St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1894-07-07
OPELOUsAs, La. SATURDAY, JULY z, 1894.

told by some that, they are oppos-
ed to oil seaa2ptadry laws, and as
prohibition comes under that head,
they are opposed to it. What are
sumptuary laws? Mr.. Webster
says they are laws "Such as res
train or limit italics ours) the ex-
penses of citizens in apparel, food,
furniture, or the ike". Is he
right Then we claim that the
tdac achach licenses the sale Of achisk-
ey is a suoaptuory lar, to the extent
that it forces all citizens to restrain
or limit their expense in apparel,
food, furniture, or the like, in order
to be able to pay this additional
criminal expense imposed upon
them by whiskey. And that pro-
hi6itiOn as not q su0lptataYy law, per
Sc, in that it neither "restraias or
limits the expenses of citizens in
apparel, food, furniture or the like"
Gtalics ours) for whiskey, which
prohibition resraiRs, is neither
apparel, food, furniture, or any
thing ltke unto them. Therefore
that position is untenable. Some
say, give us high license. And
yet they are opposed to monopolies
and class legislation, and high
license smacks strongly of both.
And if those who oppose the pres
ent move for prohibition simply
because it is confined to the parish,
had an opportunity to vote on it as
a state issue they would object be-
cause it was not a national issue,
and if it was made a national is
sue, they could object with equal
force, because all Europe was not
included in the move. Some say,
"you can't legislate a man to heav-
en-" No, but you can shut up one
of the avenues to hell. We are
told, prohibition is to be showed
under by the colored vote. May
be SO; but has "our brother in
black" not yet awakened to the fact,
that whiskey is a worse enemy to
him than to the white man ? We
have statistics before us which
show that, out of every hundred
convicts in the State penitentiary,
eighty-seven are colored. What
does that mean ? We will leave it
for them to answer. The inference
from sacred history is, that our
colored friends are the descendants
of Ham, and the curse which was
placed upon him, and his children
after him, originated in the indul-
gence in strong drink. And are
the colored people going to lend
their influence to perpetuate the
existence of an evil which was pro-
baby the cause of their skins be-
ing black ? Some say, "prohibition
is Protestant move, therefore, as
a Catholic, am opposed to it,"
Of all the objections this one caps
the climax. | would advise those
who advance this objection, if they
wish to be consistent, never again
to ride on a steam boat or railway
train, never to send or receive a
telegraphic despatch, never use an
other sulky plow, and set the old
clock and your wife's sewing
away in the garret, until
you have ascertained beyond a
doubt, what the religious creeds
of the inventors of all these things
We're. If prohibition is a Protes-
tant move, there are a great many
Catholics who are being converted
to that way of thinking. Even
Archbishop Ireland of st. Paul,
Mimi, is an ardent prohibitionist.
While prohibition is threatened
with the negro vote, whiskey must
not forget that it has arrayed
against it a band of noble women,
and they constitute O formidable
foe, who are pledged to wage a re-
lentless warfare upon it,
May the w. CT. U. meier furl it's ban
ner,
Til hope shall reach fruition;
And the State of Louisiana,
Shall revel in the fruits of prohibition.
PRoHIB.