The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-03-19
VETS AND DRYs

some length upon a number of towns
in Massachusetts which had previous
" been dry, voting to permit the
manufacture and sale of beer with an
alcoholic strength of three and half
per cent. 1t also remarks that rum
orr are heard in many other states
concerning the laws to fix the alco-I
hole strength OF beverages which
will allow quite a higher per cent
than permitted in the Volstead en-
forcement act. Dissatisfaction also
exists over the seizure and search act
without warrants. 1t goes on to say:
With the constitutionality of the
eighteenth amendment now being
questioned in the supreme court, with
states practically setting aside the
acts of congress which do not suit
them, with agents of the prohibition
lists violating the constitution in the
course of their work. and in the eyes
of the world becoming violators of the
law while posing as officers of the
law, it seems that whether the public
has been interested previously or not.
it must take an interest now, and soon
there must be an alignment on one
side or the other. The preposteroIs
claims made by the anti-saloon league
during the war were hardly needed
in the general condition of affairs;
but since the war ended it is admit.
ted by fair minded people that too
much attention was given to crowd
Of politicians intent upon making a
great play in order to secure gree
gains The anti-salocn lague, after
the passage of the eighteenth amend
mcnt has allowed it to become known
that it favors perpetuation of organi-
zation, and has but little defense TO
offer wien it is declared that the con
tinued existence is to retain siecures
ard big salaries =
The Times Union stand in this in
stance as in iacst ali Others. is we'll
taken. but we rlust remember there
are always two sides to every story,
and as some say, 2 floor and ceiling
as we'll
Frankly we do not see how town
could go back to liquor after it has
once been dry. especially If the whole
state is dry Certainly the moral and
even the financial advantages are on
the side of prohibition. We are not
saying this because we are hide
bound anti, nor do we mean to be
hypocritical We do not condem a
person for taking a drink, that is his
privilege. We did it ourself when it
was obtainable, though we have never
been under it's influence. But at the
same time there were so many hun
dreds of thousands who abused their
privilege, who under the influence of
the demon rum, infringed on the priv
ileges and rights of others, that We
were willing to forgo our privilege and
rights in the matter that those of
others might be protected.
w agree with the Times Union, the
seizure and search without warrant
should stop But is the abuse at the
hands of few hundred or thousands
of govrnment agents. to be compared
with the abuse of law ard order in
dLlgNd in by those slaves of the liquor
traffic, some of which might be men
toned as murder, rapine, theft, empty
cupboards for hungry little mouths
and the many other hundreds of evils
which it breeds.
We are no more in favor Of paving
the leaders Of speakers promoting
prchibition fat salaries than is the
Times Union. There is graft in every
movement which is undertaken on a
broad scale. It takes time to weed
these ills out, and in time it will be
accomplished, but we certainly cannot
say the evils of prohibition are as
great as the evils Of liquor Orlando
RporteT-Star.