New-York tribune., 1896-01-20
PROHIBITION " THE WEST.

Two Western States are Just now giving m
answer ro the old and much-d!scusS"d question:
Docs Prohibition prohibiiT' That the answers
viii be accepted a. final is not al all likely for
even if the facts be admitted. there still may
be difference II opinion as to the conclusion
TO he drawn from them. The conceded good or
,hc conceded evil In The system will. in the opn-
ion Of partisans on either side. be counteractcd
bv remote consequences Prohibition may not
stop the liquor traffic. argues one man. but 1t
takes from it the protection Of law. II may
drive the evil from sight. SAYS the other but only
gives II n chance 10 flourish the more in secret.
The difference will not he reconclrd. but the
experience Of Iowa and South Dakota Is. never
thclcss. instructive.
Governor Jackson in his message sent on
Tuesday 10 the Iowa Legislature. gives careful
ANALYSIS Of the workings ~ the liquor laws in
that State during recent years. Iowa formerly
had Prohibition hut the last General Assem-
bly,. in response to a popular demand that
There should b., legislation in the direction of
'rclucing liuior-s"llng to n minimum In coun-
ties where the liquor law had failed TO pro-
"hibt" enacted what Is known rs the Mulct
law which went into effect on July 1. 1894.
During the first year Of the operation Of this
act which does not apply to the whole State,
the tax If 5000 per annum was assessed against
1G2O saloons amounting 10 S912G0O. wh II
with the added penalties assessed 10y cities made
n total of S1l.G.311 realized from the trai".
The fact that il has only been adopted by Ger
tain colntcs gives n favorable opportunity for
comparison Of It's effects with those Of the old
law as ca,Igcd by the Federal revenue collect
a., l,.t
crnl prohibition the number Of licenses issued
by The United States for the state Of Iowa was
6U32 During the first year under the Mulct
law Il was i.,G4 Not all Of this decrease was
in the counties which had abandoned Prohibi-
ton. but il was prcdominanty IN them On
July l. 1889. there Wcrc ffSonc counties hay
ing population of S31. 500 which had not adopt
ed The Mulc law. In them the number Of Fed
cial licenses decreased from Los to 500 loss
Of IL. per cent. ON The same date forty eight
counties. with Il population Of 30 2GO were
under It's operations. and tie number Of Fed
cral licenses then was 3.3Il as against 1854 n
year previous In them the loss lad been 81
per cent. The greatest decrease occurred in The
cities. In Scott County. including Davcnport
the loss was l34: in Clinton los: in Woodbury.
which includes Sioux CITY. 100; in Polk in whic,
is Dcs M0ines. 81: and In Pottawattamie with
Council Bluffs. 80. Only eighteen counties show
gains amounting In all to ~. the number in
each running from one 10 nine. while the loss
in the State. after these - are Offset Is 16S
These figures show plainly that liquor sales
went on Illegally TO n greater extent than now
legally under the present law. The Federal
revenue lax is not paid unless necessary and
it is so risidly enforced everywhere rs TO he
IN accurate measure Of the traffic In the li..h,
Of the facts 50 revealed the Governor carnr..l.