, 1880-06-13

I
the American people, If the tishwife style
of campaigning were abandoned.
I .~--~.-..[---
THE sALooN-L1CENsE LAW.
A petition numerously signed by most re-
spectacle citizens Of Chicago was presented
to the City Council on Friday night asking
that the rate Of saloon licenses be increased
to $500 year. Of course nothing will come
Of that petition. The request is unreason-
able, and one which, even If granted by the
Council, would fail in the execution. Nolaw
can be enforced which Is not sustained by
the prevailing sentiment of the community
in which it Is enacted. It is impossible to
execute law against which public opinion
protests.
It the petitioners had taken a more prac-
| t1cal view OF the case they would find less
objection in the way Of having the License law
amended. There are two classes of saloons
in this city. ~ Those which sell beer and
wine exclusively; and (2) those which sell
| alcoholic beverages almost exclusively. All of
these may under their present licenses sell
| both kinds of liquor. There Is wide differ
ence between the two classes Of saloons,
| especially rs to the effect upon consumers of
the beverages they purchase. The quality of
the article known as beer Is generally
good; the materials are pure, and the
beer produced, If not used In excess, Is
as harmless as anything that has ever
been invented as a popular beverage.
It is so generally regar ded in this
light that its use In families and by peo-
pie In delicate health has become almost
rrirarsr1 Tte cIrhSfift1fa n1nc-
ho1ic drinks is in the direction of temperance
by the avoidance OF intoxicatlon. Drunken
ness, as general thing, is the result Of using
alcohol; 1t rarely follows the exclusive use
Of beer. On the other hand, the use of alco-
hol lends to intoxication, with all its result
ing evils to body and mind and to the destruc-
ton of health and fitness for business. To
the extent thatlnen are Influenced to abandon
the use of spirits by the substitution of beer,
a great reform is accomplished We are not
advocating the use Of beer by any one, but
as substitute for alcohol the use Of beer
ought to be encouraged BY every man and
every friend Of temperance reform.
The sale and use Of alcoholic drinks are the
more injurious to personal health because
of the villainous compounds which are sold
under the names of whisky, brandy, and
other forms of spirits. The poisons thus
sold must inevitably prove destructive to
those who consume them. Hence, from a
moral and social point Of view, there is a
wide difference between the beer and the
whisky saloon. In some Of these saloons
men can, by paying large price therefor,
obtain pure spirits, but when spirits are sold
(as they mostly are) to men Of small means,
and who prefer quantity to quality, the |
dccoctions are most Infamous.
Now, Ii this most respectable body Of petit |
tioners had asked The Council to discriminate !
between the sale OF beer and the sale Of spir- /
its, and had asked the Council to fix the rate
of license for saloon for the sale of beer /
exclusively at the present rate Of S53 per
year. and the rate Of license for the sale of I
spirftuous liquors at twice that amount, the |
probability Is that such q measure would re-
ceive the hearty support Of the community |
generally, and also Of a majority of the sa-
lo0nkeepers themselves. Such law could |
be enforced without difficulty. All the sa-
looms whose principal business Is the sale Of |
beer would abandon the sale OF all forms OF |
alcoholic drinks, and to that extent the sale
Of such spirits would be abated and the evil
proportionally reduced. The Increase Of the
rate of license on salooas authorized to sell
spirtuous liquors would not be objected to,
but would be approved by one-fourth, at
least, Of the saloons Of that class; 1t would
be objected to but complied with by another !
fourth; and the rest, especially the low dog
geries, where the foulest poisons are sold,
would be driven out Of the business. or, at
tempting to defeat or avoid the law, would
be closed by the law.
The attempt to levy @ tax Of $500 on each
saloon would excite a controversy, would
meet with determined opposition, would
lead to political combination, and, being op-
posed by the prevailing public opinion, any
Council that should pass 1t would be swept
put OF office at the first succeeding election
On this point the experience Of the past
ought to be a useful anu Instructive lesson
for the present and for the future.
The City Council is composed of repre-
'entatives Of their constituents. The repre-
sentative cannot rise above his constituents.
The people of Chicago are not in favor of q
)rohibitory liquor law, nor in favor Of a IL
;cnse tax TINT would amount to prohibition,
hough they are in favor of such wlse tenn
'erate, and rational regulation of the traffic
Is would divest it of much Of the abuses and
wills which attend it. Such nn ordinance as
ge have suggested, recognizing the wide dis
inction between the shops for the exclusive
ale Of beer and those for the sale Of all
liquors, would be sustained by public opin-
on, and could be efficiently enforced.
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CHICAGO AS 4 CONVENTION CITY.
The st. Louis Globe Democrat continues
o be much exercised over the amount Of
olse in the Chicago Convention, and seeks I
ONE consolation for the defeat Of its favorit )
y the nisstatement that the " anti-Grant
managers took pains to ill the Exposition t