The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1935-03-06
FIRST HAND INFORMATION ON THE
i VIRGINIA LIQUOR PLAN

a correspondent of the Charlotte OBJ
server, a North Carohnian now residing IN
Richmond, Va, writes that newspaper on
the subject of controlling the liquor busl-
ness in this State and in Virginia. The cor
respondent is Leslie McGinnis, and what
he says is worthy of the attention of North
Carolinians. 1t is as follows:
North Carolina is the place of my BIRTH and
was my home until some II years ago. l went
through the prohibition election of 1908, and had
serious doubts as to whether not it would be
good thing, but the years went by all doubts
were removed from my mind, and was thoroughly
convinced that prohibition, with all its faults, was
far better than the still house and bar-room days
of the past. And now have been living in Rich
mond Va, for than sixteen years, and up
until the repeating of the 18th Amendment we
were under prohibition, and conditions were very
bad Indeed, there many times that almost
became convinced that the legallzed sale OF liquor
would be the best; but the experience of the past
few months has erased all such ideas from my
mind.
/ have seen more people drunk since the repeal
of che 18th Amendment than | had seen in the 10
years previous. My personal observation is that
prehibiton, with all its faultS-and they were many
is thousand times better than the legahZed sale
of liquor. ..- ,.-
leaving the moral question out of the matter
entirely prohibition is far better from an economic
NA>
people who line up at our "ABC" stores, l am
sure you will agree with me that the greater per
cent of the people who patronlze the lquor STORES
are those who can least afford 1t. and their iaml,
lies are the sufferers feel that this matter should
be dealt with strictly from an economic STANDPOINT,
and if it is, then common sense, coupled with Cd
servation will prove to any unbiased NINA thaI
the legal sale of whiSkey is bad thing for US ALL
and particularly those of us who belong to the
laboring class Many of the luxuries of HE, winch
we have been enjoying, are passing from us ana
viii continue to do so more rapidly with the open
sale of whiSkey -,
The people of the best State in the Union have
never made mistake in following CLYDE Hoey ana
Yates Webb. and 1 sincerely trust that they VIII
follow them in this whiskey fight.
This is an economic view, so Tar as am cohI
cerned and not moral one though the moral
side is certainly worth serious consideration. .
Accepting the foregoing for what 1t IS
worth as contribution to the discussion
of-the liquor issue, it is only additional
proof of the fact that Virginia is having
the experience of all the other States that
have legalized the liquor business with va
risu1s systems of so-called control" The
more than thirty States that have legalized
liguor since repeal of the 18th Amendment
nSw find that they have two kinds instead
of-one LIQUOR traffic-the legalized and the
illegal. Bootleggers are still doing business
irsthese States. 1t is true the States are
RECEIVING revenue from the legallzed traf-
fiG, but the illicit traffic has not been elimi-
mated and more liquor is being consumed
aud more liquor lawlessness is evident, and
the people are spending more money for
booze.
Officials of the federal government have
msde public the estimate that one-half of
the liquor business of the United States in
the first year after repeal was done by
bootleggers. The bootleg business equalled
invgolume the legalized business, and the
total liquor business was estimated to be
about five times the cost of booze in the
best years under prohibition before the
brewers and distillers got their campaign
tosnullify the law working at maximum
capacity. In other words, legalizing the
liduor traffic caused the people of the coun-
try to spend around four billion dollars
more for liquor in year of terrific busl-
ness depression than they spent in the
years of most effective prohibition enforce
ment and about three times as much as was
spent in the peak bootleg years under pro-
hibition
The figures are not ours, but are sup,
Piled by the federal government
Yet, our wet citizens profess to be un-
able to understand the attitude of North
49, > =. - Eel Z ~.