Arizona republican., 1915-03-31
Epulsnd's Third Enemy

The statement of David Lloyd-George that Great Britain fighting three enemies, the Teutonc allies anu drink, brings to mind that Great Britain, more than any other country is helpless against what We call in this country the liquor traffic We mean that it would difficult suppress the traf- fife there than anywhere else in the world
 Great Britain probably ranked second of the great countries of the world sufferer from the drink habit Russia first, and the United States third In comparison with those three countries, Germany and France may be said to be negligible sufferers.
 We have how Russia has been made a pro hibton country by the mere stroke of pen We have also seen how prohibition laws have been en- acted in many states and districts in the United states They are everywhere recognized as bind ing: though they are in many cases violated there is no uprising against them, and the effect has been everywhere to curtail the consumption of quor
 Russian prohibition is rigidly enofrced we sup pose against the wishes of very large majority of the people and in this country in many proh- bition districts perhaps a majority of the people not actively interested in the enforcement of the law but they accept the law, the work of an active and interested minority. If congress should enact a national prohibition Jaw it would be cepted as the law, regardless of the attitude of the ma jory to it. The same thing would happen ill France, and it would easily happen in Germany for in those countries, in the United States the peo- ple yield unGuestioningly to the aw-inakins powers In Russia the people have never had any choice in the matter.
 We do not mean that the British law less on the contrary there is other country where laws held sacred where they ale more generally observed rigdly enforced. It is more difficult, however to enact laws in Eng land for there law is carefully prepared ex- precision q popular sentiment and it IS more apt to be a law that the people have considered and decided they want.
 Nowhere else in the world are people so jealous of what they, believe to be their personal rights English makers. therefore consider this charac terstic of the people ;n the preparation of legisa tion. The Englishman is certainly not lacking Tn patriotism but, unlike the German the French man. he does look upon his country some mysteriously sacred thing. but as useful instru- ment for promoting his happiness, and his hapri- ness and ll-being not promoted by an inter ference with what he conceves 0 he his rights privileges. He remembers that before the time of King John he had rights privileges. He has them since and is disposed to surrender none of them E
 The Engishman holds doctrine entirely tithetcal that of Trietschke the great Prussian historian, the people exist for the state It is idea of the Briton that states exist for the peo -pe
 It will take than which those who in authority tell him threatens the very exist of~the Dstion to make him change his habits Probably the Engshman will sometime decide that the right drink when and where he pleases is which be surrendered to the advantage of himself, and then Great Britain will be a country where prohibition will prohibit in degree uneX- rerienced anywhere else in the world.
 We speak of the American citizen a sovereign Frequently is only slave, but the Engshman is. of all civilized the real sovereign above the throne and parliament