, 1880-06-27

sale OF liquor. 1t Is not pracl1cal le51sI@e4oA'
| It is hardly entitled to be sentimental, oc-
| cause it seeks to do that by indirectlon which
it cannot hope to do directly.
We repeat what we said some weeks ago.
that, so long as men and women VIII drlnk'
1t is better they should drink the compara-
lively harmless beer than drink spirits; anu
the substitution Of beer for spirits IS Ill ING
direction of reduction Of drunkenness and
of all the evils of intemperance. Beer does
not work the evils that are caused by the
use of spirits, and when men drink beer at
saloons instead Of spirits, and when beer IS
used In families in place Of spirits, the change
and the reform are both healthy and encourag-
Ing, and should be promoted by every friend
of temperance. It Is matter Of National
and individual qualification that beer as a
common beverage is largely taking the place
Of spirits; and that in majority OF the sa'
looms In Chicago 90 per cent of the liquor pur-
chased and consumed is beer, and not alco-
hol. Every friend Of temperance should Ia
bor to encourage men and women to use beer
instead Of alcoholic drinks; and to the extent
that such change is effected the reform Is
q healthy one.
Beer is becoming a National drink. It
would perhaps surprise the extreme adYo-
Gates of temperance to know how gen.
eral is the use of beer, not alone in the sa-
looms, but in private families, where 1t has
become a beverage in common Use. An at
tempt to prohibit the sale of beer by pro-
hibitory license law would arouse the deter
mined opposition Of thousands Of temperate
people who never visit saloons and who
never use spirits, bit who do use beer Mt
their own table and in their own houses.
We have therefore urged these friends Of
, temperance to confne themselves to practical
measures,-to measures that will meet with
the general support, and which, sustained by
public sentiment, can be enforced. If these
persons will recognize the wide distinction
in the effects OF the use of beer from those
of the use Of alcohol they will discriminate
by legislation to encourage the one beverage
US against the other. Let them ask the City
Council to fix the rate Of license for the sale
of beer exclusively at the present rate Of S52
per year, and then fix the rate Of license for
the sale of spirits at s10o, or even S15o.
Here would be broad dis tlnction be-
tween the two kinds of establishments The
great evils of saloons are the 1naddenlng
effects prodhced on mems mental and bodily
health by the use Of fiery alcohol, and eeoe
cially of the poisonous stuffs sold under the
name Of liquor in the cheap saloons 1t is
this kind of poison which kills those who
consume it. Nine-tenths Of it, If submitted
to a chemist, would be declared fatal to
health and its prolonged use fatal to life.
This Is the class of saloons which does the
great evil, and any measure having for Its
purpose the reduction Of the number of such
places would be heartily supported by public
sentiment. II the licenses we're graded, US
We have suggested, majority OF these
saloons would be compelled to substitute
beer for whisky or close up their business.
The large majority Of the persons who keep
saloons would approve this classification, and,
distinguishing between those for the ex-
elusive sale Of beer and those where alcohol
may be had, the law would meet with no
serious resistance and the resistance would
find no countenance among the general pub
lie.
The attempt to close all saloons by a pro-
hibitory rate Of license would meet with a
disfavor so general TINT the attempt would |
fail disastrousiy. It would become the main |
question in city politics, and the combination
against such legislation would prove how
weak is the public sentiment III favor Of it. ~