The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-06-17
A New Way to Raise Revenue

A New Way to Raise Revenue.
Mr.. EDITOR: When one ia far from
home and in a strange land, seeing only
strange faces, it is with pleasure that an
old acquaintance is found, and so it was
when in the editorials of two of the local
papers | saw the old familiar words in
regard to licensing evils that are not en-
tirely suppressed by law. The same old
argument that has been printed for the
instruction of the American people for
years,-so long as you cannot entirely
suppress an evil by a prohibitory law,
why then license it, and get good rev.
enue out of it. How this plea does
travel And away off here, on these
beautiful islands in mid-ocean, it pops
ND lust the same as amid the frost and
SHOWS of America.
Now | am becoming convinced
that there must be something in
this theory, or it would not find
Judgment in every part of the
globe; and | am convinced that If it is
true theory, that here is the best place
TO properly test the question, because,
Mr.. Editor, there is a great differ
ence of opinion on the subject. When
one man says that if you cannot entirely
suppress an evil, then license it, and
not do that in which you can be only
partially successful, another man will be
found who says that if a thing is
evil. then fight it always and never
make it legal TO do evil. And so they
dispute, ana there is gin sold on the sly,
and there is opium Struggled and gamb-
ling goes on all the time, and it costs
large sums of money to hunt down the
rascals and no revenue coming In to do
it with.
Now, the plan is or should be to make
all evils pay, as they cannot be entirely
suppressed. First try murder. This Is
an evil that the world has been N king
the most stringent laws against, and still
murders are committed every day.
There can be no doubt but the laws
against the evil of murder is a failure,
for it does not entirely suppress the muir
ders. Then license it, and don't try TO
prohibit it and not succeed. Arson
comes in here, and should have license
high enough to make it profitable to the
Government. If man wants to burn,
and perhaps destroy lives in so doing,
make him pay we'll for the privilege.
Treason, this evil can be fixed all right.
1t generally means big money to the
traitor, SO make him pay well for his
license.
But leaving all these crimes and evils
OF this particular class, in which compe-
tent Judges can classify and arrange the
proper license fees, let us consider adul-
try. fornication and such hk-, and they
ought to be licensed, for
they can never be suppressed, for SO
long as man and woman live, these
evils will exist. So put on the license,
and let us have our taxes paid by those
who will indulge in these sins. And
there can be no ques-
ton about this. Men will bet, they will
play cards for money, they will gam BILE
in many ways, and the laws won't en-
tirelv stop them so what you cannot
license and rake IN the
revenue.
And. as far as saloons, of course there
can he no question about them. Men
will drink, and if you don't have plenty
of omen saloons they Will drink on the
sIv and that teaches them to be deceit
fnI So let us have them supplied with
nIentv of saloons, and don't pat on
great bio license fee, for some could not
nav il and that would be a prohlbltary
measure. so far as they were concerned;
That Is not fair give everyone an equal
chance in supplying these necessary
means of preventing men from being
deceitful. Just think OF the amount OF
revenue coming in from heavy license
fees
AS regards opium, why it is folly to
attempt to suppress it. The Cinnamon
will smoke the stuff, and, this being the
case, why make them pay Tor tue iun'
and don't prohibit its use or trafhc IN
any way, as that makes him do 1t on the
sly, and who wants to be instrumental
in making a Chinaman deceittul In
matter of this kind? Then comes the
good old argument, THE REVENUE: Every
body knows that in Honolulu there Is
SOMETHING in the opium traffic. his
tory has taught even the stranger Gha'
fact.
But really trying to stop all these
many evils, and they continue TO exist
- folly, and as sensible men let US take
the course suggested by some EDITORS
and license what cannot be entirely sup
pressed. But evil is evil, and if one Is