The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-22
"What Whiskey Isl

In the current issue of McClure's
Magazine there is striking article
on "What Whiskey is" which sheds
q good deal of light upon one of the
foremost questions of the day. APP
nended to it are quite a number of
ouotatiops compiled by the editor,
giving the opinions of prominent men
about whiskey and its effects. In
view of the especial Importance of
the subject here at this time we quote
few of them:
x*x
Abraham Lincoln:
'"The liquor tratfice is cancer in
society, eating out the vitais and
threatening destruction. and all at
tempts to regulate it will not only
prove abortive. but will aggravate the
evil. There must be no more at
tempts to regulate the cancer. 1t
must be eradicated. not root must
be left behind; for. until this is
done, all classes must continue in
danger of becoming victims of strong
drink.
eff it is crime to make count
erfeit dollar, it is ten thousand
times a worse crime to make count
erfeit man.
x*x
William Mckinley:
"By legalizing this traffic we agree
to share with the liquor seller the
responsibilities and evils of his bust
cense becomes, of necessity. part
ner to the liquor traffic and all It's
conseuuences-the most degrading
and ruinous of all human pursuits. !"
x*
An extract from letter by Arch.
bishop Messmer, of Milwaukee, to
the National Model License League,
an organization made up of men en-
gagged in the manufacture and sale of
Intoxicating liquors:
''The fact cannot be denied that
what is called the American saloon,
for it is specifically an American in
stiLution. generally conducted.
has been source of untold misery
and sin. The material ruin of tens of
ruin of tens of thousands of young
men and women. can be traced to
the saloon. while its public influence
in Church and State has been posi-
lively harmful. 1t is this universal
fact. not fanaticism, that has caused
tidal wave of prohibition to roll
over the land"
Henry Ward Beecher:
"Every year [ live increases my
conviction that the use of intoxicat-
ing drinks is greater destroying force
to life and virtue than all other ply
steal evils combined
x*x
Theodore Roosevelt on the saloon
business:
"The friends of the saloonkeepers
denounce their opponents for not
treating the saloon business like any
other. The best answer to this is
that the business is not like any other
business. and that the actions of the
saloon keepers themselves conclusive
ly prove this to be the case. The
business tends to produce criminality
IN the population at large and law
breaking among the saloon keepers
themselves. When the liquor men
are allowed to do as they wish, they
are sure to debauch, not only the
body social, but the body poliuic al.
so.
1.-The most powerful saloonkeeper
controlled the politicians and the po-
lice. while the latter, in turn, terror
lied and blackmailed all other saloon
Keepers. If the American people do
not control it. it will control them. !"
Bishop Phillips Brooks:
eff we should sweep intemperance
out of our country. there would be
hardly poverty enough left to give
healthy exercise to our charitable i'm
puIses.''
Archbishop Ireland:
The great cause Of social crime ia
drink. When | hear of a family
broken up. and ask the cause-drirk
1t go to the gallows and ask IFS vic.
tim the cause, the answer-drink
Then | ask myself in perfect wonder.
ment, Why do not men put stop to
this thing?"
Governor j. W. Folk, Missouri:
1T is business the natural ten.
dency of which is toward lawlessness.
and the time has come when it will
eitner run the politics of the state or
Al