Daily Republican., 1883-09-08
sATUR DAY, SEPTEMBER 8. 1883


The Grand Army festival held at
Havre de Grace this week has furnished
additional argument why liquor dealers
should favor local option, If reports are
to be believed. Havre de Grace is in
Hartford County, Maryland, and is one
of the counties that has recently adopt
ed local option as means for checking
the injurious results of the liquor traf
tic. But if reports from there are true,
it seems that local option does not pro-
hibit, or in other words the question,
"does prohibition prohibit ?" is an
swered in the negative. During the
three days festival it is said that liquor
was abundant and sold openly and
above board in short, at no time is
there any trouble whatever in getting
liquor, and that more liquor is sold and
drank now than in the days of almost
unrestricted license These are reports
that are. brought to our city by those
who We're present. These reports may
be true, we have no reason to disbelieve
them for they have been made by those
in whom we have the most implic
confidence. And yet in the fee of all
this We have the rare spectacle of the
liquor dealers in body opposing local
'option-opposing law that opens the
way for larger consumption of liquor
and which could not help but result in
an increase Of their trade. 1t is not
often that a class of merchants will
unite in opposing traffic that increases
their business. Not only from Havre
de Grace, but from all the local option
counties of Maryland, including Cecil,
Hartford, Kent, Queen Annes, Caroline,
Talbot and Dorchester come these same
reports, that local option is a failure as
a check to the sale Of liquor and that
more liquor is sold now than ever before,
and yet we have the strange anomaly
before us that those who are 10 be the
most benefited by these increased sales
are the most opposed to the law that is
said to increase them.
This is indeed strange, very strange
On the other hand come reports that
local option laws do prohibit sales OF
intoxicants except when violated and
then the violators are speedily pun.
ished. In proof of the success of oca
option we are referred to comparatively
empty jails, short terms of court, great
er quiet and order and increased indus
try. We are told that as ii genera
thing it is almost impossible to get
liquor for love or money" Now
which of these reports are we to be-
Aieve? We have not been down in the
local option sections of Maryland lately
and we know nothing about the work
ings of the law and do not know per
sonally whether it is success or not,
But we must confess that these con
hicting reports puzzle us. In short, it
looks as if somebody has been doing tn.
tallest kind of lying all along before the
Havre de Grace fest came off. Which
side are we to believe? We are in
clinel to b,ieve that both sides exag.
gerate that local option does not work
a total prohibition of the sale of liquor
but that it does restrain and lessen
the sales. We are inclined 10 believe
shat those who report that there is more
liquor sold and drank than ever, have
only hit upon some local place and time
when and where the law is disregartle,l
and that those who report that no liquor
can be had under any circumstances
except for medicine, live in localities
where there was but little need of
local option.