New-York tribune., 1905-08-23
THE ASBURY PARK ELECTION.

The result of the Asbury Park election on
Friday cannot be regarded as particularly sat
isfactory from any point of view, unless It be
that Of a small class of most offensive law
breakers. We suppose the proprietors of sur
reptitous speak k-easies" will rejoice in the
continuance of conditions in which their vile
trade prospers. Nobody else will
This is the situation. The city nominalIv
prohibits the sale of liquors and grants no
licenses whatever for such sale. Nevertheless
liquor is sold. not only ION the sly" In lawess
and vicious dens but with entire openness by
a number of the best hotels in the place Those
hotels serve their guests with wires at table
just as do hotels in this city. They regard 1t
as absolutely necessary to their business that
they should do so, and it probably is. They
quite willing to pay handsome license fees
for the privilege, but, since the city will not
license them, they sell the liquors without any
license and, OF course, in violation of law Nor
does the city effectively enforce the law. Now
and then there is more or less farcical raid"
upon the hotels. but the business goes on just
the same
That is a state of affairs which cannot be de-
Tended 1t is demoralizing, and should be re-
garded as intolerable. Any such disregard of
law has a bad effect upon public morals, and
the effect is all the worse when there Is such
an opportunity On the one hand for the black
mailing Of responsible hotels and on the other
for the maintenance of vicious Joints" Either
there should be a license system, which would
legalize the sale of liquors by decent hotels to
bona fde guests while prohibiting mere gin
mills, or the ant-liquor law should be made
effective at whatever cost. 1t is poor policy to
keep prohibition law on the statute book for
the sake of the reputation of the place, and at
the same time to let that law become a dead
-
There is, no doubt, much TO be said on both
sides of the case. 1t would seem 10 be hard
ship for first class hotel to be denied the
privilege of serving its guests with what they
regard as a necessity. From the hotel mems
point of view the hotels, upon which the pros
perity of the city largely depends could not be
conducted without the sale of liquors. At the
same time we must confess strong sympathy
with people who, having established city on
certain principles, desire to maintain those
principles. Asbury Park was founded as
prohibition place. The people who founded it
were not only content, but wanted 10 have it so
and TO keep ii so. Those who settled there
later knew OF the principle on which the place
was founded. If they did not approve 1t and
did not want to observe it. they should not
have settled there. They should have gone to
some other place. They were free agents No
body compelled them 10 settle in Asbury Park
Surely there was room enough between Sandy
Hook and Cape May for them to start all the
liquor selling hotels they wanted without
invading the one place where liquor selling
was forbidden. The question is not whether
prohibition is a good thing, or whether
summer resort can be successful without
liquor selling, but whether the fundamental
principles on which place is founded should
be respected or should be overthrown by out
siders who may move in for that purpose
So much for the general principles involved
from theoretical point of view. The practical
condition which confronts Asbury Park is this.
that Oh a nominal prohibition basis a large