The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-11-24
j. NJ. RIpENoUR

4
j. NJ. RIDENoUR.
Another Man of Straw.
| To the Editor OF the indianapolis Journal
Common fairness teaches that when one at
tempts ''to divide hair 'twixt south and south
west side" he must not swerve to the right or
left lest the division be an unfair one. Just SO,
when we attempt to use up one who does not ex-
actly agree with as we should confne ourselves
| to his language and not put words in his mouth
that he never uttered or even draw deductions
from what he does say that are evidently not
what he meant. Now. concede the severity of
the editorial criticism on my short review OF Mr.
Corners assumption that large number Of
| temperance men assume that the liquor traffic is
created by law. said nothing about their as
sumption that it is maintained by law If that had
been the issue 1 should certainly not have denied
their assumption. While law does not
create the traffic it would be specimen of
nice hair splitting to say that a law which does
not prohibit, but assumes to regulate, does not
maintain the thing regulated. To maintain is
to support and preserve, and our law does that
most effectually, and we cannot squelch the third
party by taking issue on that, though had
said nothing about maintaining
Again, L said nothing about liquor selling
being crime" except to rebuke the assump-
ton that 1t is a crime, often INDUCED in by
careless and over-zealous speakers 1t is not
crime to sell liquor where there is no law or TO
sell liquor according to law. 1t may be a sin
under any circumstance, but ] leave that for
preachers to discuss. am talking only about
human law, and trying to get the third party
men to see themselves as others see them. To
sell liquor In violation of law is as much crime
as to appropriate goods in violation of law,
whether as great a crime or not does not enter
into this discussion. And here comes in the
fallacy OF those who abandon prohibition be-
cause 1t does not prohibit, while they adhere to
the forolddlng OF murder, and arson. and larceny,
though no human divine law ever prevented
the commission of these crimes. repeat that
when 1t is a crime, that is when sold in viola
ton of law. it is not 'of the same class with
arson and larceny and the like" These affect
only property, that affects property, and life,
and morals and everything that is dear to man.
1t Is not less mischievous when sold according to
law. but 1T Is'not then crime. It is worse; it is
cowardly surrender to the worst element of
society and mean abandonment of our most
sacred trusts to the evil Vaccinations of that
element either through the cupidity that will
take money consideration for their ruin or that
cowardice which shr1nks from manly resist
ance.
have no sympathy with those who prefer
free whisky to whisky regulated by license and
taxation; but DR.. Leonard never said that
he would himself hand out the tin cups;
neither did any temperance man that
know of. AS temperance measure, no
license law ever tried in Indiana has proved a
success. When the prohibitory law of 1855 was
abrogated in November, that year, after closing
every saloon in the State for five months the re-
suit was marked. Saloons sprung up every
where, and there was no law until 1859, about
three years and three months; but the introduc-
ton of the license law of that year did not
diminish drinking one jot. It hardly closed one
dram-shop. AS temperance measure license is
failure. There may be some money in 1t, and
the question is whether it pays to take that.
My own opinion is that If men will sell let us
tax them. and the higher che better
AS to the shape this question ought to take in
the future, l have well-defined convictions.
am Republican, and believe in
the Republican party political
necessity but our success in Ohio and
New York, where the question was most agitat-
ed, is not encouraging if we are going to adopt
high license or low license as our position. In
Ohio Mr. Foraker fell behind Blaines vote 40, 544,
loss of 10 per cent, while Hoadly fell short of
Cleveland only &c. 900, or 7per cent, while Leon
ard, the worst abused man of the season, gained
10, 424 votes on st. john or gain It's per cent,
and taxation vs. prohibition was the issue. In
New York Davenport fell short of Blaine about
5000, while Hill fell short of Cleveland about
than 5000, or more than 20 per cent, while in
Iowa. where the Republicans espoused prohibi-
ten, the majority was more than double what it
was two years ago, and the prohibition vote
petered out almost entirely. Still, | suppose we
will have to try the exploded high license, but
am opposed to trying powder that has so often
been burned. T. A. GOODWIN.
Mr.. Dawson and His Wife and Son.