Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-10
THE GIST OF PROHIBITION
By DR.. Frank Crane

The New York Senate and Assembly united
| in adopting resolution to legalize wine and
beer by modification Of the Volstead act
This resolution, when signed by the governor
of the state will be transmitted to each mem.
| Der Of the United States Senate and House
of Representatives. Y '
This is an action which the LEGISLATORS
have perfect right to do If they believe
that lighter alcoholic drinks should be sold
it is their privilege to say so.
In fact, those who do not believe that the
prohibition amendment is a good thing are
entirely justified in an agitation to have it
repealed
1t is quite important that Americans should
get an exact view Of the situation. The con-
stitution and it's amendments, together with
all other laws, represent the will of the ma
jority enacted by those legal processes upon
which they have agreed. If this is tyranny,
it is the tyranny of the majority. Everybody
cannot be Of the same opinion. Somebody S
will must prevail. And a democracy is that
form of government under which the will OF
the majority prevails. 1t is the only
form of government where a minority does
not rule.
All the dissatisfied minority have to do is
to convince enough voters to secure a ma
jority.
Any time the people of this country want
the prohibition amendment repealed, they
can repeal it, just as they enacted it.
No one can prevent them.
They can also repeal the amendment giving
women the right to vote and the amendment
abolishing negro slavery, whenever they get
ready.
Tn 9TH
| kept in mind that the majority of the people
| of this country can do precisely as they
please.
| In view of this fact all talk of tyranny and
| of being ruled by a group of fanatics is sheer
nonsense
| Most of those who do not believe as we do
| are considered fanatics. 1t is quite as fanat
| ical to believe that any one should be allowed
| to sell beverages containing a habit-forming
drug at every street corner as it is to believe
| that this should not be allowed.
| The gist of the prohibition issue is that
| some people in the United States consider
| alcohol properly to belong among the habit
forming drugs along with opium and cocaine
| and that the open sale of it is therefore in.
| consistent with the public welfare.
| Others believe that the harm done by al
| coho1 is not so great as to render it necessary
| to abolish it's public USE
! The members of the first class outnumber
| those of the second class and have been able
| to elect enough legislators to write their con
victions in the national constitution.
| These people may be wrong, they may be
| puritanical, anatical, even crazy. That is
not the point. The Loint is that there are
more of them. They are the majority and
! they have gained their way in the plain and
simple method laid down by the constitution
| All that the people in class two have to do
| is to convince enough of their fellow citizens
| that they right to enable them to have q
majority, so that they can elect their kind OF
Legislators and enact their kind of law. Let
| them go to it. This is free country
In the mean while it is of most Importance
to all that citizens of every class should bear
in mind that every law, sensible or not,
should be obeyed.
Copyright, 1922.