The daily gazette., 1879-03-10
FIFTH EDITION.
LETTER FROM sAML TOWNSEND
For the DELAWARE GAZETTE.

For the DELAwARE GAZETTE.
received from Dover private copy
Of what they call a new License Bill. A
more tyrannical absurdity scarcely ever
saw. Five or six Yeas ago we had fair
license law that there was little or 10
complaint against; but al the following
session of the Legislature 1t was sold out
for two hundred thousand dollars Of State
aid to build the Georgetown and Frank
fort railroad, now not paying the promised
interest to the State, and the stock no,
worth three cents in the dollar, and
license law passed that was very unpopu-
lar, as IL allowed no person to sign re-
commendation excerpt free-holders. But
that old feudal clause was stricken out
Two years ago, and therefore there is less
complaint aud the people are getting used
to IL, and there is nothing so grievous as
these eternal changes in the laws. But
now there is long bill drawn, and its
whole drift and meaning can be easily
understood. 1t ID scheme Of whole sale
liquor dealers and few tavern keepers
who keep a few of the best paying tav-
erns, and he temperance fanatics. This
bill, if passed, places the liquor business
in few hands, and destroys the small
dealers, and is direct strike at poor
men, as il says the license shall be 100
dollars, and then add the government
license % dollars, making It's dollars for
a small tavern, just as much as the Uni
ted States Hotel, Delaware House, or
two or three other hotels in Wilmington.
l understand the pet argument is that
80.
selling liquor that do not pay State IL
cense. But will any person preteno this
accused set Of law preachers Does not
every one of them pay government Ii
cense? Now, If the government with two
or three officers can collect the 25 dollars
how is it that % cOnstables, s squiles,
Mayor, Attorney General and ! Sheriff.
aud any amount of deputies, and judges
OF the court cannot make these
men who pay the government
of S25, be made pay the STATE OF Della
ware 500, and II the officers are too dis
honest to carry out the present law, is it
sound and sensible policy to trust these
men to carry out new law? And, Ms
to the wholesale liquor dealers, poor
good disinterested souls, some of whom,
1t is said, with the monopolist hotel
keepers, are at the bottom Of this new
proposed license bill as they calfit. But,
put their own license to sell wholesale at
SIS, just one half of what the hotels
doing the smallest business would have
pay; and, the further proviso that no
person living outside of the State, shou i'd
be allowed to come in this State TO un-
dersell these wholesale liquor dealers in
this State, aud then only propose to pay
the immense sum Of SIS for this healthy
monopoly; then they can set back and
sell wholesale to the retailers, aud If one
retailer refuses to sell a man more liquor
considering that he has enough In him,
and this same man goes into another ho-
tell in company with several others, who
are sober and is invited to drink. and the
barr tender may be busy, and this frllo '
with too much rum in HIM already, takes
another drink, and il seen by some tenn
perance fanatic, who may be hired as a
spy, this hotel keeper is then jurked up
before willing Squire and fined heavi-
ly and sent to Jail for one year, and his
business broken up. There is more hy-
pocracy over rum drinking than any
thing in these United States. Let these
temperance fanatics first 20 down to
Washington, and stop Presidents, Cabi-
net Ministers, Senators, Representa-
tives from getting drunk and then fol-
low along, for 1t Is well known that all
persons, who arc able, can buy by the
barrel, keg or demijohn, and these sleek
gentry con drink il in their own houses
And all these temperance tyranical
law enactments with regard to selling
and drinking liquor is a strike purposely
at poor men, for the appetites of poor
, and rich men are alike, but the rich man
can keep his supplies in at his own house.
, Now, poor men of our country, the con-
stitution makes you the equal of the rich
man at the ballot box, and ii such an act
Is passed to give monopoly to wholesale
liquor dealers and a few hotel keepers,
to please temperance finatics. If said bill
pas ses stri ke the shackels of party from
you, and organize the poor mans' party
to resist at the hallot box, oppression OF
all kinds come from where IL will Let
temperance men use pursuasion and ex.
ample and there will be no objection, for
3 that is right conceded to every man but
: for old bloats that have ceased in public
to drink, to have laws passed to fine
, and imprison men for doing the
same thing they have done, il the
the essence Of tyranny, and will not be
acquesed in by the public, neither will
, the schemes Of these well ted sleek rum
selling moDopolists acting with temper.
: ance fanatics, to fine and imprison men
3 for selling and drinking liquor, will be
5 submitted to or voted for by the poor in.
1 dependent man for an ofiice. Therefore
in conclusion say if this new proposed
license bill is the result of all the poor
showing during the last two months,
would suggest that some member of the
Legislature make motion, and hope
it will be carried, for the page to pu,
said license bill in the stove and reduce
1t to ashes, and let the present law re-.
/ main as it is until honesty, reason and
common sense prevail.
SAMUEL TOWNSEND,
Townsend, March 10, 1879.