Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-03-02
cHIcAeo's EXPERIMENT.
High License Has Proved Complete
Failure in the Garden
City.
The Consumption of Beer Increases 81
Per. Cent. in Five Years-Great
Increase Of Crime
Chicago letter to. the Voice.


In 1883, when our Illinois Legislature
adopted the high license law, was great
ly reioiced. I thought it was a long step
towards prohibition. 1 tried to get up a.
celebration over the great victory for tenn
perance, and offered to contribute $40
towards fireworks for the occasion. From
a careful study of the workings of high
license for four years, l now believe that
his Satanic Majesty could not have de-
vised more ingenious. method to. per-
petuate the liquor traffic. than this same
high license scheme.
The evils flowing from the liquor traffic
have not diminished. but increased under
high license. Although the number of sa-
looms in proportion to. the population in
Illinois. has slightly, decreased, yet those
that remain do much larger business than
the larger number did formerly.
The following figures in reference to the
workings of the system i'll Chicago, speak
for themselves:
Amt. of No. of sa-- Bbls. of beer Agg. No.
Year License. looms. consumed. of arrests.
1 1s SO So ss43 1 S79its IS 100
*This is the number issued for the second
period of the fiscal year ending Aug; l, 1881:
For the third PERIOD. ending Dec. l, the total
number was i,1O3.
1.-THE figures for two polica courts for the
month of December, 1887, are estimated by the
clerk in charge of these statistics'in the police
department, tho official reports from those two
of the six police courts not having yet come in
for that month.
The quantity of spirituous liquors con-
sumed has also increased greatly during
the same period, but accurate statistics in
reference to that matter tits difficult, il
not impossible, to obtain.
The population of Chicago. has in
creased, from 1882 to 1887, about IS. per
cent, according to the most extravagant
estimates. But the consumption of beer
has increased 81 per cent. and arrests have
increased 80 per cent. during tho same
period. So where does restriction" from
high license come in?
The Chicago Herald in its issue Of Jan.
estimates that 100000, 0O0was spent in
Chicago last year for beer. But this est
mate is much below the true amount. The
retailers paid to the brewers, for the l,674,-
146 barrels of beer consumed In Chicago
last year S. per barrel, or a total OF
$1,000, S7G. The retail price Of beer was
five cents per glass. Out OF each barrel
glasses. This makes the total sum paiC
oxer the bar to the saloon keepers for beel
last year IN Chicago, SS37, 66S, 2S5.
The significance OF this expenditure car
be better understood by comparison witt
some ether things. Last year there were
erected in Chicago 1913 different buildings
with IN aggregate frontage Of 115, 1905 fee
"a distance of over twenty-one miles
This twenty one miles of houses and bust
ness blocks cost $19.77S, 100. These fig
ures come from our City Building Depart
ment. This shows that we spent nearA
twice as much for beer in Chicago las
year as we did for homes and places o
business. This estimate, too, does nc
take into account the amount spent fo
whisky, rum, brandy, gin. wine, an
other intoxicating drinks besides beel