The Forrest City times., 1892-01-15
THE "GIIND TIGER. AFT

ol the law against the clandestine sell
 ing or giving away of liquor, common
 ly known as the blind tiger" act. N, this week reproduce that instrumen
 Tn full, copied from Gantt's Digest. I
 will be seen by a perusal of this lav that not only the person who sells tn, | liquor, but the owner of the house il which the liquor is sold, or through whose house it may be necessary to gt to reach the place of sale, is amenabI, to the the law and subject to penal ty of not less than S200 or more thar $500 fine and thirty days imprison ment. The law is mandatory, not dis cretionary, ill it's provisions. It is not necessary fer person to know posi-. lively that whiskey or other intoxica ting liquor is being sold ill certain house. He may go before magis trate and testify that he believes thi. is the case, when warrant is issued and an officer may force an entrance into the designated building at any hour of the day or night, whether its doors be open ori closed. The mere finding of liquor, or United States license authorizing the sale of liquor shall be taken as prima facie evidence of the guilt of the owner of the prem. l ises and of the person or persons found in charge, and upon this they shall be convicted and subject to the penalties prescribed. It is made tlie duty of al ministerial, judicial and executive of. iicers to enforce this law. Any officer who fails to do so lays himself liable to action for malfeasance, and if con victed would be forever debarred iron holding office again.
 The law is rather an unusual one but 1t was enacted to meet an unusua and damning evil. We hope if there art any persons in the "blind tiger" busi
 ness in Forrest City, they will care fully study its, provisions and desis from the nefarious business. Of al 1 the vile curses ever inflicted upon community by a lawless person, th' blind tiger is the worst. No decent honorable man would engage in it Self-respeet and the respect eof hi! neighbors take wings and fly ava! when man becomes SD low and s, far forgets.liis manhood as to-. descent to tie moral aud social depths of run ming !. blind ti3er.n
 | We have been told that wliskey i. being sold in Forrest City in deianc( of tlie law, but. tive. .could.notslearn tht rsme of the vendor. It is to be hoped he will, whoever he may be, abandon the business at once. There is 10 roon for such lawbreakers in Forrest City THE TIMES would not oppose Iegalizet saloons, but ;t is against the 'blint tiger" iHfany first, last and all the time, no matter who may sneak into q darkened room and operate it. There is another and more deplorable aspect of the case than the mere physical in. jury inflicted by the decoctioEs usually sold in these dens under the name oi wliskoy. The effect upon the rlsiag generation is detrimental, in that the young boys just growing to manhood are taught to wink at the violation of the law covering blind tigers" A constant witnessing of the violation of this law viii lessen their respect for other laws until all regard for all laws is lost oI yitiated to the extent tbat 1t is an easy matter for them to become criminals almost unconseiouslY. Parents who connive at blind tigers' should take this thought seriously to heart. Their boys arc liable to become criminals through this very agency. The voice of the people has said that saloons should not exist in Forrest City, even though they paid high taxes and as- sisted in defraying the expenses of the municipal, county and state govern ments, and now we call upon all law abiding citizens to unite in driving the "blind tiger" iniquity, if it really prevails, from our midst. They not only pay no taxes, but are veritible manufactories of criininals-and of the worst class of criminals, at that
 Already some of the best men in Forrest City have signifiedstheir deter imitation to organize "law-and or der" league, the object of which will be to raise money for the prosecution of any such violator of the law. If the infamy exists, we hope this league will be formed and that it's members will not rest until every "blind tiger" in For rest City has been forever driven from its limits. There should be no tenn porizing, no trihing. It is the duty oi every self-respecting citizen to aid in exterminating the monstrous evil, and we trust the extermination will be speedy and complete. Society is, in great measure, protected against most of the evils emanating from licensed saloon, but 1t is defenceless against