HV1
H 6 GOODWIN'S WEEKLY
GQQDWIN'S WEEKLY
H' SIXTEENTH YEAR
H PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY
H BY, GOODWIN'S WEEKLY PUBLISHING CO., INC.
B F. P. GALLAGHER, Editor and Manager. W. E. CHAMBERLIN, Business Mgr.
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H Entered at the Postoffice at Salt Lake City, Utah, U. S. A., as second-class matter.
r Phone Wasatch 5409. 311-12-13 Ness Bldg. Salt Lake City, Utah.
' , In An Observation Plane
WHEN we see so many of the
weak still pursuing the zigzag
H path of inebriety along our pavements
H it shocks us who favored prohibition
H because we believed it would help
M those very men,
H Many among us who had no partlc-
H ular enthusiasm for perpetual teetotal-
H ism and yet were as keen to the de-
H, vastations of "Demon Rum" as the
H dryest of our neighbors voted for the
B "bone ; dry" proposition because we
H wanted the fraile'st to have the benefit
H of its uplift.
H They tell us tliat "Demon Rum" is
H ' still a resident of the downtown dis-
H ' trict and has regular places of bus!-
H ness In the very heart of that district.
H ' We disclaim any knowledge upon the
H subject except that which we have ob-
H talned by watching the zigzag course
H of many of our old friends. Knowing
H theirhabits, we. are persuaded that
H they(haye (not (gone into remote re-
H gions to "light up." What signs and
H passwords may be necessary to sum-
H mon "Demon Rum" to his guarded
H doors we do not pretend to know, but
H' we sje, sure signs that every day he
Hj is transacting .business, a business far
H t more doleerious than any in which he
H was , engaged, whon whisky was legal
H and t often puce.
H What horrible . stuff of delirium is
H this which "Demon Rum" doles out at
H prices which wreck the pocketbooks
H of the frail much more quickly than
H did the prices in the days of legal wet-
H ness? 'Families are ruined today more
H quickly by the bootlegger than ever
H they; were by the keeper of tlie dram-
Hj shop. Sq, too, are bodies and minds.
H I have no wish to state the case too
B; broadly. It may be true that the boot-
H t legger deals pnly with hundreds while
R the saloonkeeper trafficked, with thou-
i sands'. It is probable that more of that
m frail clans' we have been describing
B , dealt with" the' saloonkeeper than now
K ! deal l with' the bdotleggr.
B Admitting that many have been
M rescued by the dry law, that thousands
H of homes have been made Happier by
Hi husbands and 'fathers restored to
M r ' health 'and mentaf vigor, is It not
H shocking that even the most rigid of
H bono' 'dry la'Vs falls so 'far short of its
; object!'' '' "
H We begin f?o see that!, the "devil's
H advocates" of "Demon Rum" were not
H wholly1 amiss "when ''they said that hu-
H man'eiiis could not be made Virtu-
Hj ous by law." Of course, 'they general-
H ized too 'sWee'pIngly1 ,as men are wOnt
H.i to do when they are anxious 'to per-
I (
suade rather than convince. But there
was much of truth in what they said.
"Bone dry" laws do not change hu
man nature. At best they simply help
some of the weak, while placing bur
dens on the strong.
The writer is not arguing for the old
conditions. He is merely voicing the
surprise and regret of many that even
the strictest laws are failures when
they collide with human nature.
Utah's bone dry law placed a heavy
handicap on those who needed alcohol
for medical purposes. So difficult did
the law make the purchase of alcohol
even for such purposes that perfectly
respectable citizens have been known
to deal directly or indirectly vith the
bootleggers in cases of desperate need.
In a wordr bootleggers have saved
lives that the perfectly virtuous and
fanatical would have destroyed.
I hear that our wise solons are
planning a change in the law which
will permit a decent traffic in alcohol
for medical purposes. I haye no plan
to suggest, for I have not studied that
phase of the case with a legislator's
eye, but I am, glad to hear that some
of the restrictions may be raised.
Those who are the most zealous
supporters of bone dryness are the
first to denounce the authorities when
prohibition laws go wrong. And that
is quite logical. Believing in the swift
perfectabllity of human nature "with
the aid of law they argue that it must
be some weakness of law enforcement
that causes human nature to continue
in its ways of error and frailty.
How far the police of Salt Lake City
are to blame for the prevalence of bad
whisky and terrifying inebriety I am
at a loss to reckon. Perhaps a way
may be found to probe the problem.
The legislature might appoint a com
mittee of investigation to ascertain
the responsibility of the various of
ficials and possessors of nuthorlty who
are charged with the duty of keeping
Utah sober.
THE devotees of prohibition 'assure
us that bootlegging is a temporary
phenomenon. They contend most rea
sonably that the supplies of liquor are
running out and that with unive "1
prohibition In effect, with the mart
facture of alcoholic beverages stopped
and severe restrictions on the disposal
of other forms of alcohol the time,
must soon come when drunkenness
will be as rare as a medieval costume
on the streets of an American city.
