The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-16
THE PEOPLES FORUM
Governor Patterson Takes Oath
, The virginian:

Editor of The Virginan:
sir,-I attach hereto a clipping from the Bristol
Evening News of July 5h last from which it appears
that Governor Patterson. of Tennessee recently made
IN speech delivered by him at Knoxville the f"i'o"
ing statement:
Il stand before the living God a witness and l
say prohibition is curse to any people, and IN an!
country where 1t has been advocated"
This is very solemn statement and If it s the
truth the antisaloon leagues OF the country ought at
once to disorganze.
We are not here concerned with Governor Pat
terson. But when he undertakes to fact. and
to bear witness thereto the of the God OF
all the eartha fact not confined to conditions In Ten
nessee alone hut calculated to affect all men every
where-the men, women and children Of the present
and the future--it to that common pru-
dence would lead him to be sure of his grounds
Thou hypocrite, first the beam out OF thine
eye, and then shalt thou clearly to cast the
mote out of thy brothers eye" Matthew :; s.
The Governor to reason that prohibition
develops "bootleggers and blind tigers, and leads to
deception and hypocrisy
Let look back to first principles: Is 1t pro
hibition" does these things, is it whskey and
greed Of the gain that traffic in alcoholic beverages
would render possible?
Suppose. by the of God. in single night every
drop Of alcohol we're destroyed from the OF the
earth along with the OF its production? Would
not Tennessees prohibition law remain intact And
prohibition produce more deception or hypocrisy
To ask the question is to answer IT,
\ negro town court day to pur-
horse for the tending OF his crop TWO jockeys
met him. with a sound horse, but of bad color
and without trappinss: the other with an unsound
horse but bedecked with ornamental saddle bride
and OF attractive color As might have been expected
40 much vas the negro taken with the trappngs that
he failed examine the horse On arrival home hf
the saddle and bride only to find the horse
blind in eye sprung kneed. and with sore back
He spent that in repentance.
Moral: Some disposed TO rule or ruin They
endure defeat They cannot and Will not admit
/ and submit. They choose destruction. rather thar
failure overlooking the truth that defeat is the
courage and of character that defeat IN
the right Is preferable to victory In th'
of These the men whose statement
must he watched and analyzed Like the horse jockey
II they rvet attention upon the merits OF the SAD
die and the bride than those Of the horse
their chief aim--money, public Office, the ac
complishment of other selfish purposes attained
regardless OF consequences to the other fellow one
way to whip Is to throw mud In his eyes. blind
ing him. and then deal the knockout blow,
When reason back to first principles, the prin
ciple prohibition ls right The cause sometimes suf
fers the law IL not enforced The executive
department may not always be in sympathy with the
aw-so that. from the Governor down to the deputy
constable enforcement.s neglected Then of course
the law falls and any law enforced, weakens the
public conscience But the failure is not the fault OF
the law. II those who have sworn that they Will en-
force the law. but have violated that oath, can oil
public attention from themselves and lead to h'
belief that the fault lies in the law. manifesty the,
will do JISll~f.