The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-07-17


ly the whole idea OF civilization is
founded upon the self surrender OF
the privilege to do as he pleased
that man enjoyed during his jun
gle existence. He surrendered his
natural rights when he accepted
the protection of the law. The
notion of unrestricted personal
liberty leads straight back to the
unmitigated selfishness Of savag-
cry. In a democracy, which pre-
supposes mutual consideration and
a willingness to sacrifice freedom
of individual action for the good
of the whole body polite, it is alb
surd to exclaim at a restriction
that has been approved by the
Representatives of the people after
due and careful elaboration. Per-.
sonally we are prejudiced against
prohibition; as an individual we
dislike it, because it debars us
from beverages that were whole
some and palatable, but we bow
to the will of the majority in this
republic. At the present moment
it is being shown again that the
United States is a country of quiet
majorities and vociferous minorl-
ties. The larger number of the
American people desired prohibit
ton, and they got it in a proper
way through their representatives
in congress and in the state leg
islatures. The amendment to the
constitution may seem objection
able to some of us, but it will
stick. No we'll informed person
can imagine for moment that
there will be speedy reaction
against the law forbidding the sale
of intoxicants in this country. The
experience of the states that
went dry in advance of federal
prohibition Is dead against such a
hope Where prohibition has been
adopted, it is popular, for several
reasons; it promotes thrift and in
creases business: it helps the wO-
men by preventing the men from
squandering their wages; 1t is a
factor of safety in the performance
of dangerous work; it increases
efficiency in every form of labor.
These are real gains, against which
the loss of sociability, the decrease
of vivacity, and the deprivation of
elf-indulgence however harmless
seem trivial indeed. 1t Is true, Of
course, that to the average work.
ing man an occasional drink Is
c0unter-irritant when his temper
~ on edge, and 1t may be that an
increase Of unrest In the ranks Of
labor may ensue from the self-re-
preston imposed by prohibition,
but against this must be set the
stimulation to disorder, especially
during times of strike, caused by
the excessive drinking of intoxi-
cants, or, more often, by the mod
crate drinking of the poisonous
stuff usually sold in the saloons OF
a mining settlement. New habits
are not easily acquired by men no
longer young, and for this we
make due allowance. The weak
ness of the argument against pro-
hibition Is exhibited pathetically
in the two articles for and against,
in the current issue Of
'McClure's' magazine, In which so
clever writer as Gertrude Ath-
erton Is able to present only the
feeblest retort to DIR. Frank
Cranes defense of the new law.
The bugaboo of the drug habit is
being raised by the very people
who contend that prohibition can
not be enforced; they insist that
the lack Of drink will provoke the
use of narcotics and In the same
breath assert that the law against
alcoholic liquor will be a dead let
.er. Our own opinion, backed by
Is that the decrease in
thinking will cause a marked in
,rease in the consumption OF can
ly, because the human system
reeds some alcohol and will gem