Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1906-02-09

Editor of Courier: The entire ques-
tion of the legalized liquor traffic is
up before the American people aud
must be settled and no question is
ever settled till it is settled right
What is right then is the main point
at issue.
The question cannot be laughed
down, sneered down, jeered down, bat
must be reasoned out intelligently.
Intelligent discussion then is the need
of the hour, the issue in the case
must be Investigated and the con-
science allowed to decide the right.
Compromise upon any question of
principle is always a victory for his
satanic majesty, the devil. History
has proven this to be true, but argu-
men that the advocates for high license
make is. "people always have drank
and always will, you cannot prohibit
the sale, so let us regulate it and get
some money out of it to help run the
government 3"
By the same logic the church cam
not exterminate satan, it had better
go into partnership with him and di-
vide up the souls of men. License il
wrong in principle; anything that is
morslly wrong can never be politic.
ally right. License law is moral
choloform, benumbing the conscien ce.
We do not want narcotics for the
conscience but the burning iron of in
telligent action, the knife of righteous
law to cut out the very root OF the
corroding cancer on our body polite
The whole thing, so it seems to me
hinges on the simple fact, whether OF
no the saloon is a good thing, or {
bad thing Tor the community. Doel
it lead to morality, higher manhood
and womaDhood. does it discourag,
vice par perisen. decrease temptation
If the saloon is a blessing, by al
means have them in abundance. l
on the other hand it makes drunkards
cruel husbands, degrades man, break
up homes, increases temptation to sin
if, in other words it is an enemy Il
home, to government, to higher civi
} lization, then what right has an.
municipality to license or to go int
} partnership with the business? Is i
not unpatriotic, reasonable AM
against good governments
II the saloon is the unmitigate
evil, facts, testimony and histor,
proves, how dare any honest ma
stand and defend it? No honest ma
doubts that the liquor traffic is tn
primary sonroe of crime. How the
can we Justify ourselves in licensin
it? On, but it is said public senti
ment is not educated up to the prohi
bition of the traffic" By this Ian
guage then, it is admitted that pro
hibition is ON a higher moral, socia
and political level than the licens
compromise with evil. Law is nc
the creature of public sentiment bu
the creator. Law is an educator.
The effect of high license is t
:. fortify tile immoral features of tn
liquor business, foes, increase of tax
decrease the harm of the drink. Ca
not man get just rs drunk, just a
dangerous on high licensed liquor q
Q low license? And what matters
q whether there are two or 200 saloon
can not everybody get just as muc
3 booze if there are only two?
Hon. H W. Hardy, the Mayor {
4 Lincoln, Nebraska, the father of til
r Nebraska high license law, says
"high license utterly fails to abolis
the evil effects of the liquor traffic, {
o a temperance measure it is an entii
and complete failure.
At q recent meeting to obsery
e Franklin Day." n prominent citize
j of Portland speaks of the decadence (
8 honesty, Of patriotism, etc. Would
! not be we'll to look we'll into the ma
Q ter? Why this decadence? We dal
: affirm because of our com .,licity
n fostering an evil system ! ,ensin
!. iniquity.
o Aye: Framing mischief by
law" A PATRIOT.