Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-02-08

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whelming sense Of sorrow that he
had refused the confidence Edith
had asked, the children playing in
the Circle, his calculation of what
to say to give the best impetus to
his fght-all Of it stayed in his
mind for a long time, a phantas-
magoria Of pain.
Congress will be in session
eight more days" Waller was
saying. Lets give them all we've
got during that time. First of all,
[ want to print a story in the
morning giving your whole theory
about this liquor business"
"How do you meant" Smith in
quired, feeling the necessity of
forcing interest in anything but
selfthought.
We've explained it all before,
in broken doses" the other sug-
gested. "What / want this time is
to sum it up. Tell it to me. You
always put something fresh into
it,
Suppose we put it this way"
Smith replied, his swift pace tax
ing the gait Of Waller: "prohibi,
ton of the traffic, manufacture,
and sale of alcoholic liquors in the
United States is the first essential.
Put whisky out of the reach of
everybody. To shut off a state
here and there is we'll enough in
its way. 1t does good, but it does
not regard the welfare Of the 9TH
er states. What we must have is
national prohibition.
Nov, we cannot expect to take
away from the public a vicious
form Of selfindulgence without
giving something better in return.
Therefore, the second article of
my creed is recreation good
parks for picnics, municipal play
grounds for young and old, cheap
but good theaters, public theaters
If necessary, band concerts, every
thing that amuses and entertains.
That is, we must have normal,
wholesome amusements to drive
away the loneliness and grayness
of life that keep women on their
doorsteps and drive men into the
corner saloon. So much drunken
ness is directly due to the inabil-
ity Of people to amuse them
~selves!"
THAT is absolutely true" the
newspaper man agreed. "About a
year ago a wholesale liquor dealer
told me-and he was exceedingly
profane about it: In six or eight
years Well have prohibition ev-
erywhere in this country. Already
the moving picture shows have
cut the profits Of the corner saloon
SO per cent. That's our trouble.
They re amusing people. Give
'em amusement and they'll quit
drinking whisky The liquor sell
er agrees with you"
cts an undeniable fact"
Smith declared. "Now, the third
essential is better sanitation, bet
ter health laws, better care of the
poor, better housing facilities for
everybody. Sickness and disease
are great travelling men for the
whisky trade. It's the sickly,
burntout man who tries to find
false strength in alcohol. We must
have a better general health.
There must be fewer starving chill
dren, fewer women and men
crushed by poverty in the slums.
There must be preached a bigger
gospel of charity"
"That sums it up Just as ]
wanted it," Waller commented.
1T shows so clearly that prohibi.
ton is necessarily more than mere
prohibition. 1t is the cornerstone
of a brand new charity and citi-
zenship. It brings with it more
happiness, more health, and more
holiness. 1t makes possible more
delightful conditions than could
ever obtain in the presence Of al
cohol. Isn't that true9"
Absolutely" Smiths old
famelike enthusiasm had never
been more marked. "A mans
body cannot be strong if it has to
fight against a cancer. An army
is whipped before it goes into bat
tie if it is honeycombed with
treachery. Whisky is like that. It
is the cancer which wars against
the best impulses and thoughts Of
the body polite. It is the traitor
Of every army of progress. Any
man who drinks will tell you
that"
THAT delectable personality,
that genius infested person, that
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