The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1903-07-30

ticle for this purpose but you shall not
manufacture and sell it for that pur
pose" and still leaves carefully intact
the motive for violating it, could be
too easily evaded to accomplish its pl,r-
pose.
Two citizens, let Us say, live near
each other on prohibition territory
Mr.. a. is retail druggist, while Mr..
b. is IL dry goods merchant. These two
citizens conspire between themselvc, to
di,obey the liquor law. Each man ha,
IL motive for his action peculiar to him
self. As motive is ii desire for profit,
BIS motive is his thirst. The law says
to y, "You may sell b liquor for medi
cinal. scientific and mechanical pur-
poses, but you shall not sell it to him
To be used as IL 'bcverage.' Very
well. b becomes indisposed. He has
some kind of more or less serious all
ment. 1t may be only mild attack of
the "blues" superinduced by the pre-
valing "dry spell" However that may
be he needs and must have "bitters."
He HES him to AS drug store. 1t may
be that he had to conform to some in
tricate system of legal red tape which
The same has cost the l'rohibitionist
many slccpicos nights, but the end or
rather both ends are accomplished.
b gets his bitters to take" for ''medi-
cinal, scientific and mechanical purpo,-
cs,' and the druggist gets hi, profit Il
rood, generous one on the sale there
Of. The letter of the law i, faithfully
| kept, but the spirit of the same is woe
| fully shattered.
There i, good authority for the state
ment that prohibition in most parts of
Kansas is Il screaming farce. Liquor is
sold more or less openly in nearly all
the drug stores as well us in many
o,her places. Contrary to popular OPP
iniOn the liquor men themselves favor
the law because they are, though it.
enabled to reap an enormous profit:
| paying nothing for the privilege Of sell
ing, except the small government rev
enle tax. Consu ners of liquor, how
e:er, oppose the ltw tbecauSe they pay
IL high price for liquor of the vilest
quality.
And it is said that not only do retail
stores sell liquor bIt liquor ped Her,
g through the country district, with
light wagons at intervals supplying re-
glldr customers.
But the reader of thi, may imlgine
that the position mere taken has no b ct.
ter authority to support it than the
statements ofirresponsible persons who
are eth er preju Iced or have NJ con
p"eh en'ivo knowlei re to guide their
Judgment. For the benefit of any such
will quote the very highest and most
unimpeuchable authority.
In 1898 committee of fifty wa.
elected from among the members of d
body of eminent men who had asso
GATED themselves together for the
scientific study of social conditions, ''tt
Investigate the results of our legisla
tive experience in regulating the liquor
tralflc.' Among the members of this
special committee of fifty were such
men It's President Eliot. of Harvard
and President Seth Low, of Columbia
University. They sent trained invest.
gators into the field who continued
their inquiry two years and in eight
different states.
In the March lS91J number of the
Century Magazine Walter IL. Page di..
cu,ses the results OF the committed
investigation, and quotes from THEN
published report. The most striking
Iact' was found to be the political cor
cuption which prohibition introduces
into local politics: and the worst case.
of this corruption were found in Maine
the oldest prohibition state.
Mr. Page says: "prohibition. which
/, already clearly waning Us proposed
solution of the problem, can never re
cover from the damaging conclusions
drawn by the committee in the stud,
Of its operation in Maine and Iowa
True, 1t has banished breweric, an,
ll,tl!lerles from Maine: bat there is Dc
evidence that it has diminished the
consumption of alcoholic drinks The
motives Of the original prohibitionist-
and many later ones, were good and some
Denelit, have resulted from prohibition
out, 'unIOokcd-fOr evils of tine !ravr,t
character are also due to it, such is. ;
Whole generation OF haDiUudl law-bre1k
rr,. courts insufficient through nuctuu
lions in policy; delays ueriurie-, nrgli.
. 4ence: officers of the law dOuble-faced
and mclclnary: officers hoIder, un aith.
iul to pledges: brides. hush-muuey and
assessments for political purposes t.
corrupt the law courts, the police al.
nlni>tration and even the electorate
Itself.'
The same phenomena were found in
Iowa under IL prohibuOry law which. as
in Maine, produced political, not to say
social immortality out Of all proportion
to Its somewhat Slight benefits
The conclusion of the committee. re
port was: There is no American lesis-
Iation effect to remove the motive of