The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-04-17
SHOWS EFFECT OF DRINK
5000 More Federal Licenses Than City
Licenses Issued to Saloons in Wiscon-
sin Last Year Commission Holds
License Fees Are Too Low.

The data gathered by the state in
dustrial commission as to the number
Of liquor licenses during the license
year If 1911-1912 in Wisconsin were
made public today. The inquiry also
covered tho situation respecting the
wet and dry territory in the state.
The reports received from city, vii
lage and town clerks show on June 80,
1912, there were in force 1922 saloon
licenses of which number 5,429 were
granted by cities, LII By villages
and 2, 376 by towns.
The commission also collected some
data regarding the convictions for
crimes directly traceable to the use
Of liquor or to violations Of the
liquor laws.
g Fairly complete reports from the
municipal judges, police justices and
justices of the peace" says the re-
port, "indicate that approximately
forty-four per cent of all convictions
for crimes in 1911 were convictions
for drunkenness and for drunkenness
accompanied by disorderly conduct.
There were one hundred and thirteen
convictions for sales to prohibited per
sons, forty-nine for liquor sales with
out license and nine for sales in pro-
hibited territory.
From the internal revenue offices Of
the eastern and western districts of
Wisconsin the commission obtained the
names of approximately $4,000 persons
to whom licenses were granted by the
federal government in connection with
the liquor traffic in Wisconsin. Of
these $4,000 federal licenses, 12,037
were granted to retailers. Hence there
were over 5000 more federal licenses
to retailers than saloon licenses grant
ed by local governments. Accounting
in part for this difference are the 756
pharmacists permits granted through
out the state, and the 20 pharmacists
selling liquor upon physicians pre-
scriptions in dry territory without per
mits. The other retailers licensed by
the United States who do not hold sa-
loon licenses from local governments
are clubs and illicit dealers.
The total saloon license fees collect
ed by local governments during the
fiscal year 1911-1912 amounted to some
thing more than $2,15O,000. The aver
age fee charged was, therefore, a little
more than $240. One-half of the cities
and considerably more than one-half
of the villages charge only a 5000 IL
cense fee. About three-fourths of the
towns charge a license fee of but $100.
Four cities, six villages and one town
have license fees above $500.
OF the 124 cities of the state, only
twelve were dry at the time of the
inquiry made by the commission. Of
the villages, ten were dry by vote, and
two have had no application for a
license in 1911-1912. The wet towns
numbered 513, the towns dry by vote
234, and the towns which have never
had an application for license 436.
The population of the wet territory of
the state was 1,747,716, as compared
with 241, COS persons living in territory
dry by vote, and 344,2a6 persons liv-
ing in towns and villages in which
there have been no applications
for licenses.
In 1905 the bureau of labor and sta
tistics collected similar data in refer
ence to the liquor traffic in Wisconsin.
1t found that on January /, 1905, there
were 8,738 saloon licenses in force.
The number of people per license in
license territory at that time was 176.
At the time of the present report it
was 1876. At that time 70 per cent Of
the population of the state lived in
wet territory, as against rs per cent
in 1912.