The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1902-10-18
PROFIT OR LOSS

| the controlling factor in deciding whether
| il should be retained. abandoned or re-
| tired in communities where it has been
tested. whether for long or short periods.
| Prohibition is simply Il police measure,
as is license. and both are comparative
| means toward the same end. viz. the
| regulation of the liquor traffic. License
and no license" stand upon precisely the
| same plane. Violations of either Pro-
| hibition or License laws are mere mis-
demeanoiS and in no sense crimes and
precisely the same measure. of inmor-
alty is involved in the one rs in the
other. The essence of both mStemran-
| orS is precisely the s;mc-thc breaking of
an arbitrary peace regulation. which the
public may alter or abandon. ut its
pleasure. but which every one is bound
| to respect or run the risks involved in its
violation. Prohibition has no higher
sanction that that accorded To License:
both are grounded ON utility and not on
morality.
But the champions Of Prohibition treat
| License or No License AZ IL purely
moral question in settling which. they
hold. every good citizen has no choice but
| to line up with them. Now. the citzcn
good. bad or indifferent. should view
| Prohibition precisely as he would any
other proposition affecting the general
welfare. Such questions appeal not to
Conscience. save when they run counter
to the Ten Commandments. hut to plain
common SENSE which Pounds its working
judgments on experience and knowledge
of human nature. All the promises and
| pr"phrSicS made for Prohibition twenty
years ago. when our prnp,". To their cost.
were persuaded to risk its trial. are re-
prat"d today with Il ,nrk-Surr positive
| ness and Il SNUG ''knowit allnrSS"
worthy of those VIII" preached its first
| crusade i'll the county. Those rosy pirt-
urrS of Prohibition earthly heaven can
hardly impress any of us who recall the
actual condition of things which its trials
in this county brought about. 1t will or
| should strike the average voter that after
| thirteen years trial Prohibitions prac-
| ticability should have been 80 clearly
| demonstrated as 10 make il fixture in
stead of Il foot ball.
| Flat failure" sums up Prohibitions
| history in Cecil county. There never
WAS sufficient sentiment 10 make il effect
i've here. and il is scarcely conceivable
| that there ever will be, to say nothing Of
our location. which would bar its success
| even were it backed by "landSlilr" ma
| iority. Prohibition. unless upheld by
support. which establishes the strong
probability of punishment for its viola
ton, is Il mere dead letter and costly
burden. An mrrcuncilcd minority or an
Indifferent majority can defeat or dis
| credit any Prohibition law. however
,i,riI ti,l,tii,n.. # l,,,.
II rule. punished when proven. violatorS
of Prohibition laws are rarely punished
Men in the mass are more lcnirnt in the
latter than in the former class of cases.
l'rohibtioniStS have the cheek to pro-
| claim that poor men. whether tippcrS or
tr"-tutalcrS. need carc-takcrS and can
h" made or kept sober by statute. Pro-
hihit"n. from this point of view. is class
legislation. and the spirit of fair play
sets Stubbolmly against its operation.
Prohibition proposes Il restraint which
| the mass of men will not bear Its adj
v"cat"s neglect the all-important factor.
human nature. in their calculations and
| :" fail to solve their problem.
Prohibition. AS AN EXPERIMENT.
was favored. twenty years ago. by our
people, but it did not win on its merits.
for il was disguised aS II great moral
| issue. just aS it is to-day. though. in fact,
| it is Il plain business question involving
profit and loss and relative utility aS
| compared with II carefully drawn and
| fairly rrmun"rativr license law. Its as
| Sumrd good effects have never shown up
in Cecil county. and our people have
given it sufficient trial aS Il method of
regulating the liquor traffic. As such.
after its proved futility. it has no logical
claim To serious consideration even as
| to lis mere expectancy.
| But let Prohibition look into its record
i'll Cecil and show. if it can. enough
| moral assets To warrant our setting it up
again at the old stand. Call the roll of
drinkers and drunkar,S in Cecil When
| did most of those now nearing or passing
| the prime Of life begin to tipple. if not
under Prohibition What profaned the
| Law while processing to consecrate it but
| Prohibition What put IL Stcadier pre-
MUM on perjury in all its Shifty or open
shades. chan did Prohibition Was our
youth ever Srhoolcd in the saloon rs it
was in the Speak Easy" or at the sides
of walking bars: What baniShcd the
bottle from the open bar and put it in
the home but Prohibition
The issue of License or No License"
has been argued and re-argued to safety
in Cecil. Yet. Prohibitions champions
harp on the same old string. ignoring
thirteen years of history during which
they rode their hobby to the limit of its
mcttlc. What argument do they use that
would not justify every busy body who
apes their methods i'll any walk of life /?
Prohibitions advocates charge that crime
and dchauchcry rule the hours in our
county. since the restoration of license.
and that the license law is violated in all
its features What shall we say of the
citizenship that makes such charges and
is unable or unwilling to make them good
or ut least test their bases? How many
good HrohibitonistS will lift Il finger to
enforce license law, however mertor-
iouS: God is with us, and the Devil is
against Us" say they. Let us wait for
the possible turn of the tide
License does regulate and can be made
to accomplish the maximum of restric-
ton of the liquor traffic. Prohibition
1 It t.,4 H..