Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1889-08-15
saloon, whether You look ut it from a
moral, a political or an economical

perance is q peculiar danger--.insi1u
ating, persistent. For five centurie
the English-speaking race has beer
trying to protect itself by restrictive
legislation. Restrictive legislatio,
has failed. The danger has grow,
greater. 1t has been demonstrated
that the only way to do away will
its evils is to do away with the traffic
or endure the evils.
"Now one individual rises ant
says: MY personal rights must re
main intact. I must be allowed tt
sell, buy and drink as ! please Or
the other hand rises another individ-
ual and says: q, too, have personal
rights. Must l be taxed to arrest
convict, support and punish the cri
minals produced by the liquor tratli,
in order to allow my friend his per.
sonal right to drink? Society owes
as much to me as to my friend. The
free sale of liquor produces from
time to time in our community q
number of human brutes and mani.
acs who kill, MAIN and rob and en-
danger my family and property.
and my family have right to the
freedom of the city. If the city
contains saloons my wife is in dan.
ger of insult OH the public streets at
any time. There are forced upon lis
the sights, sounds and smells which,
attend the saloon, and which are oh.
noxious to us, and from which we
have the right to be exempt. Ihave
political rights; the saloon has cut
them of again and again.
"All municipal law ignores moral
distinctions. 1t must do 50 in the
nature of things. 1t is the incvita-
BILE consequence of the imperfcction
of man. These things arc true to
the knowledge of every lawyer, and,
therefore, these objections to prohi-
bitory liquor laws can only consist
emily be argued by the philosophic
anarchists, who ask the abrogation of
all human laws. Prohibitory liquor
laws arc right if criminal law is
right. SO far as abstract right is
concerned, they stand or fall with
our entire system of humanity or
dained law. They arc consistent
with all other human laws. Prohibi-
tory laws and all their consequences
have been sustained by all the
Courts. Courts cannot consistently
sustain any law restricting the sale
of Intoxicating liquors without also
sustaining prohibitory liquor laws
and no philosophical objection lies
against prohibitory law that does
not lie equally against the multiforn
restrictive legislation, which has il
five centuries appeared upon the
statute books of England and tho
United States. TO those sinccrcl,
seeking to form just opinions of pro
hibition I would say: HBc not to,
much influenced by the opinions 0
your ncighbors.' SO many things
are decided by a count of noses il
this country that it is not surprising
if opinions, or so-callcd opinions, arr
often determined in the same way
| conceive the opinions of the follow
ing classes of men on the question O
the right or the policy of prohibition
to be wholly unworthy a moment'
attention; first, those who have o.
think they have a pecuniary interest
primarysor secondary, in the manu-
facture or sale of intoxicating liquors
second, those who have no care fo
the welfare of society, no desire tt
see social conditions improved, nc
sympathy with the woes Of othc1
men, no comprehension Of the evil.
resulting from the use of alcohol,
beverages. I think that these two
classes include 80 per cent of al
those who oppose prohibition. Onl,
the opinions of those who desire tt
see the evils of intcmperancc abate
arc worth considering"
"Do you deny the existence 0
grounds for argument in regard tc
prohibition % said.
"The only ground is cxpcdiency
Prohibition is not wrong, but if i
he certain that it cannot be rcasona
bly, well enforced | think it unwis,
to enact it. In any community a
any time the question is simply this
Is there good working majority
thoroughly in earnest, with none,
and talent at its command favorins
the enforcement Of the law ?"
"And how about Kansas ?"
UKansas had fiubtinr uoiorit