Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1912-02-01

An old-timer-who signs his name
to his letter asks why il is that the
editor of the Record is opposed to
prohibition, and goes on to say:
have noticed for many years that you
have usually advocated measures for
the good of the people Of Emmons
county at least, they turned out
that way in the end. And cannot
see how you can look upon intoNicat-
ing liquor as a good thing" That
is just where many good people make
mistake. a man does not neces-
sarilv have to believe that 'lntoXi-
eating liquor is a good thing in
order to make him consistent OPP
ponent of the prohibition law. The
writer, at least. has not such an
opinion. On the contrary, he believes
that Intoxicating liquor especially
distilled liquor is the -dest curse
with which the human race has to
contend. If our vote would Danish
it from the face of the earth, that
vote would be so cast, and there are
many men who are not teetotalers
who would do likewise. No person
who wants to be at least halfway
fair can depy its evils. Not consid-
ering the immense evil harm by the
excessive use of alcoholic beverages
in the cities, there is scarcely VIII
lage in the nation that has not one
or more instances of kind-heart ted
and otherwise good citizens who have
gone or are going to the devil
through the excessive use Of strong
drink. Having seen these things.
would moderate drinker be much
of man were he not willing to give
up his habit-a habit not at all
necessary to him-if by driving
strong drink from the world he could
assist in preventing the ruin Of
thousands too weak to care for
themselves The writer is opposed
10 the prohibition law because he be-
lieyes that. while intoNicants are
manufactured, they will be drank;
that under prohibition they will be
sold by absolutely irresponsible per-
sons, that the quality Of the stuff
sold by the blind-pigger and the
boot logger is more deadly than that
sold by the licensed salcon-keeper;;
that the counsel and advice Of good
men and women is worth more to the
young man disposed to drink than
all the prohibition laws ever enacted;
that Prohibition which swept this
country III wave even before the
civil war vas tried and found want
ing, that states like Iowa, South
Dakota, Vermont and New Hamp-
shire states that tried it for many
years found it delusion and a
snare. As to the writer's resub-
mission bills introduced in the leg
islature. We call our correspondent
attention to the fact that such bills
We're purely and simply county-op-
tion bills. They assumed that the
state unit was too large to apply,
particularly in commonwealth as
big as Norh Dakota, settled as it is.
by people with varying customs and
habits, coming from the four quar-
tiers of the earth. 1t was identically
the same proposition tina. the prohi-
bitionists of Minnesota are putting
up to the voters of that state, and
have been so doing in many cam
paigns. And the arguments used in
Minnesota by the prohibitionists are
dcntically the same that were used
by the writer in advocacy of his at
tempt to substitute the licensed sa-
loon-keeper for the blind bigger and
the bootlegger that the state unit
is TOO large and the village unit too
small to be used as basis for the
regulation of the traffic. We trust
our correspondent is satisfactorily
answered
Laws against glove contests b,