The daily sentinel., 1910-04-20
CAPTAIN SMITH HERE AND
TALKS OF LICENSES
CONTINUED from page one.)

take, and If the dive could be elm
mated, the agitation against the H.
quor interests would be confined to
the zealot and the paid agitator, so
the object of the National Model
License League may be summed up
in its motto: Take the liquor busi-
ness out of politics. and the law
breaker out of the liquor business.
I'm order to take the liquor bust
ness out of politics, laws, state or
municipal. must be SO certain in their
provisions. automatic in their actions,
and fair in the conditions imposed,
that the politician cannot successfully
offer immunity as a reward for poll
tical support, nor threaten with his
displeasure, as punishment for a re-
fusal to 'get busy" on election day.
so long as the politician can
thwart the ends of justice on behalf
of the lawless saloon, that long will
the saloon-keeper exist and be poll
tically active. So long as the favor
ite of the administration is immune
from punishment. that long will the
liquor interests be politically active
as a payment for immunity.
IF the renewal or granting of IL
censes depend upon the favor of the
politician, the saloon-keeper will
rightfully conclude that a political
pull is more to be desired than the
respect of his fellow man. If the
politician demonstrates that the pos
session of a political pull means that
the liquor dealer can become a law
unto himself. and that the loss of Ii
cense need not be feared, the liquor
dealer will be active in politics; If
not in order to secure immunity, then
in order to prevent the forfeiture of
his license.
mo one objects justly to the IL
quor dealer exercising all of the priv
ileges of an American voter, by vot-
ing for whom he pleases, supporting
whom he pleases, running for office
IL he pleases, but the thinking men
in the trade are agreed with the
men QUITO the trade that 1t
is injurious to the trade and the pub
lie alike for the liquor business to
attempt to dictate the political situa-
ton as an interest.
Thinking men in the trade ask of
city councils and state Legislators
laws that will make their continuance
In business dependable upon the pur-
ity of the goods they sell. their obed-
ience to law, the decency with which |
their place Is conducted, and their |
in the community. rather
than rest upon the whim of political
healer, whose favor must be obtained |
by political activity.
''If John Doe turns trick and gets |
away with it, Richard Roe will take a
chance. Had John Doe lost his IL |
cense Richard Roe would have walk
ed a chalk line; therefore. the league
advocates strict enforcement of the
law, and insists that the Judge who
fails to infiict the penalty inscribed
for law violation should be i'm
peached
"A judge will not be easy on sa-
keeper II 1t means being hard
on himself.
Briefly stated, the modal license
law expects aceomplish4ts object
by; first, providing for not more than
one saloon for every 500 inhabitants:
second, by q mandatory suspension of
license for the first conviction by a
jury, and a mandatory cancellation
of license for a second conviction of
licensee, together with a provision
that the holder of such cancelled IL
cense shall be forever barred from
the holding of another license; and
where it is constitutionally possible
a specific provision for the impeach-
ment of the Judge who fails to enter
the order upon such convictions;
third, by the making of the renewal
of license mandatory, depending only
upon the payment of the required
fee, and the fact that the licensee has
not been convicted a second time un-
der the above provision. (Unless the
licensed saloon has been abolished by
the vote of the people.) Fourth, by
fixing upon a license fee, neither abb
surdly low. nor unjustly high,-a IL
cense fee that will afford reasonable
pro rata support for the municipality
without being so high as to leave the
holder the option of selling adulter-
ated liquor, seeking profit from the
by-products of crime, or going out of
business.
MIR. T. NJ Gilmore. the president
of our league. is justly accredited
with the ideas upon which the model
license law was drafted. and it is
claimed by all its advocates that If
the politician could neither offer i'm
munity nor threaten with his dis
pleasure the liquor interests would