The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1917-04-20
BONE DRY" LEGISLATION BITTERLY FOUGHT BY LEADING
AN!-SAL00N LEAGUE OFFICIALS WHO CONSIDER
1T roo DRASTIC
FEAR OVERWHELM| NG REACTION
Anti Liquor Advertising Provisions of Reed Amendment Are
Looked Upon by Leading Journals the First Step To-
ward National Censorship of Newspapers and Direct
Blow at Freedom of the Press

Georgia or Alabama. In other words.
federal statute will make a pub
usher innocent in New York, a Grim
inal In Georgia or Alabama. providing
copy OF this paper is mailed to one
of these bone dry" states. AS the
New York Times says: IF the gov
eminent can edit advertisements, why
cannot it edit news and editorials
Take out liquor advertisements. and
accounts of a meeting of brewers or
dlstlllers. or an editorial opposing pro
hibition, might be next to be excised. .
Many journals claim that this law
might be'even so construed as to pre-
vent the circulation of many OF the
| classics and the worlds greatest
novels wherein alcoholic beverages
are presented in an attractive form. as
being conducive to sociability. More
than this, they assert that even the
Bible itself, with its many favorable
references to wines, might be forbid
| den circulation under this new fed
eral statute.
1t is easy to understand why Wayne
Wheeler, general counsel of the Anti
Saloon League and other leaders of
the dry forces were opposed to the
Reed amendment and fought its enact
ment as being too drastic and as like
ly TO produce a reaction in favor of
license and regulation Only one fea-
ture of this legislation was opposed by
the liquor dealers. This was it's tax
ing immediate effect, upon the sigma
ture Of the President. What they de-
sired, and what the banks and other
large business interests desired even
more than the liquor dealers, was a
sufficient time to readjust the financial
phase of this problem
The banks throughout the South had
advanced large sums of money to the
mail order dealers, who stocked up in
anticipation of their having reason
able length of time to dispose of their
goods.
The United States is the only civil.
lied nation destroying vast interests,
with no thought OF Justice, commercial
expediency or common sense.
This is the only civilized government
that destroys the property Of It's citi-
zens without compensation. Every
European government, when makini
changes In the laws affecting the sale
and manufacture OF liquor, are careful
TO compensate for every dollar OF In
jury done to employer and employee for
value OF stock. leases. goodwill. etc
This government which receives in
the neighborhood ofr$300 ,000,00000 an.
nually from the liquor business makes
| special rules and regulations for the
conduct Of the liquor business. The
distiller IL Obliged to carry goods in
bond four years and yet this Reed
rider TO the Postollice Appropriation
bill contemplated the destruction, with.
out day OF grace. OF many millions
of dollars worth of property. Forum
ately this radical destruction was pre-.
vented by n four months extension of
time. TO July LIST. which will enable
dealers 10 clear up their tax-paid stock
and liquidate their obligations TO the
banks
Comments Of the Press.
Some OF the comments, OF the Amer.
lean press on "bone dry" laws are Ger.
tainly interesting.
The New York Commercial says.
Congress- seems TO have decided 10
make prohibition states bone dry,
which will test the genuineness OF
those who have been voting TO keep
others frcm drinking
The Springfield (MassD Union: IF
the bone dry law is found 10 be con
stitutional and effective il will be a
sorry joke on the fourteen states which
adopted hypocritical form OF prohibi-
ton. These states voted for a kind
OF prohibition that does not prohibit,
but that Dermit any person 10 i'm
port>a senc~ous q1ant.ty. varying from
quart 10 ~ On q Month, OF liquor
for personal Use rat was the sort
or prohibition tie wanted. Ii they
had wanted bone 1ryness they would
have made their states bone dry with
ont congressional interference Con
gress has attempted e give them
something they neither asked Ger nor
desired
The News of Passaic. y. J.: There
are prohibitionists of two kinds-the
genuine and the make-believe, the lat
Ter casting their ballots merely for re-
putation's sake or 10 keep liquor from
some one else. while confident or be
ing able TO stock their homes with all
the liquor they can want"
The Cleveland Plaindealer quotes
Senator Brandegee, of Connecticut. as
saying: Papers published In wet ter
ritory are not violating the law by
printing liquor advertisements, ne
said. land don't think congress ought
~ use tha power OF the United States
| TO suppress the press unless congress
declares the liquor trsfne TO be unlaw.
tpl. s< ~