The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-01-01
The Kansas State Temperance Union
Reviewing a Decade Of
Prohibition.
THE ORIGINAL PACKAGE DECISION
Candid and Logical Comparison of 1881
With 1S91-.PrOhibitiOn Deeply I'M
planted in the Peoples Hearts.

TOPEKA. Kas,, Jan. Ito the people of
Kansas: The prohibitory amendment to our
constitution was adopted at the fall election
in 1880. The legislature, at its session in
January-March, 1881, passed the first pro-
hibitory law, which went in operation May
1, 1881. We have therefore had, nominally,
little over ten years experience of the
workings of prohibition in this state. Aswe
look back over that period, and as we con-
trast 1891 with 1881, we can form some judg-
ment of the practical effects of this policy.
What have they been?
First, There can be no doubt In any intelli-
gent and candid mans mind, that the use
of Intoxicating liquors among the great
body Of the people has vastly decreased.
In 1880 there were more than 1000 places in
Kansas where such liquors were freely and
openly and legally sola The most of these
places were public drinkeries, saloons, fire.
quented from early morning until late at
night by motley crowd of men and boys
who, under the most demonstrating sur
roundings, were drinking Intoxicating
drinks. LeWd and indecent pictures
adorned the walls; the very alr was heavy
with oaths and obscenity; brawls and fist
fights were Of daily occurrence, while the
pistol and the dirk furnished ready helps TO
assault and murder. Nine tenths of all the
crimes Of violence to person and property
were concocted in the saloons.
Had the saloon system continued. we
should by this time have had about 5000
saloons in Kansas in full blast, doing every
day their appropriate work Of moral and
physical Generalization and death. Our
capital city, Topeka, would have had at
least 200 of these vicious resorts, and our
criminal courts would have been kept busy
every day in the week, in the vain effort to
punish and suppress crime We appeal to
| every good citizen whether our present con-
| ditiOn, with not u single open saloon in the
city, Is not infinitely preferable to this.
| Can any man doubt that In the state at
large, there is not 1.-THE of the intoXica-
ting liquors consumed that there would be
were the saloons running wide open, as they
were in 1880?
If. as is sometimes uncanlidly claimed,
as much Intoxicating liquor Is consumed IN
Kansas now rs during The open saloon erRs
! why Is it that The entire wholesale liqdof ~.
| terest is so bitterly opposed to prohlbitionY
| Why did every wholesale liquor dealer In
the country rejoice over the original package
decision oil the supreme court, and why did
they mourn when the Wilson bill was
passed.
1t should be remarked, too, in the COM
parison which we have made between Kan
sas under the prohibitOry law and under
the saloon system, that the saloon in Kan
Sas, before the passage of the prOhlDtory
law, existed under rs favorable circum-
stances as the license system could afford.
Our saloons under bur old license law were
as good saloons, II we may use the term in
such a connection, as the license system is
capable Of producing. II, therefore, we
were to abandon the prohibitory law for
any other scheme, we could reasonably eX-
pect to have no better saloons than we had
under our old license law. There is no new
and improved variety of saloon. 1t is the
same old, unsayOry, disreputable article.
Its chief business continues TO be what 1t
always has been-tO corrupt youth and
manufacture drunbaFds. We press
this point, because there are very few men
in Kansas, claiming to be good citizens,
who have the hardihOOd to advocate the
bald, open saloon. 1t is always some half
way scheme, some sugar coated pill, that Is
offered to us. In reality, were we to give up
prohibition we would have in its place moth
ing but the open saloon.
Secondly The prohibitOry principle is
vastly stronger in the Judgment and conf
denCe of the people now that it was ten years
ago. There can be no doubt Of this. Hun |
dreds of citizens who originally, from one
cause or another oppOsed prohibition are
now its friends. The practical workings Of
the law have convinced them Of its useful |
ness, The strongest enemies Of prohibition |
are to be found in those few communities |
where the law has never been fairly eXecu-
ted. But over the vastly greater part OF the |
Of at tho nnorln nrn bpttnr satiShnd wi h |
prohibition than with anything that is or can
be offered in its place.
Thirdly: The execution Of the law, while |
not perfect, while not all that its friends de-
sire, is probably Us good as could have been |
expected. AS we have already shown, 1t has |
vastly decreased the consumption OF intOX-
icating liquors, and has virtually driven the |
the open saloon from the state.
FOurthly: The experience Of the last ten |
years has taught us that the prOhibitory |
law, for its best success, must have behind |
it a constantly aggressive and manifest pub
lie opinion in its favor. This III true of all |
laws, but especially Of the prohibitOry law.
The lesson is obvious. Temperance peO-
pie must not intermit their efforts to inform,
to convince and to arouse public sentiment. |
The liquor traffic represents large material |
interests. 1t is an exceedingly profitable |
business. To overthrow prohibition in Kan
sas 1t would make large contributions. It's |
maign influence Is constantly felt in our
state. On the other side, good people must
show at least an equal zeal in favor Of pro-
hibition. They must meet the false argu-
ments, the specious complaints and the
Oftentimes absurd assertions of the sympa-
thizers with the liquor traffic, by sound
argument, truth and fact.
Filthy: The experience Of the last ten
years has shown us that prohibition contri-
butes to the material prosperity and growth
Of the state. The decade from May, 1881, to
May, 1891, despite the hard times Of the last
two or three years, has been the most pros
porous Que in the history Of the state. The
vast sums which used 10 be worse than
wasted In support Of the saloons now mainly
90 into the channels Of legitimate trade. The
saloonkeepers' loss is the gain Of every
honest tTadesman in the community. The
hard-earned wages Of the laboTing man, the
mechanic, the artisan, the clerk, now 90 to
support his wife and children, and not to fiji
the greedy Golfers Of the saloonkeeper.
There never was more self eyident lie than
the assertion that the saloon traffic contri-
butes to the business prosperity Of any state.