Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1911-02-24
w. G. T. u. Column.
61ste1 y Mr.. \. A. Beaetx'S.



The author Of the following was IN
Dallas shen he wrote it. lie gave IL
10 . friend Who in turn gave il to this
editor. He 10 ono Of literally millions
Of such liquor wrecks. His education
and ability are lost to state. nation and
the world. A producer reduced to .
mere consumer. and liquor did the aw-
ful work. Back Of the sale Of liquor
are liouor voters whom God holds res
ponsible for such disasters wether men
and women do or not:
II am . prohibitionist tonight. The
reason is, have absorbed more OF the
malt extract than can comfortably
carry around. Instead Of filing my
chest with the pure air that has been
floating around since the late rain. !
have filled nv stomach with beer and
whisky. Enlarged stomachs and large
chests seldom grow on tho same man.
Therefore tonight .ofswear anything
in the line of intoxicants. 1t remains
to be seen whether or not l carry cut
my oath.
lam forty-one years old, druggist
ty profession, old enough and wise
enough to know better than to drink;
yet do drink. And here is where l
want to give the pros an idea
lam an omnivorous reader and when
have time to read the daily papers
and magazines thoroughly, not even
neglecting the ads, do. Sometimes
see an article on the liquor question.
but have never yet seen one that CO.
incided with my own experience and
observation.
After 25 years experience as . pool
and billiard player and 20 years -
hard drinker, l want to put myself on
record As saying that majority OF our
young men who take to drinking. frsl
learn the habit through the influences
surrounding them in the ordinary pool
and billiard psrlor
1t is not that the games themselves
are bad, for they are not. what inter
ested me most in both pool and bill
lizards was the angle OF incidence anc
reflection about which | was then stuC
wing in school. This angle was the 80
cret of success in playing either game
was at the formative age, and inter
ested in following out any theory tina
pertained to my studies. The reeul
was that l became a confirmed "fiend.
Then my downfall began
At the start l played pool for ths
simple love of figuring out the angle
on the cushions and because | was al
allround athlete who needed some pop
off value for his exhuberent spirits;
needed, or thought needed the extrs
exercise.
In the pool room / contracted two
habits unknown to me before--swear
ing and drinking; while my swearing
has been confined to an occasional DIN
my drinking has been wholly uncon-
fined and has run the whole gamut O
the scale from the "A in bassi Of tn,
niger GIN &C in alt in imported
champagne
NV drinking started in pool room
1t was one of those thoughtless act
by which an older man seeks to enter
tain younger one, was the younger
and because l had been winning \
pool | accommodated my older frient
by taking drink with him. l do not
blame him, but rather myself for keep
ing up the drinking. But since l hav'
become old enough to "slt up and taxi
notice." have eeen scores and hun
dieds of boys and young men gettini
their Rrst taste of liquor in poo. halls
due solely to mistaken ideas Of Older
men who wanted to "show then goot
time"
started playing pool in Michigan
Since then I've played in Chicago, il
Denver, in San Francisco, in Oklahoms
City and several Texas towns, and in
every town and city the general loca
ton of the pool room is the same; the,
are directly or indirectly in connection
with saloons