Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-02-14

voted to the legislative business of the
session, which has been too long neglected
already. There is no time to waste on i'm
practical schemes such as this.
-
LICENSE Il TEMPERANCE MEASURE.
In most of the states legislatures are in
session, and all of the Legislators
are considering the temperance prob
lem. 1t is no new thing to
say that there are found many men of
many minds, and it is just to say that in
the sunlight of this day of enlightment,
progress and substantial sobriety, there
are none who care to stand in opposition
to measures capable of controlling and
regulating the liquor traffic. There is
nothing practical about prohibition, for
one reason, if for no other, appetite can
not be legislated out of mankind. Men
who care to do real good will waste no
breath on the unattainable, and prohibi
ton is unattainable and has never OBJ
tanned anywhere.
The practical treatment of the ques
tion is through license, and the
only question of difference is, what
shall the license be? Prohibition
means free rum for all who want it. Lii
cense, properly provided, means saving
and wholesome regulation of the traffic.
AS long as the sun shines and the earth re-
wolves, liquor will be made and consumed.
There is way to stimulate its consump-
ton, and there is a way to control it.
In Canada license law prevails, known
as the Crooks licensing act. 1t IS
charged that the system has in
creased intemperance, but this is charge
merely, and the real facts are to the con-
trary. Under the Crooks act the number
of licenses, both for towns and saloons, is
limited-one license being granted for
each full $50 of the first one thousand of
the population of city, town or village,
and one license for each full 400 over
1000 of the population. All taverns must
show that they possess all
the necessary requisites for feed
ing and lodging travellers. All saloon
or shopkeepers must furnish certificates of
good character, and furnish bonds to keep
quiet place. Every applicant is re
ported upon individually by the license in
spector to the license commissioners, and
the common council has authority to reg
ulate his business in any manner it sees lit.
The licenses schedule at $3.50 for a whole
sale licenses; retailers in cities, $3.50; in
villages, 800.
The Toronto Globe furnishes important
testimony over against the charge that this
license system has not reduced the evil of
intemperance. The Globe shows that
prior to the passage of the act
the production of spirits from
1868 to 1876 increased steadily
from 3,912, 48O gallons to 5,615, 154 gallons,
and of malt liquors from 4,O14, 1854 gallons
to 7,526,965 gallons. The passage of the
act in 1876 was followed Immediately by a
decrease in the production of spirits from
5,615,154 gallons to 3,111,119 gallons, and
of malt liquors from 1896 gallons, to
1912, All gallons. The production of spir-
its thus fell off AK per cent, and malt
liquors q per cent. In 1882 the proauc-
ton of spirits was 1902, 1873 gallons, which,
as compared with 1876 shows falling off
of more than one half, or 81 per cent.
Diminished production was followed by
diminished consumption, and diminished
consumption by a decrease of drunken
ness, and the arrests for drunkenness and
disorderly conduct were reduced by IL per
cent. The testimony of the Toronto pub
lie, is the testimony everywhere, and
our Canadian contemporary, the Globe,
is warranted in saying that 1.-THE
Crooks act, as temperance
measure has been a magnificent success.
Its success in having removed corrupting
question from the arena of municipal pol
itics is alone SO great that the enemy does
not dispute it,"
Higher license would undoubtedly have
wrought greater -benefcence, and with a
license of $500, where it was 800 and
$3.50, the consumption would have been
much more affected.
Another example may be cited. The
town of Paris, Ill, has the population of
5000, and had fifty saloons. This number
has been reduced to eight by the adoption
of license of $500, and how much the
curse of dram drinking is mitigated by the
Punishment of forty-two dram shops is too
self-evident to require argument.
Mayor Stowell, of Milwaukee, has ad-
dressed an urgent memorial to the Wlscon-
sin Legislature urging the adoption of a
license system, the minimum to be fixed at
5000. There are IN Milwaukee
thousand saloons, and the
mayor expresses the greatest
confidence that with the system he pro-
poses the number of saloons in Milwaukee
would be reduced by one-haif, and at the
same time double the amount paid into
the city treasury by the saloons.
The license question is before the Hi
nois legislature, and the bill chiefly under
consideration, fixes the minimum license at
$500. The Chicago Tribune argues that
instead of $500the minimum license shou Id
be $1,000. At this fee, the same
paper says, the 1000 saloons of
Chicago would be reduced to
twelve or fourteen hundred, affording a
revenue to the city of $1,2OO,OOO to 81, AGO.
600. This would be saloon to each one
bupdrad 70 which raOordod af-