The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-11
THE PROHIBITION MOVEMENT.


 It is Mir. O'Brien's prediction that it will not be long before Connecticut joins the list of States prohibiting the sale of liquor. MT. O'Brien is the politi- cal agent of the prohibition party, who has introduced into the campaign against the liquor interests the lobby methods and policies which have been found effective in other connections when the General Assembly is in ses- sion. He expects to see the temperance sentiment grow steadily among the small towns of the State, a majority of which are now included among the .no-license column. When it has reach ed its climax their representatives and senators will take control of the halls of legislation and push through pro- hibitive legislation
 For the present the possibility of MT. O'Brien's campaign being success full need not be seriously treated in spite of his assurance that it is well financed and that there is a well shap- ed temperance wave sweeping over the country. Much more to the point is an interview which appeared yesterday in the columns of the Sunday Morning Leader with Edward Mccarthy, who has been a wholesale and retail liquor merchant in this city for many years. He says: q agree with MT. OBrien perfectly when he says that by their methods of doing business the liquor dealers of this State are sounding their own death knel." MT. Mccarthy charges that the key to the deplorable situation will be found in the conduct of the brewers. Of these he says: These brewers are not conducting their business in a lawful manner; in other words, they are not living up to the spirit of the law, even if they do make pretensions of coming within the letter of 1t. Their only object is to turn their beer into money. These brewers do not care how they accom- plish their purpose; they manufacture beer and they must make market for 1t, They don't take the law of supply and demand into consideration at all. They plant saloon in certain place just because they think they can get rid of certain quantity of beer; not because it is apparent that the demand for liquor in that locality Is sufficient to support saloon there"
 MT Mccarthy says many additional things about the conduct of the liquor business which will meet with more or less commendation from those whose sole interest is to have the saloon con- fine itself to it's legal function. The following assertion will, we surmise, carry conviction with it: Tt won't be MT. O'Brien, nor will it be the prohibi- tion agitators; 1t will be the saloon men themselves or to be more accur- ate, the brewers" who will ruin the liquor business of the State if it is to be ruined. This Is completely in harmony with the views which have found ex- lpression in the editorial columns of The Journal and Courier. The more stringent legislation which has gone on to the statute books recently was ap- proved by the temperance lobby but it's enactment can be traced to b grow ing conviction that 100 many saloon keepers have been insistent in their violation of the laws, Law-abidine liquor merchants have realized this and have done what they could to beat sense into the heads of their errine Ibrethren, but as they admit they have been powerless. Indifference to the requirements of the law has gone tc such pass that 1t has been compar- atively easy to work on an indignant public opinion. The law requiring Ii. censees to own their own saloon is g striking illustration of the truth Oi
 this, as is the law forbidding the same
 men to endorse the applications a
 several saloonkeeprs. As MT. Mccarthy
 says, the future of the liquor bushes.
 in the State of Connecticut lies within
 the control of the dealers themselves
 If MT. O'Brien is successful 1t will bt
 the dealers who make him so, not an,
 special knowledge he may appear t
 have of the liquor business.