The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-03-22
The Maine IL suor Law and the Common


The Maine IL suor Law and the Common
Council.
In the event of the Maine liquor bill new
before the Leg Stature, not becoming law, the
authorities o. I this city hold, as they ever did,
the same pc ,wcrs of reformation within their
own contro 4. 1t is optional with them whether
or not to ase this authority
We are an aware of the very pernicioas prar
tice ofv ending liquor at retail in every grocery
store; MI in addition TO the groceries, almost
every btcJk of buildings contains q rum selling
repde Wous, many of which are surmounted by
q sig 4 of" General Pieree's Retreat" General
Jacl r,on's Head Quarters" or some such device
to G1traot attention. In these places, or dens
j. rious drinks are sold, at three cents glass;
xae drink of which is enough to produce a de-
birium, from which, bya repetition, crime Of the
highest magnitude follows.
Now, the Mayor and the Board of Excise can
remedy this evil in a very short period, If they
win only undertake the job. In the first place,
they should refuse licenses for the sale of intOxi
eating drinks in grocery stores and small grog-
geries. In the event of their keepers selling
liquor without license the ordinance should be
enforced and the fines for each offence imposed
and collected The keepers of the groceries
and groggeries will then soon discover it to be
losing business, and they will give it up.
In addition to this, the Mayor should order
every storekeeper to close en- the Sabbath
and especially where liquor is scotland such
orders should be enforced by the police. In de-
fault of compliance, collect the fine forthwith;
and Just as soon as they find the authorities are
determined to carry out the law in its full
force, just so soon will they be ready to obey.
We are informed by the captains of police
that thousands of storekeepers would feel CRATE
full if such measures as those above mentioned
were taken by the Common Council, and the
police would also be thankful, as their duties
in short time would be comparatively easy.
AT present, in many of the wards on the Sab
bath, they have more drunkenness, fighting
and disorder to quell than on any other day in
the week. Rum is the cause of all this crime;
and if the groggeries were closed there would
be fewer black eyes and bloody noses on Mon
day morning. No storekeeper would object to
resting from his labors on this day, were the
rule universally enforced. The stores might
be allowed to remain open during short
time in the morning, for the sale of
groceries only. If this method were adopt
ed, an almost magical effect would be pro-
duced throughout the city. And how much bet
ter would the mechanics and laboring men feel
They could venture to The grocery store for a
loaf of bread without the fear. of temptation
and return home sober. But as it is now, the
poor man enters the grocery to purchase some
provisions with the full idea of Immediately re-
turning to his family; in the grocery, unfortu-
nately, he is met by two or three of his compan-
ions who press him to drink-to refuse would
be considered an ofeneeAhe takes a glass;
thus stimulated he takes another; he becomes
Indifferent, forgets his errand, forgets his chill
dren, and, if too intoxicated to return home and
abuse his family, the grocer, at a late hour,
kicks hinf from the store, the police come along
and the wretched man is dragged off to prison.
Reader, this is no fiction; it is true-yes, too
true-and the police courts show it daily. If
the authorities wish to promote the well being
of the poorer classes they must restrict the sale
of intoxicating drinks-abOlish it in all gro
ceries to begin without off the supply, and
thus prevent any temptation being placed in
the reach Of those who are inclined to become
temperance men, but who are unable to resist
the charms Of rum. In very little while the
good results will appear. twill eventually be
much better for the grocers. At present there
is a general complaint by respectable females,
who absolutely refuse to go to the groceries in
their vicinity because they are generally filed
with drunkards.
We therefore call upon the Mayor and Com
mon Council to think upon this matter, and not
only to think, but to act at once for the means
of reformation are in their hands. It rests
with them alone to make this city what it
should be. Abolish the ready facilities Of pro-
curing intoxicating drinks, close all the drink
ing shops on the Sabbath, and rest assured we
shall have all the temperance law that we re-
quire, without the aid of legislative action
The Adulteratcd Milk Traffic and its Inju.
rious Efects-How II Should be Abolished.
We have on several occasions alluded to the
horrible practice Of selling adulterated and
swill milk, SO prevalent in our city, and recon-
for its prohibition; but it appears to be one of
those many evils with which our city is doomed
to be afflicted and against which the sufferers
have no means of redress 1t seems almost in
credible and yet it is a fact, that over three
millions of dollars are paid every year in New
York for this poisonous stuff, and that thou
sands of children die annually from diseases
Ir,s
quarts of impure milk are consumed yearly in
this city, while not more than one-half that
quantity of pure country milk, and that con-
diluted with water is sold To real
ize fully the dcloterious effects of this descrip-
ton of food upon the human system, and par
ticularly upon the health of young children,
who are more seriously affected by it, it