Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-12-01

MASBY ON PROHIBITION.
E0Rleaa $50 Character Or the Drink
10 Rreeress PFoa sharks PFeying
On lIumam Weakncss--The Kennedy.
Perhaps the strongest plea for pro-
hibition that has ever been made in
this or any other country has just
come from the pen Of David X.
Locke (the renowned Petroleum v.
Nasby), and appears in the October
issue Of the North American Review.
Mr.. Locke, 81 course,in this instance
10 not joking, but il in dead earnest,
though he starts out with a sharp
twinkle in his eye. He says:
whether or not the general pub
lie have q right to prohibit the man
nfacture and sale Of an article used
from the time Noah planted the vine
aud made wine therefrom,and made
q spectacle Of himself, is a very Pc
cuiiar question. Intoxicating liquors
have been, from time imnem0ral. in
common use, in all countries. 1t is
q people very low down ia the scale
Of intelligence who have not invent
edquick processes forgetting drunk. /"
MIR. Locke thinks it probable that
If the liquor interest had confined
itself to the Oldfashioned ways OF
dealing in stimulants, there would
never have been demand for pro-
hibition. In the old days,the spirit
Of beer shop was established III COM
pliance with an existing demand,
Everybody drank, more or less, and
SO the landlord established his place
and sold to those who came to it OF
their own will. The sellers Of stim-
ulants never made efforts to extend
their business. But the nature oil
the business has changed entirely
within thirty years. The intro
Hdnction Of larger-beer opened a field
for money-making SO illitable as to
stimulate the cupidity Of the more
eager seekers after money. The new
drink which the German brewers
introduced made rapid progress in
public favor. The temperance adj
yocates Of that day looked upon j,
without hostility, for they preferred
that men should drink the mild
lager rather than the more fiery
whiskey or rum. The brewers saw
in this their opportunity. They
built great breweries, some of them
with a capacity going n long way
up into the hundreds Of thousands
Of barrels per annum, which was
not to be wondered at, as the profit
on each barrel was from $3.50 to
$500.
Then came the very important
question, how was this great volume
Of beer to be sold 2 These acute
men were not long in solving the
problem. They took their good
hard dollars and established every.
where what is known us the "beer
saloon" They found them consci
encelesS creatures, with neither
morals nor decency, who never had
money enough to pay for a meal Of
victuals, hang dog fellows, with
long mustaches, who crawl between
| heaven and earth, living. tho good
Lord who permits them only knows
how. They took this class of per.
sons aud rented for them each ,
| foom or two and put in counter
some round pine tables and cheap
chairs; they supplemented a cheaI
pool table and few packs Of cards
and put in behind the bar a key o
| beer, 4 few bottles of whisky and
some glasses and set them to work
perfectly equipped devils mission
aries. Now comes the point. This
poor doyil the tool Of the brewer, ha.
to sell so much beer a day to keeI
his place. He has to pay the rem
Of the saloon, nf0r the brewer eithel
owns il oris responsible for it, anc
also he must pay for SO much bee
per diem. This new system chang
ed the entire nature Of the business
| The retailer Is no longer the quie
man engaged in half-disrepulabl,
business (ior,in its hest estate, liquol
selling has never been counted re
spectacle trade but he is mission
airy for the diffusion Of alcohol. Fl,
1 goes out in search Of customers, ane
by his efforts liquor il no longer
/ passive nuisance, but an active, ag
gressive evil.
! The effect Of the alcohol poison i
not well enough understood. N,
man can touch il without fastening
upon himself a craving for more
| This il a physiological law which i
fixed and certain. The man VIII,
comes TO stopping at place Of thi
kind every night and taking on
glass, within a week finds hall
dozen necessary. And the selle
helps him along the downward roa.
as rapidly as possible. There j
always upon the counter plate o
| picked Goldfish, or red herring chi
| into proper lengths, or prctze)
] covered with salt, all thirst prvoker
and they actually put salt into beer
| that the desire for the pleasan
liquor may be increased. Beer be
comes necessity to him before b