Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-01-28
THE GALE OF ALCOHOL

/ THE SALE OF ALCOHOL.
!. referring TO the indictment and the
conviction of certain druggists of this
city in the Circuit Court, the Clarion
of last Saturday closes a long editorial
on tho subject with this paragraph:
Now that the case is finally disposed
of SO far as the juries are concerned
The Clarion desires to say that the law
prohibiting the sale of alcohol for me
dicinal purposes, is wholly absurd and
demands prompt curative action
With every disposition to see and aid
in the enforcement of law, it would be
abhorent to all sense of justice to inflict
the punishment incurred in these
cases. The real intent of temperance
law, and the true expression of extreme
! prohibition sentiment may be read in
the local option law-which expressly
/ permits such use of alcohol. The Leg
I islature should cure this legal incon-
sistency, and relief should be afforded
to the defendants in the cases.
With no disposition to unjustly pre-
judice the interests of the defendants
in the cases under consideration the
LEADER must take issue with the Clar-
ion when it says "the real intent of
temperance law and the true expression
of extreme prohibition sentiment may
be read in the local option law which
expressly permits such use of alcohol"
The alcohol provision, as it stands,
is not the true expression of Prohibi-
ton sentiment. The local option law,
from beginning to end, is a compro-
mise measure, wrung from an unwill-
ing Legislature after years of struggle,
and adopted as an expedient to prevent
a threatened rupture in the party and
shift the responsibility of trouble
some issue from the shoulders of poll
ticians to another arena.
The provision for the sale of alcohol
has been one of the most mischievous
and worst abused features of the local
option law.
1t is not forgotten that in this very
city during the less than the two years
that the saloons were closed under local
option, the prohibitory law was most
flagrantly abused by the sale of alco-
hol by drug stores and prohibition
made a reproach and by-word on ac-
count thereof. 1t is not forgotten that
during that time drug stores here re-
ceived alcohol by the barrel to supply
the immense demand "for medicinal,
mechanical and scientific purposes"
whereas few gallons at time was
sufficient to supply the demand before.
1t is not forgotten that one or two men
were actually found dead in their
rooms after long debauch on alcohol,
and dissipated printer could go to
the drug stores at that time and buy
quart of alcohol as easily as he can go
to Spengler's saloon now and buy a
quart of whisky.
No, we repeat that the alcohol fea
ture of the local option law is not an
expression of Prohibition sentiment on
this subject, but devilish continuance
to bring prohibition laws into contempt,
and we ask all real Prohibitionists in
the Legislature to be on their guard
and vote against it's perpetuation, I'M
less much better safeguards are thrown
around it.
The LEADER is opposed to saloons
from Alpha to Omega, but if we were
forced to a choice between straight
out saloon, conducted like Lawrence's
or Spengler's and lot of 'alcohCl
Joints" run in the name of drug stores,
such as jackson had during local Op-
ton. we would take the saloons.