Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-04-12
Why Should Not Liquor
Selling Be Treated So?
Correspondent Asks Plain Ques-
tionS Of Anti-prohibiiionists.
Does Law Against Murder Prohibit?
Why Not License Gamblers?

|
AIRY says "A violation of law, divine
or human" The Standard Dictionary
says, An act that subjects the doer
to legal punishment
Is LIQUOR SELLING 4 CRIME
ACCORDING TO ABOVE DEFINI-
TIONS?
i, The Scripture says. "WoC unto him
that giveth his neighbor drink" / be-
leve that the law of every one OF the
United states Furnishes, in some form.
the seller of Intoxicating liquor. The
same may be said of any of tae civ
ilized countries in the world. VIII any
one in the business or out. claim that
selling Intoxicating liquor is not a
crime? IF IT Is A CRIME is it like
other crimes?
There seem to be two classes of
crimes. In the first class. like liquor
selling. adultery and prostitution. the
victim and the criminal unite in con-
cealing the crime. In the other class.
the victim usually helps to expose and
punish the criminal The law treats
both classes of criminal alike. 1t may
be said that the rumseller would not
hurt any cne if he kept away from
him. The same may be said of the
gambler and the prostitute, but the
| law does not recognize any differ
ence IT PUNISHES THE GAMBLER
AND THE PROSTITUTE THE SAME
AS THE THIEF AND THE ROBBER
Now if rumseling is a crime. like
other crimes, why should it not be
! treated like other crimes?
u, We have a long list Of crimes-mur-
der theft, arson, highway robbery,
| gambling, and many others-and the
| law treats them all alike. We don't hear
anything about moral suasion. legal
| suason. prohibition, local option. high
license, low license. Bangor plan. or
| Pennel Plan. What should we think of
| q speaker or writer. who should per-
sist in discussing the question. as to
| whether it is best to suppress murder.
| theft. highway robbery, or gambling.
| by prohibition or by licenseo Shouldn't
| we call him a crank? Every one
would say that he was a candidate for
| the Insane Asylum. So far as | know,
| no single person in the whole United
| states favors or thinks of favoring Ii
cense. high or low. Of any crime III
| the whole list of crimes known to our
| laws, except rumselling. AS far as the
| crimes just mentioned are concerned.
| every one of the hundred million per-
sons in the United States are prohibi
| tionists. There is not one single ad
vocate of license. If We should say to
| this one hundred million persons, every
| one of whom is 50 positive that pronib-
ition is the right way to suppress every
| crime. except one, why are YOU so
prejudiced in favor of prohibition?
Don't you know that prohibition does |
| MT prohibit? :? Don't you know that dur
| ing the past year, 1915 MURDERS
| WERE COMMITTED IN THIS COUN-
TRY"
What is worse still, the number is
| increasing. The number the year be-
| fore, was 900 less than last year, and
| what is worse still. only enc in Sc of
| the murderers was capitally punished.
| JUST THINK HOW MUCH LYING,
| HYPOCRISY, CORRUPTION AND
EXPENSE there must be, connected
with such a prohibitory law? Just
think also. how so much enforce
ment brings all law into contempt?
| The whole world has in all the past
tried to suppress murder by prohibi-
| ton, and yet see the result? 1878 mur
| ders in the United States alone, and
| only one in Sc, capitally punished
| Wouldn't it he better to repeal the law
| prohibiting murder, and try high Ii
cense? WE HAVE BEEN TRYING
| PROHIBITION FOR ALL TINE ON
| ALL CRIMES EXCEPT RUMSELL-
| ING, and how does it work We have
| more than 100000 persons in prison, all
| the time, and more than 900 per-
| sons are committed to prison every
| year. Just think of the Hypocrisy
| lying, deception, and expense. and still
| crime does not decrease. Statistics
| prove that only one out of 7o or go
| murderers are capitally punished and
is it probable that more than one out
of the same number of other criminals
ever get into Jail?
| IF SO THERE ARE MORE THAN
THREE MILLION CRIMINALS IN
THIS COUNTRY most of whom are
never punished. Surely prohibition
does not prohibit Isn't it time we try
high license, local option, or some
thing to stop so much crime.
No advocate of the license of the
liquor traffic can object to the above
reasoning, because it is the very rea
soning they have been repeating over
and over until we are tired and sick
of it-"Prohibition does not prohibit;
prohibition cannot be enforced; law
, |
violated every day, hypocrisy lying,
corruption, unfaithful officers, non-en-
forcement brings all law into con-
tempt"
No friend of the saloon, and no per-
son sympathizing with the saloon, can
bring any possible reason WHY THE
. SALOON SHOULD BE LICENSED
THAT WILL NOT APPLY WITH
EQUAL FORCE in favor Of licensing
these other crimes. Can any person
in all the world give any possible rea-
1 son why all the people in this country
: are continually talking about prohibi-
f tion. local option. high license, low Ii
/ cense. in connection with this gigan-
tic crime of crimes, but never mention
these in connection with other crimes
OF the same kind, and of equal magni-
tude? B. c. Jordan.
D Nervousness and Nerve.
81 lhe more nervous a man is, the less