Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1883-03-28
Results In Kansas.


The prohibitory amendment was adopted |
in Kansas al the November election, $780, |
by a majority of 5000 votes. The law |
passed in pursuance of the amendment took |
effect NAV |, 1881. A letter recently writ |
ten by Governor Gulick of Kansas to one c. |
Compton Burnet, states that "in the year |
preceding prohibition in Kansas the United |
States revenue collector issued 1872 permits |
to sell intoxicating liquors, being one per-
init to $40 persons, showing Kansas to be
the first temperance state in the Union. The
first year of prohibition, Colonel Carpenter,
the United States revenue collector, issued
17sS permits TO sell Intoxicating liquors.
This makes an increase Of 90 per cent, or
one permit to each 555 persons, and takes
Kansas from the first and places her in the
seventh place as temperance state" In
answer to the above l desire to state that
the last year of license referred to by Gov.
ernor Gulick closed the Both day of April,
1881. / have before me an official letter
from Colonel Carpenter, collector of internal
revenue for the district of Kansas, dated at
Leavenworth, Kansas, November %, 1882,
in which he says: In answer to yours Of
the 18th, aud telegram of subsequent date,
will say have made an examination Of
the records of my office, and find from Msy
/, 1880. up to the end of the tax wear, April
80, 1881, there were issued 1877 retail
liquor dealers stamps" Thus IL is shown by
an examination of records Governor Gulick
mis.states the facts TO the extent OF over
800 permits. In the same letter from Colo
mel Carpenter he further says During the
same period there were issued so brewers
permits; number Of wholesale liquor deal
ers' stamps for same period, sc. From May
l, 1881, TO the end of tax year, April 80,
1882, there were issued l7S7 retail dealers
stsmps brewers permits issued for same
period, "a number Of wholesale liquor deal
era stamps issued for same period, IL"
Showing that notwithstanding the fact that
all the disputed questions in relation 10
the validity of the prohibitory amendment
were settled in the courts during the
first year of prohibition, which left our peo-
pie in doubt for quite time as to what the
final results iu the courts would be, the
number of liquor dealers stamps the first
year was reduced to 100, breweries were re-
duced from 80 to "a. wholesale liquor deal
ers' establishments from 80 to II. Colonel
Carrenter's letter further says -" Flom May
/ to November %, 1882, retail liquor deal
ers' stamps issued, 1854 number of brew
ers' permits, II ; number of wholesale liz
uor dealers stamps, 49," Showing that the
breweries in the state under the influence
of prohibition had been reduced from 80 to
IL, and the wholesale liquor dealers houses
from 80 to 10. OF the 1854 retail liquor
dealers stamps it is safe to say that at least
1854 of them we're taken out by druggists,
who alone under the law are authorized to
sell intoxicating liquors for medical, scien-
tific, and mechanical purposes, but are re-
quired by the laws of the United States to
procure retail liquor dealers stamp. These
1854 stamps being issued for legitimate pur-
poses may be deducted from the aggregate
number, leaving 1900. From this 1900
may safely be deducted at least 200 taken
out by parties who had been prosecuted, and
had their places Of business closed under
the law and their stamps rendered valueless.
leaving about 900 places in Kansas, with
at least million population, where intoxi-
eating liquors are sold openly or on the sly,
giving Kansas. under prohibition, but one
such place to every thousand of her popula-
tion. and placing her in the very front rank
Of the temperance states of the nation.
The Budweiser Beer company, the largest
beer establishment in the west, recently
made an assignment A statement is made
by Mr.. Conrad, its general manager, and
published in the St. Louis Republican IAN
anti.prohibition paper) of date January 23,
1888, in which Mr.. Conrad assigns among
other reasons for the failure, the following
"a large, valuable and remunerative trade
had been built up at a great expense in the
neighboring states of Iowa and Kansas the
constitutional amendment prohibiting the
sale of intoxicating liquors in those states
did not only almost destroy that trade in the
latter part Of 1881 and the early part of
1882 but merchants, taking advantage of the
popular feeling and the temper Of the courts,
became remiss in their remittances for goods
previously obtained, collections by process
OF law becoming almost impossible" The
Kansas State Journal, published at Kansas
City, Missouri (another anti-prohibition
paper) in its issue for March 8, 1882, says
"There is great deal of nonsence in the
repeated assertions that the prohibition law
of Kansas has built up a much larger whole
sale liquor trade in Kansas City, A num-
Der Of dealers told Journal reporter on
Wednesday that their trade from Kansas is
much less than before the adoption of the
law"
While the average annual internal reve-
nue. taxes paid by the people of the several
states on intoxicating liquors is, if | remem-
Der correctly, about 1925 per capita, in
Kansns, under prohibition, it is only frac-
tion over eight cents per capita.
Governor Gulick, in the letter to which /
have referred also makes the following
statement: "There were eighteen more
prisoners in the Kansas penitentiary the
first year of prohibition than there were in
the last year of local option and license,
showing an increase of three per cent in the
first year of prohibition" | have with me
an official letter from Henry Hopkins, war.
den of the Kansas penitentiary, dated Jsnu-
-. l. 4. e. A.
the year 1880 there were sent from the state
courts TO the Kansas penitentiary 300 con-
victs; while for the year 1881, a greater
portion Of the time being under prohibition,
the number amounted to only l83 showing
difference in favor of prohibition of 107.
have also an official letter from A. b.
Campbell, chaplain of the Kansas peniten.
tiary, who has free access to all the records
OF that institution, in which he certifes
that the prison population OF the peniten.
tiary, March ~, 1867, was SO; that from
that date it increased at an average rate of
48 every year until December 20, 1880 Zone
month after we adopted the amendment),
when 1t reached 1926. From the latter date
to October 10, 1882, the prison population
was reduced to 65l, showing an average de-
crease of forty under prohibition.
There are 81 organized counties in Kan
sas the 26 counties of the 81 that gave ma
jorities against the prohibitory amendment
sent, for the fiscal year ending June 80,
1882, one prisoner to the penitentiary for
every 3,43S of their population, while the
remaining So counties, giving majorities in
favor of prohibition, sent during the same
period but one prisoner 10 every SOL of
their population. These are facts furnished
me by officers in charge of the official
records. II will be seen that instead OF
prohibition increasing, it has greatly de-
creased the population Of the penitentiary
in Kansas.
The official reports of the auditors of the
state show that the value of all the taxable
property in the state for the fiscal year end
lug June 80, 1880 (under the old license
SYSTEM was $3.50 57076l for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1881 (ten months un-
der license and two under prohihi,ion) },
$3.50 6l3 1913 03, an increase Of $40 242,-
0l203; while for the fiscal year ending
JUNE 80, 1882 (under prohibition), it arc Sc
to $3.50 1928 1888; giving us an increase of
sl6 3l4 764 OF and it must be remembered
that this last assessment covered very
short crop in the state, and does not in-
clude the immense products of the farming
year OF 1882. We are selling more land in
Kansas to-day and at better prices than at
any time for many years past OF the 81
organized counties In Kansas think il is a
fair abatement of the "a "a IN aav that in at