The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-09-26

QulIC DIS IOu-lCcl ms as We NAASJ 1870
quite as good officers as have we; they
have quite as good material for max
ing officers of as have we; they used
the identical argument now being
used by you when they voted prohlbl-
ton, and still their courts are filled
with whiskey cases, and they are
forced to submit to constant taxation
to prosecute the crime produced by
the illegal sale of the stuff, with no
revenue whatever from the sale.
Should you vote it out of the county,
Uncle Sam" stands ready to supply
at least hundred men, black as well
as white, with his credentials to han
die liquor in the county, and these
men will not question as to the day
of the week nor the hour of the day or
night, nor as to the age of the appli-
cant for his bottle. 1t is recent his
tory that while our neighbor, Sumter
county, was trying four years of pro-
hibition there were no less than 81
United States revenue licenses in the
CITY of Americas, and all the whiskey
wanted could be had, even at the
prominent hotels. What was the re-
suit? They only tried the dry va
riety one term Now they have the
old and worst form of handling whis
key. Can it be that those people grew
worse under prohibitions" Hardly.
There are very possible evils i'll the
dispensary system, but let's find them
as fast as we can and administer the
proper remedies. If the present law
applying to Terrell county dispense
ries is in any way defective, have it
amended and improved If it is not
being properly administered, there is
a way to remedy the defect and apply
the remedy.
There are those in prominent bust
ness circles now, before the fight is
even under way, planning for the
handling of whiskey in an illicit way.
This assertion is made advisedly.
AS matter of course, no one will
deny that there would be no small suf-
fering from taxation should the pres
ent situation cease, and I repeat there
would still be all the whiskey and
beer you are looking for, and no rev.
enue therefrom. You say this is a
selfish view to take, and somebody
may say, a wicked one. Well, that IS
a. matter with the individual con-
science.
Citizen" in the last issue of The
News, set out the first thing to array
class against class. Who Citizen
is, is a question, but which is the
greater evil: to stir uD the human
prejudice, that green-eyed Jealousy,
make the man who may not have peen
as fortunate as his neighbor (through
no fault of the neighbOr) entertain an
envious spirit toward that nelghbor
because of a fancied greater amount
of taxable property, or to advocate the
restricted sale of intoXicants? "Clt-
zen" said that only the rich fellow
profits by the dispensary. How does
he figure? We all know, in the first
place, that as to taxation what helps
the man with his tens Of thousands
helms. proportionately, the man with
his hundreds; we also know that the
rich" fellows buy finer whiskey ana
more of it than his poorer neighbor
can afford. and that he is oftenest full
of the sparkling stuff, because OF MS
ability to buy it ad libitum Another
thing. while on the side of taxation
saving: We all know that the negro
is going to have his pint or quart on
Saturday: that he will buy it from
any source whatever, and that when
he gets it he will frequently use it to
his hurt; that when he buys it in the
county dispensary he is helping to pay
the taxes of the county, and in that
way to prosecute the crime of the
county, the most of which he happens
to be the author of.
These thoughts are given because
| am of the opinion that it is a great
mistake to inaugurate fight on some
thing at this time which it seems to
me is best adjusted already here for
the present.
Preach temperance, talk temper
ance, employ temperance, and more
good will come.
TEMPERANCE"