Omaha daily bee., 1908-06-10
a premium upon iaw-breaking, and cor
the whole machinery OF government.
Possibilities of Vice.

Almost every function of life can be made
a vice, II II is Improperly used. Bigamy
riage? No man can be q bigamist who has
not been married at least once. Extortion
Is a crime; shall we therefore,. stop bank
ing? Gluttony is a vice; shall we stop eat
stop drinking water? Milk is frequently
Injurious; shall we kill our cows2 There
p~aternaiism. We ali have to fight for our
lives; we each have to fight for our lives;
we each have to work out our own saliva
ton, and there are literally millions OF peo-
pie who indulge habitually but temperately
IN alcoholic beverages, without injury to
their physical or moral welfare. No doubt
there Is much to be learnt by studying the
mechanism which keeps men straight. The
pathologist, the Psychologist and the
psychologist can all bear testimony on this
score.
The failure of prohibition, whether in
city, county or state, is conceded by all
character and kind of places of drink are
changed by. prohibition, but none OF the
schemes which attempt to suppress 90, or
OF inebriety, They have simply driven.
drinking into secret channels where It is
not under social control.
Control, and not elimination, is the key
to- the solution Of the saloon problem. In
all the thickly settled communities the sa-
loon is a necessary social institution. You
cannot have a city without saloons. They
may not be officially recognized and
licensed, out lieS are tneTe just tue SAME.
There are, however. good and bad saloons;
saloons that serve the reasonable convent
ence of the people in decent and orderly
fashion,, and saloons that are centers OF
social disorder. There is nothing inherent
in the saloon which need or should make
IL disorderly or disreputable. The average
saloon is conducted In as decent and BUSH
nesslike a fashion as q grocery store, In
such places a disorderly person is a nui-
sance and is not tolerated. Unfortunately,
there are in most of our large cities, sa-
looms that pander to vice, and some that
are closely allied to criminals, If not to
actual crime. These-though comparatively
few in number-are easily magnified into
the"saloon problem"
Control the Remedy.
The crux Of the whole question is really
this: Can the common use of intoxicants
be prevented by a~bolishing their lawful
sale? If not, the practical thing TO do is
to improve the system Of regulating the
places where they are sold, and TO en-
courage the sale of these beverages which
have the smallest amount OF alcohol, while
at the same time we continue the work OF
popular education. along the lines OF self
| restraint and moderation in all things.
The best working rolution for the social
control of the sale Of liquor that has yet
been devised Is the licensing system. To be
successful. however, the license must be so
conditioned that II insures stability to the
business. and compels the l~icensee to re-
gard obedience to law and order as essen
permanent. consistent and stable public
policy, which deals lastly and fairly with
the saloon keeper, raises the character OF
the business, and attracts 70 il men Of re-
caused by constant legislative tin6ering, is
demoralizing to sTF business and reacts
upon the men who are engaged in II. After
all, the moral equipment Of the individual
is the best method of safeguarding both
the men who frequent the saloon and those
who manage IL.