Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-11-14

/ in legitimate business authorized %.
| the laws of their country. The funda
mental difficulty lies in the exactini
and stringent requirements of the Law
when fitted into the power of DECEASED
| and fallen human nature to misea
and deceive the very elect. The deacon
! who must have a little of the "creeter
| for. his stornach's sake and the poo
/ devif who gives his last quarter to
| bootlegger TO procure him Just tw'
| swallows of the liquid of damnation t.
brace him up to abuse wife and child
both will find some way to mislead am
deceive the most honest man who evel
| took out a permit to sell liquors for the
| legitimate purposes specified in the law
This is the truth and everybody knows
1 it."
| The judgment of the Press has bee.
overcome BY. it's sympathies. Appar,
emily up to he time of the indictment
| of the local liquor sellers its doubts upor
the possibility of druggists keeping
within the spirit of the law had not
been of a particularly harassing ans'
disquieting character 1t was when the
! indictments came home to roost upon
the prescription cases of the SNUG ard
respectable druggists of the home
town that the demon of doubt got busy
at the printing office. The editor knew
these men as good citizens of the town
and solvent business men and deems
1T impossible that they should engage
in an outlawed business. So he blame /
the law and excused his neighbors
Without individual knowledge OF
these particular cases the T.-R. has no.
the slightest doubt that every one Of
them had wilfully violated the law for
the profit he found in its violation.
These men knew what they were about
when five of them took out permits to
sell whisky for medicinal purposes in
a town of about 1000 people. How are
five drug stores to live and thrive in
town of that size unless they do sell
whisky? The fundamental difficulty
lies not SO much in the power of de-
based humanity to mislead and de-
ceive,' as in the greed of the elect
"debased humanity" into their tills
drives them to defy both statutory
and moral laws There was never an
Iowa deacon with a whisky stomach
unable to fine another with a whisky
drug store. All the whining of indicted
druggists against the stringent require
ments of the law is as the wincing of
the CALLED Jade.
The Press fails to consider that their
whisky sales are the only barrier be-
tween one-third of the drug stores of
this state and bankruptcy 1t Is an
Iowa axiom that drug store can
flourish wherever saloon couldm
living. This state is overrun with drug
would be under the mulct tax or out of
business and the sentiment which leads
the Press to pity and defend the law
breaking liquor dealers of its home
town is responsible for the slackness
of the county officials whose duty 1t is
to enforce the law. The Press editorial
is fair sample OF the gratitude the
average strong opponent OF the legal
Ization of commerce in alcohol gives
to county attorney, who does his du-
ty without fear or favor
There are a number of respectable
men and good fellows running whis-
ky drug stores in Iowa for the money
there is in 1t. whose only regard for
The law is given to watchfulness and
one indictment in five hundred has been
nndeserved or the result OF deception.
The druggist who sells whisky knows
when he violates the law. If the legal
limitations are too stringent there Is
nothing in the world to prevent him
from handing in his permit and going
out Of the liquor business. If he sells
whisky which cost him twenty five
cents pint to Tom, Dick and Harry
For a dollar he ,ioes it for the seventy
ave cents margin and neither he nor
his home paper should plead the baby
act when he is caught at it.