The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1894-10-20
Money VS.. Morals.

| on S"pit'1S W0 concern me pHbltC, trkcH SHit-
dbly rrpreSscd, aud mhen accompanied By the
/ '"rjter'S name.
Money VS.. Morals.
/ Mr.. EDITOR:
When the friends and defenders of the
liquor traffic in Cecil county are driven to
the wall on the question now before the
peopi" o! license or no license, they again ap-
peal to the pockets of the voters and tell them.
that license puts money in the County Trea-
sury.
license to steal would do the same thing
a license TO dcfame ones nc.ghbor might
help to pay our county expenses.
Degrade any moral question to a mere
question OF dollars and cents. and there are
always in any community "A few who will be
influenced by it.
But low as this appeal to the pocket is, it
has i'll point of fact no force whatever. Our
county expenses have not been diminished
one dollar since the Liquor Saloons were
opened four years ago.
But if they had been, where would the
money have come from. that would have
gone into the County Treasury?
From the pockets of the people who buy the
liquor and largely from the pockets of those
who work hard for every dime they make
1t is the industrial classes of our county
who pay both the license, and expenses and
profits of the liquor dealers for the paltry
sum that goes into the County Treasury, the
families of these working men suffer- Every
dollar, every dime, that passes over the bars
| of these IpulprG iS IN Ipush toy tba
support of the families of those who buy and
drink the rum.
But says one of the champions of license,-
''Prohibiton in Cecil drives the liquor buy
ers to Delaware, and Cecil money goes to
enrich the liquor dealers in Newark"
Well, where does it go now?
Who is benefited by the sale of liquors in
Elkton."
Principally the liquor dealers in Baltimore
and Philadelphia. 1t certainly does not ado
to the income of Il single individual in Cecil
county not engaged in the business.
SO much in brief for the money side of the
question.
The next point made in behalf of licens is,
that prohibition does not prohibit.
Now, if laws enforced themselves there
would b, bat little need Tor laws.
The present License law is supposed to be
as st jngent as It was possible to make it.
Is t enforced? Has even an attempt been
made to cnioccg It!
Are the dealers in Cecil who traffic under
the licenses they take out. so conscientious
that they never sell Il glass of liquor to u Gus
toner already under the influence OF drink?
If so, how is it. that we see so many drunken
m N on our streets, and that every Saturday
night our sidewalks arr alive with them and
their blackGuardism?
This is not IA question of dollars and cents;
1t is Il moral question pertaining to the civili-
zation of our age of progress. Why do our
laws prohibit the sale Of lottery tickets and
other gambling devices within the borders of
Maryland? Why should not the people gam
bic if they wish to? What right has the Leg
islature Of Maryland to say to the people
you shall not sell or buy "A lottery ticket, or
bet on the turn of the dice?
Because the interests of the whole people
are greater than the interests of a few individ-
Lals, and the State has the right to protect its
citizens as Il whole, and unless we admit this
principle, we could not have u single restric-
tive law on our statute books.
Law is to secure the greatest good to the
greatest number. The number who are bene-
fitted by the license system in Cecil county, is
] believe thirty-siX and in the town of Elkton
n ma or.ty Of these benencaries were aliens
until they came here to open saloons. Now
the law says.-the people of Cecil county may
decide by their votes on the 9th of November
whether these thirty-siX gentlemen shall CON
tinue their business to the injury of every
community in which they deal, or whether
the moral and material interests of twenty
seven thousand (27,0O0), others and at least
equally good citizens shall have the prefer
ence ; for, no one certainly can truthfnlly say,
that the buyer and the consumer of intoxi-
eating liquors is Il beneficiary Of the license
law. II. c. Nj.
Let US Have Peace.
Mr.. EDITOR:
The question of prohibition or License"