Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-02-16
LAW AND ORDER.
EDITOR VIRGINIA CITIZEN:

| WIZ SN"iSS VI q SiSot uSdl VI
amusement on the part of the friends
of this kind of thing, 1. e., whiskey
They seem TO think that we hav,
made a terrible blunder and are ius,
throwing the door open to the vets
to walk in aud take charge Of us
again, but this is mistake on their
part, as we are Just going to knock
the last prop from under them, which
is their argument that local option
does no good. The law abiding
citizens of this locality are and have
been for sometime trying to bring
the violators of the laws to Justice.
and unless they are badly deceived
there will be trouble for someone as
sure as fate. The writer has some
friends among the SWEETS" and it is
with sorrow that he hears some of
them say hard things of men who
ere only trying to fulfill their duty
as good citizens 10y trying to put a
stop 10 lawlessness. l am glad to
know, however, that there are some
who, though they voted wet, are at
the same time sufficiently conscious
OF their duty as men of a civilized
country to be willing to submit to
the safeguard of our liberties, the
law of the land. We do rot wish to
bring trouble upon any one, and if
any one is punished, let them remem-
Der that 1t is their own doing; and
would like TO add that any man, be
he merchant or public officer, who
allows such fact to hinder him i'm
the discharge of his duty as u citizen,
is either weak or fails to realize his
duty and is not worthy of the con-
hdence of the people. To such L
would say: | love to see man who
has the courage of his convictions
and will stand to his guns: and fur
ther, that there are many such
men who have the interest of the
county at heart, and who have voted
and worked against whiskey, first,
because it is the curse of civilization.
bringing strife in time of peace,
sorrow in the midst of happiness
and death to the souls and bodies of
men in the prime of life; and again,
because it was the curse brought, ,by
civilization to the Indians and
because the most deadly weapon
against them, and now it is being
carried to the Cubans and to the
tilipinos. In each and every case
1T is an argument against the ad-
vancement Of civilization.
When the deadl y pestilence of some
loathsome disease is found among
us, what Go we resort to? Why, in
order to abate an epidemic the
God given liberties of man are some
times taken away from him and he
must submit to the quarantine; and
the day is not far distant when the
whiskey curse will take its place
among its fellow and be looked upon !
and dealt with as such, and then to
tell man that he will lose votes
unless he departs from the path of
duty and panders to the depraved
ideas and desires of whiskey loving
community, will be looked uron as
an insult and resented as such. The
man who resorts to and depends on
policy to carry him along should re-
member that the public are not all
fools and that though for awhile it
may float him along, the tide will
some day turn and he will go down
with the ebb.
There is one very peculiar thing
about the idea of honor arrived at
by some of our people; first they say
''if l buy whiskey from man I'll
never report him, and the man who
does is kind Of a traitor" And yet
these very people will use the same
means to report to their confederates
and thus try to defeat the ends of
justice. We know that there is
being drunk in this and
every other local option district; yet,
admitting this to be the case, there is
vast Improvement in the general
good order of the community, and to
hose who differ with us we here
'ffer $500 for every proven case of
'he violation of the local option laws
n this county. Those who say it is
as a means of lessening
he evil of whiskey can make little
money and at the same time prove
heir assertion.
Right along this line another
question presents itself, VIZ: that of
perjury, and it is noticeable fact
hat there is the greatest reluctance
IN the part of the vets to tell what
hey know. They seem to think
hat they owe a duty to the dispensers
# whiskey that far over-balances
heir duty to themselves, their {
country and their God.
III, @. ID.
Heathsville, Va.
)ldn't Know Lucy Was a Horsa