The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-10-24
LIQUOR FIGURES.
IF SO-CALLED PROHIBIT ION
REALLY PROHIBITS.
The Statistics Gathered by the Census
Officials Does Not Show

IL.
Bulletin IS Is just out Of the censu
buresu. 1t contains statistics OF citie
with from 5000 to $4,000 inhabi
tants. Bulletin as Is q continuation
Of bulletin 20, published = little whil'
ago and containing statistics Of citie4
of over 25, 900 inhabitants. Among
other things these bulletins show th'
number of licensed saloons and tht
number Of arrests for various cause!
in the year 1908.
An official Of the census bureau
who has . special prediction for OK
amining and. comparing statistica
figures for all sorts Of purposes, hal
made careful computations and com.
parisons, to find out how, judging
from the number of arrests, the larg'
er or smaller number of saloons affect
drunkenness. He has discovered the
startling fact that reduction Of the
number OF saloons has not, as is gener'
ally supposed, the effsct Of decreasing
but rather that Of increasing, drunk
enesS.
In his computations no takes the
arrests for drunkenness and disturb
ance OF tho peace together. for In
police stations drunkards aro ire,
ouently slated for disturbance Ct the
peace and not for drunkenness and
disturbers of tho peace are as a rule
drunk.
He says the number Of arrests Is
not an absolutely safe guide in al
cases for the general state Of sober.
ness OF tnebriety, for In one city the
police may be careless or lenient In
such cases, while in another it may be
more watchful and strict.
It may be also considered, he says,
that the number Of saloons is not the
only influencing factor. 1t makes a
difference whether . place Is an inland
town, or . seaport, or river-town, or
situated on q lake; whsther 1t Is a
commercial or an industrial town;
whether 1t has much Of . foreign pop.
ulation or not, and If 1t has, which 1t
is, or which Is predominating.
These differences, he says, probably
account for the deviations from the
rule, which otherwise show, however,
that the larger the number OF licen-
sed saloons the smaller the number OF
arrests for drunkenness and disturb
ance of the peace, and tho smaller the
number of the former, the larger the
number Of tho latter.
So, for instance, Of the 81 cities Of
5000 inhabitants, Rockland, Maine,
heads the list without any saloons,
but shows 1856 arrests, and Water
town, Wis, closes the list with So
saloons, but only 81 arrests.
OF the 13 cities with 25, 900 inhahi-
tants, Quincy, Mass, heads the list
with no saloons, but 53l arrests, and
Hamilton, O., with 155 saloons, but
only about the same number OF ar
rests (596) closes it; Hoboken, N. j.,
has only 255 arrests, although 13S ss'
looms.
OF tho IL cities Of between $4,000
and 10000 inhabitants, Portland,
Maine, heads tho list with no licen.
sed saloons and 2.189 arrests, and
Elizabeth, N. j., closes it with 237
saloons, but only 1927 arrests; Yonk-
ers, N. Y, with 1877 saloons, had only
500 arrests, but Charleston, 8. O.,
with It's state dispensary had 1908,
and Harrisburg, Pa, with saloons,
had 1,7s6 arrests.
The list of the ten cities with about
100, 900 inhabitants opens with Fall
River, Mass, without saloons, but g.,
663 arrests from drunkenness and dis
.u1bance of the peace; next comes
Lowell, Mass. with 81 saloons and q
6S4 arrests; it closes with Memphis,
Tenn, having 504 saloons, but only
1857 arrests
At the head of the list Of the five
cities with about 200. 900 inhabitants
stands Minneapolis, with only 3S1 81
looms and 2,S76 arrests, and at it's foot
stands jersey City with 1,031 saloons
and 3,462 arrests.
Figuring out some percentages, be
found that in all the cities, with g
population from 5000 to $1,000, con
tsined In Bulletin As, taken together
in tho three prohibition states, Iowa
Kansas and Maine, the number OF ar
rests for the two causes mentioned
was for each one thousand inhabi
tant 1890; 2.25; 25.71 respectively
while the figures for Illinois, Indians
and New Jersey, three license states
were respectfully 1858, 49,. 80 and 13.
"a.
Asked for the reasons that produc
cd these astonishing effects, quite COL
trary to popular opinion, the oficia
said that he has not particularly In
vestigated them, but be thought tina
there is probably more home tipplinl
where there is Z want of convention
drinking places, and that blind tigers
druggists and bootrleggers in prohibi
tion localities f I'd 1t less dangerou
and moro profitable to sell whiske.
than beer or wine.
Presidents Sympathy.
President Roosevelt sent out tn
following telegram himself over tn
death of Mrs. Jefferson Davis
Pray accept the most sincere sympa
thy of Mrs. Roosevelt and myself.