The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-17
THEY FAIL.

You can't cure drunkenness by statute" says The Savannah News. and 1t speaks the truth. Many years ago we heard Judge Jonh T. Henin say: You can't legislate the taste of liquor out of mems mouths" and that was another solid truth. Failure or re- fusal to admit the truth of both of these propositions Is at the bottom Of all the dimculties that lie in the path of the earnest and sincere temperance reformers They believe that the en- actment of laws against drunkenness, and especially against the sale of H. auor will put an end to 1t. If the law fails to accomplish what it's advocates hope and expect they charge the fail- ure to It's lack of enforcement. They say that if those who are charged with the enforcement of the laws would do their duty there would be no more h- ouor sold and no more inebriety.
 These good people do not take into account the perversity of our common humanity. Whatever man is told he must not have. that he will have. If 1t is possible to ret 1t. Those who de- sire a drink will have 1t. openly and honestly, if they can get 1t that way. or if that is not possible they will get 1t some other way. They also forget that . large majority of men believe that they have the same natural right to buy and drink liquor or beer that they have to buy and drink tea or coffee. That belief can no more be legislated out of them than the taste for a drink can.
 Prohibition has been tried in various States of the Union and 1t has proven a delusion and a failure in all of them. That it has been enforced at times and in some places is true. but as a gem eral proposition it always proves a failure and always will until human beings lose all desire for drink. That 1t is a failure is not the worst feature of such legislation. In whatever State 1t is tried men continue to drink and they will resort to all sorts of subter- fuges and evasions to procure 1t. Rigid prohibitory laws tend to breed sneaks. hypocrites and perJurers. Men will violate the law"to get 1t, they will vio- late the law to sell 1t. and often they will lie and perjure themselves about 1t afterwards.
 What. them is to be done? Must no effort be made to abate the evils of in temperancef Shall the friends of tenn perance cease to labor for it? By no means. All good citizens should both preach and practice temperance. and should give aid and encouragement to all practical efforts to lessen the ad- mitted evils that go with the sale and use of intoxicants. The saloons should be made to pay a fair price for the privilege of conducting their business; they should be forced to keep closed on Sundays; all disorderly places should be closed or rigidly dealt with; drunk and disorderly persons should be ar- rested and punished without fear or favor and no leniency should be shown those who sell in violation of law. These are some of the things the laws
 can do and ought to do. The true | friends of temperance can do much
 good by aiding in the enforcement of
 the laws and the punishment of all
 violators. Reasonable legislation can be enforced and made to do much good but no Draconian code can cure drunkenness or take away from c mans mouth his taste for liquor.