The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1922-10-06
A COUNTER CHALLENGE
TO THE BEER BOOSTERS
Invited To Help Enforce Prohibit
ton sH

In a statement published by the
Chicago Tribune Mr.. A. d. Plamon-
don, President of the Illinois Divi-
sion of the National Association OPP
posed to Prohibition, challenged the
drys to help determine public senti-
ment on beer and wine.
In his statement Mr.. Plamondon as
usual denied that his organization
favors the return of the saloon. And
as usual he failed to make clear how
beer and wine can be restored with
out reviving the legalized saloon. A
part of Mr.. Plamondon's challenge"
reads as follows:
I'VE invite the drys to cooperate
with US in placing both sides of this
live question before the voters, leav-
ing them to be the referees. Let the
men and women of the League
practice good sportmanship, as i'll a
tug-of-war or in friendly assault-at-
arms contest.
Our opponents unfairly cry out
that our light wines and beer platform
is only one Of can1oufage to get wills
ky and the groggery back. Untrue
and deliberately and menda cious'y
misleading and an imposition upon the
publicp'
MANY of the leading men and
women in the United States are d.
rcctly identified with our organization
and its movement They are men and
women who gaze with reverence upon
the earliest monument to American
| freedom-the Declaration of In
dependence-that great charter to
which, from the foundation of our
republic, real patriots have looked
back as the cornerstone of American
liberty, marking the structure of our
rights to justice, to security of person
and property and to good govern
ment. 1t guarantees that no man shall
sell, or deny, or delay the right to
justice"
The Editor of the American Issue
has sent out this counter-challenge to
the beer and wine organizations:
Plamondon, leader of the beer and
wine advocates, asks US to cooperate
with him in campaign to learn the
wishes of the voters in regard to
modification of Prohibition laws.
We ask Plamondon and his associ-
ates to cooperate with us and with
the government to enforce the Profi-
bitiori laws now on the books. "'''ee1
Plamondon and those working with
him for modification of Prohibition
laws have no right to ask that present
laws be changed unless they are Wilt
| ing now to use their influence FOR
strict enforcement Of Pfohibiti6iis 10 sss
If they do not favor Thea enforce I
mcnt of the law as it now stands WHAT
guarantee have we that they will favor
the enforcement OF any modified
law? sf zn'7J as
| Grant said, "If law is good en-
force it to get its benefits. n II is
bad, enforce it so that its badness can
be seen and the law repealed"
And as for joining with Plamondon
in a tug-of-war to determine public
sentiment, we have been doing that for
thirty years under the rules laid down
in the Constitution of the United
States. We have won and we
challenge Plamondon and his team
mates to prove their good sportsman
ship by accepting the verdict of the
public until that verdict is changed
under the rules provided by the Con-
stitution
We challenge Plamondon to prove
that the ex-brewcrs are not helping
him in his campaign for beer and
wine. We ask him again who paid
for the dinner at the Blackstone Hotel
when the Illinois branch of his as
sociation was organized.
We ask Mr.. Plamondon to explain
the activities of the United Societies
in connection with the beer and, wine
campaign.
We suggest that he look up the
record of the United Societies on law
enforcement
Mr.. Plamondon refers to the
Declaration of Independence in his
effort to clothc his movement with
responsibility. But he says nothing
about the Constitution of the United
States. He says the Declaration of
Independence guarantees security of
person, justice, and good govern
ment.
He is trying to fool the people too
soon. They still remember too clear
ly how government was corrupted by
the legalized liquor traffic. How in
toxication was the greatest danger to
the security of persons. How liquor
politics was the greatest obstacle in
the wav Of iust;ce thro,,oL 80.