Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-06-17
The Cons,ltutIonahty OF Prohibition.

and which l. paid down in hard cash,
/, moro than twelve hundred million
dollars. Two such rccciptcd bills
would abolish our national debt and
leave us a Surplus. From careful ,ta-
tiStirs. il is calculated that half n mill
lion Of men are engaged in the liquor
traffic in the United States. That is
n standing army of intcmpcrancc five
hundred thousand strong.
The prevalence Of intcmpcrancc can
be still further demonstrated by the
wrctchcdncss VI seven hundred ana
fifty thousand drunkard>: 10y the des-
titutiOn Of eight hundred thousand
paupcrs, and by the rawlings and The
inbcciiiies OF thirty thousand mad,
men and idiots. These figures ANA
the facts which they represent set be-
fore lis in Il most APPALLING manner tic
prevalence of intcmpccanrc. IL creates
i'm man an ungOycrnablc appetite yea,
more than M appetite. II iHmorc IKE
a raging storm that pcrSgdcs the en-
tire being: II is a malne,s that pallly-
yes the brain; il is il cOrros.On that
gnawS thc stomach: il is Il storn-iire
that comes through the veins; II re-
gard- no motive; il silrnccs reason; II
stiles conscience; il tramplcs upon
prudence; il ovcrlcaps everything That
Won choose 10 put in itS way; and etcr-
nal life and the claims OF God are a.
feathers which il blowa out of it,. path.
Really, n drunkard would sell his body
and soul, would barter away heaven
and covenant with YOU 10 jump into
hell, il Won would give him whnt lie
wants strong drink. II wrecks char.
actrr; il wipe, out the likeness Of God
from the soul. aud make, a man Il mix
turc OF the bralc and demon, aud
shuts the poor victim forever ont Of
heaven. II brings u peculiar curse up
on woman Man WAS made IN the I'M
aye OF Gods intellect: woman may
well bc said 10 be made in The Image
Of Gods heart. 4 true woman is
tendcrc.t To- her child. Bu, "a drank
Tn woman will take the sweet child
she brought into the world and clcarc
lis head with an axe, or stab IL 10 the
heart with Il knife. lnicnpcrancc
brings another curse upon woman.
Man is not naturally cruel to her: that
is not his disposition. When man
came ont Of Paradise he came ont with
woman. hand in hand with her. IL
Si.nilicd that courtesy 10 woman had
outlivcd the fall. But Il second SER
pcnt has tempted man. II j. intcm-
pcrancc. Under il, influence the man
viliiics the woman whom he has mar
rici and sworn 10 protect; he deli les
her pure presence with the obsccmity
! of the Slum and the saloon: he strikes
her fair face; he >tarvc- her body and
soul; he sells her marriage vcStry and
her wedding jewels; he finally plnngcS
into her breast the murdcrous knife.
And why! Ii i because of one thing
he is the victim of rum.
Lastly, intcmperancc breeds crime,
fills our prisons, pcni'cntldrlcs, hollis
e. of correction, and houses of ILL
fame: il fca>t> the thought of robbery;
il nouriShcs the conception Of murder;
il >harpcns the thicfS cunning; il
strengthens the forgcr purpose; II i
the fruitful source of scduciion; II
nerves the suicide; it inrrl> every
year nIyriadS OF men AMI women
across the boundaries OF virtue into
the territories OF brutal vice and hope
less quilt. In short, il there Is amy
atrociouS evil To be- pcrpctraicd, The
man who expects 90 pCrpct?aiC IL
brings himself up to the work by
>tron. drink. IL j. stronger than the
devil himScll-strongcr TO lead men
into all pfo0igacy, into oil pollution
and crime.
Now what shall We do about IL?
The rumscllcr and his patrons aud
abcttors say let il alone. The inlciIl-
gent. the sober, the thoughtful iriendb
of all. say let Us suppress il. some
DENY the con,titUtiOnali,y Of the law
10 supprc,, the sale of liquor that Il
law 10 suppress is an invasion of per-
son.,l right, and liberties. l. il so!
Robcr, &. pitmln, judge of the SUI
pcrior court OF Massachusetts, has set
tied that point in II single sentence of
amazing cOmpact.cSs and tcrScnc>S.
lie saws: every license rests upon
the logical basis Of autcCedcnt pro-
| hibition, and derives IL only peculiar
value thcrcfrom, which simply
means this: That the granting ol liz
ccnse implies the previous universal
prohibition: for il there were not an
tcccdent prohibition, then no license
would be necessary To sell; then any
man might sell and any man might
not sell. \ license i, needed. Why
Becau,c prohibition antcccdcnt l.
| i'm full force before any license
is an grantedd is in force without
the enactment Of any specific law.
So that il appears that prohibition is
ORIGINALLY natural and universal; pro-
hibition i normal, and II 'cnsc is alb
But authorities are abundant To Sus-
tain this view. Chief Justice fancy
said: III any State deems the retail
in tcmal traffic in adcnt spirits injur-
ious TO it, citizens, and calculated To
produce idloncSS, view, dcba,chcy,
/ see nothing in the Constitution Of
the United States TO prevent IL rom
regulating or restraining the traffic, or
from prohibiting il altogether, IL il
think. proper. Mr.. justice Gricr
said: lit il not necessary to- array tho
appalling statistics Of misery, paupcr-
ism and crime which have their origin
i'm the use and abuse of ardent spirits.
The police power, which is exclusively
in the State, Is alone competent To the
correction of these great evils, and all
measures of restraint or prohibition
necessary TO effect that purpose are
within the scope of that authority.
And IL a loss OF revenue should accrue
10 the United States from diminish
ed consumption of ardent spirits, she
will be gamer thousand fold in the
health, wealth, and Happiness, OF the
people. ~ These opinions, and score
Of others that could be cited, put be-
yond question the constitutionality of
the prohibitory law. Further, society
has right TO protect itself. The