The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1890-03-15
The Saloon Question.

1npTe are phases VI
opinion on the temperance question,
but OH one point it seems to us there
must be substantial agreement among
Christian people. The saloon is an un-
mitigatcd evil, 1t is wholly bad,
There is nothing TO be said for 1t.
Most questions have two sides; the
question of the saloon has only one:
Everything about it is against it. In
. the first place, saloons are unnecessary.
On no ground can the plea be urged
that they meet any legitimate need
Even the man who insists, it may be
with reason, that he must use little
stimulant for his health'S sake, VIII
hardly claim that the medicine must
be drunk at counter in order to be
efiicacious. Surely it had better be
taken at home. And those champions
of personal liberty whose self-respect
suffers if they don't drink, can sutfcl-
ently assert their freedom at their own
tables. If all the men who use liquor
as an innocent indulgence OF appe-
tite had to use it in their homes before
their wives and children, rather than
IN saloons with shaded windows, there
would be UNNECESSARILY less of drunk
enness and of the misery it causes.
Besides being unnecessary, saloons
are actively rernicious in countless
ways They educate drunkards. With
the aid of the silly and vile American
habit of 'treating,' they turn out
graduates after a very short course
Four or five young men enter a saloon
together. One stands treat" Zach
one of the others must do the same.
No matter how many times 1t goes
around, nobody dareS to refuse. The
result is that when the group leave the
saloon they are all more or less intOX-
icated Many saloons offer free lunch
in some form or other to every Gus
toner Social instincts are appealed
to. Music is provided evenings
Business appointments can be freely
made in saloons they are always open
and everyone that has money to spend
is welcome. Political caucuseS are en-
Outraged TO meet in saloons. No de
vice is neglected to make them popu
lar places Of resort. \ liquor seller in
one of our large cities used to stand IL
his doorway ana invite the boys from
neighhoring school to come IN and
taste some sweet drink he had made
for them. When asked how he could
afford to give away liquor, he replied,
Il know what | am about. | am edu-
eating Gust OmerS.'
The only way to reform the saloon
is to eXterminate it. We hold without
qualification that bars, or drinking
counters, should be abolished. We be
lieve that the sale of liquor across a
counter, to be drunk on the premises,
should be prohibited. We should re-
joice to see its total prohibition. 1t is
a pity that temperance sentiment and
effort are not more concentrated on
this one practical issue. The laws of
most of our States give the people a
chance t. say whether they Will have
saloons or not. The election of excise
commissioners gives opportunity, at
least III the counties or towns of rural
districts, for settling the question by
popular vote. To organize such action,
especially where it includes bringing to
justice violators of the law we have,
takes more grit and means harder
work than delivering lectures and de
n,uncing rumsellers. If a community
will rot combine TO Danish the saloon
they are responsible for its continued
existence Without waiting till all
are agreed as to every item of the tenn
perance discussion, let the antagonists
of the saloon join hands to put it down
where they live.-The Examiner.