The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-22
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.


Journal, which article you were kind enough to
print. We would fain be heard through your
columns upon another phase of the same i'm
portant subject as indicated at the head of the
present paper. And. first, we say that to our
view, the two are, in substance, identical. Pro
hibition is local option applied to State. Indi
ana pleases to adopt the policy of prohibition,
statutory on constitutional Kentucky, Michigan,
Illinois and Ohio, one or ALL decline so 10 do
This is local option pure and simple, with
State for the unit Local option is prohibition
applied to the smallest political entity, county
city, township, town and village, one or all.
Each Smallest or largest unit may complete
the work of exclusion for itself without waiting
for its sister communities This policy seems
Ito u.s. so clear and unquestionable, j. e., local
option, applied to the smallest land the largest
political unit. that we fail to understand how
any sincere and sensible Prohibitionist can OBJ
ject thereto. They do object, indeed, but the
reason is beyond our ken. The fierce hostility
manifested "a few years ago and perhaps still
to local option by the par excellence Proh
bitionist is Ito u.s. utterly unaccountable. They
would rejoice to see each individual State
by a majority large or smalD wheel
into line and take up the temperance
banner and yet they seem to scout
the idea that each individual city, county, town
ship, town and village should be permitted to do
the same thing, provided the majority desire it,
If Indiana may and should prohibit by the ac
ton of a majority of her people, why may not
or should not Randolph, orWayne, or Hendricks,or
Wabash county do the same thingif the people of
each or all wish to accomplish it! To bring large
cities to the point of ''voting down" the rum
traffic seems for the time to be impossible. But
many counties and other rural communities in
Indiana and elsewhere are fully ready to do the
deed. And under the large adverse majority of
a great and wicked town, the State may be bound
fast, as by the green wthes of the Philistines"
Now, can any man assign sensible reason why
any member Of furnishing, and virtuous, and
temperance counties, and townships, and villages
shall forever be chained to the chariot wheels
of the proud and naughty, but ungodly and
drunken rabble of a runcursed metropolis any
more than Indiana should be obliged to wait the
pleasure of the States surrounding her border!
In the great cities is to be found much that is
good, and noble and grand, and excellent. and Of
good report; yet, on the other hand there pre-
walls also much that is vile, and corrupt and
wicked, and abOminable and moreover, the fact
very often happens that the bad is able to out
vote the good" And besides, in case of the
enactment OF prOhlDltOly constitutions or stat
utes they could be made effectual only in these
same localities which have the strong
and controlling public sentiment. Since the
mere passage of either law or constitution in
itself avails nothing the tug and grip of war"
lies in the enforcement, and that can be done
only by the power of large and earnest ma
jOrity. The fact seems to be, hitherto, that in
our metropolitan towns prohibitory restrain
ing laws are hardly ever properly enforced. We
do not say that they could not, nor that they
should not be, but only, that commonly they are
not made etfectual therein. And the same thing
would be true III the case of prohibitOry con
situations, proves true in the case of re-
straining OF prohibitory statutes. Where laws
of such a sort have not a strong reliable public
sentiment in favor of their enforcement they
are only dead letter anywhere. But this leads
us to affirm that the trouble lies deeper than
seems by many to be supposed Prohbitionists
say: Pass the amendments and the thing is
(measuraby) done Others say: Enforce the
present statutes while working and hoping for
prohibition NO say the Prohibitionists
our statutes are farce and delusiOn. Time
spent in trying to enforce them is wasted. But
pass the amendment, and them" Well, what
thenl VIII that enforce itself any more than
the statutes do! If the laws now in force though
less severe, are so strong that the
people leave them a dead letter. how
will they enact or enforce sever-r Onesl
Z. G. The present statutes of Indiana make pub
lie intoXication a grave misdemeanor Furnishing
it with severe disgraceful and accommodating pen
alties, authorizing, upon the third conviction,
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c puL uoeS dn$oooy hilo" o. slh5Ie
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IN az ~ anu
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