Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-08-07

Good Spring Wagons and Road
Carts, cheap, at BAKER & Browns.
Go to BAKER & BROWNS for
best CHAIN PUMPS.
| aug7
To The CITIZENS OF STAUNT0N.
Since a Local Option election in Staunton
was known to- be determined on. the CLIFTON
f1rrgee psrganian has published series of
been circulated largely in Staunton. That of
last week contains the only argument that
| man can urge for license and keep his coun
tenance-the business" argument.
not appear to be expedient to experiment in
business relations" 1t is not proposed 10
make any experiment, it is simply proposed
to vote on August 22d, 1891, whether there
shall be any licenses issued for the sale of
liquor in Staunton after April 30th, 1892,
| nearly year from now. There is no derange-
ment Of any sort OF business proposed nor any
reduction OF any revenue received by the city
| from these licenses until 1892.
| The great body OF voters who propose to do
this have among them men too deeply inter
ested in the welfare of the city, both by rights
OF property and as the residence Of their
growing families, to precipitate any such
| crisis as the Varginda11 apprehends. AS an
example OF the interest they have, we can say
that one gentleman engaged in this movement
is at the head of an establishment that dis
| burses $4,000 year in this city; another at
the head of an establishment that disburSeS
SO, 900 year; another is the head of the larg-
est manufacturing establishment that was
ever located in the Valley OF Virginia; another
is the President of the second largest Devel-
i Opment Company that has been formed here;
another ic of the LARGEST merchants of the
city-and SO we might go on naming the sort
of men and the magnitude OF their interests
interests, the result OF the work of a life time
and too large to imperil. Men who have
given that highest proof of business wisdom
success.
1t is not with them movement animated
| by sentiment OF fanaticism; by no feeling
that the citizens who are engaged in the liquor
business are to be abuSedfor being in business
licensed by law. nor by any conviction that
to present the evils of legal traffic it is nee
essary to Witty the citizen who carries it on.
1t is movement in which are concerned
large body OF citizens without regard to po-
litical belief, religious belief, race OF color
1t is body of men whose patience has at last
given out and whose conscience is stirred
They have seen every year new drunkards
rise to take the place of those who went
before them, and they have seen what liquor
has done among our best as well as among
our worst people. They see on reference to
the official record that there are ,594 male
lUldDlUdutS VI kOlduubOl GW6lly-Oll6 years VI
age, and that there are twenty retail liquor
| houses-0n6 for every se0enty-nsne OF them!
i They know, and they feel that the conServa-
tive element in the liquor trade knows, that
this is not consistent with the we'll being OF
the community, but they can see no remedy
this side OF the total abolition of the sale.
The conservative element OF the liquor trade
seems I'd have lost its influence as has been
well i'll 1trated in the last four years. The
law puts no limit to the number of saloons
that may be opened here by persons qualified
under it to obtain licehse-at the May
term of the Hastings Court three new saloons
were licensed! Having, then, no where else
to 90 for relief they turn to that last refuge
of the people, the ballot box.
They have no doubts of the result from a
business point of view. The argument that
saloons help the business of a to Wn or help to
populate it, has been dead for ten years; it
cannot be galvanized into life in Staunton
In this day you will read in advertisements
urging people to buy property in certain To-
| calltieS, the inducement offered that the legal
restrictions with the sale OF lots are such that
no bar rooms can be established there. They
have no fear of the loss of business by the
ending Of license. Liquor helps to sell moth
ing; it cannot even sell itself-until the fatal
appetite has been acquired-without the help
games, or some other auxiliary. They have
| no fear Of the result on the city's revenue.
The revenue from liquor licenses is just
So, 1888 and one mill, one tenth of one per
| CcllG. Oll UHG pIOpCILy VI buC Clby WOulu MdhS
up that. For this infnitesimally small tax
they are ready. They have no fear about the
growth of the city. The largest increase in
population in Virginia (save one) as shown
made by Luray, dry town, and one that has
been dry for years. Staunton with her saloons
by the census taken by her own officials, did
not increase so per cent. All the great pros
perity of Salem the millions invested there,
| the furnace built, her factories, hotel all her
development came to her during the tg0 HearS
in 1oltlch ste aods q dry t0lcn. Hon. A. M. Bow
man, President of one of the largest OF the
Development companies there says that that
fact had had a good effect with Northern
capitalists and tourists who had been
there. The absence of saloons keeps
away neither investment, nor workmen,
nor business, and the only change
that will be observable in the business of
Staunton after May /, 1892, will be that the
workmen's wages will on Saturday night and
other nights go to the hat store, the clothing
store, the dry goods store, the grocery store,
every sort of store instead of to the saloon
Nor do they fear that when Staunton goes
dry the law will not be enforced. This is not
Harrisonburg-there will be no ''soft drink
saloons open here in defiance of law. On the
Of NAY nd s 99 and S pad
out in rewards for the conviction OF law
breakers. A Thousand Dollars on watch
will put an end to breaking of the license law
in any city. The only trouble in dry cities
|
neither go on guard duty themselves nor put
Money to do guard duty for them.
The Vrgdnaan cites Salem as place, it is
informed. where a large number OF places eX7i
was dry town. This information may be
correct, but if so it was wholly through the
apathy of the people OF Salem. But during
that time there was not place to sell liquor
| exhibited openly to tempt men. The eight Ii
censed saloons opened there since the town
became wet again sell, we have no doubt, ten
times the liquor that the secret jug trade did,
and make ten times the new drunkards the
| Jug trade made. No man, except an idiot, is
willing to believe that more liquor can be
sold to men and boys when it is hid away than
when it is openly sold, any more than he will
believe that you can kill more birds on day
when they are hard to find than on a day when
they are rising on every hand.
In conclusion we add that the bulk of those
who propose to vote against License are prac-
tical men. They do not expect to take away
any mans right to drink liquor. Those who
choose to send away and buy it can do SO.
But they do expect and intend tOstOp the sale
of it, and to take such steps backed by vigi.
4ence and money as will make it cost any
man, white or black, $50 to sell liquor in any
quantity, large or small. There is no trouble
about stopping commerce where it costs the
seller more than it comes to. Neither do they
expect to reform" those who are now drunk
ards. Alas they and all others know that.
the deadly appetite once formed, the quiet of
nent reform to such. Bit they do expect to
save the seed cOrn-the young; they do expect
to prevent any more drunkards being made
legally. They know. as all men know, that
there are graves in Thornrose cemetery-of
the young, just entering on useful lives; of
| the middle aged Of great value to the COM
ever ever to rebpke them, if, in this election they
do not do their duty according to their con-
science. To the silent appeal OF those warning
graves there comes the answer from the
License side eve want License tina we may