St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-20
A W0MAh'S OPINION.
Men May Net Think Much OF 1t When
Given,
IT 1T HAS WEIGHT,
And May in Time Accomplish Much
Good for the Human
Race.

A woman's opinion about prohibitory
laws in regard to the manufacture and
sale of Intoxicating liquors may not
amount to much in the estimation of
the masculine portion of the human
race, yet have very positive ideas on
the subject, and with your kind per-
mission will lay them before the read
erS of the GLOBE. The enactment of
law which meets with the approval of
of necessity, be a dead letter upon the
statute book. A dead letter law is
worse than no law at all. If large
majority violates. and public sentiment
sanctions the violations, how shall the
offenders be punished OF the law
enforced? | have long since been
convinced that to attempt to secure the
passage of prohibitory laws was not the
correct way to fight this terrible and in
creasing evil which is rapidly sapping
blighting the lives and characters of the
young men of the land. The all-ab-
Sorbing question is. how shall sys-
tematic, we'll ordered campaign be or
ganiZed for effective work in this i'm
portant field of labor? The liquor traffic
is worse than war. Whisky has killed
more men and rendered desOlate and
dependent more families than war It
self from the bloody fields of Hannibal
down to and including the latewar. Some
thing must be done to stay its progress.
The saloon must go. 1t is that which
encourages dissipation by the ease with
which those who can not resist the
temptation can procure enough to
crafty their desire at small cost.
If law could be enacted. and faith
fully executed, prohibiting the sale of
less than one, five or ten gallons, and
used on the premises where purchased,
this would do away wit the saloon and
at once remove the temptation, or the
ability to get single drink. But in
executing the law would be the trouble,
as ways would be invented to evade its
provisions.
At one time they had in MaSsa-
chusetts what was known as the
"Twenty-nine gallon law" that is no
one could sell or buy less than twenty
nine gallons at one time. But see how
our Puritan friends evaded its
provisions. A man would go
into a store and buy twenty-nine
gallons and a pint. He would
sell back to the dealer twenty-nine gal
Ions, put the pint in his bottle and 60
on his way rejoicing. Now if our puri-
tanicaI friends could evade the law we
may be reasonably certain that the
shrewd men who manage the whisky
traffic in this state would be equal to the
occasion and find some way to render it
migratory. Probably the best we can
expect in this state is high license. the
higher the better. Our saloonkeepers
and saloon drinkers have become some
what accustomed to the present price of
license, so let it be doubled, and in
year or so raise the price again, and
keep this up from year to year until the
purchase OF the liberty to deal out
poison by the glass will cost m re than
the profits in the business; then the
saloons will be closed and these dens
will be removed, and with them out of
the way our taxes will be reduced, our
workhOuse depOpulated and the number
of criminals which are sent to the peni-
tertiary at every term of court will be
reduced to none at all.
In dealing with drunkardS there is
one lnstrumentality often overlooked.
1t is personal appeals to the drunkards
themselves. l have known some of the
most wonderful reformatiOnS in this
city accomplished by appealing to them
and pointing the Door, unfortunate vic
TINS to higher plane of life and duty.
In this very city men have been taken
up out of the cutters and brought to a
realizing sense of their condition, and
many of them have had the manhood to
renounce the habit and become sober
and industrious citizens.
Look what the saloons cost the people |
of the county. | am told that there are
four judges in this city whose duties are
never finished. One term is continued !
until it runs into the next, and more |
than half of the cases before them for |
are the direct result of |
too free use of liquor procured at one or
more of the 600 saloons licensed by the |
city government.
Would the people of this city submit |
to such an outrage Oh any other account |
whatever? Is alcohol king? 1t is said |
that it controls our elections, elects our |
officers, and we know it debaseS our |
people, produces want and suffering |
the women and children. How |
long will the good people of Ramsey |
county be ruled by it?
Mrs. j. T. SoRRELL.
Summit avenue.