Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-09-11
THE COST.
Communicated

the National Liquor Dealers Associa-
ton, and the wholesale and retail
liquor dealesrs of this state, has one
end in view, and that is todivert the
minds of voters from the real issue
to be decided on the 22nd of Septem-
Der. The only and the sole issue is
whether or not you are in favor of
the sale of liquors in open bar rooms
under n license issued by the State.
If you believe, with all the evidence
before you, that the financial and NOR
al interests of the State are benefit
ed by the granting of licenses to sell
Intoxicating liquors to her citizens,
then you should vote for license.
There is no financial standard by
which we can measure this traffic, but
we can reduce part of this business
to terms of dollars and cents. What
then are the figures? The State re-
ceives from saloons $550,OOO annually.
What does it cost the state? In the
first place, Virginia citizens spend
each year for liquors, the sum of $50,
100000. Grant that the refusal of
the state to issue license will reduce
the sale fifty per cent the liquor buy
ers alone can pay this tax, and put
back into their pockets the sum of
$14,50,O00. Can you figure a profit
to the state in this deal? This does
not account one cent for loss of time.
cost of nurses, doctor bills, drugs and
other expenses incurred as the direct
result of drunkenness.
But admit, for the sake of argu
ment, that prohibition will not re-
duce the sale one cent, how then does
the account stand? The total re-
ceipts are $55O,OOO. That's ALL you
can get out of it.
What does it cost?
In crime traceable to
alcohol. -. -. 80. :. S525, 900
Hospitals, insanity, epilep-
sy, etc.,. -. 80. :. 100000
Poverty,traceable to alcohol, $4,000
IOrAL,.,. 49,. :. :. $1,0O0,OOO
How much does the staate profit by
this transaction? You cannot figure
a profit for anybody except the man.
ufacturer, the liquor Dealers, and
the man who rents his property for
their use. All the rest of us lose
money in the deal.
Local Self Government" is not an
issue in this election, as the vets are
striving so hard to convince YOU.
Don't forget that. You may use il
as an excuse for voting for the open
saloon, but you are not fooling any,
BODY not even yourself. Do you vio-
late the laws of Tazewell county
when you steal or murder? Every
man of intelligence knows that he
violates the laws of the State of Vir-
gina when he commits crime and that
the State, and not the county. will
punish him for it. Does this vio-
late the principles of local self-poy-
eminent? Virginia is the only SOW.
ereign within her borders. Hers
are the only law-making bodies.
Tazewell county cannot legislate on
any question. We had no local op-
ton until the State granted it. Isl
anybody's liberty taken away if the
State as whole legislates on oues-
tons which effect the state as q
whole? When the state recentlv
passed a law prohibiting the sale of |
cocaine, morphine and other harmful
drugs, did she violate the right of To-
cal self government. If she finds
these drugs harmful to her citizens
and science should declare them un-
necessary, and injurious in the treat
ment OF disease, would you want to
leave the regulation, or prohibition
OF their sale to each magistreial dis
Irict, or to each county or the state
separately. 1t is an absurd propo-
'ition. and the mere statement is all
mat is needed to refute it.
Ho W then does it come that men
n Virginia who argue that the "glo-
'lous liberty for which our fathers
ought and died" is at stake, when
my one proposes that the state, by