The Republican journal., 1910-10-20
Prohibition or License, Which?

To THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL.
More than 5000 years ago there were
written on tables of stone, the Ten Com
mandments. Their wisdom has never
been questioned and they have been en-
acted into the statutes of all civilized
countries. Everyone of these Command
ments have been broken every day all
these thousands Of years, and yet have
never heard that God has ever once
thought or proposed, that as these laws
are so constantly violated they, or any
of them, should be repealed, and the evils
they prohibit, licensed.
The seventh commandment has been
violated every day since it was written
on the table of stone 3, 400 years ago, but
Gods prohibitory law still stands. Men
have sometimes repealed it and enacted
license instead. l believe Maine, and
perhaps the other New England States
have never been guilty of, licensing this
prohibitory law of Gods but some of the
other States in our Union have to their
sorrow.
| believe that at the present time all
these license laws have been abandoned,
and all our States have gone back to
prohibition l believe some European
countries, claiming to be civilized, are
still licensing prostitution, and the rest
of the world looks upon them with con-
tempt. Since prohibition does not pro-
hibit, and prostitution and adultery pre-
vail in spite of the law prohibiting it,
why not repeal the prohibitory law and
enact license and let the State collect
great income from these licenses?
The scriptures in a general way, and
all nations, civilized and savage, prohibit
the selling of diseased meats and adulter-
ated foods, and yet this evil prevails to
an alarming extent. Why not say that
prohibition does not prohibit, and since
people will violate these prohibitory laws
why not try license and let the State get
large revenue out of the evil?
believe that lottery tickets, and other
forms of gambling are prohibited in all
parts of the United States, but gambling
still goes on. Prohibition does not pro-
hibit. And since people will gamble, why
not license it and let the State get millions
out Of it for licenses? The printing and
circulation of obscene literature and
pictures are prohibited by law, but prohi-
bition does not prohibit. The prohibitory
law is violated every day in the year,
why not try license? Since people will
persist in such evil ways, why not let the
State collect thousands of dollars for the
licenses?
The United States are trying very hard
to enforce prohibitory law to prevent
trusts and combinations in restraint of
trade and to prevent high prices, but the
trusts and the high prices go on still.
Prohibition does not prohibit, why not
try license?
suppose Rockefeller would pay the
government millions of dollars for a
license, and would also help the govern
ment to punish or dissolve all the other
trusts. In all these cases and many
others, the licensed party would be very
glad to help the government punish his
unlicensed neighbors.
Then consider how business would be
promoted by all these licenses? Every
licensed man would build fine manufac-
tories, stores and houses, would employ
men and teams, purchase automobiles
and luxuries Of every kind. Why not
license all crimes that are so hard to en-
force? 1t is so much easier and so much
more agreeable. 1t is sometimes claimed
that to enact prohibitory law that is
continually violated has tendency to
Suffered day and night the torment of itch
| ing piles. Nothing helped me until 7 mood