The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-11-04
Vice Against Virtue.

whiskey party is that prohibition does
not prohibit. All prohibition laws against
practices or crimes forbidden by the
State, prohibit, but none of them ell
tirely abolish. The laws against murder,
theft, arson, Sunday dissertation, nri-
sances, etc., all prohibit or prevent these
offences to large degree but do not en-
tirely prohibit The laws against the
sale of spirituous liquors do not absolutely
prohibit but they do and always have
prevented the sale and its baneful results,
to fully the extent that any of the above
named laws prohibit. All of the above
named laws are very expensive to county
and State, numerous arrests for burglary,
theft, arson, etc, are made and very ex-
penslve trials are held, with more acquit-
ais than convictions, but no person de-
mands their abolition on this account.
But there is money. blood money, in the
whiskey traffic, and its practitioners insist
that the trials of violators are expensive,
18th a large uuml er of fcquital7, and
therefore the law should be changed to
grant, in place of denial, to sell liquor,
and that the State or county, or town
should enter into partnership with the
traders for share of the profits. They
don't advocate that the distiller should
sell his corn whiskey free of all govern
ment permits as the farmer sells his corn,
but they want to charge "high" license
by the State for the right to sell, and
take part of the profits.
The advocacy of the sale of alcoholic
beverages is the voice of greed drowning
the groans of distress and mercy.
AS to high license restricting the sale
and regulating it, every trial OF high
license throughout the country has proven
an utter failure. The Raines law of New
York is claimed to be the best license law
in existence. The Raines law is dis
NAL failure. 1t does not restrict the sale,
regulate it or prevent any of the demon
alizing and Immoral influences that EN-
brac the liquor traffic as the atmosphere
envelops the earth. Prohibition law is the
only law that has ever been found COM
petent to check the sale of whiskey and
evils from the rum traffic. AS proof of
this prohibition law is the only liquor law
that the liquor party ever seriously
oppose. They grumble little over the
cumbersome details of the numerous
| L., 1>,,t ,r;11i,1rr IN
law ever devised which grants the priv.
ilege to sell. That point gained and the
saloon keepers will risk safe sailing among
the reefs and shoals the most ingenious
license law creates. Nothing meets their
unqualified opposition but an absolute
prohibition law. This fact should satisfy
any person of ordinary common sense
that that is the law of all Others which
the liquor traficker sees death in the
future to his business.
A license law justifes the liquor trade.
The pretended and futile safe guards
which are placed in license laws, imply
that it is dangerous business, such as
the manufacture of explosives and the
like are dangerous business and liable to
injure the community but the legalizing
such business implies it is useful and not
a nuisance. Such permission by the law
gives the trade moral standing with
other trades and does not brand it as
intolerable, useless and destructive, dan
gerous TO society; in fact that the business
in itself is all right and the evils arising
from it are chargeable to those who suffer
because they have not observed the
proper degree of care.
The difference between a prohibition
law and license law is just here. The
former brands the liquor traffic as utterly
useless, dangerous and criminal; places
it in the catalogue of crimes; nuisance
to society and those engaging in it as
criminal, deserving punishment as law
breakers. License proclaims from the
statute book that the liquor traffic is
virtue; prohibition that it is vice and
places it under the ban of society. That
ban must tell against it in the long run,
because on the side of humanity.
The whole world admits that a process
sion of vices and crimes of every grade
marches out of the open saloon, that evil
and only evil is the rotten ripe fruit of the
rum trade, and all the argument that is
urged by its advocates in this county is
that some dirty speak-easies sell bad
brand under prohibition, as owls and
minks and dusky bipeds steal chickens
under cover of night.