Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-09-06

These and many other similar facts
which can be gotten from the official
reports of the various cities and towns
of Massachusetts ought to silence for
ever the false claim that prohibition
increases drunkenness.
Fifth, high license increases taxes
and the financial burdens of the town
and state. Carroll d. Wright. when at
the head of the Massachusetts Labor
Bureau. said that for every dollar Mas
SachusettS receives i'll license money
from the saloon, she pays out S21 to
take care of the results of the saloon.
such as pauperism. insanity, extra po-
lice and court expenses caused by the
saloon. Hence license increases taxes.
But even if it could be proved that
prohibition does increase your taxes,
are you not willing to pay something
to protect your boys? 1t increases your
taxes t" maintain q police department
and fire department to protect your
homes, but You do not object to this in
crease Of taxes. Why then should yo,,
object to a small increase of taxes. if
necessary, to protect the boys who live
in these homes? If you vote for license
in order to get the saloons revenue to
reduce your taxes, then you should be
willing for your boy to patronize the
saloon. for the saloons cannot run with
out boys any more than a sawrnill can
run without logs. If to get the saloons
revenue. yOu vote for license, will you
contribute boy to help keep them
running? Would you rather pay your
taxes with your money or with your
boy? Which?
Sixth. high license in Massachusetts
is continual source of corruption; cor
ruption to the voter under local option
to vote for license and the open saloon
because of the revenue received. and to
the politician to use as an instrument
of corrupt purposes. and to the license
commissioners to show favoritism to
the man who pays best for his saloon
license. When only one man in 1000
can get a license. and three men want
every license there is to be granted,
it is a tremendous source of temptation
and corruption to the three license COM
misSiOnerS to grant the license to those
men who will pay the largest bonus to
the commissioners. The rottenness and
corruption of the license commission in
most license cities of Massachusetts is
provcrbial.
But some people who have been living
under prohibition for a long time, want
to experiment with license. They say:
"Let us try it, We want to see how it
will work here" But it will work here
lust as il works everywhere else il has
been tried why. then. should you try
it" Should man take q dose of strych-
nine lust TO "try it,? why experiment
no. fsn-
tai results everywhere. Why expert
ment with license and the open sa-
Ioorso They produce the same awful
results i'm every state where tried. Are
not the experiences of other states
which have tried license worth any
thing to you2 Some things we can af-
ford to learn by experience, but a state
cannot afford to learn by experience
the fatal results of license and the
open saloons.
Some good people say give us local
option in connection with high license,
and then we can vote the saloons in or
out just as we like. One great trouble
with local option is that it is too local
and too optional. Under that system
prohibition is too hard to secure and
too easy to lose.
Another serious objection to local
option is that at every election the
temperance people have a double fight
at the same time-they must work
hard to carry the town for prohibition
and at the same time they must be sure
to elect officers who will enforce It,
Sometimes temperance people get up
great campaign and after a strenuous
EFFORT and great expense succeed in