The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-12-01

people had grown, said DR.. Cromer.
The ideals Of the people were higher.
DIR. Cromer said that he had text.
He said that he was heartily oppos-
ed to the dispensary law from the
very beginning, but he was indebted
to it for one principle which the su-
preme court of South Carolina had
laid down in declaring the law con-
stitutional. The supreme court had
said if this principle were not true
the law could not stand: "Liquor in
it's ature is dangerous to the morals,
good order, health and safety Of the
people, and is not to be placed on the
same footing with the ordinary COM
modities of life, such as corn, wheat,
tobacco, potatoes, etc.
Liquor, said DR.. Cromer, destroyed
the body and it destroyed the mind.
No man had more intellect or more
nerve than were needed for the ordl-
nary daily occupations and calllngs.
The railroad knew it, and great cor
porations knew it. Boys and men
were often heard to say that they could
drink liquor and let it alone. But
that young man who thought he could
tanner with LIQUOR with safety Or i'm
punitv had about as much sense as
the young woman who marrles a
drunkard to reform him. What does
Mt it destroy? Body, mind, power OF
will, character, said DR.. Cromer. And,
he said, it will not let you alone
whether YOU let it alone Or not. AS d
member Of society we could not get
away from it.
There was some disagreement
among scientists, said DR.. Cromer, as
to whether alcohol was necessary IN
medicine or not, but all scientists
agreed that the general excessive use
Of alcohol tends to degrade and weak
en- society, lowers the social tone, low
ers the social vitality, and impalrs the
social we'll being. And, taken as a
traffic, as a business proposition, no
man could maintain that it was So
cial good.
It has been urged as an argument
against prohibition that it would not
prohibit. No law did, said DR.. Cromer,
but the law was right, the principle
was right, the ideal waNright, and yiu
build the character Of men by fixing
ideals towards which they may work.
1t had been urged that Newberry
would lose business if she voted out
the dispensary, but as a business pro-
position there was nothing in it. 1t
was false proposition in economy.
It was a waste of money and nothing
else. It was urged against prohibi-
ton that the money derived from the
LIQUOR traffic was needed for revenue.
He had told the people Of Laurens, he
said, that if they had net profit
from their dispensary, they ought to
use it to establish Keeley cures to
cure the drunkards they had made.
The community which couldn't sup
port its schools without the money de-
rived from the whiskey traffic did not
deserve schools.
Whiskey was going, said DR.. Crom-
er. A county in Georgia which had
not been paying a dollar in taxes had
voted it out, and only few days ago
Laurens, which during the last quar-
ter received $4,000 from the dispen-
sary, had voted it out.
DR.. Cromer said it was true that a
law could not. prohibit absolutely, but
we can make it mighty unpleasant for
the men who violate the law, he said.
It had been said that men could not
be made good by legislation. But 1t
could be made mighty uncomfortable
for them to be bad.
''In view Of what occurred IN your
new court house last week. said DR..
Cromar. "I want to say that it is the
duty of every man in this community
who means to stand for God and right,
who has an ounce of manhood IN him,
to support the mayor and chief OF po-
lice of this" town in driving the Illicit
traffic ont of this community.
This occasion, said DR.. Cromer, was
under the auspices OF the Women 3
Christian Temperance Union and
men were usually about as bad as Wo-
men would let them be. This was
question Of influence.
IITl>o- - n,noa RI thn younp man he