The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-10-11
In Defense of the Ii
quor Dealers
by j. VI. ROWLAND.


dogs. I nave never known a case in which men
were more grossly imposed upon and taken ad-
vantage CT ] believe in fighting fair and OBJ
serving the principles OF justice and honesty, and
because are In the liquor business is no
reason why they should be so hea rtlessly proved
upon and abused by the people of Virginia who
have always stood for fairness and justice SO
! am asking for little space in The virginian
to speak a word for the liquor dealers.
have opposed tho liquor business for sev
eral years because ! have firmly believed 1t is
doing more to ruin lives and down souls than
any other thing, and because have felt il was
wrong on every count. The more I have seen
of It the stronger ] have grown In this con-
viction. have expressed this conviction In sea-
son and oot of season, and for it I have con-
secrated what ability have had. I have tried to
so combat this enemy of my God and this
church that when I stand before His throne
/ might possess heart unmoved by fear and
hands unstained by compromise. And yet !
have had kind feelings for the men in the
business. I have wanted to help them out OF
ia bad business into a good that would
cause them have respect for themselves and
their neighhors to have respect for them vand
his family. 1t has often panied me to
poor women and children pointed TO with scorn
as the wives and children of liquor sellers.
have often tried to befriend and help men who
quit the business get along we'll in the new
life and rev work they had chosen. AS / speak
for myself so ! speak for temperance people gem
orally. We have been against their business but
friendly To them, and to prove 1t I come now
to plead their cause, and upon my word |
getting money from the campaign fund for
my pleading. 1t is labor of love-a plea for
Justice
The Anti-Saloon folks have been charged
with wagins war of unfairness. bitterness and
abuse against the liquor folks. The liquor folks
have been mistreated, abused and even robbed
but not by the Anti-saloon folks. Who has
robbed them? Who has made them laugh
ing stocE m eyes Of the world? Who took
their money--thousands of it-and organized
the State To fight their cause? Who canvassed
the State from end to end. and assured the
! liquor dealers Virginia gong wet by
! 20, 900? Who took their money, hired to work
for them in many sections of the State, and
on election day lin some cases) voted dry? Did
the Ant-Saloon league do these things? Did
the preachers do Them Did DR.. Cannon do
! that? He predicted the drys would carry nine
congressional districts and the state would go
/ dry by $1,000 Who sold columns to the liquor
dealers. and Notwithstanding the reports to the
contrary by those who canvassed the State. re-
peatedly declared to the liquor that their
business would be saved? Did The virgtnian
do that" All. no, The liquor dealers have
fallen into the hands Of their friends.
| Remember the liquor dealers don't go to
Sunday school, do they read The Vir-
ginian They come in contact with few peo-
pie beyond their allies and their victims. Their
ing to save it. 1t was not personal liberty To-
cal self-gA,ernment- or taxation that prompted
them. 7. was battle for my little brown
Jug" They had money. They had easy
way to make II. A way that required extra
amount of brains labor training They
were willing to hire men to help their
business They got the strongest shrewdest
most experienced men they could find. They
hired tho Local Sef-Government league. not to
4 Tight for the "age-long inalienable Jeffer-
rIa of elf for
W hich our fathers died. but hired II to fight
for my little brown jug" The liquor men
were not concerned about the farmers tax be-
ing increased but they were concerned about
what was in their jug being decreased. 1t
Just sounded better put these other nice
sounding, patriotic twisters in. IT sounds bet
ter any day TO say. II am for local option than
to say Il am for the bar-room." or course.
/ 1t soundn better to say. II believe in the in
alienable doctrine of personal liberty than to
say II o>i'eve In making drunkards for the
money there is in it" So the liquor dealers
paid the Local Self-Government league to fight
! for the little brown jug and not for the honor
of Thomas Jefferson. If the liquor folks didn't
pay all tire bills of the Local Self Government
league lie. somebody gay so. Then papers were
paid felp and workers were hired in all
parts Of the State. These workers were ex-
perIenced politicians. some Of them. They knew
the people and the State-the liquor dealers
didn't. Thesc workers canvassed the State thor
men 20. 600 majority. The liquor dealers didn't
know. but they felt these men they hired had
both Judgment and Justice enough 10 properly
irepresen. conditions In the State. So when their
hired workers promised 10000 against State
wide prohibition, the liquor men believed It.
Now they are cussing their hirelings. They
say these fellows either grossly deceived them
or else they didn't have judgment enough to
properly feel the pulse OF Virginia Surely a
miss Of nifty thousand votes is rather big
miss Now, reader. II you were running for
once and paid your campaign managers enor-
nous sums OF money to work for you. and
when they had spent your money and called
for more, they missed their forecast by half a
hundred thousand. and. In some cases, even voted
gainst you themselves. what would you think
| 7 regret to hear the liquor dealers cuss the
Locals1Self- Governmen league and their hired
workers. I don't like TO hear anybody cuss
am opposed to cussng for three reasons Firstly.
4 IL wrong: secondly. 1t sounds senseless thirdly
cuss words like fried eggs---they don't taste
good when they are cold. But 1t does seem
10 me II there In case In which ordinary
language Is !ntireiy inadequate for tho occa
sion, II was when the poor liquor dealers won't
dousa the ra--..-DisDatch. tina Jom->Ai and