The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1915-08-26

VIII mQIe NOLt6 tHNH hi tt1 8khob
against the saloon man ever heaped
up. Our saloon men are not proud OF
their business, but they are just as
proud Of their homes and wives and
little folks as you and I.
Argument viii weigh little with a
man who deliberately weighs the dol
lar above the good of his fellow man,
with a full understanding Of his de-
| cision, and on the other hand, the
liquor traffic advances by some Of the
ablest and most intelligent hirelings
in the country, arguments that win
consideration of many who are sin
cere in their way Of looking ut 1t. For
instance, they say: Liquor will be
sold anyway, and therefore, why not
have the fevenue?" That question
can be answered fairly, logically, and
convincingly. II Is our business to
answer that question, and 1t will be
answered during this campaign.
The only other question that even
needs an answer, is close kin to the
one Just stated: prohibition don't
prohibit" will you have the saloon
or the bootlegger;
When I first saw Tucumcari, IL was
q whistling post. Little more than
ten years have passed, and IL is n sub
stantially built town. Eight years
ago, I should have hooted the idea
Of enforcing prohibition here. Today
il is an insult to an intelligent cit
izenship TO say that prohibition can
not be enforced. 1t can be. In 1907
licensed gambling was prohibited.
There Is some gambling, but will you
say throw open the gambling house
and fill the saloon and gambling place
with tables and wheels, as IL was
eight years ago, simply because the
law is not absolutely enforced? |
concede that there will be some drink
ing and some violations of the law.
, We do not make penal laws which are
not violated. There never was a penal
/. law placed upon the statute book
which did not anticipate its own vio-
lation. else why was the penalty pro-
| vided? We can't convict? No, we
! don't convict all crimes of any class.
Murder is the hardest crime Of all
to convict Of. We do not convict in
all cattle cases. DO we take them
from the statute book?
II Tucumcari votes dry, Tucumcari
!. can stay dry, so dry that the fellow
a who is honestly trying to quit won't
have the saloon to pass daily and hour
~ as he goes about his work, so dry
that the boy who has not commenced
to use it, the school boy, will have the
highest possible protection thrown
about him.
Tkasn sp not an gulaDn mann in thts
town who would go to hoot-legginl
when the saloon Is prohibited as a le
gitimate business, and let me say L
you, Mr.. Voter, that il Tucumcari cal
e carry Prohibition against the re:u
lated saloon, intrenched as it is, witt
as good n class Of saloon men as is or
d%inarily found any place, it will not b'
the least difficult to prosecute, convic
~ and drive out the poor, hunted, dis
reputable, and friendless boot-leggel
who will come after the saloon. w,
y have rural prohibition in this state
10 and that Is violated, but, will you re
% peal the law prohibiting the saloon il
y rural districts?
swered before election.
Are you, Mr.. Voter, going to per
a init the liquor traffic to say TO you
"You are not man enough to enforc
the laws of the land" and for tina
: reason ask you not to make them
you can't enforce prohibition, there
fore, you better let US pay you a lit
tie to run your school on"
There are just two things that eve
brought a dollar of new money int
this town, one is the railroad pay roll
the other is the cattle-farming indus
try of this county. They can't ge
away. The railroad will not move
The farms will not move. Now, tn
saloons don't help the railroad pa.
roll and it don't help the ca.tle-farm
ing, not one cent. / concede that afte
the railroad payroll and the farm
bring the money into Tucumcari som
of it passes over the bar, and then
very small per cent goes to the Cit
evenue, and a very large per cen
- goes east TO the wholesaler and no
. one cent ever does come back. D
: the other hand il the money that goe
to the wholesaler is retained here TO
investment, If the farmer buys calve
instead of whiskey, we will have BET
ter farms and more cows, and NOR
valuation for taxation. IL the raj
road man buys homes and automobile
and comforts instead of wklskey,
he buys life insurance, instead of lie
uor, every man, woman and child /
the town will be better off.
This is the strongest popular NOV,
ment that has ever been started in Tt
cumcari. The county officials are fo
it, almost to a man; the railroad of
Gals have many of them expresse
themselves for prohibition; the roa
men are strong for prohibition; tn
shop men have made a strong expires
ion TO me in favor of prohibition
many of the most influential and r,
spected Spanish-Americans have e.
pressed TO me views most strongly Il
vorable 10 prohibition for Tucumcar