The Wilmingtonian., 1886-09-18
The Farmer and the Saloon.

The great argument used for licensing sa-
looms is that revenue is thus secured to les
sen taxation license money will build side
walks, support schools and do many other
things which otherwise would have to be
paid for directly out of the pockets Of the
payers. Professor Foster aud DR.. Herrick
johnson have in these columns, SO well
shown the fallacy of this claim, we spend no
time on it now. There is another phase of
the question to which we wish to call the es-
pecial attention of our farmer friends. 1t is
this: License money does not decrease your
taxes one cent, but the saloons do increase
taxes noImously. You are not taxed to
build sidewalks, light the streets, or do any
oil the things it is claimed the license money
does for the town. But you are taxed, and
that right heavily, to pay the county's bills
for courts, jails, poor houses and care of the
insane and things like that. The land you
own pays the bulk of the county taxes be-
side that you are often take from your
work at the busiest season of the year sit on
grand or petit juries, two, three or four
weeks at time, when every days absence
foots up dead loss 10 you.
What do these courts do? Examine the
dockets of any county where liquor is sold
and see if whiskey is not at the bottom of
the criminal cases. A man goes into licensed
saloon, gets drunk, comes out raving luna
tic, murders another man, and you try, con-
vict and hang him, or put him in prison for
life. Such case in my own country lately
cost in court expenses $50, ,0O0 The county,
which means mainly the farmers, footed the
bill while the city pocketed the thousand
dollars fee for the license, which allowed the
liquor that did the deed, to be sold.
Again, we have Just blilt a $40 900 Jail,
and it is pretty well filled with fruits of the
saloon. You paid larger proportion of the
100000 than the city did it affords 'faocom-
modations" to very few of your class, and
you receive not cent of the license fee paid
oy the saloons that had the biggest share in
filling it. The poor house and farm are inst
outside the city limits and you feel fattered
when the state authorities report IL the best
Institution of the kind in the state. Well
you may,for you are back of that institution,
so far as money goes, for the taxes you nav.
in large measure, sustain it. But its physi-
clan, himself drinking man, not temper
ance fanatic, reports again and again. to
your supervisors, that at least three-fourths
OF its inmates come there through the drink
ing habit, either in themselves or others AS
Enough to substantiate his opinion, counties
where no liquor is obtainable show few in
mates in their poor houses, and there iails
often stand empty.
The case in nutshell is this If there is
any good coming from license-which we
deny-the city gets it while for all the mis-
chief the saloons work the farmers foot the
heaviest part ef the bills.
Infinitely beyond all money consideration
is the danger pits the licensed saloons of ths
town dig for the unwary feet of your bows
From lack of familiarity with their entice.
ments farmers boys are more liable to fall
victims to the saloons when brought under
the influence than city boys are. Where
municipalities have power to giant dram
shop licenses you have no power to hinder
the city's digging pitfalls for your bows
State and National prohibition, enforced bv
party pledged to sustain it, is the only
thing that can relieve the farmer from uniust
taxation to sustain the fruits of the traffic or
make our country safe place for his boys
and girls to grow up in.-[Union Signal.