The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-27
SIS --------
SORRY FOR THEM.


was the unconscious dupe of a soulless
corporation, which is possible.
SORRY FOR THEM.
We are sorry for our neighbors to the
north of us, who are, it appears, about
to be subjected to the throes of bitter
electoral contest in behalf Of an agita-
ton which we in this country have at
last escaped. 1t is announced that a
plebiscite of the people of the dominion
will be taken by order of the new gov
eminent to see whether or not it shall
enact a prohibitory liquor law for the
confederation. We can hardly imagine
more unWiSe step, or one more unin-
telligible in view of the experience Of
the United States with prohibition. For
tunately, the chapter of state prohibit
ton enactments and constitutional
amendments in this country has been
repeating act is approved by the people,
the word "finis'' has been placed at the
end Of it. But in the long vars of al
most intolerable agitation, which most
Of the states of the Union endured in
their uniformly disastrous experiments
with the prohibition policy, and in the
complete demonstration which we fur
nish that in the present stage Of de-
velopment of human nature, such laws
cannot be enforced, it seems to US that
a neighboring community ought to find
adequate instruction and warning.
The time was, from twenty to abou:
five years ago, when from Maine to
Oregon, one state after another of the
Union was swept by the Irresistible
wave Of temperance reform. Over
whelming majorities of the people ev-
erywhere desired to see a better con-
troll and regulation by the state Of
the traffic in intoxicants, and, if pos
a very large number Of them, at one
time or another, the we'll meaning
voter yielded to the representation Of
the prohibitionists, and conceded that
trial of this specific should be made.
The results everywhere were most I'M
fortunate, settling down after period
Of turmoil, bad blood and, not infre-
quently, physical collision, to one Of
the other of two situations. Either
the prohibitory law was openly and
generally nullified and remained upon
%hn -4pf1 70 ,4oJxr 1Ofo i
letter, or else it was so far enforced
as to call from the saloons a stated
amount Of penalties at regular inter
walls, leaving them unmolested in the
meantime, and thus was transformed
in actual operation into a practical
system Of liquor licensing, There is no
state in the Union today, although sew
eral of them have still retained their
prohibition legislation, where there is
any pretense that prohibition is en-
forced
We have found the best present solu-
ton of the problem to lie in system Of
high license. That, with various modi-
fications, is now on trial pretty nearly
everywhere The Raines law in New
York is the latest form Of it, while the
dispensary system in South Carolina
is an experiment with the absolute con-
troll and operation Of the business by
the state itself. Massachusetts, has
thenburg system, but everywhere among
practical people prohibition has been
given up as a dead failure The only
memory Of it that we hold is the bitter
personal conflicts that arose when it
was on the boards; the division Of FAM
lily against family, the fruitless at
tempts to enforce the law, and the de-
plorable regime Of law-breaking and
corrupt connivance that attended the
period of active life of every pro-
hibitory law.
1t is amazing that either the people
Of Canada or any political leader in
that country should think for one mo-
ment of subjecting it to the evils which
we have experienced, when they have
the history Of the last quarter of a CEN
fury Of the prohibition movement in the
United States written for them to read
Tt ought to console us somewhat, when
we deplore the refusal Of our own peo-
pie to accept and abide by the pIainest
lessons in the experience of others, that
we are not alone in our blindness and
our determination to learn only in the
costliest school,