The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-11-20

PrOhfbfffOn and Business In virginia.
When a State repudiates liquor and
swears off she finds herself in about
the same fix as an individual who
swears off. The individual who has
been accustomed to his dram will suf-
fer much when his dram is taken
away from him. He will feel awk-
ward. he will feel blue and he will be
sure for a season that he is doomed
to eternal torment
SO 1t Is with a state The state
finally kicks over the liquor traffic
and mounts the water wagon Then
and there the state begins its real hat
tie against booze; II feels awkward
with its saloons closed 1t feels blue.
and it Is sure for 4 season that bust
ness has gone to pot.
But Just as the individual eventual
rids his system of the last faint Of
alcohol and is convinced that he is in
flnitely better off than he ever was in
his life before. so will the state finally
readjust itself to the condition OF sani~
~ and sobriety and discover that it Is
infinitely better off.
l. our sister State, Virginia. i- now
going through the process of SOLDERING
up after q. lag OF many centuries 1t
goes hard with her. getting over that
jag right now. Z was in Norfolk last
week. and hotel md cafe men tola NE
that they were SURF Virginia was
ruined, that business never would be
THE same in Norfolk again It was
pointed out TO me that the railroads
were not hauling half the number Of
passengers into Norfolk since the sa
looms and wholesale liquor houses were
closed
My svmpathtAs ars with the hotel
because thev are agonizIng unneces-
sarily. The present demoraiized state
OF business in Virginia following the
closing of he saloons Is only tenn
porary. The State is going through
the SOLDERING up process of the morn.
Ing after" Tomorrow Virginia will
find herself III as fiddle and doing
as big business as ever. And 1t will
be clean business.
1t is true that not so many people
are travelling on the trains to and from
the cities or Virginia now. The class
that has done the travetIng heretofore
has very little desire to travel now
With the ban on both bad women and
liquor In Norfolk. Norfolk is not SO
attractive to thousands of misguided
men as It used to he The fool man
who had hankering to go to Norfolk
lot of bad women and fill his hide with
a lot Of red liquor doesn't have such
an impelling desire any more. because
the women and the booze are not so
handy as they were, You don't see
that man on the trains now. looking
as gay and chesty as a peacock going
into Norfolk. and looking like sick
hog coming out of Norfolk. Norfolk
misses that man on her streets. in her
sAafes and In her hotels.
But just wait a few months, The
man who has been spending all his
spare time and money on booze and
other designations in Norfolk will have
money in the bank. He viii have
money to give his wife and children.
And you are going to see that mans
Wife and children on the trains few
months from now. And when the wife
gets to Norfolk she will spend the
money that formerly went into booze
and lis allies for clothing and house
furnishings and the finer luxuries of
life. Her business will be worth more
to Norfolk than the business of
score of rowdy men going up on
theater train and coming back bloated
In the morning
Prohibition will help legitimate bus
mess In Virginia. For the first time
IN years woman may feel safe in
travelling to and from Norfolk. wo-
man can go TO Norfolk now and get
back home on a night train without
being insulted and spewed upon by
drunken brutes-a fact worth a mil
lion year to Virginia department
stores.
Prohibition In Virginia will help
North Carolina. too. North Carolina
has sent too much money to Virginia
for booze and wasted too much poten-
ttal manhood on Virginia liquor and
other so-ealled necessary evils" for
which Virginia has been infamous.
The kind of business which prohibit
ton has actually hurt in Virginia
ought to have been destroyed long
aso.---W. O s.. In Elizabeth City On