Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-12-27

l scrupulous law breaker can pay "A high
& license much more readily than the man
/ who Is careful and conscientious III the
| conduct of his business.
| "The reckless crook in the business can
| thrive and prosper where his law
| abiding competitor would starve to
death.
This is true of any business which is
penalized by an excessive license fee.
IF the lawyers and doctors of our
land We're compelled to pay a license fee
of one or two thousand dollars before
| they could practice their professions
there would be many among them who
would resort to all manner of ilegitimate
devices to secure the necessary license
money Would that put a better class of
men in the profession?
I'VE hear many intelligent men adyo-
eating high license without giving the
question any serious thought or study.
APPLY the suggestion TO their own call
ing and they become indignant imme-
diatey.
High license as applied to the privi-
lege of selling liquor is an incentive 10
law evasion aud TO disregard of all
those restrictions which Lawmakers inn
pose on. the business and expect to see
observed.
High license is one of the many fall
lacies which legislators have chung TO
without realizing that it too often de-
feats the objects for which they legislate.
1T is fad and fetch sustained by
nothing but the harpings OF prejudice
and ignorance.
mo man and no calling was ever made
better by being penaliZed.
wanted in the business they can continue
to be honest and reputable only when
fairly treated by the law-making power,
ut is charged that the character OF
the retail dealer has deteriora ted of re-
cent years. If so, it is because ill-advised
legislation has crowded the better ele-
ment of retail dealers out of existence
''These truths ought to be self-evdent
and with the wane of 4Anti-Saloon League
clouding of true issues they will be real
lied and acted upon by lawmakers in
''The one essential of an applicant for
license should be good personal charae-
ITO men of good repute the imposition
of a burdensome license fee is a strong
detriment TO entering the business
when will the community and its law
makers learn to be wise in dealing with
the questions affecting the liquor trade?'
For the sake of argument, let us ad-
nit the soundness of the argument of
these liquor dealers. Let us say that
if it is an evil, do we wish to go into
in il for the sake of a few
dollars in revenue? If il is not anevil
what right have we to penalize il?
Certainly the argument concerning
high license as an instigator of illegiti-
mate means to pay the license fee, is
sound. II absolutely proves, in the
words of the liquor interests them
selves, the, claim We have often put
forth, that under a license system the
of dives, bootleggers and hell
holes is vastly increased by the COM
mission business carried on by the sa-
loon keepers.
The reader will note, in the argu-
ment of the liquor trust, that if a man
of selling booze to his fellow man. for
a livelihood, he will not hesitate to
adopt any means possible to secure the
money with which to pay for his IL
eense.
Let us consider the logic of the case
in this way: IF it is a good thing, why
should we make the liquor selling or
making business pay tax that other
businesses are not required to pay? If
II 10 q pau titiiS WHY Snohfd we ell
in it in any way
Surely we do not personally care to
share the revenue that is derived from
an immoral and bad business, Then
why should we consider the license
question from either standpoint?
Another point which the liquor trust
makes for us is the showing that good
men are engaging less and less in the |
rum traffic-the character of retail |
dealers is deteriorating. The liquor |
trust writer's tell us that this is be-
cause good men have been driven
but of the business by Ill-advised"
laws and unfair treatment. They say
hat the "burdensome license fee is
strong detriment' to good men enter |
ng the business.
Let each community of Maine con- |
slider its good men who would be |
likely to enter the business of ped |
Hing hell-ire to his neighbors and
trends, even were there no license tax
o pay.
on the whole, we ask kennebec |
Journal readers to read carefully and |
lnalyze the above claims of the liquor |
to see what it proves to |