The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-09-18

increased in twenty-eight towns aud
cities from 40 under the license law
GIG under prohibition and the inter-
nal revenue reports show sixteen rec
tifyers of spirits, and 4,327 dealers in
iutoxicans in Iowa, notw outstanding
prohibition. The British consul re-
sident at Portland, Me-, was i'll
structed few years ago by his gov
eminent to examine into the opera
ton of the Maiue liquor law aud re-
port fully upon it, lie did so, and re-
ported that while the effects of the
law might be productive of some
good in the rural districts, where
there WAS but little drunkenness I'M
der any circumstances, in the towns
and cities its operation was harmful
and bad. In 1882 Maine had one
dealer in liquor for every seven hum
dred and ninety-one of her people,
while West Virginia with the same
population and no prohibitory law.
had one liquor dealer for every eight
hundred and seventeen people. More
saloons in prohibition Maine than in
non-prohibition West Virginia.
Within the last thirty three years the
states of Maine, Delaware, NJ uncsota
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, ludi-
ana, Vermont, Michigan. CoDnccti-
cut, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, New
Hampshire, Illinois and Kansas have
had prohibitory liquor laws of differ
snt degrees of severity Fifteen
states, and at this time only five
Maine, Kansas, Iowa, New lamp
shire and Vermont-retain them
These laws have been swept from the
statute-books of all the others. Mas
ssohusetts tried prohibition tw ice be.
fore she could give il up, and the last
time it was in force, only about one
year before she repealed II again aud
abandoned 1t. Shall we not profit by
the, experience of the world with this
question? The democrats of Iowa, in
their state convention, held some two
weeks ago, solemnly appealed to the
people of Iowa to repeal prohibition
in the interest and for the advance.
ment of the cause of temperance.
Would this appeal have been made
upon this ground to the very people
who know the facts, unless believed to
be well founded! All the states which
have tried prohibition and abandoned
it, have found in high license and
stringent Legislation against sales TO
minors, drunkArds, etc a relief from
the evils of intempcrauce which pro-
hibitory laws utterly failed TO give.
| II has been found utterly impossible
TO enforce prohibitory laws. They
always arouse II spirit of resistance.
As has been well said, "they are a
trumpet call to battle, and practically
are always overthrow. Search war
rants, under which an armed consta-
bulary seize persons and search them
for liquor, break and enter houses aud
homes searching for it--a system of
| espionage which sets tho servant to
watching his employer. which sends
the detective into the family, which
! fills the country with spies and in
formers, and the courts with petty
cases these are the methods through
which probibitory laws must be
enforced, ii enforced at all, and
they breed among spirited
naanla Ench contempt for the
ing II, that II speedily becomes a
dead letter or is repealed. Such has
been the experience of the states
where prohibition has been tried.
The great revenues derived from the
traffic to the states and nation being
about one-third of all received (that
is the proportion in Texas), il lost
wherever prohibition is adopted,
throwing a heavier burden of taxa
ton ON property, and resulting In no
substantial dininution of the G, il of
lntemperance, but in great demorali-
cation and contempt tor all law. The
evils OF intemperance are admitted TO
l...N Il L.. "a l..
soryation and experience of all that
they are much less than formerly. Ia
other words that drunkenness and It's
accompanying vices have for many
years been growing less, aud that
there has been no time when improve
inent III this respect has been so rapid
and marked as now. Ii we viii only
get rid of the false notion that evil cal,
be voted out of the world and men
made moral by legislative enactment.
aud let home discipline, moral main.
ing and school aud church Influences
continue the good work now going
on, to be supplemented with
appropriate legislation regu-
lating traffic which all human
experience proves we can not sun.
press, we have done all in our power
to reduce the evils of intemperance
TO the lowest possible minimum. |
yield to no man greater detestatiou |
OF the evils of the vices and crimes at. |
tendaEt upon drunkenness than 1 |
have always felt, aud wiz 90 as far AZ |
any other in favor OF legislation which
is practical and eau be enforced for
their prevention. believe the high
hn
with proper restrictive
clauses. l quote here Mr.. Bayard's
letter before referred to:
WAsBrNdToN, ID. c., March 1, 1881.
My dear sir; do not like to intrude
nv opinions nnaskcd upon members
Of the legislature.
agree with you in thinking loca'
option laws of very doubtful consti-
positively IueApedient.
So far as my experience goes, n well
'egulaled system OF licenses, whereby
'cyenue Is largely brought into tho
public treasury, coupled with severe
penalties for illicit sale, has proved
IN most efficient check upon tho
'buse of the liquor traffic.
In many respects the question is A
umptuary one, aud laws attempting
o establish sumptuary regulations
ecomes iuquisitorial aud impossible
i execution, so that in those com.
lunities in this country where they
ave been enacted they have
ither aggravated the evil they
ere intended to prevent, or have
lllen into contempt and usolessness
nd been repealed.
The statements | have seen OF the
'al condition of those communities
which total prohibition has been
tempted have impressed me very
rongly in confirmation of these
ews. !
Personal influence and example
ID precept, and the recognition of \
. great truth that intemperance In