The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-15
Henry L. Burkitt, Alias ''Pabius"
On Prohibition.

I formed that YOUR RaAANht AAbAA ~
| Alto is Senator Henry L. BuTkitt. | stat
this to satisfy public curiosity, not becaus'
he deserves notoriety al my hands.
In my first article / simply asked thu
Senator to prove his uncalled for charges
against the characters of Prohibitionists
but not a word does he offer to justify him
self in those personal attacks. Instead n
wakes wroth and gives vent TO some bittel
English in his reply, which / read with I
good deal of amusement. II some othel
man had written Of me in the style tha
pleased the Senator to write, should con
fess to little anger, but he does not dis
turb nv peace in the least.
I submit to a discriminating public
whether or not every epithet of which Sena'
tor Burkitt complains was conditional. II
he had substantiated his charges no cpl
applied to him. thought proper Certain.
" with no bad feeling) to frankly indicate
70 Senator Burkitt what would be the result
of his assault on so large and respectable
class of citizens. He must know that
he either ignorSntly or malieiously mis-.
represented hundreds of the best people in
the State. And am l responsible for his
conscious failure to relieve himself OF the
indignation of those who have been mosi
wanionly assailed by him. rest the whole
matter with those who have honOred ouI
writings with careful reading.
The Senator complains that | charged
him with ignorance. | suppose every
candid person who has read his articles
will concur in my opinion so far as his
knowledge of prohibition is concerned
He applies to himself several things con.
tanned in my article, not specially for him
do not object, however, as they seem TO
fit. My charges against him must stand
till he proves himself clear.
The Senator declares in his last article
that those who differ with his theory of the
Bible wine question, reveal ignorance.
There is evidently ignorance somewhere,
and do not doubt who the facts, as stated
by the scholarship of the world, would
show possesses the "blissful" bag. He says
if tetotaller will show him where God
ever prevented man from misfortune by
putting it out of his power to do wrong, he
will acknowledge the instruction.
Answering, say: If any anti-tetotaller
will show me a single instance where God
authorized licensing whisky shops or pro-
hibited men from carrying concealed
weapons, or prohibited train of cars
from passing through an Incorporation at
greater rate of speed than six miles an
hour, or prohibited State officials from pass
ing over railroads on free passes, or even
ordained Mr.. Burkitt, State Senator, I'll
render thanks for the Instruction. But all
this, as the Senator and both know, has
nothing to do with the question at issue.
Senator Burkitt proposes to rest his
cause on two questions. First. ''Is it
true that Intoxicating liquors are curse
and an eyil?" Second. Can the govern
ment, as organized, prohibit their sale?
First Those who enacted our present
liquor laws, knowing that they dealt with
an evil, made them very restrictive, and
imposed heavy taxes, license, on every
seller, to compensate in measure for the
damage that the sale and beverage use
invariably result in. Why not let il go
free like flour, meal, and dry goods? No,
no, it must pay us something for the sad
havoc it works.
Second The scientific world declares it
curse. Hear DR.. B. w. Richardson, the
peer of any man, in scientific research;
"The beverage use of alcoholic stimulants
result in liver disease, heart disease,
paralysis, apoplexy, consumption, dyspep.
STA, premature old age and DEATH" The
renowned DIR. Mason says: "The intern
perance of the parents is the principal
predisposing cause of insanity in the
children; 92 out of Il6 cases in our asylum
had drinking parents" Think of good
woman becoming the mother of an idiot
simply because the father must exercise
his privilege of drinking Will a good,
man thus willfully afflict his
innocent wife and offspring?
Take another illustration. The illus
trious DIR. Barnes, after tedious and pain
full investigation reports "In the Blockly
Aims House Hospital, (Pa.,) there are
5000 inmates. Incorporate males, 2709
Incorporate women, 897 total 1905 out of
5000. There were also of mania-a-potu,
with deliriums, 343; with hallucination,
ia violent mania, 157 total mania-a-
potu, 6l4-nearly 1000 persons support
ed at the public expense as the result of
The traffic in ardent spirits and more
han 600 afflicted with the worst form of
insanity that ever comes upon man"
Rev. Chas. B. Galloway, Editor of the
New Orleans Christian Advocate and |
chaplain of the Penitentiary of this State |
stated in an address which he delivered |
near this place few days since, that he |
lad discovered by investigation that "more
han two-thirds Of our convicts are wear
ng the stripes as the result of the whisky |
One of the lessees of the peni- |
entiary was present, but didn't deny the
statement.
Sd. 1t is a curse and an evil financially.
Let the eminent DIR. Barnes speak again
The exact sum received in the county of
Pa, for license in one year
vas SGT, 1902 the whole sum for the State
vas sos, 900. The expenses for prosecuting
or crime and for the support Of pauperism
esulting from the sale of whisky in the
Ounty was for the same year $685., 600
more than three times the amount of the
license from the entire State and what is
rue in this county is proportiondtely true
verywhere the business is allowed"
1t will not be forgotten that the tax-pay-
RS bear the burden of crime and pauper-
sm, resulting from the business in this
tate. Ex-Sheriff Waite, of Tate county,
Did this writer that when his county had
cen in existence only eleven years there
ad been thirty-four murders within her
orders, and that thirty-three of them were
le result of the whisky business. The
uly term of the Circuit Court Of this,
lincoln county, for 1888, cost the county :
2460, and the sheriff said the result Of Q
lie whisky business in the court cost the
than $1,000 Of
lat amount.
The revenue from the sale Of whisky in
lis State for 1883 was $l63, 800, and the
Iloons cost the State in every way consid- (
ably over 100000 in taxes. Are intort- 4
ting liquors curse : Can the government.
organized, prohibit their sale ?
LIST. 1t prohibits it now except on certain
We desire no favored few
It'll license to fitch from the s.cheap preach
81 boy, the fathers "LeQn salary and
light the mothers fond hope concerning
r child. If the State, as organized, has
e power to give license and to restrict
e sale of whisky, it most certainly has
e power 10 utterly stamp it out. If the
ate may, as it does, say TO the dealer,
u shall not sell TO certain persons-the
and the minor-it can go fur
Or and say, for the good of society State "
you shall not sell to any person within Fl
sse borders. III my permission is neces-
v in order that Senator BurEitt may
his COW, "Pidy," to a citizen Of Palo
to, l can prevent the sale by withhold
the permit.
But what do the courts say2 The SUI
me Court Of these United States, speak
through Chief Justice fancy, says: "If
/ State deems the retail and internal 50
f6c in ardent spirits injurious to its cit al
rs and calculated to produce idleness,
e or debauchery, i see nothing in the
Institution Of the United States to pre-
it il from regulating or restraining the
fe, or from prohibiting Il altogether If il
nks proper" 5 Howard, 577. Justice
Lean, Daniel Woodbury., Catron and
Ter concur in this opinion. Now let
ator Burkitt reverse the decision Of ]
se gentlemen before he disputes the sey
Fer of the State 10 prohibit the sale OF con
sky. He doubtless knows that the I
Of each State is in perfect
ord with the Federal Constitution. IT.
n conclusion, permit me to say that If
Of Senator Burkitt's friends should
this article, please to say to the Sena- N,
that / cannot reciprocate the charming - -,
erosity exhibited in his promise t. ~ ~
e his attempts TO vex my serene spirits. ~