The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-02-19
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Ssne ties1s On the Szlccn Problem
Judge J. r Conrad IN the Dss
NoiHes Register and Leader. Some
day let Us elect body Of legislators
wiki the FILL understanding that fhav
shall % nothing but frame Up Laws
on the Temperance question. and when
they have izwed that 30 their hearts
content. adjourn Then niayhe for q
few years those engaged II the liquor
business would know where they are
at To be q saloonkeeper and keep
his temper these DAYS OF amendments
to the mulcs Law. is WORTHY OF q bet
ter calling. I want TO say here that
have no interest ia the liquor busi-
ness, and believe II Uncle Sam and
the rest OF ug would go out Of IT. this
country would be nauch better Of
But we have the mulct law, and
there are millions invested In this
state In the liquor business. There
are thousands Of men, good and bad,
who have families depending on them
for support, who have every dollar
they control, invested In the liquor
traffic. They pay their government
tax. their mulct tax, and their citF
license. They have secured the con
Gent OF the people, and the various
city councils, and besides, have paid
tribute TO yarfous property holders,
who are opposed to the business and
owning property within radius OF
fifty feet They have put up their
bonds Of $1,000 each, and are told
to go ahead. comply with the law.
and make living. so long az the
muIct law is the law of this state, wi1y
should not those engaged In the iiq-
auor traffic be given the same oppor-
tunfty TO make a living and some
thing besides, as men engaged in 9TH
er business, under other statutes?
There are ways Of getting rid of
an obnoxious Law other than trying TO
bankrupt those VINO are engaged in
the business, under such a Law
There are some people. and some Of
them are legislators, who seem 10
Eoid 10 the idea that the nuict Law
is IN no way protection to the men
engaged III the saloon business: hut.
rather. q sort Of a perpetual eternal
punishment. and as fast as new kinds
Of torture can he devised they should
be made q part Of that Law. II seems
70 be the idea to make the business
so Improbable ana so hazardous that
the saloon keeper, through fear Of
starvation and the county Jail viii
voluntarily abandon his bar and 20
out Of business. / cant help but
think that this ia ia line With the man
who beats and abuses his wife in
order to finally force her to get a
divorce. when he cannot secure ono
himself. There are such men. saw
some analogy in this bit ago; but
it has escaped me now. We will let
that pass. We are keeping the mulct
law. right or wrong, on our statute
books. We are not trying to get rid
of It, only trying to drive people out
OF business under 1t. II that IS to be
lauded, If that is giving a man any
thing like a square deal, am growing
worse every day Yet there are peo-
pie, believe, who honestly think that
any means employed TO drive saloon
keeper out OF business Is legitimate
even to helping him commit crime
and then going before a court and tell
ing about it, for the moral effect
Either do away with the law, or give
those operating under it show to do
business under decent regulations.
The trouble with some OF these leg
isiators from so-called dry counties.
they want dry saloon in the wet
counties. am not one OF those who
insinuate that the farmer in the leg
islature wants the saloon closed as
soon as he gets ready to drive home:
but it does seem to me that the ef-
forts towards closing tie saloons at
s O'Clock is only for the purpose Of
making 1t less profitable. and not
bit more moral or legal The idea
that If would keep 2 man from coming