Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-18

Until after the passage OF tho Vol
stead act.
A lone ray of hope comes from Chi
tacc. where, according tu recent
news item, the police have ordered the,
saloons closed during the packers
strike. 1t eau no longer b, cl I'M ID
that a Chicago policeman is .oo inno
cent 10 know a saloon whe1 lie sees
un-.
Somebody may be inquisitira enough
TO ask why il is il the Chicago police
can close the saloons when there is a
strike among the packing house men,
they cannot keep them closed when
nothing moro serious is rre'ng than
a debate in Congressl Without being
too critical, let US give Chicago full
measure of credit and face the future
uopefuly Some day thera may be a
strike in Pueblo county and Sonic one
III authority may order the closing of
the soadhouses.
The folks who thought that the
adoption Of the Eighteenth amend
ment was gong to settle the problem
Of slcohol might have taken warming
from the story. of King Canute. The
king in those days had as much anth-
crity a. both houses Of congress, ten
executive departmsnt-snd all the fed
erol conris put tcgetGr snd the
cour;iers, or coolies, or whatever they
called royal parasites those days, told
his majestic joblots that he eouid
make the country dry by proclama-
ton against the Atlantic ocean. The
king tried it but it wouldn't work.
Prohibition will make the u. S. a.
completely dry when an amendment
TO the constitution will prevent sugar
turning into alcohol when The condi-
lions are right for fermentation. But
that kind of prohibition is one thing
and the return of the old time saloon
i. quite another thing,
Outside Of Chicago and few other
pisces where poisoning ones fellow
human beings for profit is regarded as
one Of the inalienable rights of man,
the person who would vote for local
option or for high. low or middle Ii
censcs for whisky shops is as rare as
tho alfalfa grower who has made
money in 1921.
Admitting tha, the United States.
from Pike's Peak to Hoboken. is as
wet a. the deck OF a destroyer in q
head sea. that alcohol will .bc made as
long as grain will fcrmeut, anl flat
some people will drink alcohol when
ever they can get IT. the faet remains
that present conditions are better
than they were before prohibition be-
came more >. less of fact.
I, may he that public sentiment is
an island of prejudice surrounded by
nm ocean of ignorance. but whatever
else it is. public sentiment is the Big
Ross in this man and woman Is coun-
Try. And public scntimen, is against
the booze business. wholesale, retail
and every other way.
The real problem ism to stop from
changing sugar into alcohol. " lsn I
to stop persons from drinking a'cobo'.
The problem is to punish criminals
and conspirstors who make business
Of poisoning their fellow human be
ings for the moucy iiiere is in the
business. That ia -oruething that can
he done, and it ia something that will
bc done just as soon as public sen'i-
ment understands the difference be
tween what King Capute could do and
what he couldn't do.
Maybe if the Chicago people see
what an improvement IL is to keep the
saloons closed during the packers
strike. more of them will he in savor
of keeping them closed all the time.
And maybe if Pueblo county has =
few more trials like tbot Tabor case.
some of our own suburban hotli"uses
of vice aud crime will receive less toll
erance from public officials. How
much palmer than that will IL have 10
be saidf
Walter l.. Wilder.