The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1908-02-11
To the Ministers OF the United
States.

we enclose copy OF Our suggestions
as to a Model License Law for the re-
tail liquor business, and in view of the
fact that the minister's has so greatly
to do with the development of public
sentiment, we ask that you give to
this matter your earnest and unpreju
diced consideration.
We believe that the saloons Of the
country should obey all laws on the
statute books, but we do not believe in
the prejudice or the practicability of
prohibitOry legislation. We also be-
lieve that the saloon keeper should re-
tire from politics as an aggressive fac
tor.
In offering this Model License Law,
and we do so in good faith, we insist
that under its operation the one desire
of the retail liquor dealer would be to
obey all laws, and, furthermore, that
it would have the effect of removing
the saloon keeper, as saloon keeper,
from the political arena, permanently.
The status of the saloon at the present
time, however, is wrong, and it is IN
reasonable to expect the saloon keeper
to remain out OF politics as long as his
fate each year, as business man, re-
mains in the hands of judge, or a
Furthermore, the saloon keeper will
always violate law if he finds great
profit in the violation of the law.
We all know that laws are violated
by trusts and combinations and rail-
roads, AID by good citizens generally,
when the profits are large and the
penalties are small. When investiga-
/ tons are made in regard to the affairs
4 &c
found that franchises have been stolen,
and legislatures and councils have been
! bribed by corporations owned by "the
most respectable citizens" Most of
these citizens belong to churches and
stand high in society, but they will
violate the law when it pays or when
It seems to pay.
The saloon keeper will do the same,
and the purpose of the Model License
Law is TO make it profitable to obey
rather than to violate law. A license
that renews itself, and that can only
be cancelled by an act of the saloon
keeper, and which is only issued in the
proportion of one for each 500 of pOpu-
lation, will become very valuable, and,
of course, the saloon keeper will do
everything in his power to preserve 1t,
and if the penalty is made mandatory
that is, If all discretion is taken
away from the judges-and if the first
violation of law suspends the license
and the second cancels it, the saloon
keeper will then be, of all persons,
most anxious to obey law.
| We do not offer this law as Substi-
/ tute exactly for prohIbition-that is, 1T
/ is not intended to interfere with the
passage of prohibitory laws if the
people so desire them-but 1t is in
tended 20 bring about obedience TO law
where the business is licensed.
We are free to say that we do not
think much Of the prohibitory laws that
are being passed in this country, be-
cause they merely prohibit the manu-
facture and sale, and do not prohibit
the purchase and use, and all thinking
men, know that where demand ex-
| lists, it will be supplied from some
source if the profit juStifies the risk IN
supplying it, Therefore, these pro-
hibitory laws merely alter the channels
of supply-that is, they destroy the
channels that pay revenue to the
State, county and city, and they con-
tiscate a lot of property invested I'M
der the sanction of law, and that with
olt compensation but they do not stop
the use or abuse of alcoholic beverages,
as witness the tremendous development
of the mail order business and of the
moonshine business, and as witness the
| figures OF the Internal Revenue De-
partment which shows that the per
capita consumption ,ofiwhisKy has not
decreased with the spread of prohibit
ton. and the per capita consumption of
beer has largely increased.
If the AntI-SaloonssL League will agree
20 it, we will favor having an amend
menU TO all prohibitory laws providing
heavy penalty for the purchase OI
alcoholic beverages, or for having
them in possession in prohibition terri
tory, and this would mean prohibition,
but we certainly think that sensible
people should hesitate about destroy
ing millions ard millions of property.
and then supply their wants insofar
as lalcohOlic beverages are concerned
from other sources.
The passage of laws will not prevent
the use of alcoholic beverages; chat is
matter of education and of evolution
and when we consider that there Is
scarcely a family in this country that
does not keep whisky. wine beer or
some one of the many so-called meci-
CD gins, on hand, and when we remem-
Der that those who vote tor prohibition
expect to continue to keep their favor
lite alcoholic beverages on hand, IL
seems 60 use that we sh )uld recognize
the fact that prohibition must inevita-
bly, fail except insofar as the destruc-
tion Of property and revenue is con-
cernec.
We would like to call your attention
to what we think is a very serious
phase of this question. The Anti
Saloon League is taking the ground
that the manufacture of alcoholic
beverages is wrong per Sc, and that
those who make them. or give them to
Others. are committing sin or setting
bad example.
If this be true. then there is no ques-
ton that the Almighty was wrong in