Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-12-26
For the Telegraph.


was present at that meeting.
Although the attack which was made upon
the City Council was in his estimation, mot wor
thy of thought" he has honored it with pub
nc rebuke in your paper of last week.
1t is not always expedient to notice ano7y.
nous communications, but in this instance, judg-
ing from his official position, the writer is emit
tied 10 respectful consideration. He is, more
over, strong temperance man; and as such. if
we are a little careful to avoid personalities, we
shall not be likely TO have a very severe newspa-
per conflict, though we may not quite agree in
regard to measures
Forthc City Council entertain the most pro-
found respect. They are men however, and may
err; and in the opinion of many they have err'd
in their action upon the license question. The
genious of our civil economy does not throw the
dignity Of official station, however exalted, over
public men to protect them from censure or their
official acts from respectful animadversion Pre-
NIT me, therefore, to invite the members of the
City Council TO suspend all irritation of feeling
atthe seeming unchartableness OF the dsuliory
remarks thrown out in the temperance meeting,
the following proposition,
Ingrdning license TO persons TO sell liquor. then
hare betrayed the principles of temperance refor-
nation committed high moral offence, and in
ficted rsry great injury upon the community
'oh0se toeyars thsya are bound by official obligation
to protect.
Out of the mouth Of "one Of the aldermen"
who stands forth as the expcsitor of principles
and policy of the board they shall be justified or
condemned.
lie says " the experience Of the last two years
had led US to believe that all efforts to suppress
the traffic would probably be unavailing, The
question then arose, shall we take a thousand
dollars from the pockets Of the liquor dealers to
be expended in the support of the paupers which
they in fact make" A care IL, analysis of this
paragraph will authorize the following concu-
siOns
LIST. Liquor selling is wrong :; else they had
not been engaged for two years in efforts to sup
press it.
ID. In granting license to sell liquor they
have given their official sanction and patronage
to that which they admit to be wrong
Sd. They acknowledge that liqucr selling
docs 'ln fact" make paupers, and therefore, they
have given their official influence to the base
and nhuman purpose of making paupcrs
4lh. They have done all this from the same
mercenary motive which ac,uates those who be-
come offenders against public justice by selling
liquor without license, viz Love of gain
These are propositions lglimately drawn from
the declarations ard admissions of zone of the
aldermen"
Now we respectfully submit, that if the traf-
fc is in itself wrong, (anI this point is admiucd)
human Legislation cannot change its character
The'enactments Of legislatures ccn make it ne-
Their right moi wrong. 1t is etornaIly and es-
sentay wrong in the nature Of things indie
pendant Of all human legislation. Ii is that which
man Individually or associated for the purpose of
government; has not-never had the right to do
1t is wrong in the abstract and in the concrete.
and the license of a board of aldermen can new
err make it right.
! The man who sells witbom license therefore,
has as much right TO do so, as the City Council
have to grant license TO sell, no man has right
to do wrong. How then cnn q board Of alder
men associate for the purpose of protecting in
Idvidual rights, acquire the right to license liq-
uor selling and pauper making,
Is official authority so potent as to nullfy the
clcaresi dictates of individual conscience and con-
fer absolution and impuni,y upon crime. High
way ROBBERY is wrong but not SO essentially base
as liquor selling. One depryes its victim Of wealth
only. The other does the same, and more. 1t
invades the sanctity of the domestic freside and
reduces innocent wives and child to paupcrism
and infamy. 1t enters the social state, and scat
tiers with an unsparing hand the seeds ofanarchy,
dlscord, disease, mania, death. But " one of the
alderman" finds a salvo in the idea that "there is
less liquor sold now, and is kept in fewer places
than it has been for the two preceding years"
hope the gentleman will favor the public with
statistics in support of this opinion, and will re-
joCe with him. But when he begins to gorify
tIie pOIiCy OF the common COuncll on this behalf,
| will suggest two other causes which may have
operated to produce this result:
LIST. The temperance cause has been gaining
ground, notwithstanding the adverse action of the
Common Council, the open hostility Of political
demagogues, and the apathy Of its own prudent
and time serving friends.
If the second does not readily occur to the
reader, will furnish itn the form of mathemat-
cal demonstration to any gentleman whe will
take the trouble to call or me for it.
Facts out of the question: is it probable that
granting license to all who ask and can pay for it
will tend to lessen the quantity sold particular
ly, if all others who choose to do so, are permit
ted to sell without license. If So by parity of
there would be less stealing in our
country if few persons in every community
were licensed to steal and all others who choose
to do so were permitted to steal without license.
Would not the unlicensed thief reason thus?
II tits wrong to steal the City Council would |
not license men to steal.
Blu: the city council do license men to steal.
stealing is not wrong, and have as