The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-03-22
. Down WITH the Saloon.

Down With the Saloon.
Editor Of The Times. . lspatch'
sir.--1l your issue OF tho 9th instant IrI.'
In your editorial on "trhe Liquor Ques-
tom" you seem to me TO somewhat miss
the important feature Of this ~h whole
question:. Allow me inodestly and re-
spectfnttyIto suggest that y is not
question OF whether alcohol shall q be
md for proner ,,ses, nor whether the mar,
who persists In drinking It shall be nble
to procure II for such use. But It D a
question OF whether tho traffic In aco-
lo shall 90 Oil; whether he dram shop
shall continue TO exist. The traffic is
and has been carried on from, time In.
memorial for the profit that Is IN It. 1t
pays a lhrger profit on the Investment
than almost any other business. The
now conscience on this question feels
that It Is incongruo,is, unbecomlng, out
OF Sorts that q traffic which originates
so much crime. innIcts 80 much suffering,
occasions 80 much paupersnl and en-
tails SO much trouble and sorrow upon
society. should go on T1xe new. con-
science on this question puts forward
the statement, without fear OF contradic-
tlon,v that there is no more necessity IN
the human constitution for alcohol thar,
y
Take q little child ns an example. Any
parent would be shocked we're his ten.
year-old boy say to him. "Tather. !
feel like want a drink Of whiskey!"
No more ought any man to feel like It,
and no mar, viii who has not been Inn
properly odur ated by our drinking Gus
tomH. The 5lioa,or traffic. II It did not
originate these customs, has upheld and
fostcred them. And It exists for their
suatenance ana # perpetuntion- These
customs ara now seen In the best light
OF the twentieth century to be wrong.
They ought to cease, and the most In
portnnt steps towards their destruction
IS the abduction Of the liquor traffic. No
institution ought TO be allowed to live
and thrive on the vices Of the people.
According to the Committee OF Fifty"
tho liquor traffic produces directly TWEEN
tyfour per cent. OF all tho insanity, thir-
4ty-aeven and one-h half per cent. OF all the
paupertsm, and not less than forty-n,ne
per cent. Of all the crime In the land.
Such a TRAFFIC ought not to be- carried on
for the money that Is in It No sovereign
State ought to consent to such bust
ness if ss4 s!5}
The Louisiana State Lottery. ruthlessly
abolished. is n t to be compared In It's
mischevous effects. The licensed dram
shop Is the gigantic crime. OWL and
social. Of the nineteenth century. 1t
reeks with sin and shame, which cry to
Heaven Thu saloon, the bar-roonl. the
It's depot. place where the goods nre de-
livered and It's victims congreRnte and
line up for the exchange OF dimes. So
briefly oonscience. honor--all thnt Is
dear-for aloohol--wh'skey. The tempe
rate. the good. the sober. the manly havo
como to ahun It as. they would a peati-
lenoe. Business men. the Intelligent, the
vtrtuoua. the morally md aociaJly str ng
have put 1t under the ban. It Ia the sui
the Euave Of tho weak. Nobody defends
It as promotive Of any interests OF any
sort. busineas. aooal. or moral. Even
tho liquor men Themselves oonoede the
branding that has been put upon It. In
n recent ISSUE Bonfort's Wine and Spirit
Circular said:
The average saloon is not In limo with
public sentiment. The average saloon
ought not to be defended by our trade,
but II ought 10 be condemned. In small
towns the avera &c saloon Is a nuisance.
It ia a resort for all tough characters.
and in the South for MI Idle negroes.V It
Ia generally on a prominent street. and
II Ia usually run by snort who cares
only for the almighty dollar. From this
resort tho drunken man starts Keeling to
his home: Rtthts resort the local fights
are INDUCED In. It Ia q stencil In the
nnstrils OF society. and Sia disgrace to
the wine and spirit trade. How then
shall we defend the average saloon2 Don't
defend It, but Don denim It," And so say
we all What moralist. or retormer could
describe tho average saloon" moro truth
fully and forcibly7 A week or 30 ago six
3een such salooniats were before the Po-
lice Court in Norfolk for violation Of
the excise law against Sunday liquor sell
ing. and fifteen OF them convicted and
fined SO each and costs,
Condemn the Ealoon. Aye and no con-
domination Ia OF any avail, which stops
short Of ita abolition: Its extingltshment.
The average saloon talked Of above Is the
saloon Of the nineteenth century, that
has committed suoh fearful rnvages
In our aociety that has blasted 80 many
hopes. blighted no many prospects, de-
vastated 80 many fircsdos. Condemn
It., abolish It. hang 1t. quarter It until
not one vestige Of It remains to tell the
tnle of its awful destruction
j. IC. DN SHUZO.
Belvol, Va. March IL. 1909