The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-19

license as 1t 1t meant non-restr1ction- Inc ou-
preme Court of Michigan has lately rendered
decision declaring that s'the imposition OF tax
is not a license, but restraint This
is no matter of opinion nerely; 1t Is matter OF
experiment and of evidence. The family news
paper accuses great divines OF hastening 10 sell
the right to damn men for $500 year. One
of these great divines is the Rev. Howard
Crosby. d. d., of New York. DR.. Crosby is
man whose opinion will not be sneered at even
by Prohioitionists. He publicly advised votes
for St John, Religions newspapers IN Ne~
York testify that his organization for the pre-
vention of crime, has been the most effective
in the city, Constantly impeded oy
the low state of public sentiment IN
the community and among the puonc
officials, his society shut up /, f5e places IN Tue
first year of its existence Four years ago every
liquor saloon had its front door open on Sunday;
now it is closed and barred. DIR. Crosby Is said
70 be the best hated man by the liquor dealers IN
the city OF New York. Such man cannot 90
set aside as a brewer, rum apologlst TREND
OF publcans and sinners, and Dr. CROSBY says
that he considers the prohibition doctrine both
blunder and farce" He voted for Mr. st.
John because ''he cannot legislate If elected
Preaident. He can only execute The prohibit
ton sentiments of St John are, therefore, no
hindrance to my voting for him."
It is little extraordinary to see the reverend
gentleman so publicly and needlessly giving
himself slap in the face, the plea that it will
not hurt; but the only point that concerns us is
counts prohibition, even with small p, blum
der and a farce. The political Prohi
bittonist takes the ground that all the
by-ways to hell are open unless they
are closed by his patent lock. The great divine
points to the /, 100 shops actually shut but the
Prohbitionist refuses to see them, because they
are shut up by high license and not by prohibi-
ton The devil, of whom the Prohibitionist
speaks SO familiarly and confidently, undoubted-
ly lends hand, but it is as the father Of lies,
not as the father of liquor.
The same high authority that l have cited in
the decision OF the Michigan Supreme Court de-
clares that prohibition has been tried in this
State. Failing, however, to accomplish the re-
suit desired, the people have resorted to the
more usual means of regulation and taxation"
The result is matter of fact, not of opinion. In
one place where there were twenty five saloons
under prohibition, there were but nine under
tax. In Detroit over 500 were closed out by tax
law. In Ann Arbor, under prohibition in 1872,
there were seventy saloons and breweries there
are now only thirty-two and only sixty in
the whole county. Magistrates and sheriffs tell
as there is not half the disorder there was I'M
In Minnesota, under high license-in the very
State in which our family newspaper was dedi-
eating its great divines to the devils work-the
SAT saloons of q single city were in one year re-
duced TO ga The increase of the tax from 800
to $500 not only trebled their payment to the
city'S treasury, but swept away nearly half the
saloons The police department testify that the
effective policing of the city had become much
easier in consequence; that the saloons closed
were generally of the worst character; that there
has been a discernible decrease of drunkenness,
q large falling off in misdemeanors attributable
TO drunkenness, and marked improvement in
the good order of the city. Our family newspa-
pers calls this ''the hghlicense craze let loose"
There certainly is craze, but it is not on the
part OF the great divines who advocated course
that has closed half the saloons of Minneapolis.
In Illinois a similar result has been reached.
uNlA NJ Ivy r1n4
into paying $500 tax Under the old system they
yielded to the city revenue of $400, 900; with the
new license they yielded revenue of S, 500, 900.
In nineteen other cities 1913 liquor-shops yielded
@ pubic revenue of $50. $50; with high license,
{ tbs shops decreased to 46S but yielded public
revenue Of $253. 600.
Was any wrong done in forcing the saloons to
contribute this sum toward mitigating the pow
erty and defraying the expense that temperance
sentiment was not strong enough to prevents
Moro than this money, wrung from them to
plenish the Golfers which their trade tends con-
stantly to exhaust, infinitely more significant
than any money, is the testimony that through
out the State the total number Of saloons was
diminished by from 5000 to 1000 All these by
ways to hell were closed, and not one was
opened. Arrests fell off, and there was 80 per
cent. less of drunkenness yet the Temperance
Rayiew accuses the clergy, whose action helped
CfEhis benefcent result, of deliberately con-
trivng to let the devil open these ways to hell
for $5O0a way. This is the very deaddrunken-
ness of SANDER.
In Maine, the original prohibition State
close and careful inspection by temperance
man. so late as March 80 Of the present year,
indicates that it is time for our great divines,
and for all who love their country and desire the
Improvement of humanity. to re-examine the
foundation of their faith. For fifty years, says
this report, Maine has been temperance State.
The Washingtonian movement originated
great number of total abstinence societies. LII
censes had been granted with discretion, and
-~1sa a Ir1
ished Finally, the Legislature under the influ-
euce of the growing temperance sentiment, for
bade the granting of licenses, and liquor was
practically driven ont Of half the townships of
Maine, and into dark corners of the other half.
Open temptation ceased to exist. In 1851 the
Maine Law was passed, which, for medicinal and
mechanical purposes established State
agencies in every town, thus forcing rum and
whisky into many towns from which they had long
been banished. The actual result is that LIQUOR
is sold to all who wish to obtain it in nearly
every town in the State. Enforcement of the
law seems to have little effect. For the past six
years the city of Bangor has practically enjoyed
free rum. In more than one hundred places liu.
uor Is sold, and no attempt has been made to en-
force the law In Bath Lewiston, Augusta, and
other cities, no real difficulty is experienced in
procuring liquor. In Portland enforcement of
the law has been faithfully attempted vet the
liquor traffic fourishes for all classes from the
highest to the lowest. The Prohibitionists pur-
sued rumseller for five years They made him
pay fines more than forty times, and finally got
him into jail Then his brother carried on bus
mess at the old stand and when. after a pro-
tracted siege, he forced to retire. his brother
in-law took his place, and keeps it to this day.
In journey last summer, for hundreds of miles
through the cities, and through the scattered
villages and hamlets of Maine the almost uni
versai testimony was: "You can get liquor
enough for bad purposes in bad places, but you
cannot get 1t for good purposes in good places
This is not decisive against prohibition. Much
is accomplished when the tempter can not sit at
the corners of the streets, openly tempting the
weak but is forced to hide in the dark What
makes against prohibition is that, in the opinion
of many of the most earnest total abstinence
men, the original Maine law State after thirty
years Of prohibition is no more temperance
State now than it was before prohibition was
introduced. In Kansas, where the most strin-
the inestimable advantage of Governor St