The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-03
A BAD HAM.
Rev. Or. Bacon Says the Question
is a Political, not a Moral
One.

Rev. Leonard WOOlsey Bacon preach
ed ut Woodland Presbyterian Church.
on the question whether the claims 81
exclusive Righteousness Tor Their cause
r1ade bv Prohlbitionists were well
founded. There should be no c%oDiound-
ing Of right and wrong. he SAID by way
of preface. II prohibition is absolutely
right aud a license law essentially
wrong. we ought TO know il. As illus
tratiOns OF license laws whose generally
beneficial results and moral tendencies
no one questions, the minister mention
ed the laws governing hack-drlvers,
pawnbrokers, intelligence offices, etc.
When applied to liquor selling the whole
principle OF a license law becomes sud
denly changed. What i'll the former
cases is a proper government restraint
becomes. wnen applied to liquor seilng'
a partnership in the crime. a license
system, properly understood, means
that certain persons selected because OF
their fitness may Condu [ a business
which the law has already prohibited so
far as the general public - concerned.
1t would be better were the excise ana
license laws entirely separated. Inc
former collects a tax from the lndiVidual
engaged in a business wherever found,
but places no limit Oh the number OF
persons so engaged. "A license law pre-
scribes limitations aS to the number and
character of the persons who shall en-
pare in the business. and does not nee
e~ssarily imply any tax. All license laws
are thus prohibitory. They forbid a
person to sell without Il license. So
called prohibitory laws do the same.
Both agree that liquor shall be sod for
some purposes. They differ only in the
method. NJ one intclligcntly advocates
absolute prohibition. All admit that
liquor must be sold tor some purposes.
Abolish Your license laws and you must
establish State agencies for the sale oil
LIQUOR. Under the license system you
say to certain persons: "1 on may sell
at Your discretion" Under the pro-
hibitory system YOU say to the state
agents You must sell under the con-
ditions named" Neither system works
perfectly. Under the one, men fail to
use their discretion under the other,
they cannot when they gladly would.
Under either system liquor will be sold
when it should o be. There is no
more LnOTdlllN III lHC OHc LHdh III liz
other. But it may be asked whether, il
sO-called prohibition does on the whole
produce better results than II license
law, is it not our duty 10 aid in securing
its adoption This raises an important
question, but a political, not a moral
one. The question becomes II of eN-
pediency, and the exclusively mora
claims disappear. The sincerity of the
christian women who are engaged in the
prohibition cause is not questioned, but
| we should consider whether the sacri.
flee we should be compelled to make i
we adopt national prohibition would be
compensated for by the advantages.
National prohibition means a national
revolution. 1t means the sending Over
the country OF Federal detectives direct
ed by the central authority, the estab'
lishment of n series of Federal Police
Courts taking the place of the loca
courts. 1t means substantially the de
,truction of our present system OF State
and National Governments. Liquor
dealers and extreme prohibitionists com
binc to create a perverted idea Of the
meaning OF a license law. They boil
claim that it means that any one by
paying his tax may ecure a license
This is a mischievous and dcmoralizine
Sophistry.