Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1903-1917, 1905-09-19
LAND OF THE LID.
INDIAN TERRITORY rs ALWAYS
HELD DOWN BY 1T.
It Is a Country Where Lovers OF
Alcoholic Drinks Resort to
Varnish, Red Ink,

This is the real land of the lid" the
land where it is on every day in the
week, 365 days in the year, says Tul-
as Il. To report in the Chicago Inter
Ocean.
Ever live in a country where the
punishment for being under the influ-
ence of the products of stills, vine
yards, breweries and cider mills is
dollar and costs and the punishment
for having liquor in your possession is
from 90 days to six months in fed
eral prison?
This is the condition in Indian Ter
ritory.
Uncle Sam puts his stamp on the
! products of distilleries, breweries and
i kindred institutions, but he puts his
stamp of disapproval on the sale OF
these goods in Indian country.
He has no objection to granting a
license to sell liquors in Kansas, where
the state laws are against it, and the
blind tiger" does big business.
There are no blind tigers" in the
Indian country, but the federal govern
ment, in it's suppression of liquor traf-
| fic, has to deal with a far more dan
gerous parsonage in the "boot-legger,"
who peddles the worst kind of whisky
to the negroes and Indians at big
profits.
When the government began to make
! treaties with the Indians it found that
the greatest foe to the country and to
] the natives was the natural addiction
of the red man to whisky. So in the
treaties it was written, witnessed and
sealed with the great seal of Uncle
Sam that SO long as he exercised a
guardianship over poor 10, he would
prohibit the sale of liquor of any kind
or character in what is known as the
| Five Civilized Nations. For more than
a quarter of a century he has been do
ing it, and to-day it probably costs the
government dollar a minute to live
up to that agreement.
To satisfy thirst for a thing that
cannot be had bad men who are ad-
dicted to the use of alcohol will go to
any extreme. Many have lost their
lives in trying to quench their thirst.
Some have been shot down by United
States marshals, while others have re-
sorted to patent medicines, lemon ex-
tract, red ink, extract of ginger, or any
compound that had for its base alco-
hol. Hardly a week passes without
| ond npoocinDa 1lu a
woman, leaving the world by one of
these routes.
In certain sections Of the territory
permits are given to dealers to sell
a drink that is known under various
titles, being low grade beer. This
has made the dealers rich. Patent
medicines are good sellers, especially
If they are part whisky. Varnish,
where corn alcohol is used, is favor
lite drink, especially among the paint
ers, the drink being prepared by the
precipitation of the body. which leaves
the alcohol standing alone.
Lemon extract, where it Is composed
largely of corn alcohol, is another ia
vorite.
Often some citizen will make a trip
to the states. He returns home with
his grip heavily laden. If he gets past
the force of United States marshals
who usually meet the trains, there
"are things doing"
Ii the marshal suspects him he usu.
ally suffers arrest, his liquid refresh.
ments are emptied into the gutter and
he is held under bond to appear before
the United States commissioner. who
binds the prisoner over to the grand
Jury. Conviction usually means half a
year in jail. And the jails are con.
stantly filed.
Not long ago man was arrested for
introducing" He carried his stock
in the iron axle of a wagon. He had
fooled the officers for months. but was
finally captured. He is now serving q
term in prison.
Perhaps the most prosperous place
in the world is the Indian Territory
There are fewer bad debts here than
in most countries. and certainly less
lawlessness when It is taken into con.
sideration that until a year or so age
1t was the borderland and the home OF
all escaping criminals from the states
"The lid" when it is as nearly abso.
Lutte as here, is breeder Of prosperous
times.