Evening star., 1933-12-18
What Price Patriotism 7

tion's welfare, the Presidents recent
proclamation of the repeal OF the
eighteenth amendment was clearly an
appeal to patriotism. Il enjoin upon
all citizens of the United States" he
said, land upon others resident within
the jurisdiction thereof to cooperate
with the Government in its endeavor
to restore greater respect for law and
order by conining such purchases Of
alcoholic beverages as they may make
solely to those dealers or agencies
which have been duly licensed by State
or Federal licenses"
Observance of the request, he said,
would destroy the bootlegger. would
produce revenues for the Federal Gov
ernment, permitting suspension of
other taxes, and would aid the Govern
ment in pursuing a policy which has
for its objective the education of every
tcitizen toward greater temperance
throughout the Nation"
Discussion of Federal liquor taxation,
coupled with high prices for legal liquor
prevailing with repeal, has produced
rather curious monetary evaluation OF
patriotic law observance. Measured in
dollars and cents, patriotism. it might
seem, is the difference in cost between
what the conservative. self-sacrifcing
bootlegger charges for quart of whisky
and what the legal salesman charges.
II the bootlegger's price is sl50 a quart
and the price charged for comparable
but legal article is $3.50, then patriotism
Is worth one dollar If the difference
comes more cheaply at fifty cents. If
the prices are the same patriotism will
be free.
Less than two weeks ago the boot
logger. personifying the commonly ac-
cepted failures of prohibition. was
doomed by the ardent advocates Of
repeal to quick and certain death.
But in an amazingly short period after
the fall of the axe he has acquired
new and important estate. He is the
competitor whose prices must be met
on the open market. Says Representa-
tive O'Connor of Manhattan, one of the
wettest of the vets: II would put every
bootiegger in Jail. But as between the
prohteering distiller and the bootlegger.
give me the bootlegger!" The distillers
are warned to lower their prices, and
the National Government is warned to
shave its alcohol taxes. that hard
lquor-suddenly pictured as the bless
ing Of every poor mans home-can be
brought down TO the prices set by the
-profiteering bootlegger
But must we choose between the
prohteering distiller and the bootlegger?
Cannot both be eliminated?
Somewhere between the extreme
views of those who want a punitive
tax for the alleged purpose of breaking
up the whisky trust" and those who
want a nominal tax for the purpose of
competing with the bootlegger in not
only supplying but encouraging the
consumption Of hard liquor there lies
q middle ground that should be viewed
as the meeting place Of those who see
in repeal of the eighteenth amendment
not bonanza for distilleries or for the
habitual heavy drinker, but a new
effort ostensibly aimed at intelligent
control of the liquor traffic and the
evils which experience has associated
with the liquor traffic. The inconsist-
ency Of seeking an objective of temper
ance by starting out to make whisky
and other distilled liquors of high al
coholic content cheap and plentiful and
because of favorable price differ
ential-preferable to the bootlegger's
wares, must appeal to everybody.
The bootlegger can always undersell
the legal manufacturer The smuggler
can always undersel1 the duty-paying
importer The prof1teer or the COM
bination in restraint of trade can be
dealt with.
But if the President trusts "in the
good sense of the American people" not
to bring upon themselves "the curse of
excessive use Of Intoxicating liquors."
cannot equal trust be reposed in the
integrity of good citizenship not to con-
tinue the support of bootleggers and
allied criminals?
The bootleggers' patrons of the pro-
hibition era paid dearly for the stuff
"just off the boat and excused
themselves on the ground of exer-
cising the prerogatives of free men
to drink when they wanted to. If legal
liquor can now be had at half the for
mer price Of bootleg, is the excuse now
to be that the bootleg is still cheaper?
Is there no such thing as principle any
longer? Must the National Govern
ment enter into competitive bidding
with bootleggers for the support of its
citizens?
OF course not. Hard liquors should
pay a high tax. AS suggested many
times, the tax should rise In rela-
ton to the alcoholic content of the
ucncc and in recognition of the prin-
ciple that the sale of a habit-form-
ing narcotic drug is to be discour-
aged. The poor man" who was
forced" TO pay the unconscionable
lsvies imposed by the bootleg barons
OF the recent past Is not going to suf-
fer because of Federal taxes on liquor.
Education in temperance for a people
never noted for temperate habits will