National prohibition Is certain and
will have the effect of damming up
one of the most copious sources of al
cohollc Bupply Interstate traffic. In
a word, all signs point to the final exit
of "Demon Rum."
Is It likely that, in the years to
come, the persistent demon will play
a return engagement? Is it possible
that a generation wholly without
knowledge of the spirits that drove
their fathers mad will revive the liquor
traffic? Mere curiosity without appe
tite might be sufficient to restore the
demon to his throne, but the absence
of a beverage alcohol will bar the way
ro a revival of an indoor sport whlcc
has been popular since grapes first
were crushed in Eden.
I suppose it will be groat sport for
the succeeding generations to read the
literature of drunkenness, to mark the
queer capers cut by their forebears.
And, no doubt, they will quiver with
horror and emotion when they read
such plays as "Ten Nights in a Bar
room," wondering what was this
strange elixir of lunacy that could
transform men into beasts and cause
women days and nights of woe and
oread.
And some of the old codgers who
have come down from our own times
will slyly wink at one another, huddle
together about the fireplace and tell
of the high old times they had when
Bourbon was king. And being of the
hardy race of heroes who batttled with
booze and won they will be apt to
agree that "Demon Rum" was not as
dangerous as their grandchildren have
been deluded into Imagining. Per
haps they will even felicitate one an
other that they have "something on"
the younger generation and will ivag,
as men are wont to do even now,
about especially notable sprees that
drew them into perils vast or spores
grotesque.
GAMBLING, too, has been driven
into the secret places, but does
not hide as deep as "Demon Rum." It
sometimes flaunts itself boldly in
clubs where fortunes are won and lost
In a few hours. And sometimes the
basements or the inner rooms of Ho
tels offer sufficient seclusion, but often
the veil is drawn a little more care
fully. I am reminded of a gambling story
I heard the other day.
Scene one of our centrally located
hotels a few years ago. Dramatis
personae card sharks posing as ordi
nary players and one victim, an army
officer from Fort Douglas.
Having lost all his available fund
in a few hours he consulted an old
friend at the post, one who was sup
posed to know some of the intimat.3
mysteries of crookedness at cards, al
though himself the soul of honor.
Atfer listening to his friend's story
the second officer said:
"Very simple. You were cold
decked." Here is the story the first officer
told:
"I was allowed to win until the very
last hand. Then I 13 dealt three
aces. When I rew two cards
"was highly elated to discover
that I had' four acefl. I figured I could
not losty-and wentiythe limit -When 3
the showdown" came the man at my '
left, "who had drawn but one cardhad
a straight flush . I was cleaned, hav
ing lost $G00." ' y
The second officer said quietly: A,
"I think I can get your money back
for you. Where Is the game?"
The hotel was named and Mr. Sec
ond Officer sat in at the game the fol- J
lowing night, his" opponents being the
sharks who had fleeced his friend. He
expected, of course, that the same
trick of cold decking would be tried
and he was not disappointed. When
he was dealt three aces he did just as
his friend had done with one slight
difference. Instead of drawing two
cards he drew three and threw away
orie of his aces. He figured that this S
would break the prearranged schedule
and that the mail at his left would not
have much of a hand, whereas he
would have at least three aces. He
had reasoned aright and when he rose
"from the table with a pleasant "good
night, gentlemen," he was $2,500
ahead. Returning to Fort Douglas, he
gave his friend $600, despite protests.
"I owe it to you, for telling where .t
to make an easy winning," he said: "
tof
CHOICE v -Jg
By Angela Morgan. jjll
I'd rather have the thought of you s
To hold against my heart, ' !P
My spirit to bo taught of you l
With west winds blowing, 1 fw
Than all the warm caresses (!m
Of another love's bestowing,
Or all the glories of the world iv V3
In which you had no part.
'!
I'd rather have the theme of you
To thread my nights and days, J(
I'd rather haVe the dream of you ,
With faint stars glowing,
I'd rather have the want of you, $
The rich, elusive taunt of you ' S
Forever and forever and forever un-
confest
Than claim the alien comfort 1
Of any other's breast. ,
O lover! O my lover, . I ,, ,
That this should come to me! . '
I'd rather have the hope for, you, S
Ah, Love, I'd rather grope for (you $
Within the great abyss . ' Jv'
Than claim another's kiss ' (V) $
Alone I'd rather go my way
Throughout eternity. '
AS promoters of Insomnia Salt
Lake's flat-wheel street ffars can
not be excelled. In the dayff of tor- '
ture, when amiable gentlemen dis- ;'
agreed and stretched one another on L
racks Or curiously carved one anoth- '
er's flesh with meat hooks, prizes r
Would have been offered for such an
excruciating instrument of cruelty as
a flat-wh','1 trolley car. -
It is'a long time between cars when y
one waits on the corner, but whon one
tries to conquer insomnia earn seemed
to be hurled at one's head seveeral
times a minute and the track seerus
to be ripping up and following the car.
I trust that I am not disturbing the
sleep of the geenral manager by say-