Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-08-23
HISTORY OF PROHIBITION.
Danger of Liquor Recognized Since
Early Times.

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Early Times.
Wine has been in use since the dawn
of history. The early Chaldeans,
Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all had
religious festivals in which the wine
played an important part. The Bac-
chanalia, so called from the wine god,
Bacchus, were first of the nature or
harvest festivals, but later became
riotous orgies.
Wine Is first mentioned in the Holy
Bible in connection with Noah. From
, then on to the end it Is frequently re-
ferred to.
The Chinese claim the first crusade
against alcoholic liquors. One or
their emperors as early as the eleventh
century B. c., ordered the use of wine
to be forbidden in the country. 1t Is
said that the opium habit finally took
its place.
Early reforms are attributed to the
priests of India and Persia; and the
early Buddhists taught total absti-
nence.
The Holy Bible gives instances Of
prohibition of the use of wine. The
priesthood were forbidden 1t when on
duty, Lev. X, 9. The Rechabites were
commanded by their father, Jonadab,
to drink no wine, neither build q house
nor SOW seed, nor plant vineyards, nor
have any: but to dwell in tents and be
strangers in the land. Jer. xxxiv, 2-19.
The early Greeks and Romans seem
to have had nothing in the nature Of
prohibition. But the Carthagenians,
along with their infant sacrifices, for
bade the use of wine to their soldiers
and civil magistrates until the Romans
appeared on the scene.
Mohammed forbade the use Of alco-
holic drinks, and the use Of pictorial
designs save those purely geographic
cal. He also allowed polygamy. and
spread his religion with the sword. 1t
Is said, however, that Turkey, the
heart Of Mohammedanism, is by no
means dry. Some of the church faith
ers thundered against the abuses Of
the drink. but wine at that time was
used extensively for sacramental pur-
poses.
King Edgar of England, by a law
established near the middle Of the
eleventh century, restricted the num-
ber Of taverns in London, and in 1885
taverns were required to close at cur
few. Parliament attempted in 1885 to
restrict the use Of gin by means Of a
prohibitory tax. which, however, only
brought about Illicit trade.
In this country, since 1888, the ma
tional government had placed internal
revenue taxes and custom duties upon
liquors. Dating back as far as April,
1903, there have been temperance So
cieties in the United States. The wom-
ans crusade led to the foundation OF
the Woman's Confederated Temper
ance Union in 1874. In 1858 a prohi-
bition party arose in Illinois and a
temperance party in Michigan, which
eliminated in the National Prohibition
party, organized in Chicago in Septem-
ber, 1869, which has been slowly gain
ing ground in various parts Of the
try.
The earliest state laws were those In
Connecticut, adopted in 1889. which
left the matter to local option. New
York adopted similar laws in 1S45;
Maine passed state prohibition laws in
1916; Massachusetts, Rhode Island
and Vermont in 1852, and New Hamp-
shire in 1856. After these Delaware,
Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan, Illinois,
Iowa, North and South Dakota and
Kansas introduced prohibition into
it's constitution, and South Carolina
adopted the dispensary system in 1892.
Prohibition bills were defeated in
Texas, Oregon, Tennessee and Penn
sylvania. After varied experiences all
these states Of the Union which adopted
prohibition repealed the law with the
exception Of Maine, Kansas. and South
Carolina with dispensary, the greater
number of them adopting instead To-
cal option, so that at the beginning of
this year there were thirty nine states
operating under local option laws.
1t Is said that Kansas practically has
local option, no attempt being made at
concealment for over a decade: though
some claim that this is true only in the
larger cities. The same condition is
said to exist in the other states hav-
ing prohibition. 1t was just this con-
dition that led New Hampshire to re-
peal the prohibitory laws and adopt
local option in 1903. The condition in
Maine at the present day is thus de-
scribed by an ardent upholder Of pro-
hibition: 1.-THE Maine law is enforced
in many of the counties, wherever, in
fact, the people demand it."-Macon
Telegraph.