Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1905-09-27
AdmOnitiOn to PrOhibitOniStS.

There Is prospect of contested
election and the final result. of
course, cannot be known. The
fact remains, however. that in the
city which voted out bar-rooms
two years ago by majority Of
about two hundred, there has been
a very strong change Of sentiment
and opinion. If the advocates of
| license for the sale of liquor have
not won legally, it Is beyond dis
pute that the prohibition sentiment
Is very much weaker than it was
and has been diminished by practi-
cal experience and immediate OBJ
servation. Danville Is an old bat
| tie ground on the liquor question.
If any people on earth understand
/ that question thoroughly, Danville
people do.
rs we have said many times be-
fore, we have the most sincere
. sympathy and respect for the Pro-
/ hlbitionistS. The vast majority of
/ them are of character which de-
mands respect. Many of them are
brought to their position on the
liquor question by the bitterest
and most Sorrowful personal ex-
pericnceS known to humanity.
They are people who have seen
relatives and friends wrecked and
ruined and homes and families de-
stroyed by the liquor habit. and
they conscientiously and ferventlv
seek relief from the evil and try to
prevent similar calamities. While
we appreciate these facts and al
ways feel a kind of pang when we
read of 4 Prohibitionist defeat or
are impelled by 4 sense of public
b duty TO oppose a prohibition move
= ment, it does seem to us that the
good people of that way of think
ING ought TO open their eyes to
facts. The experience of Dan
vile is that of one community
? after another in every part of the
country. The prohibition senti-
ment, the religious sentiment. tho
influence of the women. always
/ the worst and most helpless suffer.
p ers from excessive and unwise usC
of liquor, the resentment of the
/ public against the political infu-
ence of the saloons and the hone
p for relief from temptation and dis
aster combined to make a dominat.
= ING vote against licenses. The
saloons were closed and the result
has been yariously reported Pro
hlbition partisans declared it to be
good; opponents found nothing but
evil in it; but the thinking, disin-
terested people who hold the
balance of power weighed the
proposition in the scales ofexperi.
p ence and found prohibition to be =
failure Probably a majority OF
the towns and smaller cities in the
South have been dry" sporadical-
, ly and almost invariably every one
of them with more than a thousand
inhabitants has returned to the
license system by one means OF
: another.
If the Prohibitionists would
cease from repeating continually a
disastrous and futile experiment
and would give their energies to
p supporting practicable and reason
able laws, they would accomplish
much real good. Bar-rOoms should
be prevented from selling liquor
to inebriates or drunken men, to
minors or irresponsible persons.
Their hours for doing business
should be reasonably limited. They
should not be allowed to sell liduor
all night or on Sundays. The
character of the men who conduct
/ these places should be scrutinized
not in a perfunctOry, formal way
but with sincere purpose to deter
mine whether they appreciate the
responsibilities and the dangers of
their business and are likely 10
conduct it SO as to reduce its i'll
effects to the lowest possible mini
mum. There is such a possible
thing as a responsible and respect
able saloon. 1t is entirely posi-
bic to sell liquor as drugs are sold.
with due regard to its dangers and
to the circumstances and condition
of customers. fthe Prohibitionists
would recognize these obvious facts
they would accomplish practical
results instead of SUGGESTIONS of
defeats.
Extremes never are wise. Here.
for instance, the newspapers tell
us that members of the Woman's