperance
article commands my hearty apprOba-
tion. Born and bred Democrat, pro-
| test that the corner stone of my Demo-
cracy Is not whisky. Tax Is delusiOn
and snare, and license is a covenant
with DEATH [ shall vote with many
other Democrats for the entire over
throw of a traffic which l deem far
worse than the traffic in human slaves,
for 1t entails worse slavery upon man.
| kind"
Let every Democrat and Republican
vote for the ticket of his choice, but
don't fail to vote for the second amend
ment only. COMPILER.