The Red Cloud chief., 1884-03-21
Temperance Reading.
THE LAW AND ORDER LEAGUE.

THE LAW AND ORDER LEAGUE.
Whether the absolute prohibition or
the regulation of the liquor traffic be the
system best adapted to restrain in
temperance is a question on which good
men may differ. But. whether the law
of the State be %prOhibitory or license,
good citizens must agree that it should
be enforced. Many earnest Temperance
workers. in their eagerness to utterly
Danish the accursed cup frON the land,
do scant justice to the wisdom of the
laws concerning the sale of intoxicants
nov on the statute books. In most
States. notably in Massachusetts. this
code of laws is conceived with great
judgment and good sense. If these laws
were enforced, it is safe to say that in
temperance would be as effectually con-
trolled as under a prohibitory regime.
That they are not enforced is the weak
point of the license system. The Ii
cense law of Massachusetts provides.
among other things. that every seller of
intoxicating liquors shall be a person of
good moral character; that the liquor
sold shall be of good quality and free
from adulteratiOn; that no liquor shall
be sold to a drunkard or to any person
known to have been intoxicated within
six months; that no liquor shall be sold
to a minor. either for himself or for the
use of any other person; that no liquor
shall be sold on the Lords Day, or be-
tween the hours of midnight and six
o'clock in the morning, and that no
open bars shall exist within four
hundred feet of a school-hOuse. The
laws are excellent. but they have
never been Systematically enforced.
A movement looking toward the bet
ter enforcement of existing Liquor laws
has been recently started. The Citizens
Law and Order League has for its
avowed purpose the enforcing of what
yer laws regulating the liquor traffic
the statutes may contain. 1t asks no
new enactment. its watchwOrd is:
I'VE ask only obedience to law" A
movement so wise and so temperate has
commended itself to the Judgment of
law-abiding citizens in all our principal
cities and smaller towns, and the cause
has grown apace. The organization Of
a League is Very simple. 1t has one
active officer. either President or Secre-
tary, who devotes a large part OF his
time to the prosecution of the work.
An attorney is employed in the interest
of the society, who manages the cases
that are brought into the jurisdiction of
the courts. The law and order move
ment is an aggressive movement. 1t
- 80 Vo ro-nlrtcn-. - ro,,lat,, fay-
if any petitions. 1t is an honest, work
ing force.
Some of the results accomplished by
the various Leagues may be briefly no
ticed. The Chic League has been
in operation for five years. At the time
of its organization it was estimated that
thirty thousand boys ard girls were
daily patrons of the saloons. To save
these children has been the aim of the
League. 1t has prosecuted sixteen hum
bred liquor dealers. and secured twelve
hundred convictions. The members of
the League have visited over three thou
sand homes. and secured pledges from
many children not to visit saloons. In
this work it is believed that q million
dollars have been diverted from the till
OF the bar-keeper to the homes of the
city. The Massachusetts League was
formed less than two years ago, but it
is safe to say that in that short time So
lOon-keepers have received many salu-
tary lessons, and have been taught to
the law. The work which il is
doing for children is especially CRAFTY
ing. The Secretary believes that not
one sale of liquor is now made to minors
in Boston where one year ago ten were
made. In one town in Middlesex COun-
ten saloons were fiourishing in close
to school-houses when the
League was formed. These have been
obliged TO close their business.
The most hopeful sign in this move
ment is tine great interest, almost en-
thusiasm, with which it is greeted all
over the country. Seventeen branches
in as many different towns have already
been formed in Massachusetts. and
from all sides questions are pouring in
in regard to the methods of work and
its results. A convention. representing
States. has recently met in BOs-
ton, and as a result n National League
was formed in the hope of spreading the
interest in law and order TO every part
Of the land. Also a grand temperance
meeting was held at fremont Temple.
The strong point of this new movement
is that it gathers to itself all good citi-
Gems of whhtever shade of Temperance
opinion, and forms them into a solid
.halanx to meet q common foe
RHie.