Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-05
INPRAcrIcABLE TEMPERANCE EFFORT


The Redands news dispatch in last Fridays Herald
embodied subject Of than local interest The
subject noteworthy generally because of its bearing
on matter of universal interest in the United States
It is broadly suggestive and Is calculated to make
thoughtful persons ponder
The manager of a Redlands drug store arrested
for selling three bottles Of whisky Redands is ostens
bly, strict prohibition city The evidence was conclu
sive the whisky being view in court exhibit
Here read from The Herald's dispatch The jury
coseed for time after the conclusion of the trial
but was unable to agree upon verdict standing seven
in favor acquittal FIVE in favor of conviction The
city attorney commenting on this legal travesy, said
he was in favor of repeating the liquor laws and grant
ing drug licenses to sell these beverages beev
ing that the laws are worse than useless when they
cannot be enforced.
The experience of Redlands in efforts to suppress
liquor drinking by stringent prohbitory laws is prac
tically the experience of every American community
that has made such attempt 1t is easy enough to
make liquor selling unlawful but quite another matter
to prohibit It. Where prohbitory laws operative
evasion pracced in drug stores in socalled blind
pigs" and by various artful expedients Worst of ALL
perhaps the many patent medicines, charged with
so per of alcohol in cases, as shown by chem
ica analysis And is said that the best customers OF
alcoholic medicines are communities which have strict
prohibitory laws.
It has been widely announced that concerted tenn
perance movement will be attempted in Los Angeles
closely following the religious revival now in progress
Whether the movement is to be made on strict prohlb
tory or those of temperance in the broad sense
seems not yet to have been fully determined. 1t is un
dersood that there is division of opinion on this point
among the chief promoters of the movement
The Herald is an earnest advocate of temperance,
believing with Paul, that should be temperate in
all things" Advocates of strict prohibition are right
in declaring that the liquor drinking habit is the CHIEF
curse of humanity. They correct in figuring that
enough money is expended in the United States for in
toxicans make every poor family in the land COM
Portable and happy.
But to use the familiar apothegm of a statesman
"I is condition theory, that confronts us" in
movement against the of rum In moving against
this enemy of mankind the objective point is success
Do the methods of strict prohibition give greater prom
se than those used by Jesus Christ and his
apostles in establishing the Christian religion? That
is the question for the earnest temperance workers of
Los Angeles to decide before entering upon the con-
emplated temperance crusade.
In considering that question it is necessary to in
qure what progress the prohibition plan has made thus
far in temperance reform. Light that subject should
be afforded by the voting strength of the Prohibition
party since it became factor in presidential elections
In 1884 when the party first attained political prom
total vote in the United States of S69
1888 the vote 2499O7 in 1892 it 1,04102S in
1896 it dropped to 1320O7 and last November it
2OS,914
The general trend of prohibition indicated by its
political strength, is downward, not upward In its
direct struggle with liquor selling in states cities and
towns its record is equally unsatisfactory Experience
everywhere has been akin TO that of Redlands and the
other cities of this section Such prohibition has been
weighed in the balance and found wanting
But is there method by which the liquor habit may
be combated with reasonable hope of success? Expert
ence teaches that there is such method and it will be
considered in this column of The Herald tomorrow