Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1921-07-21
BAYING THE moon

q man WHO nau EVIDENTLY, even
voraciously and vociferously, been
dallying with the product of some
anti-Volstead establishment. He was
extremely stewed, if | am any Judge
His words and actions at the table
were so conspicuous that the whole
room recognized and either pitied or
censured him silently. Perhaps some
of the men there envied him his easy
access to the spurious elements which
had produced the red face, the thick
speach, and the ridiculous air of POM
posity which he betrayed. But it is
safe to say that none envied him
these various symptoms or manifest
ations by which it was known to all
discerning witnesses that he was a
member of that growing fraternity
whose desire for inebriants has found
a more or less safe and easy method
and means of satisfaction.
Now the sight of an intoxicated
man is more rare than it used to be.
Furthermore, one is aroused by such
sight, for other reasons than its
rarity. For one thing, a man who
appears in public as drunk as the
man referred to above has broken
more laws than many "lifer" in the
States Prison. A list of his viola
tons of statute and ordinance would
look like an abstract of title to a lot
on Grand Avenue or Michigan Boule-
ward. His program from where he
obtained the Incorporate juice to the
eating place where we had him under
observation, would, if the officers Of
the law had been keen on doing their
duty, have been as fraught with
danger as the Indian gauntlet" or
the pirates plank. It took courage
to run such desperate chances, dutch
Courage, perhaps, but he had it
anyway.
But even before that this man
showed more than the usual or or
binary amount of courage. He was
even foolhardy. Every day we hear
of someone whose toes have been
turned to the zenith for the remain
der of time by the potent action of
someone's hip pocket flask. Eyes
which were wont to brighten at sight
of the bead in sparkling glass, have
been closed to the light forevermore
by very moderate partaking of the
liquid TINT that drips from the worm
of an illicit still. Lips that formerly
showed eager readiness at blowing
the creamy foam from off a beaker
or stein of Milwaukee or St. Louis
brew have been rendered cold, rigid
and silent by acting as the gates
through which passed into the ali
mentary canal of their owner a pint
or two of preparation made by
neighbor in accordance (approxi-
mately) with a recipe which he paid
tramp five dollars for, merely be-
cause the tramp claimed to have
worked in the Anheuser Busch
Brewery in the palmy days of old.
Yes, he is indeed a brave man who
lays hold upon a jug of "moon" or
seizes his neighbor's prescription
flask, or draws the stopper from
bottle Of his own home brew. He
takes more chances of a violent death
than an aviator who goes up in a
broken airplane. A lion-tamer has a
strong and vigorous hold upon life
compared with the drinker of today.
Insurance companies are coming soon
to the time when the casual drinker
of passing alcoholic fluids will be
classed with the employees of a
oower factory as extremely bad
risks.
The war proved that very many
| Americans are brave Postwar pro-
hibition is proving that many Ameri-
cans are supermen when it comes to
taking desperate chances with all to
lose and little if anything to gain.
We heard it declared that right here
in Wisconsin Rapids real liquor had
been sold over the bar more freely
during the last two weeks than ever
before in twenty years. That is part
ly because there are not so many bars
as there used to be, SO each one now
does larger percentage of the total
business. But that declaration car
ries with it a deeper significance and
a more sinister implication.
Recently few youths were arrest
ed and punished with small fines for
dispensing illicit liquor in an illegal
manner, or words to some such effect
as that. That was all very we'll, anc
as it should be, SO far as it goes
But the circumstance, coupled with
the declaration quoted above leads
one to the suspicion that the ''bars'
which have not been noticed by tn,
police and which are doing a more
) flourishing business than ever befor
without paying a license, too) ar
so anxious to get more of the IN
) molested and profitable business tina
they are sending the officers of tn