Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-12-12

farmer, where does his profit come in?
It has closed at least one market for
his corn and his hogs; it has closed
another for his barley and his hops, if
he has any; it has dispoiled his vine
yard and his orchard, for the juice of
the apple contains the poison of the
alcohol and comes under the ban of the
law-apple sauce. however, is still on
the free list.
How has it effected the state at
large? 1t has turned aside a class of
hardy and Industrious people with
Drawn and muscle, who till the soil and
develop the wealth of the state, and
given instead an army of soft handed
non-producers who live by looking
after the habits and morals of their
neighbors. It has brought forth a
brood of special class legislation
bristling with pains and penalties,
fines and imprisonment. And above
all it aims blow at the natural liberty
of the citizen and debases his man.
hood. No good citizen of any spirit
can pass the ordeal of procuring a pint
of liquor at the drug store for medici-
nal purposes without feeling humilia-
ted and degraded. Fie on a law that
treats the citizens as malefactor and
unworthy of trust or confidence. The
true theory of our government is to
accord to every person the greatest
manner of personal liberty, holding
him accountable for the abuse of that
liberty. It may be questioned if it is
the true theory of any government to
restrain, humiliate and hedge in with
penalties, ninety-nine good citizens in
order to remove temptation from one
debauched member. The good ply
Isician applies histremedies to the sore,
and not the we'll flesh. What reasons
have we to hope that the result of
legislative prohibition IN Kansas will
be other than the same failure it has
proven whenever tried in this country
for the past fifty years? Morality by
act of the legislature backed up by an
unreasonable code will not be accepted
by free people as the sincere pure arti-
Gle. But some one asks are you in favor
of restoring the saloon? Other things
being equal would say no. But if
every other consideration is to be
sacrificed I say, with proper legislation,
yes. 1t is not worth while here to
discuss the question whether there is
middle ground between prohibition on
the one hand and the saloon on the
other, and yet it may be worth con-
sideration. Is there of necessity a bond
of union between the manufacture and
sale of liquors for general purposes,
and place where it shall be sold by
the dram as beveragef
Our prohibition friends must not
assume that they have a monopoly of
all the intelligence and morality in the
land.
''Dost thou think because thou art
virtuous, there shall be no more cakes
and ale?"
At least thirty-six states of the
Union recognize the saloon as legiti-
mate business; and it would be pre-
sumptuous to assume that the people
of all those states would suffer in
morals, on comparison with our pro-
hibition advocates.
The localities where prohibition suf-
fered most in the late elections in the
New England states, was at the seats
of learning and educational institu-
tions, and as to material prosperity,
we need not go far over the eastern or
western border of our state to find
cities that have far outstripped us in
wealth. commercial Importance and
municipal greatness.
THE PROPER COURSE.
In my opinion very proper course
for republicans who favor resubmission
is to work for it through their own
party. To do this it is right to organ
ize within the party such members as
hold similar views on the subject to
work for its success. 1t matters but
little whether it comes through a con-
stitutional convention, or by a direct
vote on the questio4 Mone.
Whether you should go as far as
your opponents have frequently done
and threaten to do, i. e., vote for no one
who holds views contrary to their own,
is matter for you to decide, consider
ing the Importance of the matter
involved.
1t must be KEEP, in mind that pro-
hibition is no more a tenet of republi.
can faith than is your religious belief,
or the place of your birth, or the color
of your HAIR. It has been repeatedly
rejected by the national republican
party. The people of the state must
be permitted to decide their own policy
in this, and all other matters, and any
party that seeks to stife the voice of
the people will be speedily consigned
to oblivion.
Unless I very much misread the
signs of the times, it is rapidly becom-
ing case of the politicians against
the people and in that r,ontest the