THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501050190
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Here's to City Council for keeping beer and wine flowing at the Chesapeake Jubilee.
Teetotalers and tipplers alike have a good time at the city's annual spring festival. It is not - never has been - a drunken bash. There's no good reason for moralists to wax indignant over the drinking that goes on there.
But council members, reluctant to line up four-square on the side of John Barleycorn, found an economic issue to debate, thereby avoiding the moral one.
The Jubilee is supported to the tune of $45,000 by the sale of spirits. Another $45,000 or so comes from sponsors, including some beer distributors, who might not be so generous if beer sales were to be eliminated. Going dry would be costly.
In the end, W. Joe Newman was the only councilman who supported a ban on beer sales. He voted his conscience, and we respect that. If drinking were morally wrong, it would wrong, no matter how much revenue it generated.
But most Chesapeake citizens would agree that the responsible, well-regulated sale of beer and wine at Jubilee is not a moral issue. It doesn't have to be justified strictly on economic grounds. It's OK to keep it just because people enjoy it. by CNB