The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-08-16
PROHlBATI0N LAWS
HALT IMMIGRATION
TURN BACK FLOW OF NEW
COMERS.
See NO Harm in Drinking And Con.
slider Measures to Prohibit it. an
Interference With Personal
Liberty.

.n"t a high official Of the immigra-
,ion bureau is authority for
the statement that the prohibition
movement in the south will seriously
interfere with efforts to get immi-
grants to that section of the country.
lit is none of my business" he
said, "although I have been cooperat-
ing, as far as possible, with the immi-
grafton bureaus of the States of South
Carolina, Virginia and others. So
soon as the class of people being
sought in the south find out that pro-
mbltlon laws cucumber their person.
al liberty they will refuse to 60 south
and, those now there will leave. The
German, Austrian, Swede, Finn and
nearly all other classes of Europeans
Will not go where they can not get
beer. Besides that they resent any
interference with what they shall eat
or drink, believing these are matters
of personal liberty. They do not hold
the view that SO light drink as beer.
when taken in moderate amounts and
under circumstances to which thcv
are accustomed, is either sin or
crime. They look down upon whiskev
drinking in this country as moral
weakness to which Americans should
not be addicted, and probably would
not care what happened to the ar
dent spirits, but they object to being
deprived Of beer. In Finland, for in
stance, the government and the intel
hgent classes encourage the use of
beer as keeping down the heavy
drinks. which threatened to increase
IN consumption, and Finland is con-
sldercd The model tcmperance nation
of the earth.
"Personally | think great mis-
take is being made in the south. IF
these prohibition laws are being en-
acted to make the negro sober cit
1zen, the error will be discovered in
a few years. The negro will become
an imbiber of the cheapest and most
fiery grades of mean whiskey, and I
will venture the prediction that in
prohibition states of the south crime
Will increase. 1t is history that pro-
hlbltlon runs out the mild drinks like
beer and brings ip the worst of the
ardent class. The ncero naturally
likes the stealth that goes with blind
tigers. and it will not be lon" before
he will take the lead in defiance of
law and hypocrisy. He will copy af-
ter the white man, it is true. When
he sees prohibition laws defed he will
pay less attention to other laws. It is
well known that in many portions of
the south where prohibition is in
force through local option the negro
has turned to cocaine and drugs and
has become so worthless that he is
menace.
"What the south should do to help
the negro be better citizen and to
encourage the immigration of useful
and intelligent European workmen is
to enact laws that will favor the sale
of beer and the lightest of wines.
This course is now advocated in many
states OF the country by distinguish
ed churchmen and thinking citizens
who want to find medium between
the raaicalism of prohibition and the
extreme of wide open conditions. Com
missioners from Finland who recently
came here, to study license laws in
this country were Mortified at what
they saw in the prohibition state of
Maine and went back home with re-
concentrations that their own laws.
showing partially to the light drinks.
were the best in existence. They saw
more drunks in Maine cities than any
place else they visitcd.'