The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1935-05-23
Letters To The Editor on The Beer Question

l warn other taxpayers that their levies
will probably be increased rather than
diminished if this bill becomes law.
Our neighboring county of Allegany,
with its rising tax rate following the
legalization of the beer and liquor
traffic shows what will happen in Gar
rett County"
Now if the writer of this article
knows anything at all about the liquor
law of Allegany county, he knows
that there is no provision whatever in
their law that required the payment of
tax on beer. He also knows that there
is no provision in the Garrett county
beer law that could in any way result
in the increase of taxes in this county.
Neither does he attempt to give any
reason whatever for his statement
that if the law is ratified by the people
there is likelihoodof an increase in
taxes. 1t is plain that he is the one
who might be guilty of false propa-
ganda that he so much fears and it is
not surprising that he neglected to
sign his name to his article.
From the beginning of the last
Legislature, l have been active in sup
porting this bill for the following
reasons:
Beer is being sold legally in every
County around ours and there is no
argument to it that we can make Gar
rett county dry when every county
around US sells it legally. The boot
leggers are reaping all the benefits and
collecting all of the tax. The county
needs every cent of additional revenue
that we can get. Every meeting of the
Commissioners some delegation is
there asking for appropriations for
everything ranging from preaching to
prisoners in the jail to buying wood
en- leg for one legged man. The de-
mands are increasing for paupers and
pensioners every day. How can the
people expect their County Commits
sioners to hold the tax rate on real es-
tate down at the same time meet these
increasing demands without providing
in some way for additional revenue.
believe that the county is entitled to
receive a proper revenue from this
business and the only way that we can
get it is by legalizing the sale of
beer and drive out the outlaw ard
bootlegger.
Farmers are getting 20 or rs cents
per bushel for their potatoes and lot
of them are about to lose their farms
because they can't pay their taxes, yet
a lot of people who don't pay any taxes
are going around trying to tell the
people that if this bill does become a
law it won't produce any revenue. They
don't tell you why it won't. If the peo-
Mo fo,- +bic hill opJ -
law, l say it will produce revenue and
help the taxpayers. 1 know that there
were thousands of cases of beer sold
in Garrett County last summer and no.
body got any taxes out of it except
the bootlegger. I know, too, that it was
sold to children and l can't under
stand why anybody should be con-
demned for working for law that will
outlaw the bootlegger, produce rev
enue for the county and prevent the
sale of beer to children.
Right now Garrett County people are
driving to other counties and states
to spend their money and believe this
money should be kept at home and oul
citizens be enabled to spend it in a
legal way.
IL the beer bill is passed the county
will be put to no additional expense
whatever in collecting the tax and at
the same time it will produce, con-
servatively speaking at least $4,000
each year in tax revenue to the county.
The passage of the beer bill will also
set up a series of restrictions which
will cause the sale of beer in a decent
and respectable manner as compared
to the way it is being sold now.
deeply regret the plan of outsiders
from other cities and counties coming
up here to tell US how to run our
county inasmuch as the Beer Bill is
purely a local issue. I have been in