The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-09-03
Prohibition Difficulties.

Prohibition Difficulties.
Sioux City Journal: From Pittsburg
comes a story of tho dismissal of
eight guards at the Western peniten-
tiary for failure to detect prisoners
who were operating an alcohol man.
ufacturing plant within the prison
walls. The Illicit enterprise was dis
covered by deductive reasoning. The
prisoners got drunk Every precau-
ton was taken to see that no liquor
was taken into the prison from out
side, but the prisoners kept on ac-
curing Tags" The logical inference
was that intoxicants were being made
In the penitentiary. Some sleuthing
in the right direction disclosed neat
little system by which the inmates
conserved the prunes served out to
them as regular ration, and, with a
little assistance from yeast and sugar
converted them into poor quality of
| intoxicant. 1t was neither wine nor
whisky, according to DR.. Wiley's def
milton, but 1t was an alcoholic drink
that did the business. The incident
offers reminder of similar story
which came from Missouri some time
ago. In the Missouri instance the
thirsty inmates of the "stir" had moth
ing but an old gun barrel and some
bread crumbs to start with, but they
managed to convert the gun barrel
into worm and set UP practical
little distillery, using the bread
crumbs as raw material.
These incidents suggest something
OF the difficulty the prohibitionists
would be up against even II they could
secure national or even world wide
agreement to do away by law with
the manufacture and use of intoxfcat-
ing liquors. 1t might be easy enough
to shut down the big distilleries and
breweries. but how about the family
or neighborhood stills and watts? Any
old fashioned housewife will tell You
what a simple matter it is to make
wine out of grapes or currents or crab
apples. Any New England farmer will
explain how easy 1t is to convert ap-
pies into sweet cider and how natur-
ally sweet cider turns into hard cider
In the ordinary course Of events. And
anyone who has ever had his fill of
hard cider will relate melancholy
tale of his feelings the morning after.
Straight alcohol can be manufactured
on kitchen range as well as in the
biggest distillery at Peoria. For fur
Their testimony on this point con-
suit anybody who has ever had exper-
fence with the moonshine regions OF
the south.
So long as the craving for alcohol
remains within the human system.
and the means of gratifying 1t are so
close to every hand 1t is idle to talk
OF making men quit using stimulants
because they cannot get them. 1t is
within the range Of possibility. of
course, to do away with the open and
wholesale traffic in intoxicants, but 1t
Is by no means sure that this would
be desirable If drinking were to con.
tinue, as 1t would. Alcoholic liquors
~ many ioi hio Soulu DC iudue Surrep-
titiously and would be sold surrepti-
tiously, as they are today in every
prohibition community where there is
any considerable demand for them
DR.. Wiley has convinced us that raw
spirits in any combination, no matter
how palatable, are more unwholesome
than whisky that is properly aged and
purified. He is now engaged in like
propaganda against cheap. impure.
imitation wines. What would he the
consequences If nothing but the cheap.
est and most harmful forms Of intoy.
icants were available to meet the ex.
listing demand?
The most hopeful temperance item
printed in years appeared the other
day Ia the form of some rather vagina
statistics indicating that the ranks Of
voluntary teetotalers had been In
creased during the past year BY some
100000 individuals. The figures may
or may not be authentic. II thew are
1t means tremendous net gain for
the antiwhisky crusade. It means
that 100000 persons have become
convinced that it lis unbusinesslike or
unhygienic or immoral to have any
traffic with intoxicants That is the
sort Of reform that counts. when 4
saloon IS closed because Of lack 81 de-.