The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-02-08
PROHIBITION PROHIBITS

hN"A Nv"
critic SIN of the manner in which the
prohibition laws are enforced IN this
state, and sometimes in this county.
Not that the officers are blamed in
all cases, but it is stated that in spite
of what is done liquor flows freely,
liquor of an inferior grade, and that
it were better that we had the legal
lied sale of light wines and beer, and
may be of liquor too. Certainly If
we had light wines and beer sold le-
gally, it would be easier to get IL
quor illegally, and it would be only
a little time until we had the legal
lied sale of liquor, that is if the pro-
p~onents' of the argument had Their
way.
For the most part these conten-
tions come from those who would like
to see the legalized sale of liquors
of all kinds, from persons who are
not now and never were prohibition
lists. But occasionally a prohibitionist
becomes disguised and is inclined to
share the views of others at least in
part. To all of these we commend the
remarks of former Governor John
Gary Evans, in an interview given
the Columbia State Tuesday. Mr..
Evans has not been a leader in mat
ters affecting prohibition, we believe.
He was the author, we think, of the
first Dispensary Law. Perhaps we
might say that he is not in fact a
prohibitionist. But he has lately
come from Europe where he has wit
messed some of the debasing results
of liquor, wines and beer, and this is
what he is quoted as having said to
the State representative:
81 come back to my country more
Of a prohibitionist than I ever was,"
said John Gary Evans, former gov
ernor of South Carolina, last night
while at the State House where he
was watching with much interest the
proceedings of the legislature. Mr..
Evans returned to America q short
time ago after having spent several
months in Europe and northern At
RIGA.
II have seen so much of Wine
drinking and whiskey drinking and
beer drinking; so few persons who
were actually sober, so many evi-
dences of degeneracy brought about
by excess We use of alcohol, that I
feel like commencing Jul country
because we took alcohol in hand be-
fore it had gotten a death grip on
Jul people.
Not that you see many people in
Europe in the cutters dead drunk,
yet there are few vino are sober at
any time. Day and night they are
under the influence of alcohol.
Lloyd George is the only man in
Europe who has any common sense
and l might say he is almost the only
sober me-.
moral. conditions in England are
at the lowest ebb. All of Europe is
stepped in immorality-there is no
Christianity over there. The people
60 through the forms but they are
absolutely ignorant of the teachings
of the Christ. The larger cities on the
continent are worse than Sodom and
Gomorrah, and it is a wonder that
they have not been destroyed. The
Arabs of Egypt were the only sober
people I saw"
Sensible men everywhere and of
whatever persuasion, whether prohi-
bitionists for themselves or for 9TH
ers, temperance men, or advocates of
legalized sale of liquor should agree
that Mr.. Evans makes a strong Ease
for prohibition. The country owes
much to the men who have led the
fight in South Carolina and in the
whole country to Danish liquor. Many
men would owe them more if they
would quit patronizing the illegal
tfaf6cker in the kind of liquor sold
hereabout, because it is still doing
the deadly work which it has accom-
plisaed in Europe. ~Inebriety, degen-
eracy, sickness, and many other ills