Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-07
CARRY IT IN THEIR BOOTS.
How Prohibition is Enforced In
Western Iowa.
CAPITAL is DRIVEN AWAY
Reputable Men All Leaving the
Liquor Traffic to the "Bootlegeers"
Sensible People Beginning
to Open Their Eyes.
Prohibitions Blight.


Burlington and Omaha, writes special
quirer.
1t was my pleasure to meet Mayor
| Patterson, the democratic mayor. He
| is going to enforce the laws of the state
Of Iowa. He said there are in this place
seventy-fve men who hold United
States license to sell liquor under the
| prohibition laws of the state OF Iowa.
"Our population is about eight thou
sand. We call these fellows boot
leggers.' They even carry bottle of
whisky in their boot and take man
| into an alley and sell him drink out
of it, and they have United States
government license to do it. Before
prohibition we had about forty saloons
that paid license of about S16, 900,
which went into our municipal treasury,
| and was used in improving our streets.
We now have double the num-
Der of men engaged in the
| liquor traffic, and they pay no
| license and no tax, and l propose that
| this class of men shall be compelled to
| stop their illegal traffic in the liquor
| business. After the law has been en-
| forced, which prohibits the sale of in
| toxicating liquors in any shape, form or
| manner in the state of Iowa, if there
are any reputable men, who wish to en-
gage in the traffic, it is barely possible
that may wink at it and permit them
to do business openly, but / am against
this sneak business, which enables men
without any character or property re-
spOnsibilities to scrape together q few
dollars, pay government license and
buy a jug of whisky and enter surrepti-
tiously into the saloon business and es-
cape paying any tax or revenue to the
state or city.
"This kind of business has very
demoralizing effect on society. The So
| called prohibition laws in Iowa have
not prevented the sale of Intoxicating
| liquors. About all that has been ac-
| complisned has been to drive every
| reputable and responsible man out Of
| the business who has been engaged in
| it and turn it over to the most hardened
| and disreputable mon, who have no
morals and no property, and who do not
care what they SELL" Since talking to
Mayor Patterson he has succeeded in
| doing what he said he would, and the
"boot-leggers" are having trouble in
| his Jurisdiction.
DESTROYING PROPERTY.
Millions of dollars worth of property
have either been placed in jeopardy by
| the rabid and unreasonable enforce
| ment of the prohibitory laws, or driven
| out of the state altogether. The goods
| of wholesale houses were recently
| seized at Burlington ,and many fanatics
and crazy papers have been urging the
| destruction of the entire stock. The
| Custom Gazette has this to say of this
case:
after seizing about two hundred bar
rels of liquors in Burlington the people
and papers are discussing whether the
| stuff shall be destroyed. The liquors
haps, worth $40, 900, and its destruction
would bankrupt the firm. 1t is true
they have detied the law. and deserve
some punishment, but one reason of
their delay in taking their stock out of
| the state was the hope that the legisla-
| ture would, if an extra session should be
| colied authorize the Wholesale dealers in
Iowa to sell to Iowa dealers for legal
purposes. 1t is somewhat difficult to
find arguments against permitting
| wholesale houses in Iowa. The law
authorizes the sale of liquors for certain
purposes at retail. and then prohibits
anyone from selling to these retailers.
| The effect is that our retailers are COM
| PEELED to go into other states to buy
| their liquors at wholesale. Delahave &
| Purdy made strong effort at Des
Moines last winter to have the law
amended so as to permit them to sell to
authorized retail dealers.
I'VE say enforce the law but in doing
so cause as little loss of capital as possi-
BILE. The destruction of Delahave 81
| Purdy's liquor would not lessen the
amount of liquors that would be sold i,
for there are now in the United States
over one hundred million gallons to
take its place. If they will take the
| stuff out of the state and quit the busi-
ness till the law will permit them to re-
turn with it, we say let them 60"
| GETTING THEIR EYES OPEN.
The alarm that capital has taken and
the way it is leaving the state
injury of its prosperity and devel-
opment, has brought many people to
| their senses:
The people of this country cannot af-
ford to practice wrong or injustice.
There are certain principles of right
which are as eterdal as the everlasting
hills. If they are violated the result
| will be train OF evils to be felt for all
| time. The seizure and condemnation
of property of citizens under the prohi-
bition laws was contrary to justice and
| io' IL was phS opoiiuVi"h VI
the weak by the strong. 1t has been
allowed in special line of cases, and
where it will stop no man can say. The
Des Moines Reg lister, which is proba-
bly, as much to bla me for arousing this
destructive and fanatical spirit in the
people as all other agencies, now says
this of the course pursued:
1--WE are con vinced now that in fight
ing for prohibition sufficient attention
was not paid to the rights of property
owners injured by the prohibition law
The wonder is now that stronger coh-
test was not made on that line. If it had
been, and the sense of fair play OF the
Iowa people appealed to, we believe
that those whose property was destroyed
would have been given at least partial
compensation. 1t is now too late tC
amend the injustice, and yet we be-
lieve that il ever prohi bition shall fail
in Iowa, by failing to secure the APP
proval of succeeding generations, the
plant of such distrust and reputation
will have largely sprung from return
ing sense of fair play that such revo'
tuition should not have been accom-
l Mi cd kuit No a 4