The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-12
THE STATE AND THE SALOON.

The Smoot paper yesterday morning
bubblcd over with tho proposition that
| the church Republicans are going to
make the saloon State wide by trans.
fcrring the control of il to the State
administration rather than to the mu
nicipal authorities in whose hands the
question has rested heretofore. 1t says
that tho Republican platform on this
question will he enacted into law, and
that tho people can be assured of State
wide control Of the saloon.
But there is nothing in the Republi,
can platform favoring the assumption
of the control of the saloon by the
State. The Republican platform pledged
the party TO prohibition in the State
at large, outside of the cities; but it
did not say, nor did the voters under
stand, that the legislature would enact
that the State should take control of
the saloons within the cities. Here would
be a new departure, never contemplated
by tho people, a proposition that could
hardly stand either In morals or in law.
However, if that is the programme of
the Federal bunch, they are doubtless
prepared to receive such storms Of OPP
probrium as will naturally fall upon
the announcement or putting into effect
of such plan.
Very large numbers of electors voted
the Republican ticket this year, consid
ering, SO far as the liquor question is
concerned, that the saloon was to be re"
strictcd, was to be banishcd from The
State generally. and limited to the cit
les. This in accordance with tho Su
premc Court decision that interpreted
the law as it stands, But if the voters
had understood this secret plan of the
Federal bunch, to make the State ro,
sponslble for saloons, and to give the
Federal bunch the political leverage
that would be implied in the control and
supervision of the saloon business, we
doubt If even the church whisper could
have been effcctual in olccting The Re |
publican ticket or a Republican legis
lature. We doubt even now if the mem
bers Of the legislature as elected would |
have tho hardihood to 20 in the face
OF public sentiment and public opinion
the Smoot organ.
As we have said heretofore, the pos
sibility of passing such law as is
called for in the Republican platform
and having it stand the test of the
courts, is so remote as to be practically
out of consideration. This new pro,
grammo for making the saloons Il part
Of the Federal bunch political machln-
cry, was not presented to the people and
u is not in the least likely that the
people will stand for it,
However, the rapacity Of the graft
ng Federal bunch is beyond all reason
iblc reckoning, aud so it is very likely
hat they Will attempt something Of
his kind, Whether they will be able
10 push it through the legislature or not
loes not much matter. Whether their
evident expectations that the courts
Sill lend themselves to the partisan and
scheme herein presented is pos.
iblo Of realization. the future alone can
iCtCl VIC SuOuIu JDlUh IL extreme. |
y unlikely, however, that anything Of
his kind would be possible in this
state. Only one State, so far as we
Know, has gone to the length of taking
,art in the saloons in this way, and
hat is South Carolina. South Carolina,
o be sure, took part to far greater 4,
'Xtcnt than even the Federal bunch
proposes III Utah. so far AS VIC are
ware, although it is possible that they s
nay tinker up their project TO farther [
nd farther length until they get to
he dlspensary system as installed in i
south Carolina by Governor Tillman be.
ore the bunch get through Wheth- {
II they will dare to face the people of
his State Oh that sort of programme {
n not. it would be impossible TO say L
It this time, but evidently it is ouly {
proposition of how far the Federal '
'unch dares to go in making the saloon
State proposition-they will stop at {
othing short of that limit.