The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-23
TIE DISPENSARY
BILL CONSIDERED

OFF 1t is morally wrong for the Gov
ernment to license saloons and get a
small revenue from them, is it morally
right to set up dispensary for the sake
of a large revenue?
A-The prime object of the dispensary
law as l understand it, is not to raise a
revenue. 1t is sort of act to mitigate.
and it provides for the expense of its en-
forcement. We of the Anti-SaloonI
League do not consider it all that could
be desired; but believing that it tends to
lessen the moral evils, a measure of
which viii have to be endured in any
case, we choose the lesser measure of
evil. And we shall continue to fight
'Gainst the wrong that needs resistance;
For the future in the distance;
And the good that we may do.
Q-Does the cheapening of the price of
liquor and the Improvement of it's quail
ity tend toward a more moderate use of
alcoholic stimulants and increase the
chances of getting drunkards or occa-
sional consumers of liquor to abstain?
A-The conditions observed where sa-
looms did not exist in the earlier history
of our own people, and in countries and
among men of even the belated nations
where they do not now exist, are most
instructive on this point. / say again,
and you know the force of 1t, that treat
ing greatly promotes the liquor habit.
Remark-The Advertiser does not ask
these questions to indicate that 1t op-
poses the dispensary bill It is ready to
support that measure If 1t can be con-
vnced that by SO doing It would contrib
ute to the moral well-being of the COM
munity
Reply-The Advertiser knows that ary
measure 1t would be possible to devise
and enact would meet with grave diff
culties when we came to put it into op-
Grafton. This dispensary law has been
successful elsewhere and under condi-
ions similar to ours. Let US try It
LIQUOR MEN TALK.
The saloon men, when seen, expressed
themselves quite freely concerning the
bill.
You can drive a coach and horses
through it as it now stands" said T. A.
Simpson of the Pantheon. The whole
thing depends upon the Governor. That
is enough to damn it. Look here. In
section II says that the Dispensary is
to be under the control of board of
three appointed by the Governor, subject
to the approval of the Senate. The bill
would go into effect on July 81. The SEN
ate is not sitting then, and the whole
thing would be in the hands of the Gov
eruor.
The general public will of course be-
Heve- that saloon man would be praju--
diced but here are some arguments out
there are seventeen or eighteen licenses
and twenty-five to thirty Illicit places
that know of. You see, there is a large
floating population of sailors and so
forth. and they want to drink on Satur-
day nights and Sundays. Well, they visit
swipes shops and drink stuff that makes
them crazy. Nearly all the police Of
fenses of the past two years can be
traced to these 'swipes shops. If these
men can't drink in saloons they will go
to 'swipes shops and there w4A be more
of them II you shut the saloons down.
And If there is a Government dispensary
they will take the stuff next door and
drink 1t. And they will have to drink
a bottle at time. l believe that it
would be good thing for the communi-
ty if the saloons were opened for few
hours on Sunday. There would be less
drunkenness among the floating popula-
ton.
so far as ! know. the saloon men OF
the town are not organized to fight the
thing. They have never had to organize.
What they will do 1 do not know"
Robert French OF the Pacific said:
streets. There will be joints any old
place. And you could go into the dis
pensary and buy all the stock they had
on hand and do what you wanted to with
it,"
+ II am not worrying" said H C. Vida,
proprietor of the California. Il am leav-
ing the wholesale men to fight it. 1t
means more to them than 1t does to me,
and 1 can't afford to fight IT. If they
close me out here, 1 can go somewhere
else
2. T. Ryan, proprietor OF the Encore,
argued from the viewpoint of the Proat-
bitionist IT never saw better-conducted
saloons" he said, cor a better class of
saloon men. They obey the law and ara
orderly. The conditions can't be better
ed. This bill would throw the town