The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-19

while the public house and the bar
were temptations TO .ytl= bibbing ana
dissolutsness.
LOCAL OPTION NOT GIVEN.
1t is probably due more to Commits
sioner George Fairchild than to any
one else that the policy finally adopted
by the board, prevailed.
I'm the beginning" said Mr.. Fair
child, speaking of the action Of the
board, there were those who proposed
that no licenses should be issued at
all. So we tried it for a month. Dur
ing that month immense quantities or
liquor were shipped in. The Honolulu
dealers sent drummers to this island
and solicited orders everywhere. This
demonstrated that If we issued no IL
censes, we turned the business over
to dealers in other counties over whom
we had no control. The only weapon
against such a state of affairs is local
option, and this the statute did not
provide. If the county or any portion
that wanted it. were given local option
that system might work.
THAT month demonstrated to al
most everyone that to issue no Ii
situation. The question then arose
between retail licenses where the Ii
censee could sell to be consumed on
the premises, but could deliver no.
where else; and wholesale licenses
where the licensee could not sell to
be consumed on the premises but could
deliver to his customers. Under either
license sales could be made In prac-
tically any quantity.
1.-The retail license continues the evils
of the open bar. In the country those
evils are very great. The wholesale
licensee could not sell to be consumed
on the premises. This obviates the
bar-room evil. The agreement we re-
quired of the licensees not to solicit
anywhere except at their places of
business, If kept, will prevent the evils
of liquor In the camps and Of forcing
sales on people who really do not want
it. 1t will compel the people who want
liquor to seek it instead of the liquor
seeking them. At the same time 1t
gives the board a test OF the fitness
which under the law is required of
licensees. If they keep their agree
ment, next year when they ask for
renewal of their licenses, the board will
know that they are fit persons. II
they do not keep their agreement we
will know that they are not fit per-
sons because they do not keep their.
agreement.
LAS the wholesale license seems to
come nearer meeting our problems so.
on the other hand, it produces by far
the most revenue. Each wholesale IL
.cense pays $1,000; each retail license
only $3.50. At the same time, If we
issued retail licenses instead Of whole
sale, there would be more applications
for license; the pressure for more Ii
censes would be greater, and 1t would
be more difficult to keep down the
number of licenses issued. There would
be strong pressure for more places.
Each locality would claim it had the
same right as every other locality, and
eventually 1t Is to be feared, there
would be more licensed places with all
the evils that attend such places.
THAT the evils of the open bar are
not imaginary there has been album
dant proof. One man who has lived
here long time told me that the
month there were no saloons was the
first month for long time he had
been able to save any money. The
saloon is a sort of club, and when men
go there they drink and above all the
treating habit plays havoc. More than
one woman, native, Porto Rican, Port
uguese, japanese, has told me that
during the month we had no saloons
where their husbands went and spent
their earnings, they had been better
off.
1.-THE Board tried to adapt the law
to meet the requirements here. We
adopted what seemed the best means.
There are some things which time
alone can demonstrate. We think we
have adopted the best means under
the law. We hope experience will
demonstrate it,