The Louisiana populist. [volume] (Natchitoches, Natchitoches Parish, La.) 1894-1898, 1895-02-01

for the balance Of his DAVIS rather
than force him into criminal prac-
tees nv such Intellectual attempts
to reclaim him. Besides. who will
gay that h. il not without his uses:
he is n standing warninr +" the
yeuths about him Of the bad ELECTS
of too mnch drink. Without work,
without friends and. not infrrqncnt-
", without the wherewith for a
meal, who would emulate his ex-
amplei Young men who desire to
succeed in life fully recognize that
in order to do 80, they must han
die liquor very gingerly. If they
are inclined to it anyhow, they'll
get it, prohibition or not.
However, it is not alone the in
ebriate who becomes the victim OF
the mistaken zeal of the prohibit
Zionist; the honest, sober and in
dustriOus citizen who does not con-
slider it a felony to buy drink ut a
convenient place, Though made SO
by statutory enactment) and who
has been accustomed to his teddy
for these many years without get
ting intoxicated, will resort to the
same practices and subterfuges,
because he rightfalIy feels that he
has been deprived of Ito him) an
innocent indulgence in order to
crafty the whims Of visionary
zealots. Then naturally follow the
''blind tigers" and bad liquors with
their attendant trains of spys, in
formers and other creatures of that
ilk, alike Objectionable to good
men and bad.
But has the Enterprise, or any
other local prohibitiOnist, ever
looked into the question to the ex-
tent of examining into the results
of the law where it has been tried
or is now in forcef After con.
scientiOus trial in Delaware, Mas
sachusetts, Rhode Island, COnDec-
ticut, Indiana, Nebraska, New
York, Illinois and Ohio prohibition
was discarded in disgust. 1t is
now the law i'm Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont, Iowa, Kansas and
the two DakOtas. Of these, the
Legislature of Iowa, some months
ago, and of South Dakota, last
week, passed the necessary amend
ments looking to the repeal of that
article of their constitution which
fxes prohibition in their organic
hw. We arc told that the amend
ments will he carried by handsome
maj0rities when submitted to the
people in due course.
If prohibition really prOhib its
anything, except the cOllec-
ton of o legitimate revenue
from the sale of liquors, why
this action on the part OF those
Statesi Their verdict is that 1t
does not, and that its application
is q delusion and o snare. Again,
the New York Herald recently sent
q representative through the State
Of Maine with instructions to make
q faithful and impartial report on
its operation there. His Observa-
tons have recently beeh published,
to the discredit of the State and
the discontinue Of the prohibition
cause. He asserts that the law is
shamelessly and often openly viO-
lated by officers of the law, as we'll
as by private citizens; that ssblind
tigers" abound, and that the liquor
sold is abominabIe, and this is the
inevitable result of such legisla-
ton. Instances Of its failure
might be multiplied ad Hbitfe, but
it seems that this ought tOzsufice
to show the; utter inadequacy Of
such q law to deal with the evil.
If to these, however, We add the
testimony of the Bishop of Chester
and the Rev. w. 8. Rainsford, en-
inent ecclesiastics, who confess the
failure of prohibition, and advo-
cate the Norwegian system as the
proper remedy; Of Governor Lew
cling, the late Governor Of Kan
sas, who in his last message to the
legislature a few weeks ago advo-
Gated the repeal of the law in that
State; of tho newly elected reform
mayor of New York, who has re-
commended the partial opening Of
saloons in that city on Sunday; ii,
say, we consider the observations
and recommendations of these men
who, by their close and impartial
study of the question, are eminent
ly qualified to speak, then surely
we must concede that the prepon-
derance of evidence is against the
prohibitionists, and II say it with
due respect) against the Enterprise
itself.