Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1894-05-31


Tory, not because he sought 10 degrade
farther the low and vicious elements.
but because he thought to ruin Rome bv
pointing her young men. | make bold
20 say that the schemes to hide runs
hideous and death breeding form in re
spectacle, OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES high.
licensed places or Gothenburg corpo-
rate parlors, continuing its lease
OF life for a bloody ransom, is more
blasting 10 the flower of America than
would be . Cataline's treachery.
Carroll ID. Wright. in his Fifth Spec.
iai Report as Commissioner of Labor.
devoted as il is to the Gothenbure svs-
lem, wisely cslls attention to the dan
ger OF thus rendering ''respectablen for
pilce, desth- dealing business, BY
saying: 1T is feared the upper classes
OF society do not wish to 60 further
than the Gothenburg system. Some of
them would not like to see the drinking
OF spirits made unTespt cable. Conse-
quently, practical difficulty may be
raised in the future. should it come TO a
choIce between the company system
and prohibition. Furthermore il is
feared that municipalities will not will
lingly surrender tue revenues aecruin0
from the companies profits. Should
THESE Decline largely, it is also held that
phiiauthropic motives may be be put in
the background. +"
What does this last sentence mean?
simply that, should the revenue not be
sufficient, under present restrictions. to
enable the companies to pay the large
fee to the municipalities for license, be-
sides the other expenses, Interest and
prohts needed, the regulations would
% relaxed so far as necessary to make
sales large enough to raise the required
amounts. That such danger has not
yet arisen. is because the Gothenburg
system keeps the business at "high
pressure aud the revenue large, as we
shall see later, thereby indicating that
It has not reached any great success.
As emphasizing this point, Mr. Wright
adds: The question of profits is unde.
niably conspicuous. "
In view of the meager benefits thus
Tar obtained by the Gothenburg sys-
tom. AMI tho aforementioned dangers.
is 1t safe or wise for Christian men or
philanthropists TO make haste to adopt
a new style of compromise with great
evil?
That the upper classes" the heav-
Ter taxpayers of America-ha come
to regard high license with favor, and
DO not wish to 90 farther, unless il
might be to adopt some still more .'re-
spectacle" revenue system, is made
clear every year by the indifference of
the wealthy and influential to runs
rayages.
Th brings me 10 another point in
our friends first article. He saws that
"a first weakness of prohibition is due
to the fact that not all temperance men
will act. There is great, sluggish, in
ditferent, middle zon,. The motives of
its inactivity are moral apathy, per-
soDaI interest and hopelessness."
This is true, but is 1t due to .'weak-
ness of prohibition or to the infamous
generalization that follows partnership
in crime? Every intelligent man knows
that It is legalized, revenue produo-
ing, law protected license-system. and
not prohibition that is to blame for
this; and the gent'eman's Gothenburg
scheme will widen and extend that
great, sluggish, middle zonen of
moral apathy, personal interest and
No reason is pointed
out which can be depended on to re-
store to the public an active, sensitive
or these Temperance men" (P) he
says: ''Their moral sensibilities are not
awake; they have no feelings when
they stand in the presence of the gross
est violations of justice and morals;
they are unmoved by the suffering. des-
titution and crime caused by the liquor
traffic"
Certainly, for these temperance men,"
so long as they refuse to stand for
saloon destruction but share in LIQUOR
revenue. are partners with these evils;
and why should they be disturbed by
that which they not only sanction, di-
rectly or indirectly, but divide among
them willingly It's blood money!"
Even our good friend is not so much
disturbed but that he can advocate con-
tinuing these evils under new style of
partnership, the meanwhile quieting his
conscience by that plea that the rum
host has preached for years, "Drohibi-
ton is weak" May / not suggest
kindly but earnestly, that, in view of
the well known fact that licensed COM
promise and not prohibition is TO be
blamed for these evils, terrible
moral apathy,-tbe m4n who makes
such an argument against prohibition
is himself ia the great, sluggish, indit-
ferent, middle zone" so far as to have
a compromise mote in his eve. The
fact is, that the whole life of the liquor
traffic depends upon the calloused hearts
Of men. Once arouse that great mid
tile zone" and make men see the horri-
BILE results of the liquor traffic, and they
will destroy it; they will not stop with
halfway measures. Could we adopt
the Gothenburg system, it would simply
prove that the sleep induced by revenue
compromise is not broken, but is to 20
un for years yet.
Many things that surprise me. must
pass unnoticed, by simply saying that
the cry of "hopelessness'' of victory,
and that these indifferent me n have lost
faith in the maxim "that truth will pre-
vail - fnantionad IN, our fr;oYd "a ,-aa