The Cairo bulletin., 1909-02-21
Only Real Remedy.

Under the conditions | have just
named, il Is misnoller 20 call law
passed by the STATE seeking to abol'
uor a prohibition law. The only law
the State could enact, which could
properly be called prohibition law,
or that could possibly reach the end
said to be desired, namely, to prevent
the use of liquor, would be one which
would make the use crime.
IF such law should be proposed,
however absurd it might be, II wouli
bring the question up directly to the
people, and it would then be seen
how much of sincerity or hypocrisy
was behind a movement which pro-
posed to abolish the manufacture and
sale of liquor in our own State. whila
the people are left free to get all they
want and drink as much as they
please from other States.
Il would no more recommend the
passage of a law to make ii crime
for a man to use liquor than | would
recommend the passage of a law TO
abolish it's manufacture and sale.
Both are absurd. but of the two, the
first would be more sincere and prob
ably more effective in preventing the
consumption of liquor,
"A law to prevent the manufacture
and sale of liquor in the State can
have only one effect, and that would
be to send from Tennessee to some
other States all the money the people
now spend for liquor, and would no.
wise prevent the use of liquor, which
is the end desired by such a law, or
it has no legitimate purpose at ALL
Manufacture and Sale.
aside from the reasons have
heretofore represented why an act
to prevent the manufacture and sale
of liquor should not be passed, there
are other considerations which IN
volve the attitude of the state to-
wards her citizens who are engaged
in this business.
THE manufacture of beer and
liquor have invested large sums Of
money at the invitation of the State
and pays the taxes required by her
laws.
AN act to destroy the value OF
their plants would be confiscat.on
and without compensation of any
sort.
IF an individual should apply a
torch and burn property to the ground
he could be held responsible both civ
lilly and criminally for his act.
IF the State applies the torch OF
statutory confiscation there is no rem
edy, for the State is sovereign and
has the power to destroy.
But with the power and with no
redress by the individual. should not
the State be slow to apply the
torch? And if it does. in the exe"
else of its sovereignty, should it not
compensate the citizen for his loss.
In my opinion no State should ex
ercise the power to deprive the citi'
zen of the use of his property, or TO
destroy business 1t has made legit.-
mate, without just and REASONABLE
compensation and the fact that the
State has the power cannot. and ought
not TO- change the attitude of the SOW
ereignty from the protector to the
punisher of its people.
Open Saloons or Illicit Sellers.
ut is often intollerantly urged that
all who are opposed to Statewide
prohibition, so called. are in League
with the saloon and the abuses which
are often connected herewith.
1T is just as fair to charge al who
are in favor of prohibition to be in
favor :. the secret dive or the boot
logger who plies his trade in unfr'.
quented places, for when the legal
saloons are gone the Illegal sellers
begin.
The theory upon which the legal
sale of liquor is to be forbidden by
law is based upon the false premise
that the sale of liquor can be abol-
ished by law.
The very opposite is true. as is in
yariably shown by the States where
prohibition prevails. and even in To-
caliities where it prevails by consent
OF the people.
Maine has had a prohibition law
for over fifty years. and is notorious
ly filed with both open and secret
violations OF law.
The same is true of Alabama and
Georgia and of every State where
prohibition prevails.
IF reason and experience are worth
anything in dealing with the liquor
question. we can assume the very op-
posite for which the average prohiti-
Zionist contends, and that is. that the
adjustment of the sale of liquor by