The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-05-04
ABOUT PROHIBITION.

ABOUT PROHIBITION.
Editor Free Press
Some time ago the PRESS published an ar
ticle, written by J. l.. Conrad. to which the
PRESS replied. The PRESS asks if high license
would not have tendency to place "respons-
IDLE men behind the bar" "drivc out low des-
picablc holes" and reduce drunkenness"
The PRESS then adds, 1T was and is our idea
that II the traffic cannot be prohibited 1t should
be regulated, and we have ample evidence be-
fore us tn unhesitatingly assert that prohibit
ton does not prohibit" Now there are
many of your readers who would like to see
and read that ''ompie eridence," and when given |
! stand ready Ia furnish equally ample evil
dcncc, first. that prohibition doss prohibit, |
second, that regulation does not regulate, /. g.
license, high ar low, Is failure.
Since writing the above l found myself In
depot waiting for Il train with gentleman
from Emporia, Kan. He said the place was
about the size Of Mankato, has two daily and
three weekly papers, and has no saloon. He
IL u travelling man and said hi had seen more
drunkenness I'm Minnesota In two weeks than
In Kansas In as many years. There are no
breweries in Kansas, except in four largest
cities. A canpmecting held near Emporla
drew u large crowd. but no disorder and no
sign of liquor Of any kind. The above in
formation WAS given without any questioning
| will only add that IL must choose between
high and low license, would do as the prohi-
bition members of the Minneapolis council
did, choose high license.
PRoHIBITIoNIsr
If PrOhibitionist will take q
little pains to inform himself upon
the relative effects of high license and
prohibition upon the regulation of
the liquor traffic, we believe that he
cannot disagree with US. In the first
place. public sentiment is not snfli.
GENTLY advanced In the western cOun.
try to sustain total prohibition, and
to endeavor to inaugurate such mea.
sure and carry it through to anything
like satisfactory result. would be
very much like trying to make water
reverse its current. Prohibition may
he and in many places is. measurably
successful, but in such instances it is
confined To small towns and villages.
But when we speak of prohibition in
its broadcast sense, including whole
States, it is practically dead letter,
and in fact means free whisky. Did
public sentiment uphold prohibition,
and were the habits of our people such
as to give it moral force, then the SIT
uation would he vastly different from
what we find it.
Our "PrOhibitionist" friend should
take into account also that the people
of the West and those of the East are
very different in temperament as we'll
as taste. There the population is
composed of class Of people who
were born and reared upon Il single
section society is founded upon mar
rover grounds public sentiment las
in Maine, for instance,) is decidedly
opposed to the licensing of saloons or
the imbibing of strong drinks. In
the West, it is different. Here we
find society composed of various ma
tionalities we find the hardworking
men of all nations striving for CON-
potency /; industrial enterprises are
pushed with less capital and more
vigor; the population is less staple
and more given to speculation. In
fact we are in a different hemisphere.
and surrounded by vastly different
circumstances in life.
Public influence must he exerted to
Il far greater extent than is now WISH
bile before prOhibitiOn-absOlut and
unqualified be successfully car.
ried out. If the temperance people
could be satisfied to create this senti.
ment by degrees, and not try to jump
from low license to prohibition with
single leap, we are firmly of the
opinion that the feat could be very
much more easily performed and GER
tainly more successfully accomp-
lished.
"PrOhibltiOnist" cites an instance
above where a Kansas man says that
he "had seen more drunkenness in
Minnesota in two weeks than in Kan.
sas in rs many years" Now there is
just one explanation that we can see
for this, and that is that the gentle
man took extra pains to absent him.
self from Kansas during that time.
and was particular to notice every
man in Minnesota to ascertain if he
was drunk or had been drinking, for
it is a well known fact that the Kan.
sas prohibitory law, so far as it re-
lates to absolute prohibition, was
ever violated. trampled under foot and
grossly outraged. Whisky and beer
could be. and has all along, been OBJ
tanned by those who were determined
to have it, and the worst feature of
the whole matter was that it led men
or at least men led themselves-tO
resort to dishonest means to secure
that which the law said they should
not have. Then is it policy, is it just,
is 1t human. is it Christ:anlike to
make laws that cannot be enforced,
and cannot because public sentiment
is not brought up to point that it
should be to make it operative and
effective
THE FREE PRESS is not anti.prOhi.
bition, but when prOhibitOry law is
passed it wants sufficient moral force
at its back to see that it prohibits,
and the first steps to be taken in this
| direction would seem to be to com.
mence ut the bottom and work up.
and not commence at the top to
tumble down. High license, as is
shown by the bitterness with which
the saloon element has fought it, is a
long stride toward prohibition, be.
cause it would place Il good whole.
some restraint over the traffic, and
when you would subject an evil you
must first get it under control.
Minnesota, we presume, is where
"PrOhibitlOnist" desires prohibition.
But let us refresh his knowledge with
a fact that he is fully familiar with,