Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1903-02-25
CITIZEN WANTS REFORM.

CITIZEN WANTS REFORM. The territorial legislature is over
 whelmingly democratic and the Tue
 son Citizen one of the oracles of that
 party, and by the way one of the most
 ably edited papers in the territory,
 marks out work for the legislators
 which they will scarcely perform. It
 introduces the subject by the remark that 'the Citizen is not a Puritan,
 nor any sort of fanatic in anything | The Citizen takes a drink whenever | it feels so inclined-sometimes glass
 of foaming beer, sometimes d glass of
 wine, and occasionally a drop of
 ''suthin" a little stronger. It be- lieves with St. Paul that little wine
 is ''good for the stomach's sake''-at least for its stomach's sake - it
 doesn't assume any responsibility for
 other stomachs. It does not, and never did. indorse or have any sym pathy with the prepOsterous doctrine
 that it is either the duty or the right
 of the majority of the people to pre-
 scribe what other people shall eat or
 drink or smoke. or wherewithal they
 shall be clothed. This is free coun- try. and every American citizen is supposed to be the best judge of what
 is good for him. If he is not, the way
 to make him a better judge is not by
 the stern process of legal coersion,
 but by education and moral suasion.
 ''It will be seen that The Citizen
 has no sympathy for any form of pro
 hibition or other sort of crankism. It
 is not inimical to the liquor traffic,
 which it regards as perfectly legiti-
 mate so long as it is conducted like other traffic. in substantial accordance with the laws. The Citizen. in other question. and is as far removed from narrow mindedness and intolerance as it is possible for newspaper or an individual to be.
 "But while The Citizen is not puritan nor a fanatic. it believes in | law and order and common decency. | It favors, and always has, not tech nical but sensible and substantial | regulation of the liquor traffic. We | believe the legislature should pass a law compelling every town of over | 5000 inhabitants to collect for liquor license not less than s30O year. High license is the only sensible and effective mode of regulation. This regulation is not only in the interest of society in general. and for the pro lection of the public IT orals, but it is in the interest of all respectable citi- zens who are concerned, directly or indirectly, in the liquor business. Most liquor dealers are law-abidiug and they have greater i'm terest in suppressing the abuses which discredit their business, and arouse public sentiment against it, than has any other class of citizens.
 ''The Citizen is in favor of liberty. | but not of abuse. and it believes it voices the sentiment of all the decent people of this community when it calls upon the legislature now in session at Phenix to enact laws for the bet ter regulation of the liquor traffic and for the suppression of public gambling. There is no manner of loubt that the wide open, glaring house is a menace to public hat tolerates it, and powerful in the hands of our enemies, !: IS has been made manifest during the I discussion of the Statehood bill in ' he senate of the United States. The public gambling house has been ban ! shed from nearly every civilized com nunity in the United States. None ,f the states tolerate public gambling houses now. and the sooner the terri ' ories put the ban of legal disapproval f 1n them, the sooner the people of the { older communities will reach the be- l ief that we are entirely fit for self ( government.
 "The legislature should enact law s for high license for the Ii y Iuor traffic, and entirely prohibit public gambling"
 It is extremely doubtful if our Tue { on contemporary could have plat 1 orm embodying the above principles V in a democratic platform. I md it is equally improbable that its [ will be acted on by the q present. legislature. 2