The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1901-1982, 1912-08-22

There is absolutely no argument IN
favor of the use of intoxicating IL
quor as a beverage. There are per-
sons who can drink liquor in modera-
ton and suffer no apparent injury
J just as there are even-tempered per-
sons who might safely be permitted
J to carry concealed weapons, but for
the good of the majority who cannot
exercise such self-control and for the
reason that no one can be benefited by
even a moderate use of alcohol, it is
best that it's consumption be prohibit
ed to the greatest possible extent.
| If person who uses intoXicants to
excess injured only himself, there
would be less excuse for the state at
tempting to prohibit its use. But the
fact that 80 per cent of all crime and
almost as great proportion of all
pauperism and insanity are directly
due to liquor, and the fact that the
people who are temperate must suffer
in person and in purse from these
things, makes it imperative that the
state must take an additional step to-
ward the suppression of this great
curse.
The liquor forces advance many
reasons for the continuance of the
present laws, such as the loss of reve
nue. from liquor licenses, personal lib
erty, government and quote in
distorted language the utterances of
public men as being opposed to state
wide prohibition. But at last the on
ly argument against statewide is the
one of expediency. The liquor inter
ests declare the law will not be en-
forced in communities where public
sentiment favors it's sale, and in urg
ing this they confess that they expect
to endeavor to violate the law. There
are doubtless many friends of prohi-
bition who honestly fear that state
wide law cannot be enforced in such
cities as Little Rock, Pine Bluff and
Hot Springs. The people of the state
at large have no control over the
county, township and municipal Off
GERS of such cities, it is true; but
whenever they fail to perform their
duties, it then devolves upon the chleb
executive of the state to enforce the
law and for this purpose he is armed
with absolute control over the mill
tia. Joe T. Robinson, though opposed
to prohibition, has pledged that if the
law is adopted he will enforce it by
every means within his power. Let
the local officers first be given fair
trial to enforce prohibition; if they |
fail, call upon the governor to enforce
it. and if he fails, let the people elect
a governor who will enforce it.
If prohibition is good for town it
IS good for the county; if it is good
for the county it is good for the state
Twenty-Five years of experience have
demonstrated that prohibition has
has been the making of
Faulkner county and of Conway.
With more than double the population
the number of crimes has been reduc- |
ed to one-fourth. Pauperism is prac-
tically unknown, the people are pros
porous and happy and no one is ever
heard to complain because liquor can
not be bought here. Although Little
Rock receives hundreds of thousands
of dollars in liquor licenses, the rate
of property taxes is higher than In
Conway.
The argument that prohibition
hurts town has been shown to be
false here; and the argument that
prohibition will injure the whole state
is equally untrue.