The morning times., 1895-12-22
EFFECT OF HIGH LICENSE.

/
and room money. -a -,r
| EFFECT OF HIGH LICENSE.
| How the Experiment Has Worked In
| Various CAties.-
New York Sun.
Two methods have been tried in the va
| rious parts of the country. with uliereht
| degrees of success, for reducing the num-
ber of licensed liquor places The nrst
| and most familiar Of these Is the appil-
| cation of the principle of high license
| SO called, under which the rates OF license
| fees are so far raised as to become almost
prohibitory TO the minor number OF sa-
| looms, while the local revenue is not re-
duced substantially, though the number
| of saloons is.
This method, which has found ap-
proval in many Republican ciiies. has
| been looked upon with disfavor In New
| York State since the Republicans at
| their nominating convention OF 1888 COLI
nitted themselves specifically to its sup
port and met soon afterward serious
defeat, which left the champion OF high
| license, Mr.. Miller, beyond the breast
| works" as is well Known f--' s'r
The highest license fee charged any
| where In the United States is at Haver-
| hill. Mass, where 1t costs $4,000 to get a
| license for saloon. There are twenty
| eight saloons in Haverhill, a town of
| $4,000 inhabitants, or in the proportion or
one saloon TO about eleven hundred per-
| sons.
Several other Massachusetts towns. par
| ticularly Lowell. New Bedford. Springfield
and Worcester, have the high license prin-
| ciplc in operation. and there is also
stated license fee OF 81 ,0U0 in these cities
f, in other parts of the country: Phiiadel-
pbia. Pittsburg, Minneapolis. Atlanta where
,ra ykttI.,t n and
| Joseph. In Boston. with license fee or
| 81. .OO0 there are fewer than 500 saloons,
| and in Atlanta fewer than 100. in the pro
| portion or about Que saloon To every
| thousand inha bit ants.
In ST. Louis a licesse costs 5000. and in
Denver the fee Is the same. In Chicago
and Detroit IL is $500. and all cities in
| which that rate is cXaCted from saloons
are put usually In dte category high
license cities. Among these high license
: cities, Chicago, with more than 5000 H.
| censcd places. sta nds first. and then come
ST. Louis. with 1000; Philadelphia, with
800 texclnsive of,speak-easiesi }. and De-
troit. with / 200. The number OF salorn~
To the whole population is greater In De-
troit than in any other large city OF the
country in which Iiiccnse fee OF $500 Is
charged. The proportion there IL one si-
loon to every 21G OF population.
Seven large cities In the United statss.
Washington, Providence. sud New Haven
among them. have a license fee OF 500.
A dozen large cities have a license fee OF
! $500.
Then follow fifty large cities with a
license fee OF $3.50. and then come New
York aud Milwaukee two towns in which
the consumption Of beer and liquors Is
very large with liceuse fee OF S2oo. Tile
cost OF liquor license In this city. $500,
puts IL low down In the category OF low
I 70,
as little or less are. nearly ali OF them. in
the South. where the rate OF business does
not justify a much higher figure. Besides
this, many OF the Southern cities in which
| a low retail license rate is charged are In
districts or counties which contribute many
| thousands of dollars TO the Federal Treas
ury in the form OF internal revenue duties
Up to year ago Brooklyn had a license
fee OF 500. but 1t has been raised since.
| There is a $50 license In New York for the
sale OF ale or beer, and hotels pay either
$500 or $500, their classification being
regulated by the humber of rooms they have
for guests. New York has nine thousa nd
liquor saloons of all characters and de-
| scriptions, and this is nearly one thousand
fewer than the number of licensed places
in New York nine years ago. The popula-
ton OF the city has very greatly increased
during that time, and the proportion OF
liquor saloons to the whole population has,
therefore, been steadily declining.
The present board of police commits
| sioners believes that a Still further de-
| crease in the number of saloons can be
brought about without inconvenece to
customers and without radical injury to
the retail liquor business, for 1t is well
known that the number of saloons In town
is larger than the present condition of
trade justifies, and that many of them
have been in financial difficulties in
consequence.
New York has about one liquor saloon to
260 of population. Milwaukee. with 500
saloons, has one to 160 of population In
the city of Buffalo the number of saloons
to the total population is greater than in
any other city of the country. The present
board of excise commissioners believes
that 5000 saloons would supply all the
wants of New York customers. and that
beginning December l the number could
be gradually reduced until the reduction
reached 5000. a-'
This view of the case finds some sup
port among the liquor men themselves.
who know that the present competition
lis gradually depriving the retail trade of
the profits which were formerly thought
to be assured 10 any proprietor who had
| q thorough knowledge of the business and
diligently attended to it. Should the
number of New York licenses be cut down
to 5000. Chicago would exceed this city
in the number of lis saloons. though
| Chicago drinks in q year only 2,6OO, 900
barrels of beer to New York's ,6OO, 900
with whisky In proport ION, Chicag go men say
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