76 THE LURE OF THE LAND 



and of herself would lead her to the polls to vote for 

 prohibition. 



It is true that there might he some little embarrass- 

 ment in diplomatic circles if the country were wholly 

 and really dry ; but the amenities of diplomacy, it seems 

 to me, would soon find some way to surmount this 

 vaunted objection to official prohibition. We rejoice 

 that we have a president and a cabinet who are alto- 

 gether sober and serious-minded, not one of whom is 

 addicted to the use of intoxicating beverages and many 

 of whom are strongly in favor of nation-wide prohibi- 

 tion. This at least is a mark of progress, and perhaps 

 I may yet live to be able to conduct my farm, and my 

 neighbors to do the same, without the curse of drunken- 

 ness brooding over us from Saturday night to Tuesday 

 morning. 



THE HIRED HAND NOT WHOLLY TO BLAME. 



What a glorious thing it would be for this country 

 if there was a Webb law which really forbade and pre- 

 vented the shipment of intoxicating liquors into dry 

 territory. Unfortunately under the present condi- 

 tions, if these packages are shipped to individuals and 

 not intended for sale, they are not contraband. It 

 would be difficult to compute the injury which is done 

 to this one county of Loudoun by the rotten intoxicants 

 that are shipped into it on Saturday night. 



But somehow I can hardly find it in my heart to 

 blame the poor workman. Rather do I blame those 

 who make and ship this deadly poison, and our laws 

 and lawmakers who permit such a dreadful commerce. 

 If you look at it from the inside, there is not much in 

 the farm laborer's life. From sun to sun he is sup- 

 posed to be engaged in hard labor, with only an hour 



