New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-03-12
TIE HIGH LICENSE VOTE.

It is expected that the fate of the High
License bill will be decided in the Assembly
to- morrow, when it will come up for vote.
The result will be awaited with anxious in
terest Every wise friend Of temperance in
this State desires the passage of this bill.
Every person who wishes to see the liquor
evil held in bounds and shorn of something Of
its strength, is waiting to see 1t pass. To-
morrow's vote is to have an important bearing
upon the future of temperance in this State.
and. above all, in this great. saloon-ridden city.
But this is not the only question at stake.
We are to see also whether the Republican
party can claim the support of the decent and
order-loving people of the State as the only
party that can grapple with the drink evil.
If the Republican party cannot command, in
such conflict with the Democrats and the
saloon-keepers. the votes of men who were
elected to the Legislature by Republicans as
Republicans. then the sooner we find it out the
better. If the liquor dealers can, either by
threats or worse means, deprive the Republic
cans of their majority the sooner we under
stand the situation the sooner We shall be able
TO make preparations TO elect to the next Lcgis-
lature only such men as get their principles
from the Republican party, and not from the
Democratic party.
The members who opposed the action Of the
caucus making the High License bill party
measure were Messrs. Adams. Of Orange;
Beatty, Of Oneida Emery and Gallagher, Of
Erie; Morgan. of NcwYork; Reitz, of Kings;
Slavery. of Cayuga and Smith, of Sullivan. IL
is believed that Mcssrs Adams. Emery and
Slavery will recognize their obligation to stand
by Republican principle, as declared by an
almost unanimous vote of the Republican men,
bcrs and vote for the bill Mcssrs. Beatty.
Gallagher, Morgan and Reitz seem to lean the
other way. 1t may be, however, that most, or
all, of them will conclude before tomorrow
that it will be better not to lose the support OF
the whole Republican party, in order to gain
the friendship of few liquor-dealcrs.
OF the four just named. the course of Mr..
Banks0n IT, Morgan is the most extraordinary.
Mr.. Morgan docs not represent, as might be
supposed from his action on this bill, district
of slums and dives. He comes from the With,
a highly respectable disrct-thc district by
the way, in which the Citizens Committee was
organized in which the High License meetings
were held, and in which probably nincty-fivc
per cent Of the respectable citizens favor this
bill The Republican leaders of that district
are among the strongest advocates of the bill.
but Mr.. Morgan pays as little regard to them
or to the wishes Of his other constituents as he
does to the fact that he has publicly announced
himself more than once for the principle Of
High License. Mr. Morgan is travelling fast
In the wrong direction. There is still time for
h,m to save himself We advise him to cor
slider we'll the consequences of persistence in
his present course.
Beside those already named, Mr.. Goerss, OF
Niagara, and Mr.. Mabic of Putnam, arc classcd
as doubtful with the probability that they will
vote against the bill, while Mr.. Davis, of
Wayne, is thought likely to vote for it. We
have but one word to say to all of these gentle
men, We have no threats to make. They are
responsible to their constituents. not to us.
1nt if any one of them votes against this bill,
his constituents will renomnatc him, If at all.
only after THE TRIBUNE has thoroughly in
formed them Of the nature of his treachcry to
his party