The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1905-02-02
A~sANoTHER VIEWS IT..
Revenue to be Derived From The
Traffic.

bt0tl6R
To the Associate Editor of the Hustler:
In your paper of the 18th inst, l notice
that most os your editorial space 10 devoted
to a discussion of the question OF q dis
pensary for Hendersonville. If your ideas
therein expressed be correct there can
discussion of the question. for there Is
really no question to discuss. The very
idea of a question presupposes w sides.
sides in the sense of right and
wrong-for to discuss the axiom that 1t is
right to do right and wrong TO wrong
would be a foolish absurdity, but two sides
to the question where honest men with hon.
est purposes might hold either to the q
sides or the other. Were you discussing q
question or an axiom? Let us see. Ii 1t
be wrong as a matter of course for 0 town
to have q dispensary do you not suppose
that the good Christians and the good
preachers of Raleigh put themselves In 0
very awkward position before the judge of
right and wrong when they worked. prayed
and voted for a ~dispensary there, and act
ually succeeded in establishing one2 The
same thing 10 true of the good people in
other towns. But, you will say, these
good people were making a choice between
saloons and dispensaries, two evils. and
choosing the less of the two. I agree with
you In that and endorse their choice. But
it remains that they voted for whiskey! It
it Is @ matter, as you say of absolute right
aud absolute wrong, they voted for, and
worked and prayed for, an absolute wrong,
The good Lord who made and loves MS all.
He must have smiled at the innocence of
these good people for they undoubtedly they
thought were doing right. But, does this not
establish the fact of a question for discus
sion instead of an axiom for only the idea
of absolute right and absolute wrong.
In H~endersonvilIe there may be one of
these conditions-saloOns with their attend
ant evils, and there are attendant evils, dis
pensaries, with their attendant evils, and
they would have evils too and the present
condition--with its attendant Twill you fill
i'm the blank2 Can an honest man choose
amongst these conditions any but the lat
ter? If not, then you are correct In your
contentious; but if he can, then you must
admit that there Is a question to be solved
and not a truth already established / will not
assume now that you will agree with me
that the present condition in our town in
reference to the sale, use. etc, of whiskey
is not all that people desire, not absf-
lutely right and perfect. Yes, I win 60
further aud assume that you will agree to the
proposition that there ia much evil being
done and bad conduct caused in the town
by illicit handling of whiskey. III this Eat
ter assumption be correct, then there is
question, serious question for solution. II
is this. Is our town in q better condition
morally, ~religiously and financially than |
would be with a dispensary!
Have / not the same right to my opinion
on this question that you have to yours?-
granting that we are both honest after be-
ing enlightened. Neither you nor ! driAf
whiskey nor give to Others to drink. Sc
far as I know, neither of us have q purpose
to serve or motive to accomplish beyonC
what is best, as we see it, for the town.
Then don't brush away with q single
stroke of your pen the opinion. wish anc
judgement of $50 of our fellow citizens
and place them on the absolutely wronl
side of the question and resesve for your
self the side Of absolute right. Don't place
them in the position of men attempting tt
destroy the religion and morality of thu
town. Many of the men who have signed
the petition for an election on the question
of a dispensary have families growing M
in the town and we-you aud l must as
sumo that they wish to do the right thing TO
their own wives and children as well as TO
the town as a whole. Many of them. lik'
the good people of Raleigh and other. o
our towns, are members of our churches
and we must assume that they are homes
in their religion.