Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1904-10-12
THE LIQUOR PROBLEM.
Is There Solution OF this Very important
Question:

| think iil-advised presentation OF his
views on the liquor question, has
served one purpose, which every
manly stand taken in behalf of what
man regards as right must always
accomplish. 1t makes other people
consider seriously the same problem !;
and out of a multiplicity OF thoughtful
counsel comes wisdom.
The result of many years consider
alton Of this very difficult problem
leads me to the belief that it is en-
tirely possible for the most extreme
radical in favor of temperance, and
the liquor drinkar most conservative
OF his rights, to unite. | will try
to state the problem in a simple form
p |. In the United States there is
expended annually for liquor the
sum of over $500, 100000.
III. In the United States, each
year, there are made some hundreds
of thousands of drunkards, filing
asylums, bringing misery into homes,
and causing semi-idiotic children to
be born into the world. All, without
exception, acknowledge the immen.
sitv of the evil of drunkenness.
ILL., In addition TO the money cX-
pended yearly for liquor, the United
States annually loses through ineffi
cheney of its citizens, caused by
liquor, sum that may roundly be
calculated at three hundred millions
of dollars
w. Many men are not disposed
10 put on their neighbors the burden
of absolute prohibition. They con
cede the right to drink liquor.
V. All men, except those engaged
in the business of selling liquor, de-
sire to restrict the evils of the liquor
traffic. These evils are:
The corruption of youth.
The bancful influence exercised
upon our political conditions.
The deprivation and suffering
caused to women and children.
The loss in national wealth.
The question, then, is:
What method of procedure will
grant the liberty demanded by GER
tain citizens, and at the same time
prevent the corruption of youth, pre-
vent the corruption of the citizen
ship of the country, and finally the
waste of the country's resources
The answer to all this seems to lie
in one direction, and one direction
only. Absolute prohibition is CON
damned by considerable portion of
the community unrestricted license
is condemned by still larger por-
tion of the community
The mean between these lwo lies
in turning over the liquor traffic to
the government, as has already been
successfully done in number of
States.
All liquor should be sold from State
depots.
1t should be sold only in "pack-
ages" to be consumed elsewhere than
in the salesroom.
No sales should be made to minors.
The liquor should be of the best
quality.
The prices charged would be more
reasonable than those made at the
present time they would still be
large enough to give the government
. revenue several times that now de-
rived from the sale of liquor
This plan being carried out, the
public secures the following results :
First, The temptation to youth
to drink in saloons located on
every convenient corner, and to
treat their friends, and in turn be
treated acknowledged to bc one of
the greatest evils-would be at once
disposed OF.
Second, We would no longer have
in the community very large class
of men taking the most active inter
est in politics, whose success in busi-
ness depends upon making drinkers
of the youth and upon corrupting
adult men and women
Third, The independence of the
citizen, and his right to buy liquor,
would be undisputcd.
If in addition TO this governmental
monopoly of the liquor business,
which, as already stated, has been
so successfully introduced in mum
aRcr of States, is added the instruc-
~ on of youth in temperance, and the
organization OF temperance societies
in the public schools, as is done un-
der the direction of the government
of Belgium, we shall have the rising
generation Safcguardcd to the Mt
most against The evils OF ntoXication.
At the present time we have four
classes of people taking part in the
temperance discussion