The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-02-02
TRUE MANHOOD
MUST BE FREE.
Cannot Reform Man BY Putting
a Fence Around Him.
AN ANSWER TO JOHN BANNER.
A North Wells Street Resident Discusses
the Temperance Question in an
Open Letter to the News
Democrat.


Democrat. He is evidently in search of
the truth, and he dares to let the public
knows where he stands. Seeing an evil,
he has the courage to oppose it. Would
that there were more such men. But
Mr.. Danner is barely out of the pri-
mary grade. He has orasped few
truths and has mace some false deduc-
tions. / shall count myself amply re-
paid If this attempt is followed by some
deeper thinking on the part of those who
read it.
In the first place let us inquire as
to what the saloon is. The word
originally meant an elegantly furnished
apartment or room. The growth in the
meaning of the word is obvious. The
| American saloon has made it's great
growth in the last thirty-five years.
1t has become a recognized power in
our state and national government, and
1 might say it is almost supreme in our
| municipal governments. The evil in
| fluence of the saloon can never be fully
understood by any one. But the saloon
| itself is an effect, not a cause; here is
| where so many make the mistake in
| their diagnosis. The saloon and all it's
| concomitant evils are the result Of q
| pernicious system Of taxation. Analyze
| the business and you will find the major
part Of the profit in the business is the
profit on the tax paid, called internal
| revenue" internal damn to the nation!
The license operates to make a mon
Opoly of the business. Let us take the
case of whiskey. 1t costs about nine or
ten cents per gallon to distill good
whiskey. If free it could and would
| be sold for fifteen cents per gallon; or,
five cents per quart. Could a saloon
| keeper pay high rent and continue
business on sales of from one to two
gallons per day? And especially when
there was no license to prevent every
groceryman from keeping it, as he does
vinegar? The result would be that if
all taxes and licenses were abolished
liquors would take their place with
other articles of merchandise, and the
saloon would die a natural death with
out a struggle. 1t is the abuse of liquor
and not the use that is the evil. A
man keeping a store under competi-
ton makes a small profit on each of
the things he sells; whiskey would be
kept in stock just as he keeps vinegar;
his interest would be as a storekeeper
not as a saloonkeeper, and hence he
would not keep a loafing place, made
attractive to entice boys on the down.
ward course, to ruin, and a drunkard's s
grave.
Mr.. Danner, I infer, would apply
government prohibition as the cure of
the saloon evil.
True manhood can only be developed
in the air Of freedom, and must come
from within. You cannot promote man
hood by putting a fence around the
u, L.
doing wrong, as the penitentiary proves.
We all have our own ideas of right and
wrong and we are rather prone to try
to enforce our own standard upon
others. One man has as much right on
earth as another. Every man has a
right to do whatsoever he pleases in
so far as he does not interfere with
the equal rights of others and it is
for the protection of these individual
rights that man forms a government;
man being anterior to the state. A
good government then is one that pro-
tects the inalenable right of the in
dividual Of the utmost freedom that
is compatible with the equal rights of
others 1t is the denial of individual
rights and the abuse of power by govern
ments or the kingdoms of this world"
as the book" puts 1t, that is the cause
of most of the evil in the world today.
If it were not so England would not be
fighting the Beers nor we the Filipinos
with benevolent assimilation" as an
excuse. Jesus Christ did not COM
mission any one to use the sword in His
behalf, but by precept and example
were the people to be gathered into the
fold.
Everyone has a right to use intoXicat-
ing liquors if he so desires. The bible
says BE temperate in all things" and
1T is not that which goeth into the
| man that defleth him." &c.
There is just one way to kill the
saloon and that is simply to recognize
perfect freedom with equal rights
Every other way has been and always
will be a failure and where attempted
produces greater evils than those sought
to be cured.
The recognition of perfect freedom
with equal rights will destroy the
! saloon business on three counts:
| l. 1t will take the profit out of the
business.
2. 1t will open up equally good OPP
portunities to labor and the investment
of capital in more honorable callings
causing voluntary exodus Of saloon
keepers from the business; for 1 never
yet met a saloonkeeper who liked his
business.
9. 1t would deal out to all exact
justice; give to all a full opportunity to
produce wealth and to enjoy the wealth
each produces; in short make jobs hunt
: men instead of men hunt jobs; abolish
involuntary poverty, the mother of most
of the vice, crime and misery of the
world, and cause mankind to develop
mentally, morally, spiritually and
physically; and make the saloon die
for lack OF customers.
This recognition of the perfect free
dom with equal rights is embodied in
what is known as the "single tax" as
advocated by Henry George, to which ]
earnestly invite the careful study of al
) who have the welfare of mankind al
! heart.