Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-02-27
An Iat feciive Amendment

The people who expect an era Of tenn
perance in Pennsylvania, should the
prohibition amendment be adopted, are
Of the sanguine sort, whom facts do
mot disconcert In the contemplation OF a
hoped for event. They are necessarily
unreasonable in their expectations; II
they we're reasonable they would not be
prohibitionists.
It Is very interesting to note how easily
they deceive themselves. There is a law
that proposes only to forbid the manufac'
tuve and the sale Of intoxicating liquor in
this state; and these folks really think that
this amounts to prohibition of its use
whereas but little reflection Is needed 10
show that it will hardly retard it. twill
not even close the saloons but may make
them more abundant, since their business
will be conducted without the payment
Of lcenfe. Instead of being called
saloons they may be styled depots. They
will be the distributing places for the
liquors made and sold outside the state
and brought into 1t for distribution. Any
citizen can take what liquor he wants
and when and where he wants it,
provided only be does not buy it
within the state. He must make the
purchase in another state when made
and the liquor is received, be can con-
sumo 1t as he pleases. Suppose that a
citizen, desiring a glass Of beer, pays Eve
cents toan agent Of his own, and orders
him to purchase that much beer for him
outside the state when enough of these
orders have been received by the agent / Q
sends the moneyto the manufacturer out
side the state, and purchases a kep of
beer. IL Is delivered to the purchaser 3
agent, who delivers TO the purchaser bis
hve cents worth Of it in a glass.
This transaction probably will take
about day to complete, and the beer
drinker for that one day may go dry; but
TO keep upa steady supply, he only needs
TO give his agent the order daily aud
drink to-day what he ordered yesterday.
We do not see that the prohibition
amendment will put the liquor consume +
TO any greater inconvenience than this.
lie certainly can buy outside the state /;
and as well through an agent as in per.
son. lie only needs to be able to prove
that the purchaser was regularly ap-
pointed as his agent,and is not that Of the
manufacturer, and to have him send his
order to a manufacturer outside the state,
TO make his title good to his beer or
whisky; and The final result of the beau.
tiful temperance prohibition policy, will
be the destruction of an important manu-
facturing Industry of the state, the less
TO its treasury and that of its cities and
counties Of heavy license collections, and
the RELEASE of the business of distributing
liquor from the restraint now improved
upon 1t, by the supervision exercised over
the conduct OF the distributing agents by
The courts that license them.
so silly law as this can never stand
10 Pennsylvania; nor have We any idea
that the politicians who govern the state
have any thought of permitting i, to do
20. II the people ara foolish enough to
pass 1t ard tue Legislature permits it to
30 Into effect, it has been purposely 80
worded as 10 be worthless to secure its
purpose /; aud 1t is not likely that the
Legislature, which passes laws to mako
the constitution effective only when the
ruling politicians permit, will supply legis.
iAtion to enforce this prohibition clause.