The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-01-19
Whiskey Fair Plays. ;.

Play" enters q plea for the contin-
uance OF the gin mil through last
weeks Democrat while at the same
time entering a demurrer to the MID
LAND JOURNALS objection to any
tinkering with the present license
law of the county at the eleventh
hour. The following extract con-
tains the substance of "Fair Plays
argument. 1t will be observed that
> it is more specious than honest:
"There are many who are not able to
foresee complete and satisfactory solution
of this problem should the vote result as be
anticipates, nor is there a certainty that il
will thus result.
1.-THE object of license law is or should
be to lessen the consumption of liquor, and
it is the opinion of a great many persons
| (quite as capable of forming a correct
opinion as himself) that law with proper
safeguards and restrictions will be even
more operative in this way than the So
called prohibitory law. 1t must be remem-
| bered in this connection that there was a
great deal Of the fluid consumed whilst we
we're under the benign influence Of prohi.
biton (some say as much as at presently and
| it must also be remembered that we haye
| never had a license law that was worthy of
the name, or that imposed any restriction
worth mentioning. The proper way to
determine which of the two, a restrictive
| license or prohibition will prove most effec-
tive is 10 give them a fair trial. Amend the
present defective law and see how it will
work, and then we will be able to vote more
intslligently. As regards this question, the
| voters of this county may be divided into
three classes. The first will vote always for
license; the second will vote always for
prohibition; and the third and conservative
class will vote for the one they think most
effective in restraining the evil, and il is the
last class that holds the balance of power,
and in order to get their support something
more convincing than mere assertions must
be produced. If after a years experience
under restrictive license law, no improve
ment is noticeable, they will have no excuse
for supporting it again. If, however, the
amended law should las the Journal seems
to apprehend) have the effect to greatly
reduce the number of licenses and thereby
bring the consumption Of liquor below what
il was under prohirion, they will feel a,
liberty to vote for its continuance.
"Let me ask the Journal one question
Suppose prohibitory law was passed and
found to be defective in some important
particulars, would not its advocates feel
grieyed if the Legislature would refuse tc
grant them desired amendments?
"Why then object to having the license
law improved. This Incorporate and unfair
way Of dealing with this important question
will not gain any votes.
| "FAIR PLAY"
| 1t lie fear that the vote will result
against license that prompts that
class of special pleaders to come
out al this late day in advocacy OF
some hypocritical tinkering of the
license law of this county. Why did
not the "Fair Plays" come out two
years ago and advocate these
6 changes ?" All these defects were
just as visible then as now. "Fair
Play" ought to play fair or get out
of the game.
The object of high license is not
to lessen the consumption of liquor,
but to monopolize the sale of it, To
be able to give the business an
apparently more respectable stand
Jag, by combining the public sale to
gilded saloons. while there is back
kitchen attachment for the accom-
mediation of the riffraff, whom the
tony saloon has cast down to the
lower depths.
| We deny most emphatically that
there is any one who has an honest
opinion based on statistics that a
claw with proper safeguards and
restrictions will be even more
operative" than prohlbitory law.
Statistics piled mountains high have
been gathered by temperance ASSOC
Citations, from States and cities where
| $500, $1,000, $1,000 licenses with all
the restrictive" provisions that the
ingenuity of man could devise
and the result was and is ever the
same, sea of drunkenness and
crime. No license law ever framed
and enacted has been known to
'restrict" after the rumseller got the
hang of it; and no liquor license law
has ever been honestly" executed
These are not guess work assertions
but are recorded facts that will be
furnished by application to any TEN
perance association.
| Everybody knows that the Fair
Plays" smuggie whiskey in defiance
of law into every prohibition district
or county, just as they sell in defiance
of law under every form of license.
They are chronic law breakers, but
they cannot sell one tenth the
quantity as smugglers as licensed
agents of Gambrinus and Bacchus.
We have had hundreds of examples
and experiments with amended
whiskey laws and they always work
ed the same way. The higher the
license and the more numerous the
restrictions the more the rumseller
hustles and more ingenuity he devel.