The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-21

We can understand how a man who Is very
fond OF liquor may vote for the dispensary to
be opened up again In Abbeville, but how q
man who does not drink and who loves bis
fellowmen and wants 10 see them DO well
can vote 10 open the dispenBary again, Is
more than we can understand.
The only county in all this section OF South
Carolina In which liquor is legally sold is
Abbeville. Surely the people OF this county
have seen enough OF the evil OF the diapen'
sary and are ready to vote 1t out.-A. r.
Presbyterian.
There are many things which this editor
does not understand. among which is the I'm
fair manner in which prohibitionists state
their case. The fact is until our older people
and our preachers instill temperance cor.
v~ictions or principles into the minds Of the
young, the people will hav liquor.
us the Legal or illegal sale Of liquor worse?
Nobody denies that the use of intoxicRnts
has caused. and Will continue to cause un'
told evils. Nobody denies this fact. however
much alleged prohibitionists may seek TO
charge others with encouraging either its use
or Its sale.
AND we do not know why preachers in our
pulpits 80 often neglect to appeal to the rea.
son and the moral sense OF the people. We
do not know why the people are not warned
We do not know why n preacher should
lay aside the religion OF our blessed Saviour
to appeal to the State to make men sober by
statute.
We do not know Of sin gle instance where
any alleged prohibitionist has ever sought to
enforce prohibition. 1t would seem to us
that good prohibitionists usually think they
have discharged their whole duty Dy de.
orodipn N oir n,lnito fN tho lanai ~ n oolgt.
ical stump or By voting against the legal sale
Of liquor, which voting against Its legal sale
is equivalent to voting for It's illegal sale.
To talk about voting against the dispen.
sary is a fair apd honest statement however
erroneous the takers opinion may be.
The urging OF votes for prohibition may be,
when reduced to the last analysis, regarded
as a delusion pure n simple. At Abbeville
we havehad experience withsprohibitory laws
OF various kinds, and We know that pro-
hibitory laws, of themselves do not prohibit
II the Legislature made In provision for
enforcing prohlbitory laws, we have over.
the fact. II the people Of Abbeville
county should think that the city Of Able.
Vile will al It's own expense shoulder the
cost of furnishing policemen to enforce the
prohibitory law, they certainly expect to do
the city a wrong by the imposition upon us
Of the tax which the prohibltionists In the
Legislature completely ignored. The prohi-
bitionist In the Legislature levied upon the
county no tax to enfoyoe their favorite law.
and they appointed no officer for that spe-
cihc purpose. But the opponents of the dis.
pensary would trample under foot the man
and the self-respect OF the peo-
pie. They would do this by virtually telling
them:
"We have no confidence in your integrity;
we know that you will get drunk. For this
reason we prohibitionists shall not allow you
to exercise self-control and the freedom OF
YOU manhood. We do not ask you to be So
Der and temperate from principle but we de-
mand that you refrain from the use of whis-
key. We call upon the State to take from
you the right to buy intoIicants, either as q
beverage or as a medicine"
Due West being a community to itself, and
not governed by the same laws that usually
regulate other towns or communities, II
need not for this reason think to shoulder the
burden OF other communities for whose &C
ton 1t is in fact In no way responsible. In
times past, Abbeville has many times and 10
ways shown her friends hip and her
good feeling for Due West. Does IT now
In good grace for a representative
paper Of that town to show
ingratitud for tie town that has never refused
material aid to Due West and which until its
exhibition OF unfriendliness upheld her
Institutions. Does the propo-
sition OF the A. r. P. Presbyterian to inter-
NEEDLE with the affairs of another own look
more like friendship, or does 1t look
more like arrogance?
In 1892, when the people of Abbeville Coun-
ty were asked TO vote on the sub cot Of prohi-
billion the Due West precinct with possibly
one exception as between prohibition and IL
cense gave the largest per cent Of votes
against prohibition.
Long before the people OF the educational
centre OF Due West succeeded in levying a
tax for educational purposes, naughty Able