The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-11-04

, Of character and sterling citizenship,
/ with the courage Of their convictions,
/ TO take a firm stand for justice and
relief from oppression so much cher
| lshed and exempl1fied by precedent in
| the history of this grand old Com
| mon wealth
/ wish, how ever, to call attention
to an editorial in the News Leader"
bearing date of October 81. which. in
conformity with its former policy.
which ia too well known TO permit OF
description, criticzes the action of the
Legislature in drafting aud enactins
| the prohibition law. ressserting their
former declaration, that the Legisls-
ture acted at the direction and under
| the domination OF the Saloon
! League" and further stating their OPP
/ position to the passage OF such law.
| Nevertheless, agreeing. now that the
Will of the peopla Is law to lend Its
aid in the enforcement of same. which
] think, is commendable position,
and the on, every public-spirited citi-
zen should take to say the least.
| In order 10 show the trend of their
c1usion. ] will quote a few sentences.
yer hstun from the opening para
graph of this editorial, which begins
b. sayine, Midnight Will mark an
epoch but II Will he an epoch IN law
rather than appetite. The clock will
toll the hour when the prohibition act
goes into effect. Just as the calendar
for centuries has marked the begin
ming of one statute or the ending of
another; but the. clock and the cal
endar cannot forthwith destroy that
craving for stin1ulants. which is as
old as the human race and almost as
deeply seated as the instincts OF
man. upon sober appreciate ton OF
these facts more than upon the juhila-
ton Of one element, or tie detection
of another--the outcome of prohibi-
ton in Virginia will depend Hereto
fore education has been placed before
legislation: hereafter legislation Is to
set the standard for education, in
stead Of having the laws, as In the
past reflect the education Of the peo-
pie in temperance We must strive to
bring the practice OF temperance to
the standard Of the law. We view
ntoxtcants as a. treacherous servant
and a brutal master to be conlbatted
at every turn, but only to be conquer
ed when the benign influences of re-
ligion and the awakened morality Ct
man have quenched the ancient Ares
Of ancestral appetite in this fight to
could substitute for the slow attrition
of education the sharp offensive of a
single law" Quoting further from the
above editorial which goes on to say:
We must at the outset remem Der,
that the law in its existing form rep
resents the finished Judgment, for the
present at least, OF those who put ii
on the statute books"
The logical conclusion drawn from
the above quotations and from thu
editorial as a whole Is. that the News
Leader did not and does not now
sanction the prohibition law: but now
operative. IT will. under protest, he
main neutral under its operation as
affects the public generally.
In The opening sentence Of the ed
itorial quoted from above, which says
the passing of the saloon will mark an
epoch in law rather than in appetite,
II the News Leader comprehends the
meaning of the word law" to be the
crystalizaHon of the will % the ma
jority OF the people of Virginia. hav-
ing its origin in an enlightened pub
| lie conscience and expressed through
the medium of procedure prescribed
by the Constitution and Legislature of
inns STATE tneIl IL IidS stated the prop
osition correctly as this ls the source
of all law
AS to the appetite and craving for
stlmulants referred to. which is char
acterized as being as old as the hu-
man race" we admit the power of
appetite to dominate and control the
Individual and we also contend that
person is master of himself and a
benefit to others to the extent that
he controls such appetite, mentally.
morally and physically. further, If a
person is master of himself and his
own appetites. he should all the more
readily be willing to sacrifice his
own personal privileges and appetite
In order that temptation may be re-
moved from reach of a weaker
brother. We admit that there IL
certain class of unfortunates in this
State and every other, where the sa-
loon has held forth. that have become
slaves to their appetites. but beca use
such condition exists 1t does not
necessarily follow, that such institu-
tons should he retained in our midst
and encouraged in order to appease
their appetites and incidentally cause
others TO follow in their footsteps
such argument is reputed by the past
history OF the liquor traffic. as well
as by all intelligent and fairminded
people The saloon is prolific in the
production Of such subjects. and the
only effective and logical way to re-
lieve the public of the burden of these
unfortunates, Is to remove the cause
by extin gushing the saloon.
AS to the contention that here
after legislation is to set the standard
for education rather than as hereto
fore. have education placed before
legislation and reflect it's influence
thereon. In commenting on this
statement ] am compelled to say. that
any individual, or newspaper, even
though they themselves should be so
ignorant and far behind the times
and out of touch with the progress of
civilization. as TO believe such a state
ment should not presume upon the
credulity of the people al large. and
especially the people Of this state. to
put faith In any such doctrine, or ac-
cept it as a true statement of fact,
the prohibition laws enacted in this
State. and every other, had their
origin and inception in education and
an enlightened public conscience, the
saloon has been proven by unimpeach-
able evidence 10 be the foe of progress
and civilization and a curse to society.
as well as hlndrsnce in the path of
all legitimate business and industry.
/ repeat thar education is the main
factor, reflected in the action of the
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