The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1907-03-23
A SLURRING VOICE FROM A SA-
LOON SODOM.

a Splendld cltlzenShlp, as a Wl0le; |;
| but there is drunkenness there,
land one of the infamous attempts
at criminal assault by white men
was made by a man crazed with
drink, according to the mans own
statement, The Democrat stands
for morality, for temperance in
all things, and only differs with
| the extreme advocates of prohibit
tion on the method of reaching
the desired end.
| After years of close observation
and careful consideration of the
liquor problem we reached the
conclusion that the open saloon,
under rigid restrictions, is the
best method of handling the prob
lem from a moral point of view.
If we believed that prohibition
would prohibit, we would support
prohibition; but knowing that it
will not prohibit, and If it lessons
the use of Intoxicating liquors
does not lessen the evil results at
tending its illicit sale, purchase
and use, we cannot as citizen
looking to the moral welfare of
the community, conscientiously
support prohibition, where the
proprietors of the open saloon
will conduct, or are required to
conduct, the saloons in accordance
with the restrictions thrown
around them by the law.-Green-
vile Democrat.
If prohibition would prohibit
and there were no blind tigers it
would be all right.
IF saloons were licensed and
carefully regulated under high
license laws and these laws were
obeyed and strictly enforced, this
would be the best solution of the
liquor problem that could be de-
vised.
Between these two IMPOSSI-
BILE IFS swing, like pendulum,
all of the objections, false reason
ing and arguments, honest or dis
honest, one hears in this day in
opposition to the onward march,
of prohibition.
The man who expects that a
. law which prohibits the sale of
liquor will never be violated any
where or in any manner, is a fool,
it matters not whether he is a
.prohibitionist or saloon adyo-
cate; the man who believes saloon
keepers will obey any Kind of a
tfieense law, high or low, or that
the officials they always make it
their business to elect will make
them do it, is ditto. In ninety
nine cases out of hundred the
person who hangs an objection to
prohibition on the first IF, is GER
tain to wind up with some such
proposition as that predi Gated on
the second, and is at heart oppos-
ed to prohibition, regardless of
how it is enforced.
Do the laws against murder,
assaults on women, larceny, forg-
cry, perjury, ETC., absolutely pro-
Ihibit such crimes? TO ask such
a question is to answer it in the
negative? Why then be so fool
ish or unreasonable as to expect
of laws prohibiting the sale Of
liquor what is not expected or
realized from other penal laws
The people of Mississippi know
that prohibition prohibits and
that it is not a failure in settling
the liquor problem By any means,
comparatively speaking, notwith-
standing the sage utterances OF
| the Greenvllle saloon oracle and
others like him. County after
county during the last 20 years
has voted out the licensed dram
shops until all but Z On 8 out of
the rs are in the prohibition col
umn. The very few counties
which went back to license after
trying prohibition once, have all
since returned to the dry ranks.
4 Brookbaven and Lincoln coun-
Ity, after 20 years experience, do
not consider prohibition failure
and will never again return to the
licensed dramshnps. Every in
formed person knows that there is
not more than one-tenth of the
lliqu0r drunk In Iilis CITY anu
county that there was under the
license regime, and while we have
always bad and always will have a
few blind tigers Of both colors,
the amount Of liquor sold 10 the
: county under prohibition and that
sold when licensed saloons were
in full blast, is absolutely insig-
: nifeant by comparison.
Brookhayen is one Of the pro
gressive towns of the State, with
! a splendid citizenship, as whole
but there is drunkenness there
Il