“O!” said the judge, “I would enforce temperance, because I believe people get more happiness out of life by being decent.”
“But suppose others think they get more happiness by being indecent, what then? What more has your belief to do with their affairs than the belief of religious people has to do with your affairs?”
“Well, of course, as to that,” said the judge, with honest hesitation, “freedom given to the ignorant and passionate would annihilate society, and reduce countries to conditions of carnage. The problem is difficult, because ignorance is so brutish that brute force has to be used to repress it.”
“Don’t repress it, enlighten it,” said one Paul Palmer, swiftly.
But Elkhorn, lifting his voice a little, swung on: “And so it comes about that we have to control brutishness by brute force, or we have to make a compromise with it, by regulating it through license laws so as to repress its encroachments on law-abiding people.”
“Where do you get your law-abiding people?” said Palmer; for Elkhorn spoke with the high air of one who has uttered that “last word” which so many are struggling to put forth in these last days; and had turned a crushing gaze on flippant Paul Palmer.
“What!” said Ethel, “license evil so as to gain freedom from it? A liberty league man must know that liberty granted to all women and men is based on such freedom for each, that no one is accountable to any other, and therefore no one is empowered to either forbid or grant any act to anyone. Therefore, liberty is inherent only in—”
“Oh, you’re getting on fast,” the judge interrupted. “On such grounds as that we should have anarchy. Besides, leave out all religion when you talk to me.”
“——inherent only in the real individual. Therefore we want to secure that simple form of education to all, which will create a citizenship of real individuals,” said Ethel, with an amiable but marked imitation of Elkhorn’s manner of riding on serenely to the end of his subject;—a bit of esprit which amiably amused him and them all, without distracting attention from the argument. And she continued:
“Judge Elkhorn, if you believe in granting license, you believe in stultifying liberty. For liberty to all leaves no man to grant or forbid anything to anyone. License is the antagonist of liberty. For liberty is the use of law, and license is the abuse of law.