The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-05-08
Ilse license =, stem.

81 - AEE 49, 80 - &N
p%roIibitory liquor lav until you execute
what law yau have = To show tie all
surdity Of sach a question. let us suppose
our STATE siauld authorize the opening Of
one u more gambling houses in every VII
age where ly some Of the citizens il is
deemed desirable. IN individual applies
10 tie proper authority for license to keep
suei q house. fortified by the recommends
ton 3ftwenty men. WHO endorse him as a
man Il good moral character. This
lssls pairing a liberal sum for the privilege
~ ef manufacturing roelIes or Fleeing
lis neiglibor IS promised protection BY law
on certain conditions. He is TO allow no
minor TO play IN lis hell without the
consent Of lis parents. nor a confirmed
gambler without the consent Of his wife.
lie : not to keep his house open more than
an hour after midnight, nor at all on the
sabbath. 4. good enough law says one if
only enforced. Now suppose, Is every
body expected. these restrictive regulations
are d~isreearied by the keeper whenever
his ~IecuniaTy interest IS thereby promoted,
what can the orierloying people do about
it, II they prosecute the proprietor for al
legged violations OF tile law. how can they
ordinarily prove tile same but by the Grim
inal inmates themselves. and the probabil-
itY 81 getting the truth ont Of them may
lie seen by the generally futile attempt TO
conv1ct tavern or saloon keepers for vio-
lating excise laws with the testimony OF
bartenders ard whisky-euzzlers. especially
when all the officers ii the law are in
known sympathy with. if not positively
committed 10 the liquor interest. And
as T. tapsters. the truth Is. when we IL
ceHse men u commit crime or practice
immortality to a certain extent, it is absurd
10 expect where money can be made. that
they viii be very conscientious 10 keep
closely within the limits assigned them.
wien they 50 well know how difficult it is
to secure their conviction and punishment
for such violation. Indeed, the sad proof
is o~verpowering that most men who take
ont license. instead Of studying how To
subserye the cause Of sobfiety. and dimin-
ISL the use OF alcoholic beverages, as was
first intended by the license system. do moi
even intend strictly to adhere 10 the letter
Of those requirements and ~interdictions oi
their warrant which seemingly conflict with
their pccuuiary interest. \ few year,
since, for instance. q hotel-keeper with
whom we We're acquainted, was expostu-
+ Id r-s-1. F.r Fv...,.I+r,- arfff,- IT, 20,
tie Sabbath and to minors and inebriate>
contrary to Ian. 80 far from denying the
charge, he admitted that sometimes he did
81. adding thai the commissioners them
selves. elected Is they of course were by
friend, Of license. approved of lis course.
or at least knew that in taking license he
would do Just as he was doing. Moreover,
he added. my object in asking for license
and paying for the privilege Of liquor sell
ing was simply 10 make money. but thert
is 10 money in it If I am to be kept rigidly
within the limits Of the statute.
Ii. then. such il, the destroying influence
OF the average well-patronized saloon oil
barroom-and who can doubt it, the mis-.
chief emanating tltercfrom im~measurably
exceeds that flowing from its congenia'
ally, the gambling house, or any Other
place Of demoralizins amusement: fully
ijustifying Wesley in denouncfng the rum
seller as q ''paiscner general driving hi,
fellow-men TO hell like sheep" and Beech
CT il calling the dram shop, "A breathing
place Of hell" The liquor traffic indeed
must be an evil to force from
the lips Of the amiable and gifted Bishop
Foster these burning words: How long
shall the face of our christian age blister
with this worse than pagan shame? Has
the virtue Of orr time degenerated so low
that We do not even blush at the legislated
traffic in the souls of our own children ?
That by the very doors of our homes and
our teIaples an array of miscreants should.
by authorization of laws made by christian
law-giyer>, prosecute a work Of murder
and death -
IN conclusion. no doubt many readers OF
this paper wonder why at this late day we
r~eiterate for the thousandth time the argu-
ments which prove, what is now consider
ed almost aelf-evident. that the legalized
liquor traffic is eNi 1, only evil, and the pro-
life cause Of nearly all the drunkenness
with which our world is cursed. The an
swer is, as it is our misfortune to know,
that even now, aside from tapsters and
tipplers. there are not a few men occupy
ing high places in our churches who yet
cling with the t~enacity of horse lceches to
orr license system, a., if not the best that
could be constructed, at least uphold it
not only as q temperance measure, but one
which carried out would well-nigh abolish
inebriety. And the worst Of it is, these
men refuse to take or read any distinctive
temperance paper, and are unwilling to
allow any evidence condemnatory Of our
license system being admitted into our or
binary religions and secular newspapers.
Some OF these men with singular i%nconsis-
tency claim 10 favor a prohibitory law,
when public sentiment shall be sufficiently
/ educated to appreciate and execute it. but
50 far from helping in such educational
work, they seem utterly unaware of the
fact that while they maintain the position
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