The log cabin Democrat., 1912-08-21

A constantly increasing Huiiipe1 VI
counties voted themselves dry" anc
rarely did one thus voting ever re
turn to the wet" column. Faulkner
county, one filled with saloons and
dominated absolutely by the whlskey
element. is a fair example of the pro
gress of prohibition. So many special
laws prohibiting the sale Of liquor in
various portions of the county have
been passed and SO large has the ma
iority against license" grown in the
past 20 years that by no stretch of
the imagination could one now believe
that liquor will ever again be sold
| here
The forces of prohibition are now
engaged in battle to capture the
last few strongholds into which the
Liquor dealers have been driven in
this state. The statewide prohibition
law, initiated by the petitions OF
nearly $4,000 voters, is to be enact
ed or defeated by the people on Sep
! TENDER 9.
There is absolutely no argument in
favor of the use of intoxicating IL
uuor as beverage. There are per-
sons who can drink liquor in modera-
ton and suffer no apparent injury,
| Just as there are even-tempered per-
sons who might safely be permitted
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 its 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 it's 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, self-government and quote in
distorted language the utterances of
public men as being opposed to state
wide prohibition. But at last the on
| " 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 its 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 anC
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; bu
whenever they fail to perform theil
duties, it then devolves upon the chic
executive of the state to enforce tn,
law and for this purpose he is armed
with absolute control over the mill
tia. Joe 7. Robinson, though opposes
to prohibition, has pledged that if tn
law is adopted he will enforce it b.
every means within his power. lie
the loo officers first be given fai
trial to enforce prohibition; if the
fail, cal. upon the governor to enforc
it, and il he fails, let the people cleo
a governor who will enforce it.
If prohibition is good for town
is good for the county; if it is goo
for the county it is good for the state
Twenty-Five years of experience hav
demonstrated that prohibition ha
prohibition has been the making Q
Faulkner county and Of Conway
; With more than double the populatio
the number of crimes has been redu(
ed to one-fourth. Pauperism is praC
! tically unknown, the people are pro:
porous and happy and no one is eve
| heard to complain because liquor car
not be bought here. Although Littl
Rock receives hundreds of thousand
? of dollars in liquor licenses, the rat
of property taxes is higher than i
Conway.
The argument that prohibitio
: hurts town has been shown to b
! false here; and the argument ths
e prohibition viii injure the whole stat
: is equally untrue