Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1874-05-14

1
e know that every intemperate ma
and all of the pimps, thieves, loafe
r and black-legs, want license.
:, man of sense believes that either
$ these classes would favor any mea
ure calculated to aid the temperate
: cause. 1t is the most mischievou
and deadly enemy that our wome
Will have to contend with, because
seeks to restore that which they hay
already destroyed. No honest mar
who knows his right hand from hi
left, will consult his conscience an,
vote for temperance and license a
the same timn-.HSho tr.-a. thinuS Will
not mate IN any way that they can h
hxed, and therefore cannot co-exist
| have lived i-.-&LA g. -
York, and | know what this 1icens'
business means. l have watched it,
operations for many years, and / be
lieve that it is about the greatest
humbug of the nineteenth century
1t enables the rum-seller to manufac-
ture drunkards to order, with no one
to modest or make him afraid" II
those who care to investigate this
subject will peruse a New York State
newspaper, they will find that as
many arrests are made for drunken.
ness and disorderly conduct, street
fighting and crime of various kinds
as there are in Ohio. l think there
are more, because license promotes
and protects the traffic. A great
many men are retailing the vile stuff
to-day, who would have never touch
ed it, had they not been able to say,
'Pm doing a lawful business" A
lawful business! Their license pre-
tends to restrict them somewhat, YET
| know that the conditions of that pa,
per are violated with impunity. Lii
quor is sold to drunkards and to mi
nors, and no more attention paid to
it than was given to such things in
this State six months ago. That was
not great deal
The Cincinnati resolutionists want
license so that the poor saloon-keep-
ers may be killed off, and the rich
ones built up-that the weak ones
shall be made weaker, and the strong
ones stronger. They dearly want to
do something to lift the business up
to q. plane of responsibility, because
they must go in to these places for
their toddy, you know. Is'there any
Justice in this theory, even if it were
practicable? Suppose that these as
tute schemers had applied this princi-
pie to another branch of business.
Let us try to illustrate the theory:
WhereaS. Our system of agricul-
ture has been brought into great dis
repute by ..multitudinous array OF
small farms, snow the agencies, mer-
camille and political, of the" Granger
movement" and
Whereas, The interest of society
demand that "The business should
be put into the hands of respectable
and responsible persons, ''who would
from interested motives alone see
that no others engaged in it without
paying for the privilege as they had
done;" therefore be it
ResOlUed, That as the best meth
cd of ridding the country of these
demoralizing influences, we are in IA
vOr of judiciOus license to all tillers
of the soil, and such an increase in
the burden of taxation, that the large
farms will be able to swallow the
small ones.
What would be thought of such a
proceeding? But to the question.
If saloon-keeping is right, and it is
proper and necessary to have these
places, why punish the poor saloon
itic and protect the rich one? The
fact is, that these gentlemen have
gone down on their knees in the dirt
to the greatest mammon on the face
of the earth. "Professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools" We
need not be surprised, therefore, at
their false teaching.
/ have seen enough of license to
convince me that among those that
are willing to engage in the liquor
business, there are few or none so
poor that they could not raise any
amount that whisky legislature
would see fit to require of them. In
the county where l resided in New
York, the price of licenses were TWEEN
ty-five and fifty dollars. They were
mostly sold for twenty-five dollars.
Considering the enormous profits that
are made upon liquors, it appears to
me that such an insignificant sum
would prevent very few from opening
out an establishment, when they can
obtain their capital stock for less than
the cost of the license. Let us sup
pose that license system would close
Dne-half of the saloons of this State;
is there one so blind he cannot see
that those which remain would be all
the better able to supply the brain
grazing fluid to the thirsty thrOng,
and to resist the appeals that women
would surely make to him? 1t is
argued that the license money would
lssuage the public conscience, by
helping to pay the courts and police
'Orces.
Would it assuage the grief of the
widow and the orphan? Would it
ret them food to eat, or clothes to
Keep them warm? Would it restore
he drunkard's lost character, or the
wages that he spent in riotOus dissi-
patton? Would it aid him one cent
n supporting his suffering family?
Would it help to educate his chill
lren? Would it not be blood money
lfter all, obtained at the expense of
he prayers and the tears of the inno-
,ent? Would not the ruin of one
'oul be a greater calamity than the
oss of all the blood money in the
United States? 1t is profound mys-
cry to me how men can grow up
Imong civilized people, and boldly
ldvocate theory that should dis
race even HottentOt!
W. S. H.