Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1908-07-20
MODEL
LICENSE
LEAGUF
MAKES PUBLIC VIEWS OF CAN
DIDATES FOR THE pRFSIDEN-
CY ON PROHIBITION--OTHER
LEADERS ARE REPORTED.

Tics and labor, as illustrated by the
recent utterances of men who are
most prominent today in the public
eye. The league publishes COM
munication from William Jennings
Bryan to the effect that the liquor
question is not national issue, but
that the only time that Mr.. Bryan
ever had occasion to vote on the
question of statewide prohibition,
he voted against It and expressed
rhimself as follows;
81 believe in the right of each
community TO attend to its own
business, believe that the people
of the community know better what
they want done than any outside pei
sons can know"
The league also quotes the recent
utterance of Henry Waterson. ed
itor OF the Courier-Journal, who has
laid down the rule: mo Democrat,
can be a prohibitionist.
Taft's View of Prohibition.
The league then calls attention to
the fact that the prohibitionist can
find solace in the utterance Of the
Republican nominee for the presi-
dency of the United States, William
Howard Taft, who, In lecture de-
livered at Yale on -Four Aspects OF
Civic Duty" said:
Nothing is more foolish, nothing
more utterly at variance with soun
/ policy than to enact law which, by
reason OF conditions surrounding
the community in which Il is de
clared to be law, is incapable of en-
forcement. Such an instance Is
sometimes presented by sumptuary
laws by which the sale of intoxicat-
ing liquors Is prohibited under pen
atty in localities where the public
sentiment OF the immediate com
munity does not and will not sus-
tain the enforcement OF the law.
In cases where the sale OF
liquor cannot be prohibited in fact,
II is far better to regulate and d.
minish the evil than to attempt to
stamp II out"
What Mitchell Says.
In regard TO the position OF labor
as 20 sumptuary law, the league
| quotes from a letter received by
President Gilmore from John Mitch
ell, president of the United Mine
Workers OF America and End vice.
president OF the American Fedora
ton of Labor, in which Mr.. Mitchell
says that he regard model license as
much superior TO the present sys-
TEN and that II would remove MANY
existing evils. Backing this up is
the following quotation from an Of
fcial statement OF the American
Federation of Labor:
THE continued growth of prohi-
bition and the destruction OF the
brewing and distilling interests will
result in the farmer and the allied
trades in all the lines OF manu'ae-
ture being made to suffer great |
losses by destroying the market for
their products"
The prohibitionist's views as 10
the Democratic party. as given in
the American Prohibition Year
Book for 1908, are quoted as fol-
lows:
This (the Democratic) party
does not employ deep thought on
its attitude on the liquor question.
IL has a few sounding phrases on
'sumptuary law and on the l!ber-
ties OF the citizen which II airs on
every occasion. They will not bear
analysis in this connection, but anal
ysis and discriminating thought are
often found lacking I'm the Demo-
cratic method OF sustaining the liq-
nor traffic. They do not stop 10
question whether the liquor mems
arguments and figures are sound and
true but they swallow them whole,
and act accordingly.
Republican Attitude.
As the Republican party's attitude
toward prohibition, the Year Book
Is quoted as follows:
"The Republican leaders have en-
deayored TO postpone and finally 10
defeat prohibition oftener than they
have consented 10 II. The party
cannot by any means be said TO
have been a militant force in be.
half OF the prohibition OF the liquor
traffic and the protection OF the
homes OF the people from the dring ]
curse"
The leagues quotation OF the
Year Books attack on President }
Roosevelt Is as follows: ]
he IMr RooseYeltl reads the {