The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-05-18
PROHIBITION VS.. HIGH IL
CENSE, ETC.
Eiiisr Free Press :

Waiting Tor the train ia tircsomc work II
one has nothing To do, and here am with no
paper Ia read and hours to pass In somc way.
| Your response Ia my request ana proposition
is before me. Thus far il amounts Ia about
! this: Iou make a statement, I ask for proof
and you repeat the statement. Perhaps IL Is
| Just a. well Ia leave Il there, hut must pass
away my time in some way and with the op-
portunity Ia write granted by the agent,
will notice some points In yonr article and II
you do not wish To publish more, il will aud
n little to your tirc-kindlings.
You are At the opinion that would agree
with you IL J would inform myself better
upon the question oi high license and prohi-
hilton. Twin not question the correctness of
that modest assumption, but ask why not
| give me the evidences I asked for, not bare
assertions, but proof, facts, figures; that
would he one source of information that
will gladly use.
| You say that public sentiment is not suf-
hcientiy advanced here in the West to sustain
prohbitiol<, How does any one know until II
ia tried? Why not help To give il u fair test
We meet that objection frequently 10y those
who dare not let the people vote upon the
that prohibition would win and that public
sentiment that can carry prohibition in IA
popular vote can enforce IL after IL IL car
ried.
But will high license create prohibition
sentiment Nou say yes aud with "long
| strides" Hut u correspondent Of the iat'T-
ocsd1. recently writes from Nebraska quite u
different story. So also says John b. Finch
and other good witnesses, viz: That Nebras-
ka ia farther from prohibition than when the
| his h-liccnse law went into effect. They also
say that II IA not enforced, that the low dog
gerics sell ON the sly, pay occasionally u nne
and go on as successfully AZ ever; that drum
| kcnncss IL not diminished; that the only gain
| u in revenue, and too many are willing 10
| sell oul prohibition or any other right princi-
pie If they can get their price, hence the law
! il n sham and II curse.
| True, whisky sellers prefer low license Ia
| high, but they will work for high license, AS
they pretended Ia do in our Legislature and
did 81 in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere
and are doing now in Iowa, II by SD doing
they can defeat prohibition, TAE PRESS Is
not anti-prohibition but waiting FOR public
sentiment. How shall that be- sccuredl By
| the united, earnest, continued advocacy of
prohibition 10y the entire press Of the co,in-
| try. Let them all take the bold stand that the
| Iowa RsgistsF has done aud We would have
! prohibition, as soon as the laws could lie
framed ana amendments passed. You say
that prohibition may be aud IL "measurably
successful in small towns and villages hut
prohibition in its broadest sense including
whole States. is practically u dead letter and
| m. fr.,. "a nU thnf i,,st
thing We deny and ask for the proof. have
been working for prohibition In towns ami
villages for years and with some success, but
the objection most frequently made is that
drinkers can get what they want in Towns
near 10y; that We shall lose trade; and there
fore il is of no bel efit. Giveus State prohi-
billion say they, AMI we will vote for il.
But ii prohibition in States means free
whisky why do saloon-keepers oppose IL. ~
consistency. etc" but you speak of the diff
ference between the East and West; that
there public sentiment is opposed Ia saloons
AMI drinking, etc do We understand from
that, that prohibition In its broadcast sense, -
does prohibit: That IL IL not ~ dead letter
and does "Ot mean free whisky" In the Easts
A large part of the West came from the East
and il politicians viii give them II chance
they viii make prohibition prohibit here.
And il they do not get that chance soon, they
viii prohibit some politicians from going IL
the legislature. You speak III absolute pro-
hihiIion," ami say that the Kansas law Is yiol-
atcd ami those VINO want drink gel H. even IL
they have 10 resort Ia dishonest means aud as h
Al IL Is not "unchristian' to make men dis
honest. am surprised that candid, intelii-
! -, ,t'f a. .n 4 hat A..
sDlute prohibition of crime has no existence.
Every issue al the secular press contains ac-
counts of murders, Iheits, defaications, Tor.
geries, ana every other crime I'm the list, In
spite OF laws prohibiting them. License laws
are also not executed. lis it christianlike 10
make laws" against all these crimes when
men " i'll resort IL dishonest means" To evade
or violate them!
Finally, US To the Kansas man, his state
ments were made in manner indicating
their trutnfulness. But he was stranger Ia
me; IL matters not whether his testimony
was true or false. Tor have abundant testim-
Ony that the Kansas law has been as well ell
forced in all the State, except nNe large cite.
~ any law of the State against crime, and is
productive nf great good. l. the fact that it
j. not enforced in those cities II reason for
the repeal al the law Then all laws against
gambling should be repealed in the State Of
| New YORK, for u ~ not cnf forced IN great
cities. Ditto license aud many other laws In
most al the states.
Now, MIR Editor, have been trying To get
information on this question for twenty-five
years or more, ana am quite ready to read
ana weigh those proofs, whenever they are
presented PRoHiBITIoNIsT.