The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1895-08-09
LOST CREEK OFFICERS.
President-Mrs. Mollie Davis.
Secretary-Miss Anna Nutter.
Treasurer-Miss Maggie Cum
nings.
License Fees No Compensation for the
Damage Done by the Liquor

Careless thinkers say that we
should tax our vices, and
since manufacturers and vendors
make large profits, they should
pay high license fee for the
privilege. But it is not merely
the privilege to make except
ional gains that the license
gives; it is to ply a trade that de-
bauches citizens, units them fol
the proper performance of their
duties as such, and so threatens
the stability of government.
The legitimate obiectionsof pc.
litical economy to this traffic
apply to the whole cost, and not
merely to that part of it which
is represented by dollars and
cents. Ignorance, misery, pau.
perism and crime are economic
evils, and the most amazing
fact of the times is that there
are men who claim to have some
knowledge of ethics and respect
for its requirements. but insist
that it is right to license bust
ness which produces such horri.
BILE results.
The truth is that seltishness,
in this as in otEer cases, is al
ways short sighted. They talk
about making the traffic pay
what it costs, but forget that
they themselves are compelled
to foot very large part of that
bill. Indeed they do not seem
to have anything like an ade-
qaate conception of how great
those costs are to the nation and
to themselves.
The liquor traffic withdraws
from useful production and com
merce, a vast army of men
miliicas who for a considerable
part of the time are flcapaci.
tated for work by drink. and
millions who are engaged in the
business, Its said that every
twentieth man in the country is
a producer or vender of drink.
As to the producers or manufac.
turers, their product is useless
land worse) and all the labor en-.
terlng into it is taken away from
useful production. If fifty more
men could be added to every $50
making cloth, the effect would be
to cheaper cloth in proportion.
We ali pay more for cloth and
have less of it, because the fifty
men are making whiskey and
beer.
In Kansas City, Mo, license
fees are $3.50. In one section of
the city called the Junction, there
are fifteen saloons. The people
who are engaged in other lines
Of business or own property
there regard these as intolerable
nuisances. The property own
ers who realize that the value of
their real estate has suffered de.
probation by the multiplication
of saloons in the business heart
of the CITY, says the Daily star,
ARE interesting themselves in
this matter are signing the pro-
tests against arenewal of licenses
to the keepers of dramshops
around the junction. The move
ment for the suppression of this
evil IS warmly supported by the
better sentimentof tine communi-
ty and is approved by large
majority OF the people.
Quite a little sensation was
created the other day on TIE
streets of CORN, a small town in
Northeast Missouri, on the Santa
Fe railroad, over a saloon. A
man by the name of jackson had
opened saloon near the resi-
dence cf John Hardness. To
this Mr.. Hardness and a friend
OF his, ex-saloon keeper Lucilius
Price, objected. They were both
in favor of saloons, but they did
not want them near their fami-
lies. In their efforts to remove
the saloon 10 some other locality
a tight occurred between Price
ara jackson, in which the latter
was seriously, if not fatally
wounded. Many saloon keepers