The Russellville Democrat., 1886-06-23
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I Whas license l11eans.

It is important that in the first place we should get clear pereep,
 tion of all that ia meant by tlie word 1 license.
 The underlying idea Is that of per
 mission or allowalcc. A hackman' s
 license, for instance, permits him to
 engage in the business of cab drly- ling, marriage license permits two
 persons to Dc legally united Tn we'd flock, and q liquor Incense permits a person to sell intoxicating liquors. I This permission or allowance al
 ways carries with it the idea ofright. l When . parent or teacher permits a
 child to do q certain thing, the chlId
 instinctivcIy feels that the thing
 itself IS rigk ss;f.di ees wrong. Simi- larly, when the law licenses or per
 mits anything to be done, it teaches
 that what it permits IS correct in principle and expedient m practice. Again, the authority which permits q thing to be done will and must protect and support the person it permits against all that would an noy or harrass him. If one permits his boys to go fishing, he must pro tect them to the extent of his power against all who prevent or interfere with their sport So when the law licenses or permits any business to
 be carried on it is bound to protect the person licensed. The license of permission is generally coupled with certain conditions which the person
 must obey, and penalties are attach
 ed to the violations of these condi tions. When therefore. a communi- ty or country issues licenses 1t
 does three things:
 l. It calls the dram shop into ex istence and permits its work. 2. It declares that the dram shop
 is correct in principle and expedient
 ln practice.
 3. It pledges it's authority to the
 protection of the dram shop, in it's
 congenial and permitted work.
 II. What it is we license. Before
 . community cslls an institution into
 existence, declares 1t right, and
 pledges protection to it, tIie people
 should carefully consider what are
 it's aims and effects.
 l. It provides nothing useful. No
 fabrics to wear, no foods to sustain
 the body, no implements of labor, no
 books to inform the mind, no article of comfort for the home, nothing that adorns civilization, eleyates so ciety, or adds a single impulse of good to the community, can be found on it's shelves or within it's four walls. If every dram shop in America were to be burned to-mor- row, the country would not lose single iota in all that goes to clothe, feed, develop and beautlfy her mil ions.
 ?. It encourages idleness. A dram shop immediately reduces "loafing" to fine art. It is q. convenient place to "drop into." Some of the "boys" are always on hand. There Is constantly something to hear or see. Games for the idle hour are ever ready. Drinks are forthcoming at any moment, and stories and songs fill Tn the intervals. All are invited and welcome to stay. And thus the ] dram shop is continually turning the active and industrious into the idle and shiftless. Thus it IS a standing peril to the children in it's 
 3 It is 2 school for tipping. The principle object of the dram shop is to get sober people to tipple, and | tipplers to drink to excess. It ex- ists for no other purpose it sue ceeds in doing this it's gains increase; if it fails. it starvcs and dies. Un- less it is able to turn sober children into drinking men and women, it must cease with the present genera tion. So its aim is to debauch each generation of children. It greedily eyes the school and homes, and sets itself to trap the innocent The ''stand' is chosen in the most public resorts, the temptations are made as alluring as possible, tho bar keeper is selected with this point in view, the host puts on his blandest man ner--all to gain custom, that is to induce sober people to tippie and tipplers to drink more and more. In no other way can they reap their harvest of gain.
 4. It breeds dishonor, vice, power y and crime. We would scarcely ever hear Of brawl or fight if it were not for the dram shops. When people are cool, collected and mas 'ers of themselves there is almost perfect peace and quiet But the Tram shop changes all these cond- ions. It collects in heated rooms III sorts of characters, the vicious md the innocent. It freuzies them with strong drink, launches them into he widest disorder and the blood est quarrels. Nine-tenths of all the 'rimes against good order, decency md the person, are the traccable outcome of the dram shops. There, dleness breeds mischief, the vicious corrupt the innocent, the vulgar, in lecent and blasphemous gradually 'oison purity, wages are squandered, eli respect IS lost, passions are Tn