The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-05-14
WHESkEY IN SHREVEPORT.
Who Pays the Cost? The Saloon?
How Much? The Greatest Revenue
from Liquor Traffic Could Not
Compensate nor Offset the Dam
age, Financial or Otherwise.

Compensate nor Offset the DAM
age, Financial or Otherwise.
Mansfield Journal May t2: ShreVe-
port at present is in the grasp
of one of the hottest prohibition fights
that has even been pulled off in the
State. Shreveport is no doubt in a
bad shape with its many "blind ii
gers and "pocket peddlers." At
least the ants claim so anyhow. The
large sums of money that would come
though their excessive licenses would
no doubt prove a benefit in a way,
but there is another more important
question, WHO PAYS THE COST?
Who stands the cash? Who pays the
bills? Who feeds the drunkard s chill
dren? Who provides for the drunk
ards broken-h hearted wife? Who sup
ports the beggarly tramps, who, having
wasted their money in drink, wander
about the country? Who repairs the
losses caused by failure of incorporate
merchants and reckless and half in
toxicated business men? Who makes
good the damages caused by the blund-
ers of drunken workingmen and the him
drance of business caused by the sprees
of incorporate employees? Who pays
for the railroad wrecks caused by
drunken conductors and engineers? Who
builds the asylum where the crazy
drunkards are kept? Who supports the
idiotic children of drunken parents?
Who pays the expenses of trials and
commitments and executions occasion
ed by the crimes of drunken men? Who
pays the attorneys and juries and
Judges to try drunken criminals? Who
pays for the property destroyed and
burned by drunken men? Who builds
and supports almshouses, which but for
drink might remain unoccupied? Who
endures the suffering and losses and
brutality which are due to the reck-
lessness and insanity of drunken hus-
bands and fathers? Who pays for the
inauests held on drunkards found dead
on the wayside? Who pays for the
pauper's coffin and digging drunk
ards grave in the potter's field, when
the last glass has been drunk?
The revenues received from liquor
traffic in Shreveport is entirely too
small to offset the damages financial
ly, not figuring the pain and suffering
it will cause. WHO PAYS THE
BILLS? THE DRUNKARD CANNOT
FOR HE HAS WASTED HIS SUB
STANCE IN THE CUP. Will the rum
seller pay them? NO. The sober, in
dustrious toiling portions of the COM
munity must meet all these bills. The
drunken rowdy, wounded in the street
fight is cared for in the city hospital
at the people s expense; the drunken
beggar is fed. from the peoples table;
his hungery children will come to the
peoples door for bread, and they can
not refuse assistance to his suffering
wife; and when at last, having wasted
hospital or the prison. Honest, sober,
come to the almshouse, the asylum, the
hospital or teh prison. Homes, sober,
temperate men pay the bills for the
supporting of him there. There is no
escaping it. Shreveport is too close
to the city of Mansfield for the good
Of younger boys who will come in a
while to be compelled to make trip to
that city on business. 1t makes no diff
ference what the ants claim about their
license, high or low, it means drinking
lust the same; it means drunkenness, an |
drunkenness means poverty, misery and
crime, and crime means to fill our state
prisons and poor houses. Can any con
sistent man who has the well being OF
society only at heart vote for high or
low license, much less professed Chris
tians. and we are sure there are enough
of that class in Shreveport to vote
the old port dry, if they would. And
they will vote it dry.