Bradford County telegraph. (Starke, Fla.) 1888-current, 1910-08-19
WITH FLORIDA EDITORS.
DOES PROHIBITION PROHIBIT?

! Il may not in Maine, but it does il
fernando. 1t may not in Alabama, &C
cording to Pleasant A. Hollis paid-fo
literature appearing in anumberof stat
newspapers, but it does in BroOksville
1t may not IN Georgia. where the whis
key men say it does not and the temper
ance people say it Goes, but it does il
fernando. The testimony of temper
auce people and the advocates of the sa
loon are diametrlcally opposed to ONT
another i'll regard to Maine, Alabama
and Georgia, but government statistics
corroborate the testimony of the tenn
perance people. Say We reject both be-
cause they are in direct opposition
what have We to fall back upon but ouI
own expert the evidence of ouI
! own senses? In fernando county and
Brooksville we know, and SO does every
citizen in the county know, that prohi-
bition does prohibit. Our own Observs-
ton and experience are our best wit
sses. They declare Enthusiastically in
favor of prohibition. Reasoning from
the known TO the unknown, We must
conclude that if prohibition prohibits in
fernando it must prohibit i'll Alabama
Georgia and Maine, which are beyond
our knowledge. The means are the
same and the conditions prevailing are
the same and the results must be the
same.
But some will say there are blind ii
gers and bootleggers in fernando. We
believe there are. Law does not eradi-
cate, but lessons, crime. A good citizen
told us once that fernando would be
paradise for poor men were it not for
hog stealers, of which we have had q
few and may have some still. Shall the
law against stealing be abolished be-
cause it does not prohibit perfectly?
We had occasion once TO look up the
law i'll regard to the age of consent. A
man in the room turned pale and
trembled with fear. Shall the law
against seduction be abolished because
he had violated it2
We came to BrooksVille thirty years
ago when whiskey and the saloon were
supreme in fernando county. We saw
men shot down in the court house and
on the streets. A mans life was not
safe. Gun play was q pastime, and
murder and ASSASSINATION staIked
through the county day and night. On
public days ladies dared not go on the
streets, and it was not safe for anyone
to stroll about after dark, because of
stray bullets. 1t was said that murder
and assassination were caused by teuds |
among the natives. fernando had the |
worst reputation of any county in the
state. By supreme effort of the good |
people the county went dry" Murder |
and assassination ceased. fernando has |
become the most law-abidiDg and peace
full county in the state. The natives are
here still, and are peaceful, honorable
and true to the obligations Of society. |
1t was not feuds, but fusel oil, which |
kept the county in a constant riot Of |
crime. When the saloons ceased feud
lighting ceased, and houses of ill-fame
the saloons out of the county,
md crimes against virtue, and against
he rights Of property and persons were
greatly lessened. Feuds, rape, murder,
;heft, arson and assassination are the
fruits of the saloon in city, town or
country. The greater crimes are not
and the lesser are only to a
Medium degree, in fernando. Herman
10 was once a county fruitful Of crime
md disorder, now it is haven Of peace
md good will. The change came about
when the county went dry.
Prohibition does prohibit, has profiib-
ted, and will continue to prohibit in
fernando. Our people are not different
n q marked degree from the other peo-
lie of the state. Therefore, we may
that having prohibited in this
ounty, prohibition can and will prohib-
throughout the state.-Brooksville
Argus.