The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-10-23

intoxicate, Is that which will pro-
duce the state OF ;ntoxication. In
other words. IL Is that which Will
change a sensible. intelligent. INDUS
trious, loving father. son or brother
into a crazed brute into a driveling
idiot. into a miserable pauper. into A
dangerous criminal into damned
soul.
Intoxicants Take Away Power.
We have no law against any liquor
which docs not intoXicate. The whole
thought is that the State OF Virginia
from this time on is going to prohibit
the manufacture and sale of that
which will do this thing-of that
which viii intoxicatc. And why
should anybody object TO the pro-
hihition OF a thing which will cause
man to lose control OF himself? That
perhaps is the best, most common
sense definition Of intoxication, for no
one can decide for himself what he
will Dc II control Of his physical
powers are gone He will stagger, he
will roll. he will wallow in the gut
ter. Furthermore he has lost con-
troll Of his mind He no longer kndws
how to think connectedly He cannot
determine what he will do. and II he
determines he has not the power TO
send that thought down to the muscles
and 10 put them into action. He has
lost control of himself. and the State
has gone 10 the point OF saying in this
law that men shall not manufa cture
and sell A thing which will cause our
citizens to lose control of themselves.
OF course. It destroys control over
moral actions. Certainly man is re-
sponsihle who commit crime under
tho influence OF lIduor that he him self
took voluntarily, for he - responsible
for the first act and. therefore, for
All that comes from It. But you will
not think for one moment of saying
that a man who is intoxicated is cap
able Of any moral action while he Is
Intoxicated. for there Is no moral
sense In him He is drunken. crazed
brute. and his moral sentiment has
been destroyed for the time being,
and it only requires d sufficient num-
Der Of times to obliterate II, and to
destroy him practically as a moral be-
ing
Vow that Is our law. You ask what
f. this prohibition law, II anybody
asks you what our law Is tell them
this law Ia to prohibit the manufac-
ture and sale OF that which iutoxicates
men. hrutalizcs men and destroys them
ns moral beings. and 1t is pretty diff
hcult matter to come up against that
that has such a fundamental purpose.
That is why the men on the other
side make no real attempt to argue
the care. Occasionally they make an
effort to attack it from the financial
standpoint. But no man comes along
anl caNs that he can prove that the
saloon is a good thing Now they
simply say II is better to sell 1t un-
dor license than to sell II some other
way. They say that II we have the
law II cannot he enforced. but they
never attempt now days to prove
that the liquor traffic is good. They
only say that you cannot suppress it.
and IT Is mistake. therefore. to have
u law which YOU cannot enforce.
VIII of People of Virginia.
Now, my friends, the object OF this
law Is to try to carry into effect the
viii Of the people Of Virginia, the law
~ The people Of Virginia as expressed
In that statement that no man shalt
manufacture or sell liquor which will
produce intoxication.' That Is the
law Of the people Of tho state The
other seventy odd paragraphs are just
@ for tn" one purpose Of trying to sec
10 1t that the Will Of the people is
carried into effect why should We
mot slmply say. This Is the law Of the
> sovereign people OF Virginia that In
toVlcating liquor shall not be sold,
b .ond stop at that. 7 will tell you why
Tho liquor traffic has as its twin
tar roots Appetite and Covctousness
+, js hard to say which root has the
ttlruEcr hold. and which root has kept
the Tree in fourishinG condition. Az
p,IIte, the longing of man to get
ard To drink that which will intoxi-
cate Covetousness, the longing OF a
man to make money the easiest way
he can, no matter how despcable
q no matter how horrible may be the
/ results. We have those two enemies
to fight and the reason for all the
rest Of this law is found right there
= There are men In the Commonwealth
! or Virginia who are the slaves Of APP
d petite, and who want to crafty their
, appetite for intox cating liquor. ant
I there are men In Virginia who are
: the slaves OF covetousness. and who
want 70 line their pockets with money
; gained by mlnistering to the appetites
ef these other men. II there was no
body IN Virginia who had an appe
tito for strong drink. there would not
be any need except just to say that
II Is prohibited. If there were no COW
etous people in the State. we would
not have any reason for all the rest
, / of this pamphlet. But we have them
both We nave man VINO nave this
appetite, and who will be willing tc
, do Il great many things to get liquor
The very men who least Of all should
have II are the men who will com
pass land and sea TO get their drink
Of liquor. And we have around us
= men who aee very sullenly, very In
1 diFnantly, very regrettfully giving UT
their business Oh how they hate to
, give up. the way they have made
, money.
I have certain degree of under
standing Of how a man who has made
+ money in a certain way all his life
and has found that an easy way to
> get the things OF lie he wants, the
: luxufies of Me md the necessities OF
: life, is unwilling to give up that bus
| mess. can understand how some
mon who sell liquor TO make money
are going to try 10 do It stu.
Two Thoughts of the Law.
This law has these two thoughts
embodied In all the rest Of It. have
read II a good many times. have
tried TO see II there were any holes
In II. have taken the language and
. twisted II all about. I have slept on
II. have dreamed about 1t. have
/ done about almost anyone could &c
absorb It. I can say in all good CON-
science tina: We have a law which haa