The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-05-29

THE LAW.

The traffic is Il bad one in whatever li9h
you view it. The law itself assumes tia
no honest man will enter into the traffic
because in ordinary eases one or two wit
nesses are counted sufficient to condemn OF
acquit an accused person. But in regard
to this whisky business the law require,
twelve reputable ~freeholders to vouch fol
the good moral character of the person
who proposes to sell the Intoxicating drink.
The merchant can sell dry goods and gro
eeries without having any one to voueh fol-
his character. Now if this language has
any meaning at all it means to say that
none but bad men are likely TO 90 into the
business and that they must be watched
and checked as much as possible. And that
the traffic must be guarded as strictly as
possible by law, in order to prevent damage
being done to the individual and eommu-
nifty.
Then the license law assumes that no
good honest man viii vouch for the good
moral character Of the person proposing to
enter the business, because it requires
twelve men (and they must be freeholders)
to youch for such character. Now the only
possible construction Of such a law is that
the law (or law makers assume that no
honest man can be found to voucli for the
moral character of such a person as will
stoop to enter into the traffic, and it also
assumes that they will pay no fines or dam
age unless compelled by law to do so,
hence they must be fr~eebolders who vouch
for such persons, from whom damages can
be collected by law.
Then of the ~vileness of the two classes
under discussion and the result of their
work, the man thai vouches for his neigh
boris character and puts him in the bust
ness is infinitely the vilest of the two. If
this is questioned l answer by saying to
find an evil we must go to the root of the
thing and here | ask who can sell liquid
poison 0egally) if no one can be found to sign
his papers. So it is clear that ifthe voucher
IN be found no man can sell intoxicants
under the sanction of law and we intend to
push the fight until the day dawns when
this state and nation shall be redeemed
from the blighting curse of the sale Of in
t%oxicants under the sanction o flaw. Now
in view of these facts the man thai signs
is the responsible person and will be held
accountable for a large proportion of the
evil results. How many young men go in
to a d~runkard's grave each year on the rec
ommendation Of such persons and shall |
say that some of those persons are profess
ed christians. In the final day when such
hypocrites are called upon to answer for
their stewardship the shame and confusion
with which they will be covered Will beg
gar all description.
Then the license law prohibits the sale
of all intoxicants on election days. Now if
it is such an honorable business Gas some
would nave us believe) why should it be
prohibited ON election day? Only one
answer can be given to this question and
that is the law itself comedies that the
traffic is a dangerous one to the
ity.
Again, if is a safe business | ask why
should it be made a monopoly? | ask
what right have our law makers to select
a few men (of approved moral fitness to
whom they give exclusive rights and to
whom they grant special fayors and then
prohibit all Others. Is it true that no
Others (only the select few can be found
of sufficiently high toned moral fitness to
be trusted? Oh, consistency thou art a
jewel,
Then the high license craze is a cheat
and a fraud. You may put license at five
hundred or a thousand dollars the higher
You put it the more deceptive and destrue-
tive will be the results. First it viii give a
faint shadow of responsibility to the
blighting curse and will deceive and allure
more young men, because the young man
would not be seen in a low groggery
will be induced to go to one of these high
licensed establishments, and when the
appetite is formed then he will soon be
prepared to graduate at a low grogger in
a filthy alley.
Then this high license dodge is a bid for
more deadly poison, more water and less
pure whisky. If We must nave the
.blighting curse Oh us | would say take off
all license and let the sale of all intoxi-
be as free as that of dry goods and
groceries until the people are ready to
against the traffic as a crime, the
as we now legislate against other
crimes such as murder and robbery. j.
"IfI only had capital a young ran