The Tucson citizen., 1902-09-30

contributions to the city treasury, lays
siege to the city council.
Now, as to the remedy: Of course.
when the majority of the people are
l eady to back it, the remedy is total
annihilation of the business; but un-
til public opinion is ready to prohibit
the traffic in intoxicating beverages,
the most reasonable course, and most
honest course, and cleanest course,
would seem to be to abolish all licenses
and let any man sell who wishes to
do so. The restriction, which should
do much to prevent crime and to re-
strain the ravages of the saloon, is to
require by municipal ordinance that
there shall not be in any room where
liquors are sold, or in any room open
ing into such room or connected with
it, either directly or indirectly, any
chair for the accommodation of pa
irons, or any table or any musical in
strument, or any performer or producer
of music, or any pack of cards, set of
checkers, roulette wheel or any other
device of any nature whatsoever for
gaming or for amusement. The step
already taken by which the women
singers and employees are excluded
| from saloons has borne good results
/ Place the business on the same work
ing level as is the hardware business
or the grocery business. Let those
who desire to purchase liquors, which
the liquor dealer sells, go there and
make their purchases, and do with
them as they WILL but cut ou the at
fractions and cut out the possibility for
making the liquor saloon a loafing
place.
| BY this course the liquor business is
kept as nearly harmless as possible
The individual liberty of any man TO
buy and sell what he pleases is not in
terfered with, but instead of that we
have very reasonable police provision
for the prevention of disorder and
crime
1t is interesting to note that the
well-to-do saloon keepers of the United
States are ever the most earnest sup
porters of high license. 1t gives them
monopoly aud entrenches them al
most impregnably in the municipality
Yet to the great majority of people, and
Ito many of the smaller liquor dealers,
the plan | suggest appeals as reason
able, tending neither to give monopoly
nor seriously to infringe on individual
| liberty. 1t is interesting, in this con-
nection, to note that in a recent issue
of "Bonfort's Wine and Spirit Circu-
lar" one of the leading organs of the
! liquor sellers, the following is edi-
j torially expressed:
'The average saloon is out of line
with public sentiment.
THE average saloon ought not to be
defended by our trade, but>i ought to
be condemned In small towns the
average saloon is a nuisance. 1t is a
resort for all tough characters, and in
the south for all idle negroes.
1T is generally on prominent
street, and is usually run by a sport
who cares only for the almighty dol
| lar From this resort the drunken
man starts reeling to his home At
! this resort the local fights are INDUCED
| in. It is a stencil in the nostrils of
society and disgrace to the wine and
/ spirit trade.
How, then, shall we defend the
average saloon? We answer, Don't
defend it, but condemn it. We must
stand abraessssf the most advanced
public seEsr4Hhenp: we must oppose pro-
hibition, but favor only a decent trade;
we must offer society substitute for
the average saloon; we must ask So
ciety to join with us in securing model
license laws; we must demand char
acter qualifications and get men in
the retail liquor business who will
conduct their places as drug stores, for
instance, are conducted. We must
help to clean the Augean stables; we
must lift the business out of the rut
into which it has run for so long time;
we must prove that we are the friends
of law, order, decency, temperance"
The course that | suggest will come
as near making the liquor business
respectable, and as near to putting the
business in the hands Of respectable
men, as any course is likely to. The
corner grocery-even the peanut stand
down the block-may have it's small
stock of liquor, but the saloon 1oafing-
place will be gone.
The licensed gambling house is one
of the survivals in Arizona of frontier
days Like "mavericking," it sur
| wives as long as public sentiment sup
ports it, and certainly would be one
of the last ones to insist upon minority
RUE TIOlSSSlOHdlly Will support
the laws granting life to these enter
prises so long as the majority want
them, for l am an American citizen,
and believer in the principle that the
majority shall rule. However, the
course / have suggested in regard to
saloons will serve to limit the evil
wrought by the gambling house, by di-
vorcing it from the saloon. That
whisky and brandy, at "the treat" of
the gambler are Systematically used
to weaken the thinking power of the
persons attracted to the gaming table,
while the banker gets their money, is
we'll known. Until we are ready TO
stop our partnership with gambling,
and even to prohibit it altogether. let
us take the method which will limit its
harmfulness as much as may be.
These suggestions are all made with
sincere Difference to the will of the
majority and in the belief that the
majority may incline to the opinions