Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-03
PrOhibitOry Legislation.

From the Lewiston (Me.) Journal, May 80.
The twentieth annual report of the National
Temperance society presents summary of the
anti-dram-shop legislation in the several states
during the past year, which shows that the
march of public sentiment against the grog
shop, though weakened by various temporary
causes the past six months, yet moves stead
lastly onward. The five states which have gen.
eral prohibitory laws viz, Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont, Iowa and Kansas have added
important additional penalties. The state of
Maine has adopted by popular vote of three to
one q prohibitory constitutional amendment.
The legislatures of Rhode Island, Tennessee
and Oregon passed either finally or through the
preliminary stages resolutions submitting pro-
hibitory constitutional amendments to the peo-
pie. Similar resolutions were considered and
defeated by only small majorities in Missouri
Michigan, Texas, West Virginia and New Jer-
Maine, Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania Ala
bama, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas,
making it imperative to instruct pupils in pub
lie schools as to the effect of alcoholic stimu-
lants upon the human system.
The Massachusetts legislature passed q bill to
secure the better enforcement of the restrictive
features of the laws in cities which vote for
license. The New Observation-Disclosures increased
the license fee but Gov Albeit vetoed the bill
The Georgia legislature discussed local option
law, which proposed to allow all the counties in
the state to decide whether they would prohibit
or license dram shops, which will soon pass. In
the meantime 1O4 of the 100 counties OF GaOr-
gla nave within Il few years adopted prohibition
under special enabling acts The legislatures of
Alabama, Mississippi and Texas passed acts to
enable several counties to prohibit dram shops
within their borders by apopuar vote. The
Oregon legislature passed a local option law.
The Ohio legislature attempted to submit
license amendmentto the people, but it was
lost in the house-6O to 37-not the necessary
two-thirds. The Ohio legislature repealed the
local option law one year ago.
Not single retrograde step has been taken in
any state in legislation on the subject the past
year, though in several states desperate efforts
were made by the liquor interest.
AT present five states have general laws pro-
hibiting dram shops and twenty have local OPP
ton laws permitting the legal voters of the
municipalities or counties to vote on the ques-
tion of prohibition or license of the dram Shop
or authorizing particular counties to do this
By united efforts of the friends of prohibition
of all parties, all of Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Iowa and Kansas, three-fourths of
Georgia, one-third of Alabama, nearly half of
Maryland and Mississippi, considerable por-
tons of Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee
and Arkansas, half of the area of Missouri
twelve counties of Illinois, half of Massachu-
sets, and many towns in New York, Connecti-
cut, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Michigan,
and many other states have prohibited the
dram shop. The agitation of general prohib-
itory laws is going on in most of the states of
the Union.