Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1886-03-17
Communicated


as TO the failure of Local Option.
They have been industriously at this
work for months past. 1t has made
impression on many who should
know better. The gentlemen at the
Assembly Room meeting who said
that bis business bad increased $4,000
10 the first year after the adoption of
Local Option, and who said that be-
fore that more than SO saloons were
in full blast 10 this county, is report
ed in the Advertiser also to have
said that he understood that now
about $50 clubs were running. This
is specimen brick" Of these exag
gerations. The records shows 81
clubs only to have been incorporated
This is bad enough, to be sure. But
don't therefore reopen the saloons
Saloons and clubs !! Deliver US from
either, but don't let both run. Sup
pose the license were 800 or 500 dol
lars. Will a elub-barkeeper pay
that when be can run his whiskey
club for nothing? Surely not. LII
cense will open the food gate of a
double curse!
The testimony from all parts Of the
county is that the Local Option Law
is doing wonders The saloons have
been closed. Clubs have not to any
extent been opened. Just now. while
the Legislature lie here and throngs Of
strangers visit us the club evasion
has increased. 1t will abate in 2 or
3 weeks. | understand that in saloon
days, there were always number of
extras opened during the session Of
the Legislature So now the fow of
liquor is t, mporarily excessive. But
it is not true, that things have been
worse or nearly as bad 10 even our
own city, during the last - months
as before
Every wise man it seems to me
should see that the morals aud pros
perity Of our city will be injured by
re-opening the saloons. The Assem-
bly, Rooms meeting, it is known, was
manipulated in the interest of liquor
dealers. With drum and fife the ad-
herents were gathered tothat remark
able meeting. Our representatives, of
course, know the facts.
What is needed is to give the LO-
cal Option Law a fair chance. 1t
worked wonders here until the club
evasioa, now so badly notorious
began. There are ways to stop this.
Let the Governor as be has been off.
cially and earnestly requested, issue
his authorization to test the misuse OF
franchise of these interpretations. 1t
is known to every lawyer, to every
one of our representatives, to every
Legislator, that he has this authority
as per see. l76, chapter All OF the
Act of 1868, Rev. Code, Art. CT, part
5, Sec l. Let him use this. Hav-
ing been sworn soemnly to maintain
and execute the laws, our Governor
should not sit by and see the laws
degraded first, the local option law,
second, the Incorporation Act There
Is tremendous respon Utility OH
him. Our judges sit on the bench and
though ready to do their duty, arc
tainted in opea court, "a counsel re-
mind juries. that Ellis Honor upol
the bench there has given bis judicial
sanction to the existence OF this club.
Meanwhile the travestY proceeds be-
cause qRo carranto may not Issue
until the executive gives autht rity !
Law is thus shamelessly invoked to
shield the perpetrators OF such q
tremendous fraud Surely the good
peopl Of Annapolis; surely the off,
GERS of the courts; surely our Legis-
latoFs; surely our executive, will at
last take these things to heart If
our citizens are thus to be educated
TO despise law. it is vain for them TO
make them. Aune Arundel which
has been already shaken over this
question does not want to fight the
contest over again. She wants law
upheld. She wants those sworn to
maintain law, not to sit quietly by
and see it degraded She will have
this too, or mistake the signs of the
times. When this disturbing ele-
ment," now troubling SO many poll
ticiaus the land over, shall have fully
entered here in Anne Arundel, some
will regret their wants OF vision and
will too late wish they could retrace
their steps. LAW AND ORDER.