The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-09-07
NO REASON FOR
SALOON TO LIVE
REVENUE SHOULD NOT JUSTIFY
THAT WHICH PAUPERIzEs
PEOPLE.
F. w. LONG ON EVIL
PASTOR OF CowARDIN CHRISTIAN
CHURCH ANSWERS ARGUMENTS
ADVANCED BY THE wHIS- :.
KEY PEOPLE. :.
;. W. LONG ON EVIL

morals OF men, DOtn IN the past and
at the present, I am fully persuaded
1t is an evil and an unnecessary evil
at that. 1t remains for preacher,
editor, statesman, physician or bust
ness man to give one sane reason why
Il saloon ought to exist. And If there
Is no substantial reason. 1t ought not
to live" So spoke Rev. r. w. Long,
in Cowardin-Avenue Christian church
last night. Continuing. he said, in
part:
The question OF revenue should no!
justify the existence OF a saloon: If it
should. why limit the number of
one thousand instead of the present
number and increase the revenue? II
we want revenue, why not license a
| man to commit murder? There are
murderers who would pay enormous
fees for that privilege. Why not
| license a man to steal? The robber
would pay his fee gladly to be en-
| being prosecuted. That revenue
would not be SO blood-stained as the
revenue from tho sale of intoxicants,
which wreaks its vengence on the
wives and the children. And what
would the loss sustained at the hands
of a licensed robber be compared
with the loss caused by the saloon,
| which not only steals the material
goods, but saps away mind and body.
and binds the powers of the soul In
loathsome vassalage.
Some argue that to take away the
saloon from Virginia would mean an
| Increased tax rate. No other state
has found this necessary. The ABB
sence of saloons means fewer Grim
inals. fewer imbeciles and fewer In
ebriates to support and more money
"a town ava
ments.
/ '1t Is weak argument, that schools
would be compelled to close IL pro-
! hibitson prevailed. What would 1t
profit State to educate ten per cen.
of its youth il the means by which
| 1t was made possible, prevented
| twenty-five per cent from advancing
above the class OF illiterates? 1t Is
! like the man who sells an acre OF his
farm each year to pay his tax. Whis-
key is a direct cause for poverty and
| illiteracy and crime. The man who
values dollars higher than character
and honor has a poor conception OF
government.
THE question of increased business
should not Justify the saloon. From
the fact that business would be
| quickened. we, favor the abolition OF
the saloon. Whiskey impairs the Ell
HCtcnCy pI pusiirSS ihCiis 'iChNO II 80
lures and retards business. Atlanta
| is an example of what city can do
! without q saloon. In the last decade
| 1t has surpassed Richmond In bank
| clearinss and population. When the
saloons go the buildings will be used
! for grocery or dry goods stores,
! restaurants. etc, and there will be
no dearth Of money, FOR the money
spent for drink will go to buy the
| necessaries and some Of the luxuries
| of life. The bare walls OF the drunk
ards home may be adorned, the
| empty cupboard filed and the war
| drobe OF his family be replenished.
| .'The question of liberty does not
Justify the existence of saloon, A
! man may have license TO sell whis-
kew but he never has right. Liberty
does not license us to do as we want
TO. but as we ought. No man ltveth
unto himself We are all dependent
unon each other The building code
| OF Richmond compels man to put
I solid foundation under any structure
/ going up In the city. Does that In
fringe on the citizens liberty?
! "If have no right to allow my
! garbage to accumulate In my own
I hack ward. because 1t Ia offensive to
/ my lawahiding neigheor, why should
/ have the liberty of carrying on a
business which teopardizes the domestic
moral and spiritual welfare of a whole
community?
| Obedience to Law.
! "rt is again argued that prohibit
ton won't prohibit. which Is equiva-
| lent to saying that our citizens won't
/ obev the law by so sayi. they put
themselves in the law-breaking class.
/ No law strictly prohibits. Murder.
gambling. theft still exist, yet there
are none who would have these laws
! repealed but +ha law-braaker. We
/ have too much condolences IN Virginians
t to believe that the law woiifi nt't be
respected. If any .shocld no: respect
| the law then let them pay The penalty.
for the law is made for that c'ass.
| some argue that prohibition will
| encourage dishonesty--if that be, all
law Is wrong and encourages evil.
There are, perhaps, AZ many blind
| tigers now, in Richmond and vicinity
as legalixed saloons. When appre-
hended, they are not punished for SELL
| ing that which causes misery ana
suffering, but because they have no
license If the law endorses the sale
| Of it, why not put the license so low
| that all can conform to Its demands
| If it is wrong to traffic In II. then
| license should not be tolerated. II pro-
| hibition States ouy more whiskey,
than wet STATES, why does the wet
! element spend so much time and money
in fighting 1t? Why wouldn't they let
all the States go dry and then go TO
! New York and supply the whole United
States?
! "One OF our evsang papers stated
I that tSere were more arrests for drank
4 enness in Atlanta last year than in
Richmond. That does not mean, there
were more drunkafds there--th sra
were Simply moro arrests. In Atlanta,
n man has no excuse for being drunk
Here, he must get drunk or the saloon
would have to close and 1t has paid
| for the privilege Of making all drunk
that it can. 1t Is inconsistent for a
] city to arrest a man for buying that
which 1t approves OF and the sale sale
! Of which 1t sanctions. Another evening
| paper said the saloon had forever gone
1 from the cross roads in Virginia be-
| cause there was no police force to pro-
tect the people. II the saloon Is a
paying proposition for the State, why
not hire police force and continue the
business?
! Kansas stands as a great argument
for the adjustment of the saloon. In
/ 81 finer los counties there are no in
sane. In fifty-four there are no
/ feeble minded: ninety-six have no in
I -, .xt. al ~