The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-04-27

| the reporter III the city oil CnlcaSo spoke
| in favor of the continuance of high license
| in Chicago; and considerable number ex-
pressed themselves as favoring license
| fee of one thousand dollars instead of five
hundred.
| sent reporter of the New York Sun
| through the cities of New York and Brook
| lyn to interview a considerable number of
saloon keepers and wholesale dealers in
both of those cities, to ask their advice as
to the course which the Leg islature ought
to pursue IN regard to the Crosby High Lii
eense bill. have every reason to believe
that the reporter gave me a truthful state
ment of what was said Without single
exception, saloon men and wholesale deal
ers in those two cities expressed themselves
| for the adoption Of the Crosby High Ii
cense bill, giving a variety of reasons,
chiefly that it gave their business a better
| standing, some of them saying that it
might crush out a few of the little fellows,
as they called them, and put much larger
amount of trade into those that remained
| say to my friends on general principles
| when / find a thing is satisfactory to the
saloon men, it is not satisfactory to me.
| [Great applause.
| | want to charge one or two things di-
rectiy against the whole license system.
| In the first place the whole scheme, wheth-
err the license be high or low, provides for
| the perpetuation of bad business. 1t UNI
dertakes to give the business some degree
Responsibility. The liquor traffic is either
right or wrong. The business is either
| good or bad Now, if the business be
right business, if it contributes to the gen
eral welfare OF society, if it increase the
wealth of the people, if it be the natural
want Of the body polite, then take my
stand with these men engaged in this right
traffic and declare that to wrest from these
men five hundred dollars simply because
we have the power to do it, is a piece of
| high-handed tyranny. But, on the other
hand, if the business be bad business, if
| it corrupt every man who conducts the
| business, if it deprave and debase every
man who is its patron, il no good thing
can be said in its behalf if it be evil and
only evil, and that continually, stand
here in the name of our Christian civili-
cation to ask you under God how large
fee paid into the public treasury will
make SO bad business good. [Tremend-
Gus applause. !
Nearly all good citizens are agreed that
the liquor traffic ought to prohibited. Com
parativly few of the best class of our peo-
pie, whether Democrats, Republicans or
Prohibtionists, favor the continuance of
the traffic, and take it that large major
ity of the better class who favor license
simply do SO because they have come TO
believe earnestly that that is the only prac-
ticable method at present Of dealing with
the traffic. and they are looking down the
| future, after they have permitted this evil
| to 60 on for number years, expecting
| that their permission will result in Prohi-
bition. They are trying to reach the end
of mo" by continually saying ''yes."
| daughter. They are seeking to accom-
plish the destruction of the traffic bygiving
it written permission to continue.
Now take it for granted you under
stand that this is meeting of distinctly
political Prohibition lists daughter and APP
pausel and hequestion frequently press
ed upon us from our Democratic and Re-
publican friends is why it is We undertake
to do this work through separate party
organization. / remember discussing that
question at considerable length before a
Philadelphia audience, and want TO say
to you that have not the slightest glim-
mer of hope that we shall ever obtain
practical prohibition of the liquor traffic
through either the Democratic party or
the Republican party. Loud applause.
shall not spend any time in discussing
the proposition as to whether we can or
cannot obtain prohibition through the
Democratic party. AS party it does not
profess to be for prohibition. l asked an
audience last night in the city of Scranton
a question, and want to take a vote upon
it from this audience. Let every Prohibit
ZIONIST in the house who has ever been So
licited to vote the Democratic ticket on the
ground that the Democratic party was
right on the prohibition of the liquor traf-
fic hold up his hand. Not a hand do | see.
Now how many Prohibitionists are there
here who have ever been solicited to vote
the Republican ticket on the ground that
the Republican party is right on this qucs-
ton? Several hundred hands raised. ]
That ought to be a sufficient reason and a
complete explanation of the thing that our
Republican friends complain about so seri-
ously, that we let the Democrats off so
easily, and spend our time cudgeling the
Republicans. IApplause.l The Prohibit
ton party is not in the field to-day for the
purpose of simply defeating any party or
gaEization. loud applausel God have mer-
cy-although am afraid He will not
upon any political party that has no higher
business than simply to whip some other
political party. [Great applause To be
sure, we Prohibitionists earnestly desire
by day we work thereto, and pray thereto
by night--that the time may speedily come
when we shall have been able to triumph,
not only over the Democratic party but |