The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-02-17
Prohibition in Kansas.

The future of the Temperance move1
ment in Kansas will be awaited with
considerable interest, now that Gov
ernor Click is announcing so en-
phatically that he finds no good in Pro-
hibition. Elected upon an Anti-Prohi-
bition platform, although not upon that
issue alone, and owing his election
partly to the aid of the liquor interests.
it is, of course, to be expected that Mr..
Click should on every occasion de-
nounce Prohibition. of which his unsuc-
cessful opponent Governor St. John,
has been the champion.
Some recently published utterances
of Mr.. Click, however, appear to indi-
cate that his zeal is carry ng him too
far. He says: g In the year preced ng
Prohibition in Kansas the United States
Revenue Collector issued l, 1872 permits
to sell intoxicating liquors, being one
permit to. every S73 persons, showing
! Kansas to be the first Temperance State
in the Union. The first year of Prohi-
bition Colonel Carpenter, the United
States Revenue Collector, issued l, 788
/ permits, being an increase of So per
cent, or one permit to every 551 per-
sons, which makes Kansas the seventh
wishes us to believe literally that an in
crease of over one-half of the number
of drinking places throughout the State
followed the enactment the Prohibit
tory law, he asks altogether too much.
The superstition is unreasonable. Nor,
granting that his figures are correct,
does the issuing of permits by a collec-
tor Justify his inference. He would not
claim that previous to Prohibit on there
were only 1872 places in the State
where liquor was sold. Nor would he
deny that on the passage of the law,
which was expected to be stringently
enforced, most liquor-selers would de-
sire to screen themselves as far as pos
sible, and thus those who had had no
permits before would apply for them,
wi hout any actual increase in the num-
Der. 1t is to be hoped also that in his
calculation of proportions Mr.. Click
took cognizance of the unus ally rapid
growth of the population at that time.
He continues: % In the first forty-five
days OF the second year of Prob bit on
there were issued l, 149 permits, being
sixteen more than in the whole last
Year of license and Local Option"
What particular significance is there in
this? ltwould be very strange If people
who intended to apply for permits to
run year. didn't apply for them in the
first month and half of that year.
Mr.. Gl ok and his friends consider
Pr hibit;onists fanatics. They fail to
see that the same charge can be pre-
ferred against themselves. The conclu-
sion to be drawn from Mr.. Click words
is that Prob btion set every Other man
in Kansas t. selling liquor, but that
lcen would stop its sa altogether.
[ Now it is true that liz or has been sold
in Kansas ever since the enactment of
, Prohibitory legislation. Few are 50
, sanguine as to expect such laws to sup
press entirely its sale. But it is equally
, true that less liquor was sold than be-
fore the law was passed. The Kansas
farmers have been steady advocates of
Prohibition. The sentiment of the large
towns has favored license. In these
, towns the traffic has never been aban-
doned, owl g to the popu ar feeling
against the enforcement o the law.
Thus, at the state Capital, Topeka the
local authorities were known to sympa-
thize with the liquor-sellers. But where
, there were previous y half a dozen open
2 bars, the influence of the la has substi-
5 tuted one small and carefully concealed
t drinking place. The electio of an
AUTHORIZATION Governor can not
, change the law 1t is his duty to see to
t its enforcement, but his utterances give
little reason to expect that he will do so.
If he fai S, he sets the peo lie of the
| State the dangerous example of their
Chief Executives neglecting and tramp
! ling upon their laws, and reaction will
, ensue VIII oh will bring representative
of Prohibition to the front. Governor
Click should cease his denuncia-
J TORSO Prohibit on, and prepare to sus-
tain the law which he has sworn to en-
! force. IN y. Tribune.