The L'Anse sentinel., 1916-03-25
WHICH IS MORE APT TO PROTECT
TIE HOME, THE CHILD AND
BUSINESS: e

THE HOME, THE CHILD AND
BUSINESS:
The Illegal sale BY bootleeSers
or the legal sale by few n
censed saloons7
The electors Of this county are to
vote upon the question of local option
prohibition on April 8. 1916. The ques-
tion is not rs prohibition right or
wrong" but
sis it better. for this county to have
strong, distilled spirits, as whiskey sold
and without tax, by boot
leggers, speak-easies and blind pigs, or
may ight wines. ale, and especially beer
(3a per cent alcohoD be sold in alimited
number of legally licensed, tax-paying
and regulated saloons, operated under
the Warner Cramton law?"
The newspapers of Michigan have.
during the past years, been full Of
specific cases showing that more whis-
key is drunk in ''dry" counties than
when they were wet. This whiskey is
illegally sold by bootleggers and blind
pigs and it 10 practically impossible to
convict them These bootleggers and
blind pigs spare no one. They sell their
poisonous liquor (beer is too bulky for
bootleggers) to any one with the price
-men. boys, women or children. Young
men and boys, and even girls. of tender
years. have been encouraged to become
law-breakers in these ''dry" counties.
Let US consider the difference between
the illegal sale Of whiskey by bootleg
gers and the legal tax-producing,
licensed sale of light, mild wine or beer,
containing 80 per cent less alcohol than
cider contains, in bonded and we'll
regulated saloon.
The bootlegger recognizes no law; he
sells TO minors and to habitual drunk
ards; he sells on Sunday and at all hours
Of the night; he sells only the cheapest
and most poisonous whiskey; he gives
no bonds to protect his victims and he
pays no taxes. He encourages those
who buy from him to commit perjury
in order to protect themselves and him
he commits perjury in order to protect
himself from the law. Every citizen
in ''dry" counties knows that this is a
truthful and correct analysis Of the
bootlegger.
The salient points Of the Warner
Cramton law are that the saloon men
must give heavy bonds; NOT straw
bonds, but the highest grade ofpersonal
or surety company bonds, which afford
protection to those who may. by their
own intemperancs, or by the intern
perance of others, suffer II the saloon
keeper should dare to violate the law.
The licensed and regulated saloonkeeper
under the Warner Cramton law cannot
sell whiskey. or even 81 per cent beer
to any person under 21 years of age; to
any habitual drunkard or to any person
who Ii drunk when he tries toget more
liquor. He cannot sell to any student,
whether the student be 10 or ~ years
old; he cannot sell to any Indian or to
any person to whom he has been for
bidden to sell by the family Of that per.
son. his employer or the poor officials
Of his town. II he violates any Of these
provisions he ID answerable in damages
to the relatives Of the person to whom
he sells unlawfully, and upon . second
conviction loses forever his right to get
. license anywhere in the Stste Of
Michigan, in addition to the liability of
fine and imprisonment.
Under local option prohibition and its
accompaniment Of bootlegging there is
more drunkenness than ever, but the
county gets no taxes, while It 10 put to
an enormous expense to try and stop
the bootleRginR. Under the Warner
Cramton law the license fees Of the
regulated saloon 60 to help pay the
general expenses Of the county and the
township in which The saloon Il located,
and even those townships which have
no saloons ere bsns1tsd BY the liquor
tsxs half ofsRhich goes TO reduce their
share Of fhs county tax.
United States Pure Food laws, and
ths Purs Food lavs Of Michigan provide
for N inspsction Of allIiquors sold n
svery saloon, consequently nothing but
~~>--~. e1~->s~~-~ - 49,. .-t-t~A $3.50 ~ :