Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1892-02-11
"DRAMSHOPS"IN THE HOUSE,
The Coils Continue to Tighten
Around the Doomed Lii
qu0r Traffic.
All License Moneys Must Go
Into the state Treasury.
Other Important Amendments.

vi anu -AbhObdltu SOue
chapter on "Dramshops," which elicit
ed one of the liveliest debates yet wit
messed in that body. We borrow the
State Ledger's running account of the
first days proceedings.
The committee recommended that
md section be so amended that license
outside of cities, towns or villages
shall be five hundred, and that the
whole of the license should go into the
State Treasury instead of one-half into
the State Treasury and one-half into
the county treasury.
Mr.. Spencer moved to amend by strik-
ing out five and inserting eight hun
dred. Messrs. Spencer, Cook and
Gayles favored the amendment ON the
idea that it would almost entirely do
away with the country saloon, from
which they thought most of the evil of
the liquor traffic flowed.
Messrs. Hicks, Henry, Enochs and
Underwood opposed the amendment
and were in favor of standing by the
committees report. They took occa-
sion to say that the committee repre-
scented different views and that in or
der to get together mutual concessions
had to be made that no man could, of
course, expect his individual views to
prevail throughout; that the report of
| tho foir a,,l CT 70
both sides as could be expected and ap-
pealed to the House, also representing
divergent opinions, to stand by the
committee, and that the amendment
only fixed the minimum tax, leaving it
with the board of supervisors to in
crease it to any amount they saw prop
er.
Mr.. Quinn also opposed Mr.. Spen-
GERS amendment, which was lost. The
question then required on fixing the
license at $500 in the country which
was carried.
The proposition to pay all the money
received from license into the State
Treasury met with most determined
opposition. Messrs. Cook, Vardeman,
Stribbling and Marshall earnestly an
tagonized it on the principle that coun-
ties which had the evils of the saloon
should receive any benefits from it,and
that other counties had no right,
through the State Treasury, to any part
of the license that it all should go to
the counties, and certainly at least one
half should.
They were reminded by Messrs.
Henry, Underwood, Madison, Perkins,
Buntin and Durham, in the order
named, that it was entirely optional
with any and all counties to have Ii
quor or not that there was no compul-
sion that any county should have
whisky at all. But that the opposition
to divide" of the liquor license was
based on higher grounds-n on de-
sire that any counties should receive
any benefits from it that the scheme
to divide" amounted to bride, on the
Louisiana Lottery plan,to every county,
city, town and village, to have dram
shops -'license the dram shop and re-
ceive part of the proceeds :" that such
an idea was most dangerous. Replying
to the argument that counties not hav-
ing saloons had no right to say where
the proceeds should go, it was urged
that until it was demonstrated that the
dram shop was not productive of crime,
poverty, insanity, ETC., every person
was interested that penitentiaries and
asylums were largely filed with victims
of the dram shop and that these in
situations had to be maintained by the
State and that it was only fair that the
traffic that made the victims should
bear some part in their support.
No debate in the House has been
more earnest and able, and the above
is but an imperfect outline thereof,
but will give some idea of its general
idea.
The committees amendment to turn
the whole license into the State Treas
ury prevailed by vote of 60 to AZ.
Mr.. Spencer then offered an amend
ment that boards of supervisors should
grant no license to dram shop in the
country. Messrs. Cook and Peyton
warmly supported the same, saying
that the country saloon ought to be
done away with and the traffic confined
to places that had police regulations,
and desired that all prohibitionists
should show their hands and demon
strate that prohibition was what they
were after, and not "divide" of the
"blood money" from the licenses.
Messrs Hicks and Underwood sub
mitted that any board of supervisors
that desired could put the license so
high as to preclude country saloons,and
that the chapter under consideration
was based on the 'local option" idea
and they would not be diverted from it.
Besides, any town or beat in a county
could exclude it by petition.
Mr.. Henry said he was prohibition
list both in theory and in practice, and
would not hesitate to vote for State |
prohibitory law, but that the chapter
under consideration was one of '.local |
option" and that he would stand bv the /