The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1866-01-16
THE LIQUOR QUESTION.


fuse licenses to sell spirituons liquors. The
question has often been before our board OF
supervisors, and that body has uniformly re-
fused to grant licenses. The question Is
again before the board, as will be seen from
the following extract from the December pro.
oeedings, viz:
The petitions of Messrs. Mulhollen Justin
and of Messrs. Gray Stoddard, praying the
boardto grant them license to sell spurious liquors
in the town of Port Byron, were read and, on
motion of Sup'r Clark, the same were laid over
until the next meeting OF this board,
The next meeting of the board will be on
the second Monday in Maroh-the 18th of
the month"; we hope that the board will
shen see the propriety of granting licenses,
as Is done in many other counties IN the
state.
It must be apparent, to every observing
man, that it is utterly useless to attempt to
prevent the sale or use of liquors, by any
statutory enactments and the history of this
question, in this county, ought to convince
every one that the morals of the county are
not improved by enforcing the Maine law,
and that the finances of the county suffer SER
ious injury by the refusal to adopt proper
license system. We suppose we are speak
ing within bounds when we say that more
than $4,000 of fines, for violating this pro-
hititory Maine law, remain unsolicited in
this county, and that not cent of this
large amount will or ever can be collected.
At every session of the grand jury, cosl-
plants are made for the violation of this
Mama Ioyr. 5nd;otmants ara after nnch ef-
fort, and perhaps a good deal of perjury,
found. Those who have property, generally
compromise with the prosecuting attorney
and get discharge, for a small sum while
the large majority, having no property, are
generally incarcerated in Jail for while,
boarded, by the sheriff, at the expense of the
county, then set loose, to play the same game
over again. This system insures fat fees to
the sheriff and his deputies, for boarding,
summoning witnesses, &C., &c.,-makes Il
good business for the prosecuting attorney
and the court house clique generally but
brings no money into the peoples treasury,
On the contrary, it runs the people in debt,
every term of court, increases their taxes, and
does not stop the traffic.
There is no restriction on the sale Of ale,
porter, beer, &C., in the unincorporated
towns, and nearly every town has it's beer
house, and every house Of this sort is sup
posed to sell spirituous iquors-''on the
sly,"-while the county gets no revenue, and
is plunged deeper in debt, every year, by
prosecuting these irresponsible people.
This course, not only has no effect what
ever, in stopping the traffic, but it often
works a great hardship On the people, by
forcing them to leave their homes and wait
On the grand jury, as witnesses. Large num-
bers of farmers are taken away from their
business, when their time is valuable, and
compelled to come 10 town; they are required
to be absent from two to four days; they get
nothing for their attendance they have to
pay out from SO to S. each for expenses
while their time and teams are worth twice
as much more. Generally, four or five fines
the necessary number of witnesses are called;
and it often happens (perhaps by design What
poor men, Or men of small property, are sum
moned, who ought TO be at home attending
to their business, while others, who are able
W detoAO COuEb,dAS hoG CdlteO yIuE ltbf OF DurG-
ing their feelings or iniuring their respeeta-
bilityl This is one of the evils of not grant
ing licenses, and it often causes very hard
feelings in neighborhood feelings which
don't wear of very soon.
Another evil effect of these prosecutions is
the heavy expense on the people, by pro-
longing the business of courts and grand iur.
les, large fees to sherffs for summoning wit
ness, boarding prisoners, &c., &c. All the
business of the grand jury, just adjourned,
except the liquor cases, might have been
transacted in one day, thus saving one.fftb
OF the time, besides saving the time and ex-
penses of more than one hundred Witnesses
say three days each, making oyer three hun
dred days lost time, besides $500 to $500
these witnesses had to pay out for personal
expenses. This is only before the grand
jury. But when the cases come to be tried
In circuit court then the whole matter must
De gone over again, adding largely to the
taxes OF the people-and having no sort of
effect whatever, in suppressing the sale of
liquor.
Another evil effect of this svstem ia n
cause men to commit perjury, or if not that,
they pursue course of evasion and eouivo
cation, little short of it, which is moral if not
legal perjury, for the reason that the people
who get liquor of these beer house keeners
leel a sort OF honorable obligation to screen
the man who sold them the liquor. They
seem to be under sort of implied, if not ex-
pressed, promise not to 'tell on the man"
VINO violated the law by accommodating
them with liquor, and, when brought before
the grand jury, many of them resort to the