The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1911-02-20
TEMPERANCE DEPARTMENT


Next to the supreme question Of our
conquering Christianity comes the
question of militant citizenship. In
deed. the RICH sort of Christianity will
express itself in a citizenship that has
clean hands and brave and fearless
life. No man be a good citizen and be
in favor Of fostering a barroom that
can only thrive on the downfall of citi-
zenship and the destruction of the
community's peace and order Tennes-
sees heroic young governor. Ben ".
Hooper. recO gniZes this vital truth. and
in his first message TO the legislature,
among the many other manly, sane and
noble uterances, he has the following
TO say of the licensed liquor traffic:
My predecessor says in his mes
sage, The use or non-use of LIQUOR
should be left to the Individual For a
state, through its law making power.
70 attempt to control what the people
snail eat and drink and wear except
70 see that they are protected from
imposition. is tyranny and not liberty
All this might be true if the indi-
vidual were nothing more than an in
vidual. but the fact that he is also a
social unit makes it untrue. The di-
vinely inspired statement that no man
liveth unto himself must be taken in
to account If each individual were
maroOned upon an oceanic isle, then in
deed he might set himself up as law
unto himself, and every savage and sa-
tanic appetite and passion might run
riot in his mind and body. without
detriment to mankind. There would
be no state, no society and no associate
to suffer from his violence or hold him
responsible for his wrong. But the in
dividual citizen of Tennessee is a mem
Der of a complex social organization,
and as such sustains relations to mil
lions of individuals who have the right
to demand of him that he so conduct
himself as not to injure his brother.
whose keeper he is. If the drinking Of
any liquor, the eating of any food or
wearing of any apparel robs him of his
reason, destroys his moral stamina, re-
duces him TO the level of a beast and
makes him a menace to his fellow men,
the state has a right to restrain him,
not for the purpose of tyranrXzing
over him, but for the great and right
eous purpose of protecting society. If
the state has the right to interfere
with mans liberty because he is
drunk, it has he right to interfere
with his supposed liberty to get drunk
This is not an effort to make men vir-
tuous by law, but an effort to keen
them safe to men at large If there
were any particular style of dress the
wearing of which would cause a man
TO beat his wife or murder his child,
the state would be justified in forbid
ding its use. While we have no law in
Tennessee prescribing the manner of
dress, we have a law forbiddng the
appearance of an individual in a public
II oil OIL md
the principle is the same. We have
swung too far around the cycle of civ
liza ton to listen to the argument that
society must sit still with closed eyes
and folded hands and offer no resist
ance to her worst Scourger. The man
who advocates that society do nothi lg
more than build and equip the hospit-
ais, asylumS, jails and penitentiaries
and dig the graves for the victims Of
rum. will find that the world has NOV
ed on and left him. The highest courts
of our nation and of practically all the
states have sustained the right of the
people to prohibit as well as regulate
the sale of whisky. There is no ques-
ton presented to the people of Ten
nessee save that of expediency
1t is contended by some that while
prohibition will ultimately be wise and
! t.
is not so now on account of local con-
ditions that render the enforcement of
the law impossible. This presents a
serious and veNatious problem. If the
OFFICIALS in these counties had per-
formed their duties and made an hon
est effort to enforce the law, which had
been met with utter failure, then we
would indeed be confronted with de-
batable problem. But they have not
tried to enforce the law and failed
They have deliberately ignored. nulli-
fled and spurned the law, because for
soOth. it did not meet with their an
prevail BY doing so, they have Of
Tended the people of the state and in
suited the integrity of the law. If the
ofhclals OF those counties will actively
and cordially cooperate with me for
two years in an honest effort to en-
force the law, and at the end of that
time conditions remain as they are the
people of this state will be in a better
frame of mind to listen to their de-
mands for an amendment of the stat
ute. The people of Tennessee are not
unreasonable. They recognize the diff
hculties of the situation in these cities
but they have no sympathy for the doc
trlne of absolute decentralization of a
state law"
These words from Tennessee's Young
governor should be framed and hung
up in every home in the Volunteer
state. How any man who loves clean
citizenship and good government can
try TO gainsay them is beyond our COM
prehenSion.
Alcohol and Insanity