Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-06
THE HIGH ILcEssE DEBATE.
Letters from Prominent citi.ens For and
Against Adoption.

EDS. REcoRD-UNIoN: As everyone is in
vited by the REcoRD-UNIoN to express his
views on the High License Question"
would like to put forward few ideas. The
United States takes 80 cents for every gal
Ion of liquor produced and imposes tax
of $50 year on each retailer. Congress
thus says to the producer, if you go into
partnership with the Government by Civ
ing US 80 cents per gallon of what you get
from selling liquor within our borders, you
may produce any quantity you wish; and
to the retailers, if YOU give me $50 a
year you may sell all you can.
Now certainly no body of men have any
right to take this privilege from those will
ing to enter into such a contract with the
United States; and should this city prevent
men who desire to enter into this contract
with the United States. from doing so, by
taking from them, in the form of license.
the greater portion of their profits? Should
1t force out of the business men who have
already entered into that contract with the
United States, it would be guilty of helm
Gus wrong and of most oppressive piece
of special legislation.
Those men who say that their sole aim in
forcing this issue is to kill off the low dives
and groggeries, allow their impulsive i'm
petuosity to get the mastery over their rea-
son. Certainly no man looking at this SUI
ject calmly will say that the ability to pay,
say $50 month, is any criterion OF the
morality of the man, OF of the character of
the saloon which he keeps. Facts are to
the contrary. Many of the saloons which
would be the best able to pay this extor-
| ton land which, by the way, might
be shut up without this license now,
| if the laws were enforced), are
the worst places in the city, while on
the other hand the little places, kept by
| sober, honest, staid, law abiding citizens
| most of them of German extraction
| would be unable to pay, and their business
| would go to swell the Golfers of others
known TO be less worthy citizens. These
enthusiasm-b blinded howlers after change
see that certain dives are carrying ON a
| thriving businessmen blythe legitimate
| saloon business, but by other, will admit,
| very reprehensible means: and these rep
| rehensible practices already come within
| the laws, and could be suppressed if our
police force, assisted by these same howl
ers, would exercise the same energy to-
ward enforcing the existing laws that the
latter are now using IN a misguided
scheme, which will close up the less
objectionable saloons; and because
| they dare not attack the real culprts, they
! attack the trade in general, and unwittingly
help on the very ones they wish to attack
1t reminds me of the old story fthe Yankee
with the balky horse, who, after trying to
get him to go by every persuasive art, gave
1t up with stamp OF his foot and Just
wait till get home won't lam that old
| Government mule Seeing the fact that
class OF saloon men now evade certain
laws, it surely was to be pre-
sumed that they would get around
this the same as Senator Sutton
shows, they evaded the prohibition law in
Iowa. In one county, before the prohibi-
ton law, there were SOC saloons; one year
| afterwards there were 1882 places where
| liquor could be gotten in the very same
| county.
l can appreciate though I disagree with
them, the principles of the Prohi6itionists.
who think liquor an evil and do not want
the Government to have anything to do
| with the traffic; but l cannot even respect
| the blindly inconsiderate ideas of men who
treat it as luxury and encourage 9TH
ers to produce 1t, and then strive TO force
the sale of it into the hands of few men
who are able to give them a big share OF
| the by them styled illicit gain, for the priv
| ilege and protection they have of the mo-
| nopoly of the trade. A DEALER.
ARGUMENTS FOR.
| EDS. RECORD UNION: The question he
| fore the people of Sacramento at the pres
ent time is not new one Scores of places
| between Portland, Me-, and Los Angeles,
Cal, have tried high license, and their tes-
timony all agrees in the following partlcu-
lars Taxes were decreased the "dives I"
were closed; crime was lessened murders
were fewer; morality was improved, and
property values enhanced. If this is So
and challenge proof to the contrary-why
should any man hesitate to vote for high
license? What if it should throw few
men out of employment and close IN the
worst places in the city where legiri-
mate business " is done? The better por-
ton of those who were thus compelled to
look for u means of livelihood in other
| calllngs, and productive ones, would soon
secure work at something that would be of
more real advantage to society, and nav
them better and the worst element would
| move out and make place for those
whose productive industry would add to the
wealth of our city. The increased revenue
would only be fair contribution by the
liquor interest to the cost of city govern
ment. Those who have been at all familiar
with the movements of immigration in re-
cent years, are well aware that men of means
and worth. who have come to this coast
with capital in their pockets to invest in
houses and stores, and manufactures, have
been pleased with almost everything that
they have found in the Capital city of this
State; but attractions of climate, OF situa-
ton. of future promise, have been out
weighed when they have seen that nearly
every alternate building along our busiest
squares was saloon, and that crowd of
loafers was usually to be found about the
worst of them
Desirable citizens pass Us by and go to
southern California or Oregon
We of Sacramento cannot afford 10 Oh.
pose high license we have been without
its advantages too long already. The oues-
ton before us is this: Paupers and tramps
and many saloons living upon the wages of
industry, or producers of integrity and
means, who will be able to bear a worthy
part in advancing the interests of Sacra-
mento and such regulation of saloons as
will make their number somewhat propor-
tomato to the population of the place.
Which will you have2 en-.
EXAMPLE OF MINNEAPOLIS.
EDS. REcoRp-UNIoN As high license
VS.. low license seems to be the local DOM
inant topic just now, please allow me a
few words in your columns on that subject.
AS historical examples are mainly the
guide of life recent illustration appears to
me pertinent to the question at issue.
About two years ago the city of Mime
apolis, Mimi, was run on the "wide-open''
system that is, low -licensed-yirtnallv
| unrestricted = hquor-dealing, open, free
gambling, open prostitution, etc. That
city. in consequence, had become rendez-
vous of the toughest vilest element of that
section of our country, and the state OF
society had arrived at sue a disreputable
condition, that the decent elements found