The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-10-26
CURRENT COMMENT.


The Norfolk Nirginian pilot has re-
vised its statement, referred to in
The Daily Press OF Sunday, in regard
TO the quantity OF ardent spirits that n
citizen Of Virginia may keep in his
home for family use after the prohi-
hition act shall have gone into effect.
! n its issue of yesterday our Norfolk
contemporary says:
Last Wednesday Chief of Police
Kizer visited Richmond for confer
ence with Commissioner Peters con-
corning this mOoted phase OF the pro-
hibition law Upon his return to Nor
folk he announced that the commis-
sioner said one gallon would be the
limit. This has not been verified by
any decision from the attorney gem
eral, so the people have adopted the
show me attitude and are going
right on with their purchases
1T is believed the commissioner
meant not that one gallon is the
pre- Noyembe limit for use after the
first. bat that IL individuals are sus-
pected OF selling liquor the posses
sion of more than q gallon would be
prima facte evidence of guilt"
Naturally, for that is just what the
law provides, and Commissioner Pet
crS will enforce the law as he finds It
on the books. IT may be that the next
Legislature will amend the law in that
respect and place a limit on the guam
ftty Of liquor that citizen may keep
! IN his home for family use, hut 1t Is
| quite certain that the present enact
ment makes no such restrictions, and
It is perfectly clear from the text of
the act that no such restrictions were
| intended
No mans premises will be Invaded,
unless there be good ground for sus-
picion that he is making Il liquor shop
I Of his home. and in such a case the
! flndinR of more tEan a gallon of wine
! or distilled liquor or three gallons of
! beer Will be prima fAcie evidence that
he has the liquor there for the pur-
pose OF sale. Rut the trainers of the
| bill were too wise to make the law so
offensive as TO arouse popular indig-
nation against it. The object of the
! law is 10 stop the sale of ardent
spirits in Virginia and by stopping
the sale to reduce the drink evil TO the
! minimum. But it Is not a fanatical
enactment and II does not undertake
! to regulate the affairs of the house
| hold
! Or. James Cannon, superintendent
/ Of the AntiSaloon League of Virginia.
gave very clear presentation OF the
| law, in an address delivered by him
| In Richmond on Sunday last He said
| that the object Of the law was to abol-
| ish the manufacture and sale Of any
snd all liquors that will produce intox-
icauon. and he declared that every
Iprecaution had been taken to prevent
evasion OF the law. We could not
go so far said he, "ae to say that n
man should not drink liquor That Is
( a question that our constitutional law
yers have been threshing over for a
long time. but we have not come to
! the point yet, that the law will say
| that man cannot drink liquor. But
| the law does try to cirCumscribe a
man who drinks liquor. as far as pos
sibie. Therefore, the law says that a
man cannot drink liquor out in So
ciety. He can drink nowhere except
In his own bona fide home. You say
that 1t is bad enough to drink 1t there.
Yes, II is but we are protecting So
ciety to the very limit, and we have
used language just as sweeping as we
think 1t Is possible for language to be
used, so that no man can possibly
evade the law
we must understand" said Or.
Cannon in concluding his able ad-
dress. that this is the law Of Virginia,
| that It is a reasonable law; that 1t is
! a law that Is passed for the protec-
| ton of society. for child, for son. for
daughter, for family, and that it is our
business as patriotic citizens of the
Commonwealth to see to IT that this
law Is enforced just as any other laws
are enforced not simply because we
have policemen. but because we have
| q citizenship which will not tolerate
its open fragrant violation when the
| police are not around"
That sane and patriotic view must
| appeal 70 every good citizen of the
state, regardless of his views on pro-
h'b1tion as an abstract proposition.
Afler Novembe ! the prohibition law
Will be the law OF the Commonwealth
and 1t must be upheld.-Newport
News Daily Press.