The Red Cloud chief., 1884-05-09
THE LIQUOR QUESTION.


No economical question has come to
the front more re>olutelv OF late than
the question how To deal with the ira tic
in Intoxicating liquors. 1t has evident
" "come to stay and viii be an in
creaSinsly perpleNing element in all po-
litical calculations.
Thirty two wears ago the original
Ma ne law for the suppression of
tiuplin@-hOuSes was enacted in 4 state
whose population were mainly total az
~stainerS from alcoholic beverages. The
str ngent prohihitory legislation of
Ma ne was speedily followed by that of
eight or other States: in some of
them it has been repealed. but to-day
the principle of prohibition remains III
grated on the statute-bOoks OF Maine,
Vermont and Kansas. There Is also 4
local prob b;tOry act in force in Vine
land. New jersey. and in many towns
and counties of Georgia, South Caro-
lima. and perhaps some other States.
The consti;utiouali,y oi prohibition has
been repeatedly affirmed in the highest
courts; il stands. lust as the license svs-
ten stands. ON the same foundation with
quarantine regulations. or with the law
| %forbidding powder-miIls in the heart OF
4 city. II the commonwealth finds the
dram-ShOp Il fruitful source of pauper-
ism and crime, it has a clear, undenia-
BILE right either TO limit il or to suppress
it entirely "Salus populi suprema lev
About the consiitutionality of pro-
hi tory legislation there Is no serious
dispute; the real difficulty is with re-
gard to its practicahility and the pos
SD litv of enforcing il. n dead law is
as useless and inodorouS as a dead man.
The experience of Maine, Vermont
and Kansas has established one fact
I ut the enforcement of suppresSive
laws depends entirely upon The wishes
OF the ma Ority in the different local.
I rs. Wherever the local public senti-
ment elects magistrates who will en-
force the law. it is fairly enforced this
is the ca e in very MANY localities OF
those three States. especially in the
rural districts. Wherever the ma Ority
choose officers who will wink at the yiO-
lar on of the law. either in part OF
wholly, there prohibition IS practically
a dead letter. For example. the pub
liz authorities of the city of Bangor,
Me, created at one time no small scan
dial by permit NJ the dr~am-shops to
keep open doors, and it is charged
against the present authorities of Port
land L n they allow no small amount
Of liquor selling TO go UNPUBLISHED. In
the river towns OF Kansas the >ame
state of things exists. The written law
of 4 whole State is the act ally n
70. ced law of such portions of the State
As decree its enforcement by their bal
lots. That this is not the mo t health
ful mode of dealing with the solemnities
OF law goes without saving.
These facts seem to point clearly 10
the right;ulness anu exped ency of n
method of dealing with the dram-shup.
and that is the method of local control.
THIS principle is As essentially demo-
cratic as was the or ginal town meet
ing of primitive New England. which
lies at the foundation of our VIII lie
structure of Government. If the citi-
| zens of any township or municipality
regard the existence of tipplirg-hOuses
as IN meal to their best interest, they
should be permitted either to limit
them bv q hi9h-license fee or TO pro-
hiDit them altogether. Because the cisy
of Trenton DIES res to license dram
shops, that is no reason why the COM
munity of Fineland. in the same State.
should be compelled to live under a IL
cense law. In .>ew York City the excise
system has VIGOROUSLY failed to exert
any repress,ve control of the business of
grOg-sell .ng; but that fact should not
prevent the inhabitants of any town.
ship or village in Oneida County from
-.ln lI,rr w. o.,-n 90 ,,,hl,n tnnn NO 7
ton from their borders. Those who
dance must paw the fiddler (and New
York pays roundly :; but it is hard that
a community who abhor the dance
should not be allowed to clear out the
frolic and the fiddler too.
This just and republican principle of
local control is now being fairly tested
in Georgia and South Carolina where
the w~hisky-shops have proved so dam
gcrOus and demoralizing to both ne
groes and poor whites The counties
and the incorpOra ed WI who petit
ton for the privilege receive from the
State Legislature the legal right 10 sup
press tippIing-hOuses IN Ter severe pen
allies. Tbs local prob b:tiOn has been
voted for in many localities; It's per-
manent enforcement Will depend en-
tirely on the stamina of the people and
their elected authorities. As an honest
experiment OF seli-government in a
p 'culiarly difficult direction. it OF pro
digious Importance; its educating intiu-
N on the people can not we'll be over
estimated. It's success will be a price
less bless NO to the South
The method of ''high license fees
has been adopted in Illinois and in
Iowa and some other portions OF the
West. This system closes M a great
number of haunts of temptation to the
working classes. and is to that degree
ben fetal. Bette this half 4 loai
than a whole Ii uor-caSk without anv
bung. L e friends of order and mofaii-
ty Will make ., serious mistake if they !