The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-12-22

II drunkenness and crime the test then
Prohibition is better than License and while 1t
does not prevent all drunkenness aud crime, 1t
reduces 1t to one-haif, ono-thlrd. and one-fourth
OF its former volume.
The law against theft will not take covetous-
ness out OF ii man heart, but It Nfi protect pro-
perry from men who are afraid OF the peniten-
tialY. he law against rape ana seduction Oh
girls under legal age of consent Will not take
lust Of mans heart, but IN" lear OF the
contempt of mankind ANA of the strong hand OF
lynch law protects our wives and daughters
from such brutal treatment The law against
murder viii not take hate out OF a mans heart,
bot the fear the electric caair saves many Il
man from those who would destroy him. And
SO the law against the sale of Intoxicating liquor
win not take cove tousnsss out of a mans heart.
but the fear OF the fines and the chaingang viii
keep many man from being tempted to drink
To his rum, and leave him sober ana III his right
mind, to so home to his mother or his wife and
children. The facts are against correspond
ents position.
Finally he refers to Ohio and speaks OF it as
q Model State" and he attributes this TO High
License. But the temperance workers CT Ohio
would not agree With hitn For no State in the
Union has the Anti-Saloon League done stronger
aud more effective work Step by step they have
been running the saloon out OF Ohio, until at the
beginning OF the present year sixty-tVo OF the
eighty eight counties including ninety per cent
of the total area OF the state, and largely over
one-haf OF the population, under no license.
The saloon has been regulated in this large part
Of the State by abolishtns it entirely. The Anti
saloon League declares that the reason Ohio IN
getting to be a Model state is because OF the
abolition OF the saloon.
As a matter Of fact If our correspondent win
examine the records he will find that 'Regula-
tion and High License" do not prevent the exist
cnec of dives, and of violations OF tie laN, 1t
is common occurrence 10 READ in thu daily pa,
tltsrS but IN en- ID in
License Richmond fof selling liquor without Ii
cense Roanoke is "wer" by majority Of ca
votes, obtained by the registration OF lliterate
negroes. The Roanoke Times. under the direc-
ton Of MIR 4. b. Williams, is certainly not a
dry newspaper Under the headlines An
Blind Tigers Escape Scot Free. il says: THE
police have tried with the utmost diligence to
convict the negroes who run the Dina tigers
but have not yet succeeded. In police court the
offenders hned but in majority OF cases
appeal is taken to the Corporation Court where
the trials terminate i'll aequittal
And this is in wet" Roanoke, where the
wet oracle resides and thundc.s against the
Anti-Saloon League. There they have saloons
and blind tigers" also. And IL viii always
be true that any law will be violated when there
is sufficient indueement tor men to I'm The risk
In conclusion. The FiTgintdR is pleased to
note that our correspondent seems TO admit that
Prohibition is dream of the future, but he
thinks 1t must be reached by the road OF Saloon
Regulation aud Reformation. and that we can
not jump from wideppen license To Tight-Shut
Prohibition. Well. We have been moving gradu
ally. bur steadily forward in Virginia When the
Anti-Saloon League began its work IN Virginia
nine years ago there We're about I o00 drinking
places oil all kinds in Virginia. Now there are
about 500 Then the county hafr0om was
found at. nearly every oss=roads Now there are
no cross roads bar-rooms. Then the pot house
distliery was found in the hollows and on the
creek-bsnks. Now there few pot-house dis.
tilleries left Then the fake" club hourished
and the gentlemans club sold its liquor on Sun
day Now the fake club has followed the
cross roads barrooms and the Sunday selling
has been forbidden. Now the saloon has been
hanished from over seven-eighths OF the towns
and nearly onehaif of the cities OF Virginia
The license taxes have been steadily Increased.
until they range from $500 TO 5000 IN different
cities The movement has been steady and
gradual and the traffic is confined 10 few