WHISKEY

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr., a member of the Texas House of Representatives,

was asked about his position on whiskey. What follows is his exact answer

(taken from the Political Archives of Texas):

"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 of
principle."