The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-02-14

eally and inevitably presented is between
regulation ana control by law Of the liquor
traffic ana secret OF open violation Of the
law.
1t is the choice between openness and
evasion. between fairness ana hypocrisy
between real Temperance and its counter
ANY law that viii not be respected and
can not be enforced ought not TO be placed
upon the statute books
Not Temperance Measure.
A Law that viii brew living and deceit in
the people Is not q temperance measure
tut an inteTn persnCe measure
\ man who buys liquor in a public place
recognized by law. may be doing himself
and family an injustice. but II he obtains
i in the Illegal club OF from TIE EXPRESS
agent under fictitious name, OF from a
nCotleE ecr. he certainly Goes the same
amount Of damage, and has tie added
load To bear that he has been a partner
in deceit and the laws evasion
Convinced as ] have always been. and
row more than ever. that prohibition laws
are q failure and breed more evil than
t1ey cure and FIRM in tbs belief that reg
uiation and control Is the very best solu-
ton OF a difficult problem. ] am at the
same time not gmmindfui OF the fact that
some dealers iu liquor have dsfed AMI
broken the laws. and that both state and
municipal authorities have been too lax
IN the enforcem ent Of existing laws that
tEeTe has not been enough rigor-
Gus treatment OF the situation in
the past to limit the number OF LIQUOR
dealers or 10 compel obedience to the
law.
J am also not unmindful Of the fact
that there are al this time fewer saloons
~ tennessee than IN the last twenty five
years and those that remain are more
under the control OF the law than they
have ever been. and that there is less real
ground or complaint against them than
ever in the states history.
I recommend that no general prohibition
law be passed aboiishinC the manufacture
and sale OF liquor believing. as 7 have
always done and for the reasons stated.
that such law viii prove q failure and
De z cetrinieEt 70 the state.
I do recommend. however. high license
strict regulation and forfeiture Of license
for violation Of law.
In my opinion. III these recommends
tons were carried into law the ncuor
question would be ct rest iu our state
ana the people as whole would approve
yolr course.
As genuine temperance measures and
real reforms ther are infinitely to be pre-
ierred to iii-consiicred and drastic lszfs-
.stlon which provoke iutempersnce under
the ggise Of prohibition.
il viii Be seen that what is nov at
tsnpted constitutes 4 complete reversal
~ the rule heretofore applied to allow
the people o. each community to settle
this question for themselves
Ny own position has always been that
TO force prohibition law upon the people
without their consent is wholly wrong
THIS has been the position Of the people
OF the state as expressed by their votes.
II has been tie principle upon which leg
islatures have heretofore acted. IL is the
principle OF the Democratic party
me majority OF the people Of Te1Hes-
see are not demanding q statewide prohi-
oitiOn iaw.
There are thousands OF temperance men
IN Tennessee. Republicans ard Demo
Gratis, who are vastly more temperate.
ooth N their speech and habits. than
some OF the professional aEitstors OF the
question. who believe that the cause OF
temperance is best sUbserved by fair
dealing and under the rule Of consent.
II your action shall be to destroy prop
erty OF millions OF value. is il not right
% proceed with caution before this is
done. IT II shall deprive many persons
be sure YOU are riEht1
TT Il should force uDou an unwilling
people law which viii not be respected
and itself provoke immortality. il it not
your duty not tn pass it,
Moral Side.
There is a moral side to temperance.
tor We are commanded 10 ne temperate
in al things and temperance IN thought
and speech IS 10 be commended equally
as much as temperance in drink for
Often indeed. futempcrance in thought
ana speech work more harm than iutem-
persnce in drink
After Jesus had heard the Pha-issss.
ss recorded by St Matthew, in the fif-
teenth chapter. eleventh verse. he thus
addressed the multitude.
Not that which goeth into the mouth
1etiieth man but that which comsth
out Of the mouth this defileth a man
makes prohibition itself 4 moral issue
ana there il no such general sentiment
among Christian mankind as 70 Justify
such characterizsticn.
~srI
turtles and has soEu the seeds Of rivili-
sstio1 over the hsbitsble globe. She has
gwen churchmen- poets philosophers and
whose names ana fame are sc
never been accepted in England as
moral issue o. even desirable thing
rom an economic standpoint.
Neither France. Germany nor any Of
me older nations has thought il was nor
has the United states as q government
treated prohibition as a moral issue.
= irdecd. its policy has been the reverse.
Tor u not only rccc Enizes the right Of the
people TO make and use LIQUOR. but cor
sress has refused repeatedly 10 enact q
aW to prevent the shipment OF LIQUOR
rom other states into prohibition states
IN the very 'arge majority of the
states OF the uni0n. there is no considera- I
Die sentiment for prohibition. and if We
compare the moral tone of the peop1e
.heir intsliiEence and wealth. in the states
, mere prohibition does not prevail. with
he few states where II does, I think a
air and accurate observer would he
BOUND to conclude that prohibition neither /
sievates morally. materially nor intel
ectually.
Let Us now compare cities that are IN 1
Ter prohibition laws with the consent OF 4
he people. with those where Huuor is
till legally sold. and If the cornparfsou f
should not show a distinct advantage for /
iuch cities as have consented to PASS I'M I
Ter such laws. then the argument I'm ia /
ror of prohibition for cities who DO not
'onsent 70 the law is sheer nonsense
Let the comparison De made between I
and Chattanooga Who will .
ay the conditions in Knoxville are better
han in Chattanooga
Are the people happier or better in
Knoxville than in CHATTANOOGA Is there
more employment for labor, and is il raid