Pocahontas star herald., 1908-09-04
John @. Miller Talks

Oil Hkl'ANAtA''N'
again be called upon to settle Tue
question as to whether OF not we
shall have licensed saloons in our
county.
Before we cast our ballots let us
consider the proposition for short
time. Is there any good in the
saloon for the people at large from
any standpoint? None whatever
The saloon is by far the greatest
force for evil and immortality that
exists in our government today
this fact is easily shown by the
depths of personal degradation and
public crime into which the exces-
siye use of intoxicants will cause
men and women to plunge and the
saloon is the public school for
drinking, into which our boys are
taken, at first without tuition TOR
the other fellow will at first pay for
his drinks) until he is well started
but after he acquires the habit and
finally becomes drunkard he pays
his own tuition which in most cases
costs him just about all he makes
in money, costs him his personal
liberty in the right exercise of his
mind and oft times costs him his
personal liberty in the freedom of
his body for many times, while in
an intoxicated condition, he COM
mits crimes for which he is incar-
cerated in the county iails and the
state penitentiaries and in three
fourths of the cases he would not
have committed these crimes had he
been sober and had normal control
of his feeling and judgment.
As proof of these facts let US
compare the records of our courts
and penal institutions, with saloons
and without saloons. In Randopi
county, the four courts for 1905 and
1905 with saloons, returned 352 in
dictments while the four courts fer
1907 and 1905 without saloons, re-
turned 207 indictments, decrease
of las indictments in two years
whicn is Al per cent decrease in
crime in our county. In 1905 and
1906 with saloons there were l04
commitments to our county Jail, in
1907 and 1908 there were SO COM
mitments to Jail, decrease OF 4S or
As per cent. In the town of Poca-
hontas during the last 20 months
with saloons there were tried in
the Mayors court, 139 cases for
drunkenness, and l22 cases for other
violations, making a total of 26l
cases.
In the first 20 months without
saloons, there were tried in the
Mayors court, 60 for drunkenness,
81 for blind tigering and 81 cases
for other violations a total Of l2S
cases which is = decrease Of 1873
cases or 81 per cout. In the year of
1907 or last year there was sent to
the Arkansas penitentiary 564 con,
victs, 3l5 of them were sent from
the II counties that have licensed
saloons while only 252 were sent
from the So counties that have no
saloons, in other words the counties
with saloons sent to the pemtentiary
an average Of Is conyicts to each
county while the dry counties sent
an average of four, are not these
facts worth our considering and are
they not worth our vote against
license when we see at once vote
gainst license is vote for human
ity, a vote for peace and happiness
in home, a vote for noble manhood
and pure womanhood and who
knows, 1t may be that your boy or
mine will be the next to yield to the
inf lence of the saloon, Have you
a bov to sacrifice to the liquor trade?
IL not vote no license. But says one
"they drink it any way whether
we have saloons or not | will
agree with you that a few drink it
any way, but who are they that
drink it; saloons or no saloons, it is
the habitual drinker and in most
cases it is the man who is an hab,