Delaware gazette and state journal., 1895-12-05
A TAX ON THE LIQUOR BUSINESS,

1t is Imposed In Ohio, and Proves Far
Superior to the License system --Tnkes
tho susiness Out Of Politics. hE
New York Evening Post.
warner Miller remarked few days
after election that in considering tie
revision of the Excise laws at Albany
this winter he thought the Legislature
should consider thoughtfully the Ohio
tax law because his political friends in
OHIO. assured him that it "has taken
the liquor question out of politics, -
and has worked to such general salts
FACTION that the "only regrot tho Ohio
people have is that the tax Is not
higher. We arc glad to learn that
other Republican leaders than Mr..
Millet are considering the question Of
tax rather than license as a solution OF
the liquor problem, for it has long
been our conviction that IL is hy all
odds the best enc. We are certain that
an investigation Of the results in Ohio
Will lead other students of the problem
TO the same conclusion, for they are far
moro satisfactory than can be shown
under any other system now in ueo.
The Ohio law levies uniform tax Of
$50 upon all places selling liquor, No
limit is placed to the number of
saloons. Any man who can pay the tax
can sell liquor. When it first went into
effect nine years ago the law reduced
the number of saloons in this State
about one-third, and while there has
been some increase since, it is not
much greater than it would be natural
to expect with the growth in popula-
tion. The increase would be checked
by an advance in the tax, and this is
the one feature in the law which the
people are anxious to change. 1t it's
thought that it will be raised to $3.50
or 5lOO in the near future. The total
number of saloons in the State 'at pres
ent is about $4,000, and tho revenue is
about 50. 600, 600. This revenue is di-
vided as follows: Two o-tenths to the
general revenue fund of the State
three-tenths to tho municipal police
fund, three tenths to the general fund
of the city, and the remaining two.
tenths TO the poor fund of the county.
The aim Of this division is to apply the
tax as far as possible towards paying the
expenses which the liquor business en-.
tails upon the community and the
State. There is no provision in tho law
which makes il possible to close a
saloon so long as the proprietor pays
his tax, which is payable semi-an-
nually, but if he violates the provisions
which forbid Sunday selling or sales to
minors or intoxicated persons, he lie
subject to heavy fines and imprison.
ment.
The great merit of this law is the one
cited by Mr.. Miller: at has taken the
liquor question out of Politics." This
is a result which can never be obtained
with a license system, for we cannot
administer that without boards Of ex-
else, and 80 long as we have them the
liquor question will remain in politics.
Under a tax law, there are no boards
of excise, and consequently no favorite-
ism in the distribution of the privilege
of selling liquor. 1t is this favoriteism
which varies in amount according to
the personel of the board, but which
exists in all boards of excise and yir-
tually controls their action, that keeps
the liquor question in politics and
makes it, from the nature of the case,
one OF the most pernicious influences
to be found there. Under tax law 1
list Of tax.paying saloons is made out
like the lists of other items of taxa
tion, is reported to the State treasurer
in tho same manner as property, and
the liquor dealer must pay up every six
months or quit. He gets the right to
sell through nobody's influence or
pull, " and no such aid will enable
him to keep it il he fails to pay. He
stands on a square business footing
with the State, and the consequence
is that he takes no interest in politics
so far as his business is concerned.
No political party can do anything for
him, and consequently he docs not need
to contribute to it's funds or rally the
liquor vote" to it's support.
Nothing better could happen to the
politics of this State than change
like this. 1t Should not be confounded
with the Sunday selling question. for
1T docs not effect that at all. That
VIII have to be solved by ITSELF The
Ohio law forbids Sunday sales, but it
is not enforced in the cities of the
state, any more than our excise law is
enforced in Brooklyn, Buffalo, and
other New York cities. Public senti-
ment allows it to be ignored, and the
municipal authorities do nothing more
than restrict selling within orderly
bounds Any city or town is permitted,
under a local option measure, to pro-
hibit by popular vote all sales Of liquor.
a ratable proportion of the tax Is re-
turned to saloon keepers whose places
are closed by local option. The Coun-
ellis OF smaller cities also have power to |
pass local option ordinance and close |
all saloons.
Our Legislature can consider these |
questions of tax, Sunday sales, and |
local option separately, and thus give |
the state more satisfactory solution |
UntIlI ha ~.
be considered and treated in single |
A uniform tax, placed high |
enough TO be sufficiently restrictive, |
could not fail greatly to improve our |
in this city. At present our
saloon license fee is only 5000, which |
is far too low. The maximum limit is |
$3.50, but that also is too low. There |
have been many efforts in the imme-
iiate past to raise the fec as high as
81, 900, but none of them has ever matlo |
much progress in the Legislature. A |
tax of $500 would not be at all unrea-
,onable, and there is not the slightest
loubt that if it were levied, suffi-
'ient number of men would be found |
lble to pay it to keep the community |
imply supplied with saloons. No
leadlier blow could be struck to Tam
many Hal! than to take the saloons out |
If politics Tor all time by first placing
hem on business footing with the
state, and next by so regulating the
sunday sales that the police would
lave no opportunity for levying black
nail. The Republican Legislature has
n its power to do both these thinge,
md thereby, while doing the COM
nunity and the State great service,
Enormously bcneiit the Republican