Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-09-18

which we all know, that the police do
not and cannot intervene UNTIL AZ
TER THE MAN HAS BECOME A
.DISORDERLY DRUNK" ON THE
STREET and a menace to the public
peace. Between the time the man
first entered the saloon and the time
he is arrested as "disorderly," and
cover the conditions and tendencies
which changed the man from a good
son, husband, father, citizen, and efii- |
cient worker, into "disorderly |
drunk" the police have no control
and exercise no influence and these
conditions being inherent in the ma
ture of the Liquor, Drinker and the
Seller" are not effected in the least
degree by mere locality or the pres
ence or absence of "police protection"
and since the same causes and condi-
tons must produce like results, where
ever they exist, it follows as GER
tainly as night follows day, that a
man who honestly favors "locaP pro-
hibition in Tazewell, must favor it in
Richmond and Roanoke, and if he can
not make those cities "dry" by 90
cal" prohibition, ION account of the
power and organization of the liquor
interest), if he is honest and consis-
tent he must favor doing so by estate
wide" prohibition. (b) Another con-
tention of anti-prohibitionists is Who'll
| ly untrue in fact, and also wholly in
consistent with their avowed support
of "local" prohibition, even if true in
| fact, and it is absurdly inconsistent
with elementary economic law. This
be enforced in the cities and will not
diminish the quantity consumed, but
will be merely a change from regulat-
ed traffic to illicit traffic. There are
three apparently conclusive answers
to this. First, such an argument is
impossible for man who honestly
avows his support of local" prohibit
ton in the rural communities for if
the latter have been able to enforce
local prohibition reasonably we'll,
(all that can be expected of any hui
man law, WITHOUT ANY "PO-
LICE PROTECTION" how much
better ought large cities, like Roanoke
and Richmond, be able to do so if
they have an HONEST PLICE
FORCE SELECTED FOR THAT
PURPOSE. Second, to say that
there will be some illicit traffic is no
more than to say that men and their
measures cannot be perfect, for the
Ten Commandments and all other
laws are now violated every day.
shall we repeal them all for this
reason? Third, it is an immutable
economic law recognized by all econ
omists and all intelligent men, that
any restraint, or burden, legal or nat
ural, put upon the sale of any COM
modify, necessarily tends and will di-
minish the quantity of that commod-
ity sold; hence absolute legal prohi-
Ebition of the sale of any commodity.
enacted by the people themselves in
a referendum, must of necessity re-
duce the consumption Of that COM
modify in every community to a min
imum. Every tariff law ever passed
IN this country either by the Demo-
cratic or Republican party was bas-
ed on this economic law.
One other contention made alone bv
the Roanoke Times, and l am done.
1t was said that the desire Tor stimu-
lants of some sort was universal.
and that the "conquering races" were
most addicted to it, and because it
was universal it must be right and
should not be denied. The answer ;s
1t seems to the writer, that they were
the "conquering races" not because
OF but in spite of their appetite for
stimulants; that the universally of
the appetite does not tend to prove II
TO be either right or wise any more
than the universally of any other
passion prevents it from being wrone
wasteful and unwise. Passions and
appetites, (sin in all it's forms). was
put hre by Supreme Intelligence