The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-31

AarOIna. under the leadership of Sen
ator Tiliman himself, the father of the /
state dlspensary system. it has proven
a failure.
Seccnd.-Lieense. as a sole system of /
legislation for the control of the liquor /
traific in the United States. exists in i
but four states OF these Utah is one. I
In all Others the system of license Is /
combined with local option or some I
other restrictive or prohibitory pro- !
vision The policy of licensing the /
liquor traffic is d colossal crime. By 1
legal ling it we agree to share the re-
sponsibiiity and evils of the business. !
II the saloon evil is right and not
crime why compel a license. Its re-
cognition by the government for SO
many dollars d year does not make 1t
right.
The system of license as source OF
revenue forms an intFenchment for the
saloon, from which it is very difficult /
TO d .slodge it. No license has ever been
made high enough to lessen the evil
of the traffic. The utter folly of sup
posing that any kind of license sys-
TEN can stay the raVages of the liquor
traffic or heal the wounds il makes
upon society is clearly seen whenever
you apply it to an individual case.
As physicians, each one of US has fire.
quent opportunity to see this.
High license" YOU say What IS the
difference whether the VIII; sky Is poured
from a silver pitcher over marble
counter or served over a pine table IN
a Stun part of the town? Observation
of licenses high or Iowl eads me 10 be
lieve that it is not successful as q
means of overcoming the drink evil
Let me quote a sample speech in favor
of license:
1T is a necessary evil, and why
should not the state benefit from the
traffic. A large proportion OF the
| community is bound to buy drinks,
and if we should prohibit the sale the
wouId-be purchaser can send to other
states and the sales will go on unih-
| terrupted by any legislative actlOh:
With the money thus acquired we could
| relieve all restitution and derive imam
cial benefit from the evil We are power
/ less to prevent
/ The census of 1867 gives the popuia-
| ton of Utah as 350.G0 and the number
OF liquor dealers as LIPS, or one 10
every 500 of the population Utah IS q
license state, with no form OF locai
veto save by council veto, which places
! the matter in the hands of city or town
| councils
Local Option Means.
Local option. Every community has
the right to fix and to maintain stan
dard of public decency. 1t can exclude
! a brewery, distillery or a saloon as
easily as any other nuisance, as, Tor m
stance a slaughter house or the smoke
nuisance.
Local option simply provides for the
Dlacing of the liquor question in the
hands of the voters of any given as
.rict. It gives the people in these vii
| lagos. counties or cities sort OF re-
sponsibility in the management of their
own affairs. This is what the brewers
don't want ooo ooo
During the past year over 100000
people in this country, by exercising
local option. abolished the saloon. 1t
creates public sentiment as no other
measure can. by bringing the question
directly before the people, and thus
compelling it's thoughtful consideration
at the hands of the voters.
LEGAL option in many states is today
the best institution or measure for abol-
ishing the saloon under present existing
conditions.
Local option presents the saloon 70
the voters for their judgment every
year or two, and they cannot escape the
responsibility of deciding for or against
: il. Opinion is kept keen upon the sub
ject.
meet argument with argument and
with American voters, the only thlne
that meets argument is argument.
The great advantage of local option
! is. that the same public sentiment
. which determines the question OF IL
cense OF no license is at the back of al
/. the officials who enforce the law. Re-
, cent experience goes to show that states
that are VIGOROUSLY opposed to all tenn
! perance laws. accept local option.
: In Ohio in 1908 the legislature passed
a local option law which provides fol
b. elections in the county as unit, upoT
( petition of 80 per cent of the voters a
{ the last general election. Of the eighty
f eight counties in the state, seventy hav'
[ abolished the saloon.
- Local option is the stepping stone t
] prohibition.
In Georgia in 1906 the entire state wa
$ under local option, but the shipment o
= LIQUOR into the state in original pack
g ages by express companies led to it
= giving place to statewide prohibition
The Ultimate Solution.
Prohibition of the manufacture an,
n sale of intoxicating liquors is withou
t doubt the ultimate solution of the sa
= loon problem in village, city, state o
nation. Prohibition prohibits. The onl
!, question is that which has to do wit
t the quickest and best method Of secur
y ing this result. A prohibition law, i
< order to be e1ectiVet must De Dacke
y by the intelligent sentiment of tn
u voters.
. The liquor dealers and brewers figh
prohibition, because it does prohibi
Permission to sell. be the license hig
OF low, does permit. The attempt t
y control the drink habit by anythin
l" which falls short of prohibition ha
:, proved itself to be but a very partis
!: success. Prohibition of course Ia
failed to subdue the drink passion, bJ
= prohibitoTy legislation has succeeded
|, | abolishing and preventing the MANI
facture on large scale of alcoholic an
Il malt liquors in the areas covered 3
~ that legislation. Backed by public SCI
n timent, it has made it hard to obtsi
intoxicants, and has thereby remove
lie temptation from the young and frol
persons disposed to alcoholic excuses.
he Statewide prohibition is a dangeroI
,e experiment until the way for ii hs
been paved by such methods as loo
n option and education of the peopl
bringing public sentiment in its favo
re Restrictive laws can only be enforcs
Pr when public sentiment has create