Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-09-11
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER u, 1885.
SUNDAY IIoUon SELLING.

AS the law now stands it is illegal to
sell liquor in the Islands or Sunday.
Without discussing the merits or de-
merits Of the law, as it appears upon
our statutes, twill not be amiss to look
at some points bearing upon its enforce
ment Last Sunday parties we're ar
rested for violation Of this law On
Monday one of the persons arrested
was dismissed by the prosecution enter
ing mol pros, and the other defend
ant, F. G. Roche, bartender Of the
Cosmopolitan Saloon, was held to an
swer on charge Of selling liquor with
out license. Last Wednesday he was
tried, found guilty and fined $3.50 with
$i.so costs added. OF course this yer
dict is virtually one against the proprie-
tors of the Cosmopolitan Saloon. Here
the matter is likely to drop. 1t is one
Of the defects of our police service that
systematic violations of law in Honolulu
are only spasmodically prosecuted, es-
pecially where these violations take
the form of evasions, While the off
GERS of the law may not be justly
charged with neglect of duty, there is
no doubt that degree of supineness
exists which allows our Sunday liquor
law to be constantly evaded if not
openly violated, without the proper
steps being taken to rigidly enforce con
tinuous obedience. 1t is a well estab
lished fact, proved by practical test, for
those who have taken the pains to in
ve,tisate the matter, that liquor can be
bought on Sunday at score of places,
or even more, by the initiated The
initiated include all those who are
known by the venders to indulge in
the occasional" drink, who have the re-
quisite quarter and who know how to
keep their mouths shut. A sort of
spiritual free-masonry exists among
these bibulous law breakers, which
quickly detects and excludes the in
quisitive outsider. There are few
saloons in town which, rigidly enforce
and respect both the letter and the
spirit of the law. There is no question
of doubt as to the liquor being sold I;
If anybody thinks there is they can
easily test the matter, any Sunday
morning, by giving one Of the "chronic
buns" who ornament our streets, dol
lar or tw, 1. and see how long it will he
before he appears on the street again.
staggering under the weight of liquid
commercial exchange. 1t is but equal
and exact justice that the authorities
enforce the law against all illicit selling
or allow the law to remain dead letter.
If those whose duty it is to check
this illicit traffic, declare that they do
not know where to find these violations
of law, then it is high time that officers
are substituted who will have the knack
Of walking our streets with their eyes
open, and whose hands will not SO
readily close over the seductive dollar
In our every day reasonings in life
we are mostly logical without under
standing the technical rules of logic !;
but in generalizing the knowledge we
have attained by practical means we
constantly fall into paralogisms. This
is especially the case when we reduce
our knowledge to proverbs and aphor-
isms as will be seen by analyzing few
statements of current sayings The
following taken from the September
Century Magazine will suffice ;
What the world wants just now is less
civilization and more of the virtues
"We get our vices from each other, but
our virtues by cultivation" Z" Labor
will buy anything that is in the market"
"rhe man who is ever muttering to
himself is talking to fool" "He who
has no superstitions loses half the pleas
ures of life" Nature makes her own
laws, but can't break one il she tried :"
etc, etc. Take the average wise saying
of the world and it is logically defect
i've.
When the Government does patch
work on the roads they ought to do it
well, and not botch it as has been
done at the corner Of Merchant and
Alakea streets.