Omaha daily bee., 1886-10-12
Practicable Prohibition in Illinois.


AT n recent meeting of the state prohi-
bition committee the Rev Isaiah Nillors,
poripatctc state lecturer, declared "high
license the most Infamous fraud ever
placed on the statute book, and asserted
that it led to "thc death of moral con
science" Mr.. Villers fraudulcntly en-
deayorcd to produce the impression that
high license is the only legal restriction
under the laws of Illinois that can be APP
piled to the liquor traffic in this state,
whereas it is only a remedy furnished
communities that will not employ n
stronger one. The "high.licensen law of
Illinois compels every locality to tax the
traffic heavily and show conscience to
that degree, at least, while it holds out
the means, the opportunity and an in
ducement to Municipalities to cstab-
lish prohibition by local enactment. Pri-
narily, the law of Illinois is prohibtory,
and it is only by affirmative action that
4 locality can release itself from that rule
and sanction the opening of dramshops.
If any community will keep its hands off
and refuse TO issue saloon licenses the
sale of liquor for dram-d. mixing will be
absolutely illegal within its jurisdiction.
1t Is only by an outrageous perverSon of
truth that a fanatical clergyman can
speak of such statute as the leading to
"the death of moral conscience
If the Rev. Mr.. Nillers desires to know
how moral conscience in respect to
liquorselling is being crushed out in Hi
nois, let him cast his eyes over the re-
ports sent to the Tribune from three
tourthS of the counties of the state, pub
lished in Tuesdays issue, and see how
the area of prohibition is being rapidly
extended in the rural portions of Illinois
and wherever the conditions are favor
able. Reports received so far not only
show counties like Cumberland Full
ton, Johnson, Piatt, Putnam, Schuy
ler and Wayne, in none. of which
can an open saloon be found, but there is
long list of others where the rule is
virtually prohibitory, as in Boone, Brown
Champaign, Clark, Crawford, Douglas,
Edgar, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatn,
Hancock, Henderson, Jefferson, Macon,
MaSSac, McDonough, Menard, Mclean,
Knox, Pike, Union, Vermillion, Wabash,
Warren, Winnebago and Adams outside
of Quincy. Prohibition is the rule in all
these counties and license towns the eX
ception, and where granted the tax in
many cases reaches $500 or $4,000. In
large number of counties in another
class the prohibition towns are in a ma
jority, and there seems to be no doubt
that under the excellent law the Rev.
Villers so maliciously denounces prohibi-
tory regulations have been extended
until they now cover two.thirds of the
soil of Illinois. Such results in state
having six years ago 227, 900 adult males
| of foreign birth are certainly remarka-
| BILE and show that nominal prohibition
| can be established wherever n majority
of the community is brought to desire it.
An inilexible state prohibitorY law
would be no benefit to the counties
named above. They have all the pro
| hibition the law can provide and that
| public opinion viii enforce. Why, then,
should the law be changed in manner
| that cannot benefit the temperance por-
tions of the state, but will strip other
| localities of the only restrictions they
can enforce and leave them to the rule of
| free whisky? Such policy would re-
| open the 1000 saloons closed by the
hfgh-license law and shift burden of
four or five millions OF dollars from the
saloons to the shoulders of the tax
payers. The experience of Kansas and
Iowa proves it impossible to force
sumptuary laws on any community
against the will of its people, and while
| oranks and visionaires advocate such at
tempts, the actual results are free
| whisky, riot, disorder, and defiance of
law. The fact that such demoralizing
| notions are propagated in Illinois, where
community that will accept it, and stops
short only of attempting to impose it
contrary to the will of the people, merely
shows that the elcemosynary institutions
need enlargement so as to furnish n
larger measure of accommodation for
well-meaning but crack Drained and dis
tracted persons.