The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-08-19
A Quibbie.

DIR. Carroll took one position in his
speech Sunday night which, If it had
been taken by politician on the
stump, would have been called a quib-
bio. II was this: "Mark you,' said the
reverend orator, "our prohibition does
not strike at drinking. IL does not
prohibit drinking. IL only strikes
at aud prohibits the selling of whis-
KY" Is this not quibble2 Is this
not an unfrank statement of the mat
teri Or are the prohibitionists ex-
acily candid when they war against
all the manifold evils of intemperance
and confine their efforts alone to the
suppression of the local traffic In IL?
Does not this statement warrant the
conclusion on our part that the pro-
hibitionists do not regard the drink
ing and the drunkenness which follow
the use of whisky, as a great evil. or
any evil nj all, in fact, but that ii is
only the local dealing which so
shocks their moral sensibilities? Do
the prohibitionists of Waco mean to
tell us that they care nothing what
ever about the jug trade. the cask
trade, the barrel trade, the bottle
trader That whisky only produces
drunkenness aud misery when sold by
the glass over counter and'by a sa-
loon-keeper. Then it demoralizes a
man, causes him to beat his wife and
neglect his family, but while he
buys il in Dallas, Fort Worth
or St. Louis, in large pack
ages there is an attendant good spirit
which inspeCts II ere il passes over
the line of McLennan county and ex,
tracts the devil from il just as the
reciitier extracts the fusil oil by
running the liquor through char
coal bath? Mind you, prohibition
holds only against the sale, not tn,
drinking OF the vile fluid. How many
gudgeoDs will that catch?
DIR. Carroll deplored the shortncsi
of the time given to discuss this ques
ton. The shortness of time wa
pressed upon us by the prohibition
lists, and over the earnest protests o
the anti-prohibitionists. They go
the short time and the calling of thu
county election, both by a species o
sharp practice which smacks far NOR
of politics than it does of morality o
religion. Ii was the stealing OF
march on the anti-prohibitionists 10
which they had not bargained. TIL
fact is the petition for Waco was Il
before that of the county, and SHOULD
have been acted upon by every rul
of fairness, tirst-It was deferred
relegated to the county electio
which was preferred, aud for no ade
quate reason that we can So,
This constitutes sharp and in
cisive political management, bu
IL don't stack up much as either re
ligion or morality. Like sharp prat
tice in every thing else, 1t over-reache
itself badly, and returns to plague 1t
projectors. Local option law is tina
law which provides that local neigh
borhoods shall say If they will hav
whisky ornot. When the local neigh
borhoods in the county, which hav
already spoken on the subject, wer
settling the question to suit them
,lves and In their own way, Waco
although bitterly opposed to local op
ton as general as well as a loca
question, said not word, interfere'
not. Now these moralists, who ar
not politicians, step in and say thes
local communities shall pass ON th
question as to whether Waco shal
have prohibition or not, whether o
no. We have been told by genilemel
from all the local option points in tn
county that while they are for prohi
bition at home, yet they will vol
against ii as a county measure becaus
il includes Waco, and they do no
deem that right in the light of he
forbearance toward them in the da
of their trial.
, Thus will this bit of sharp practic
return to them such fruits of thei
labor as shall be very distasteful in
deed. Now we do not intend to ar
raign the honesty and integrity o
any gentleman ON the other side. Blu
we do mean TO call attention to tn,
fact that the very best men, when un
der the influence of strong partisan
feeling, do things which will not bea
the strong Ugh; of truth or fair deal
ing. They do not intend II, but the!
do il all the same.