Evening star., 1915-04-03
LIQUOR VOTED OUT
OF STATE FOREVER
Official Says West Virginia
Never Again Will LegaIize
Sale of Alcoholic Beverages.
PEOPLE KNEW REVENUE
WOULD CEASE, HE ADDS
Compare $65O,OO0 Tax With Gen.
Grafton of Children Who Know
Not the Saloon, He Suggests.
Special From stan Correspondent.

! Special From a staff Correspondent.
| CHARLESTON. W. Va, April 8
| When this state voted intoxicating
| liquors out it voted them out forever"
| This is the statement of Tax Commits
sioner Blue, who is also commissioner
| of prohibition, charged with the en-
! forcement OF the anti-liquor law,
speaking after West Virginia has been
dry for eight and half months. He
made the statement with emphasis.
/ If you want to "get a rise" out of
state officials, just unlimber your bat
| terry of questions and pump in as an
opening shot the inquiry whether the
present financial difficulties of the state
are the result of the loss of liquor
| traffic revenue and whether the state
may some time go wet" again. You
will get come back instantly and in
dlgnantly Continuing, Commissioner
Blue said:
| The state will never again permit
| the legalized sale of alcoholic bever-
ages, and will never again enter into
| partnership with the liquor business.
Some people seem deluded with the
| idea that this state will go back to the
liquor business for the purpose of
/
/ upon those who will permit them
selves to be led away by such a de-
| lusion, To seriously suggest it is a re-
proach to the citizenship of the state
| and a sad reflection upon the intelli-
/ gence of those who suggest the idea.
/ The time is here when the people of
1 the state put men and morals above
| the dollars.
Knew Revenue Would Cease.
1 80
they voted to ratify the prohibition
amendment, that they were voting
away the revenue from the liquor
| business. 1t is an insult to their in
| telligence to suggest turning again to
| the liquor business for revenue They
| also knew that with the growth and
\ ADVANCEMENT of the state came the
| natural increase in state expenditures
for education. protection to the work
| ingman and those dependent upon him.
| and aid to those stricken by disease
| as affecting not only themselves but
| the public as well. And the people,
when they voted upon ohibtion, ex-
| pected the legislature to ke neces-
| sary provision to meet the changed
conditions
revenue from the liquor business with a
generation of boys and girls, men and
women, that know not the saloon Com
pare the S650,000 of revenue that the
state might receive from the liquor bust
ness with the of S15,000,OO0 that
formerly went out of the state annually
| to purchase and bring liquor into the
stafe-for what purpose? What good did
| IT do when brought here What can be
said for it Did il really make for ham
piness-it might have made somebody feel
good one day, but very bad the day after
| 1t brought crime, even to the extent of
murder. 1t. more than any other factor,
| is responsible for | 1893 men most If them
! Young. being in he fafc
AIRY. 1t. more than any other factor. is
responsible for 2,25S being in the state
| asylums today.
The criminal court of Mcdowell
| county, from it's creation until after
| July last, never had a term without
murder case on its docket That
| court, before the 1st of last July, sent,
| on an average, sixteen men to the peni-
tentIary every term. That average
| since July ] last. has fallen 50 per
| cent In the county of Berkeley. since
| July last, the grand juries for two
| terms of court returned no indictments
something that had not occurred in
| the prior history of the county.
Law Can Be Enforced.
West Virginia has now experienced
eight and haef months of state
| wide prohibitio 1t has been demon
strated that prohibition will prohibit
| and that a prohibition law can be en-
| forced
.'Sofe weeks ago a brewing COMPANY
| of Columbus, Ohio capitalized at s12,-
| 0o0. 900 filed its petition praying for
the appointment Of receiver and the
winding up of its affairs. One of the
causes given for its unfortunate fiuart-
cial condition was that the state of
West Virginia had gone dry, Only a
few days ago large bank at Pitts
| burgh suspended payment The state
| ment was given out that some con
nected with the management of the
| bank were connected with certain
| breweries; that the business of such
| breweries had been very much injured
| and curtailed by prohibition in West
Virginia. And yet the brewers and
| the liquor people generally say that
prohibition will not prohibit,
Throughout the nation liquor people
| are seemingly spending large sums of
money to make the impression that West
Virginia is bankrupt, because she no
| longer collects revenue from the liquor
| business, and it is therefore quite ap-
parent that the liquor interests through
out the country are trying to dscredit
prohibition in West Virginia.
! Create False Impression.
THE liquor people. purposely, and some
| who are not in the liquor business un-
iadyisedly, eideayor to create the impress
l
| because she prohibits the manufacture
and sale OF intoxicating liquors The ap-
preparation for all purposes of the state,
payable out of the general revenue, for
| the next biennial period. including over
/ s4o00o0 to aid local public schools ag-
gregates s.. 100000 annually
| '"rhe state has present deficit and
/ will have a deficit of approximately
| 100000 June 80 next-the end of the
| present fiscal year. 1t is also true
| however. that the state had "a deficit
of $3.50. 900 June 80, 1914, Notwithstanding
\ that in the fiscal year then ending the
i state had collected license money
1 from those engaged in the liquor busi-
/ ness. Back of this, however, the state
had a deficit of s4S0.000 June 80. 1919.
Notwithstanding in the fiscal year then
| ending the state collected as much rev
| enue from the liquor business as in any
| year that the state collected such rev
enue.
Now. inasmuch as we had deficits
for two succeeding years before prohi
Il bition came into effect, what shall the
i liquor people say. and their friends saw.
i in their efforts to create the impress
sion that the deficit in West Virginia
i exists solely today because she is =
Il prohibition state?
i Notes Great Improvemenf