Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1910-08-04

is done by safeguarding the rights
and privileges which we as a people
possess. Life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness are some of these rights
At least three-fourths of the muir
| derS in Arizona are committed be-
cause the sale of liquor is allowed
| What becomes of the right to life OF
! the victims? Pursuit of happiness is
| said to be an inalienable right What
| becomes of this right when countless
women and children must suffer
shame. degradation, poverty and
misery. through no fault of their own
/ but because the sale of liquor is al
| lowed. Between 70 per cent and so
per cent of all crimes are said to be
due to Intoxicating liquor. The
drunken man is pursuing his own
happiness, but how about his vic
Tins?
| Is not a provision which will out
| law the cause of three fourths of the
crime, three-f ourths of the insanity.
as well as most of the unhappiness
| of thousands of women and children
lis not that fundamental enough to
engage the attention of the conven-
| ton? Maine, Kansas, North Dakota
and Oklahoma have found that such
a provision deserves a place in the
organic law.
And after all, is there such a very
wide difference between what is in
| the constitution and what is enacted
| by the legislature? The British en-
pire seems to get along nicely with
a very shadowy line of demarkatiOn
| between the two. In fact the acts
of parliament may all be said to be
constitutional provisions.
Your second contention, that the
majority should rule, is well taken,
| but when you imply that majority
rule is obtained through a state leg
islature, the implication is not found
ed on fact The only legislatures in
the United States where this is true
are in those states where the initia-
1 tive and referendum may be invoked.
In all other states the legislature is
subservient to the special interests,
of which the liquor traffic is chief.
The Southern Pacific railroad rules
California Is this the majority? The
Pennsylvania railroad and the insur-
ance companies, together with the
breweries, rule New Jersey. Is this
majority rule? Was Lorimer elected
to the United States senate by a
majority of the people of Illinois?
Given one wealthy, powerful, un-
scrupulous corporation, with a lobby
at the legislature, and how much of
the voting strength of the citizenship
does it counterbalance? The outright
purchase of seven men in the council
of Arizona could successfully block
any legislation desired by the people
at a comparatively small cost. The
LIQUOR business of Arizona is about
$40 600, 900 annually. Do you imagine
this special interest would attempt to
control the legislature and thus be-
come the majority will so far as their
business was concerned Maiorities
do not rule in legislatures. But spe-
cial interests do 1t may be "consti-
tutional" for the legislature to pass
laws demanded by the majority, but
let us go one step farther and see
to do otherwise.
If you mean to say that in the case
of prohibition laws, the time may
come when the majority may wish to
vote back the saloons, l would say
that it is quite as possible that the
majority might wish to change any
other constitutional provision. DO
not the great weak and helpless mi
nority who suffer for the most part
in silence, need, in such a case, pro-
lection from the majority of greed
and selfishness?
since then, Mr.. Editor, there is
nothing in the nature of things TO
prevent the passage of prohibition
provision, and since it is one of the
most essential safeguards to our ma
teriaI and moral welfare, and since,
by being put into the constitution by
ratification of the majority of the
people, it more nearly conforms to
the rule of the majority than the
method of legislative enactment, and
since, moreover, the weak and help
less minority, namely, the women and
children, need protection at times
from the greedy majority, we, the
anti-saloon people of Arizona, are de-
manding that the manufacture and
sale of Intoxicating liquor be pro-
hibited by constitutional provision.
w. NJ BURKE,
Superintendent Anti Saloon League of