The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-02-25
Analysis of the White Bill Which Is
Now up for Consideration
in the House
AFTER CORPORATIONS
Bob Wells of Breckenridge Has a
Measure Intended to Bring
Combines to lime
Especial to The Herald)

ST. PAUL, FEBRUARY "a, l9uO.-Ine
White bill "to limit the granting of
licenses for the sale of Intoxicating
liquors" has, by decree of the Republi
can steering committee of both house
and senate, been made party meas
ure. AS it is perhaps the only meas
ure at all likely to be adopted by the
legislature designed to carry out the
pledge made by the republican party
i'm its platform to extend the opera
tion of high license and local option
laws and secure their just enforce
ment, it is important to inquire ex-
actly what it does. 1t processes to
limit the granting of liquor licenses to
one in each five hundred of the popu-
lation in the municipality or county
granting the license. This it does not
do. If at the time of the passage of
the act any town or village issues IL
censes i'm excess of one to each 500 pop
ulation that state of affairs is permit
ted to continue until "the total num-
ber of licenses shall equal
one for each 500 population" Take
the case of village having a popula-
tion of 200, which has four licensed
saloons, and such number is not un-
common in villages of that size in
some parts Of the state. Under the
White bill i5 may continue to issue
t"ar licenses until the population ex-
s0eds 2, COO, when it is authorized to
,ae another one. To all fntents and
purposes the existing state of affairs
is made perpetual.
In towns and counties, however, in
which no licenses are now granted, the
one to 500 rule obtains when liquor Ii
censes are hereafter issued, and that
is also true where towns having gone
dry afterwards vote to again issue Ii
censes. These are the only commend
able features of the bill. Otherwise
it works no reform and fails in any
way to carry out the pledge made by
the republican party to the people.
1t contains nothing which can by any
stretch Of imagination be held to ex-
tend the operation of the high license
or local option laws or which will re-
suit in better enforcement of them,
and nothing designed to limit the
number of saloons, which in SO many
villages are far in excess of any possi-
BILE need and which are a constant
menace to law and order.
However, considering the influence
exerted by the liquor interests to Sc
cure the election of a majority of the
present house and the character of the
last campaign, it is not surprising
that no effort to enact real measure
of temperance reform stands any
chance in the present house. Never
theless, the reason given for opposing
any honest attempt to limit the num-
Der of saloons is not that such legisla-
tion would be Objectionable to the
brewing and distilling interests. 9th
er arguments against such policy
are found. 1 was talking the other
day to representative who lives in
town Of something less than l,OOO in.
habitants. 1t has seven saloons.
"Why," said he, 'there are good
many things to be considered when
bills limiting the number of saloons
are proposed. 1t isn't the saloonkeep-
er alone we must think of. He may
have borrowed money, and if we close
him out his creditor would lose it,.
Then you must consider the people
who own the building he occupies.
They wouldn't be likely to get as
much rent from anyone else, or their
buildings might not be occupied at all.
You see there is more to this PROPOSE
tion then appears on the surface"
It's the same old story. Special inter-
ests and not the interests of the peo-'
pie are given prominence, while what
is for the benefit of the public or the.
community as whole is not consider
ed at ALL / don't know how others