The following is an example of politics in action.  In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr.,

“If you mean whiskey, the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody

monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home,

creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the

mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples

Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious

living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair,

helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it

with every fiber of my being.

“However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the

philosophic juice, the elixir of life, the liquid that is consumed

when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and

the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas

cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an

elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that

enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life’s great tragedies

and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which

pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that

provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our

deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest

highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this

nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it.

“This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters