The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-02
Heterodox () Views.

The liquor question takes up more
newspaper space than belongs to it by
right of Importance, and all the state
ments made on this subject are either
foolishly ~overfervent or radically
wrong.
Why can we not arrive at the truth
of this question and stop our senti-
mental gibberish and noisome nom
sense?
OF all hocus-pocus, side shooting,
devil stump-dancing editorials that
are served up to the people today the
whiskey question has everything skin
ned a block.
When the average writer takes up
his pen to discuss this subject he
throws away his cigar, groans in spir-
it, draws the corners of his mouth
down at an angle Of forty-five degrees,
conjures up a mental picture of Beel-
zebub with a many tined pitchfork
and proceeds to write paragraphs
which if personified would take the
form of singing cherubs covered with
auroras and halos. He strikes out
like u blind snake without knowing
what he is going to hit. Why? Be
cause he is playing to the galleries.
Do you know that nine-tenths OF
the people do not want annihilation OF
spirituous liquors?
OF course we all have heard, and
many a time, too, that familiar sem
tence: "I'd blot out every drop OF
LIQUOR in the world if I could?" And
yet If the author of this pet phrase
should fall into the experience of Rob
fnson Crusoe, he would wade the
waves mp to his eyebrows to save the
key! This man is an altruist. HI
would blot out liquor not on his owl
account but on account of his fellow
man. He does not fear for himself, hi
fears for the other fellow.
What about this other fellow
Here we find the keynote Of th'
whole trouble. It Is the red nosed go
and liYer-visaged weakling it is thu
staggering topper and tippler tba
makes US squirm. We must foregt
wines, we must freeze out whiskey
we must preclude all beers, we mus
annihilate spirituous liquors on &C
count of these weak, blear-eyed. blub
ber-faced drunkards which are ever il
our midst. On their account we mus
shut up shop and take to the bubblini
springs. We can't take a glass Of pal
ale for fear some bladder-eyed blellun
may BEE US, which, of course, woult
set the example.
Wines and liquors are things which
we cannot well do without. They ar
put here for a use. The juice of tn
grape is a good thing. The product o
the hop has its place. There ar
times when we need whiskey ant
need it bad. but on account of the eve
present helpless sot we must perforc
cut them all out.
Look at every paper that falls int
your hand. Listen at speeches o
prohibitionists, hear the talks of tn
good templars, size up the question
and see what a hill of trouble this go
in our midst has piled up for US.
Because sugar gives Johnnie tn
toothache none Of the kids must ca
sugar-Johnnie ia the got. Becaus
playing In the branch gives Johnnie
bad cold the kids must all keep ava,
from the branch-Johnnie Is the sot
Because there are weakIings among U
we must have 20 spirituous liquors
again 1t Is the sot.
How does this amiable sot view tn
question? He thinks that the Who'll
prohibition ticket has a holy horror o
anything that tastes like spiritus fen
menti. He has heard that quotation
about "blotting out every drop of it
many q time, and he, not by any sin
gular delusion, but because OF GU
methods, of dealing with the question
thinks that we are speaking for our
selves! 1T IS a fact that he does no
know that all We do and sag are no
meant for ourselves but for him.!
He, poor fellow, thinks that we de
test and abhor the stuff when We onl,
detest and abhor his weakness. w,
do not, as a rule, despise liquor. 1t i
the weakness and ~ungovernable appe
titles Of certain of our fellows which
we deplore, and if we could shov
these men that we are foregoing spir
ituous liquors, not because we detes
them but because of our feeling 70
these men, many of them would se
the question in an entirely diferen
light.
Listen at this: Yesterday a ma,
was overheard to say ut makes no
ID bit Of difference to nee if the,
do vote out liquor, I can get all 1 wan
anyhow" Now, this man looks a
the question this way: They all hat
liquor, and hate me because I like il
and therefore they are going to spit
me by voting it out of the land blu
before I will allow these supersensitiv
sticks to spite me in this way I'll Du,
me q barrel and stay drunk a montl
just to show 'em. That Is the attitud