St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-07-11
UNLIMITED NERVE.

UNLIMITED NERVE.
For journal that only few years
ago was advocating prohibition, the
Pioneer Press has unlimited nerve to
charge the GLOBE with mendacity in
reporting the number of places where
liquor was sold prior to the high license
law, at the time it went into effect, and
also one year after the high license law
came into force. The high license law
makes it prima facie evidence of guilt
and failure to comply with high license
government license for the sale of
liquor. Ii the state or municipal au-
thorities discover any one selling liquor
on his premises and a government
license in his possession, he shall be
deemed guilty of violation of the
law and be classified as liquor
dealer. Section 2, chapter 81 of the
Laws of 1887, covers this point. making
no exceptions except for druggists who
sell on prescription. The effect of this,
as pointed out by the GLOBE year ago,
was to give an immense loophOle for the
retail sale of liquor by parties who could
not or would not, pay the state license.
The GLOBE has denied that the licenses
issued by the government covered drug
stores as well as the so-called saloons,
and it has pointed out that the drug
stores do not take out state licenses and
that the business of selling OH preScrip-
ton has degenerated into a regular sale
of fine wines, WHISTLES and brandieS by
the druggists without any payment of
state license. The druggists would not
admit this, naturally, because there is in
tense hostility between them and the liQ-
uor dealers, the latter regarding them
as trespaSsers on their grounds. AS
point in proof the GLOBE has in its pos
session absolute proof that one of the
first-class wholesale liquor houses of
this state, which does not care to do re-
tail business on account of the high
license, secretly transmits to druggist
liquors which the druggist sells at re-
tail under government license and
without paying state license. The
druggist gets a commission from the
wholesale house for doing this. The
GLOBE, knowing this and similar cases
where druggists do flourishing bust
ness, very properly included them under
the head of retail liquor dealers at the
present time. But before high license
went into effect this was not the case to
so large an extent. The high-license
figures used by its advocates for the
number of saloons in existence prior to
July l, 1887, and on that date were
probably nearly correct. 1t was high
license that gave the druggists the OPP
portunity that large numbers of them
seized, and thereby made themselves
liable to the state law. 1t is legitimate,
and conceded to be by all who study
high license from any point but a politi-
cal one, that the drug stores dO large
retail liquor business, and that, as a
rule, the best liquor is to be obtained of
them. AS another instance of the
GLOBES correct publication of the facts
and not the politics in the matter. Dodge
Center was given one saloon. This,
vehemently denied at first by the high
license people, turns out to be the case,
but it is ''blind pig" oper-
ating under a government license.
The figures of the GLOBE were
comparison between the retail liquor
dealers of 1887 and the actual retail
liquor dealers OF 1883. When the Pho
neer Press proves that retail liquor deal
ing is not a vocation of the average drug
store in Minnesota, it will be time to
admit that the moon is made of cheese.
The Pioneer Press does not disprove
that the number of wholesale liquor
houses has increased under high license.
That the liquor men like the law and
say that it has been of profit to them.
That increased profits in the liquor
business mean increased sales, and
hence there is more liquor drunk.
1t is left for that organ of high
license, high tariff and free whisky to
disprove this.
That there are not 200 drug stores in
the state that are doing retail liquor
business.
That there are not ten drug stores in
the state selling under government
license liquor at retail for wholesale
houses.
That these drug stores pay the state
license.