The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1913-07-09
PROHIBITION IN KANSAS.
From The Adult Student.

w
eral of Kansas, delivered an address
at Chicago April 1872 on What Pro-
hibition Has Done for Kansas" The
constitutional amendment prohibiting
the manufacture and sale in the State
or intoxicating liquor except for med
zeal, scientific and mechanical pur-
poses was adopted in November 1880.
III mas therefore, been in operation
long enough to afford a reasonable
test of the effects Of Statewide pro-
hibition. MIR. Dawson acknowledges
that for quite number of years the
law was openly defied in many of the
larger towns and cities. 1t took a
long and bitter fight or the people
OF Kansas to convince the law defying
liquor interest that they were really
In earnest about banishing the infa-
nous triffic from their State. But
they are convinced at last and for
some time the prohibition laws of the
State have been as consistently en-
forced as those against other common
forms of criminal conduct In esti-
mating the results of prohibition, how
ever, allowance must be made for the
delay occasioned by this protracted
battle against anarchy, and vet, in
spite of this. these results, as sum-
med up by the Attorney General, are
thoroughly convincing. Here are a
few of the more important of them
l. Illiteracy has been reduced from
49 per cent to less than per cent.
and this is confined almost entirely
to the foreign element in the south
eastern portion of the State.
2. Eighty seven of the one hundred
and five counties of the State have no
insane, fifty-four have no feeble-mind-
ed, and ninety-six have no inebriates.
There is only one pauper in every
three thousand population. Thirty
eight poor farms have no inmates. In
July 1911, fifty three county jails were
empty, and siXtyfive counties had no
prisoner serving sentences, some
counties have not called a jury to try
criminal case inten years, and
grand jury is SO uncommon that half
, the people would not know what it is
3. In 1880 the bank savings depos-
its in Kansas were $30,000,000; today
they are $200,000,000. The State is
now the richest per capita in the I'm
ion, the average wealth being $l,700,
whereas the average for the nation is
only $1,000. Missouri, which adjoins
Kansas and is rich in natural rccourc-
es, has an average of less than $500
During the panic of 1907 Kansas sent
$5O,OoO,OOO to New York to relieve the
money market, while Missouri sent
nothing
! t. In 1880 the death rate in Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas was
practically the same, seventeen to the
thousand Since then death rate of
Kansas has gradually fallen till it is
now only seven and one half, while
that of the other States has slightly
increased.
3. The per capita cost Of intoxicat-
! ing liquors in Missouri is $24; in
Kansas is $1.iS.
! 6. 1t has demonstrated that the sa-
loon is not business, but a parasite
on business.
I Z. 1t has taken politics out OF the
saloons and the saloons out Of politics
Every political party in Kansas now
stands for prohibition, and keeping
/ joints, dives and brothels out OF cities
is as much the business policy of the
average city as keeping the streets
1 clean, water pure, and the public parks
attractive.
In answer to the question as to the
relative value of prohibition and high
| license as means Of abolishing the
evils of intoxicating liquors. Mr.
Dawson says: There is no relative
value. High license is not means of
abolishing the evils Of Intoxicating
! liquors. The only solution of the Ii
quor problem is it's total suppression.
High license is first Of all a confes-
sion that the liquor business is bad
business. 1t is bad business, and
tax upon bad business, cruel, vi
cious, and wicked business, means that
the State says to the rum seller: You
are corrupting the morals of my peo-
pie, you are undermining the man
hood of my young men, you are rob-
bing the cheeks of my young women