THE FALLS CITY TRIBUNE , FRIDAY , JUNE i9 , 1908
Discussing the Best Means of
Controlling the Liquor
Traffic.
THEY SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE
Nebraska Merchants De
scribe Local Condi I ions Under
Itoth Dry and Wet Regimes ,
Airccting Retail Business
and Tax Kates ,
Many responsible business incu
throiigliout Nebraska Imvo expressed
thulr opinions on tlio question of tbo
best menus of controlling tbe liquor
tralllc. Homo towns have voted tbo
tmlucm out of existence , while others
have voted for llcenso. Quito a num
ber of towns linvo reversed tholr pol
icy In tbe matter. In cnses llko this ,
residents of those towim arc In a po-
ultlon to form accurate judgment re-
upcctlng the result of thin oxpcrleuco.
Tbe Merchants' and Manufacturers'
association recently Hunt out queries
to business men. Tbe following replies
linvo been received :
HOLSTICIN a. I * Fischer , grain ,
eays : "It Is true that tbo question of
license prevailed In our town throned
tbe active Inlluenco of business men
nnd property owners , who fenced tbo
loss of country trndo , ami tbo estab
lishment of dives nnd other clandes
tine means of dispensing liquor inci
dent to a dry town. The business men
nlso believed that the dry policy
.would mnko them pay moro taxes. "
STERLING C. W. Stiivo , general ;
merchandise , says : "Our people favor j
license as long as the liquor men are
willing to run tholr places right During -
ing the campaign tbo merchants urged
that the dry policy would drive nway
the trade of farmers for miles around ,
tilnco there are many Germans in this
locality. It was also argued that the
barring of the saloon caused mer
chants to pay blgbr tnxcs. "
INDIANOLA Chester W. Dow , Im
plements , . writes : "About two-thirds
of the business men of this town are
license men , and they advance the
theory thnt the llcenso policy draws
trade to tholr stores. "
FORT CALHOUN Fred II. Frahm
rays : "Every business man In town Is
In favor of high llcenso. They argue
that there is no doubt that tuxes
would bo much higher under the dry
policy. In regard to lese of trade ,
thnt Is an open question. " ,
UTICA A grain merchant writes :
"High llcenso was carried hero In the
last election by a largo majority. Most
of the people of this vicinity favor
high license in preference to a dry
town , which would bring about boot
legging and other clandestine methods
of selling liquor. If wo had no saloon
here , liquor would be shipped in any
way as long as it is made and our
merchant ! ! believe it Is better to have
ti saloon in order to know Just where
the liquor Is being sold. "
CLARKS Campbell brothers write :
"This town Is dry. Many of our busi
ness men bellovo tbo policy hurts
their business , since surrounding
towns have saloons , and' many of the
farmers are Swedish , Dutch , ami Hiv
bemlan. The question of Increased
taxes \vns not discussed hero. "
HERMAN II. H. Herzog , lumber.
cays : "With one exception , every
business man In town supported the
wet ticket. Tbo question of country
patronage was the principal argument
init up by the wets bofoVo election. "
SEWARD II. A. draff , clothing , re
plies : "I bollovo the majority of the
business men ami property owners
hero favor the policy of license under
moro strict obervance of the Slocumb
law. Our people are demanding bet
ter enforcement. "
STELLA A prominent business
man writes : "There seems to liavo
been enough business men here to
carry the license ticket , I nm sorry teeny
eny , through fear of a heavier tax In
cnso of the adoption of the dry policy.
During the campaign , the merchants
nrgued thnt the taxes would bo much
heavier If the town should go dry. "
KEARNEY Says a lending mer
chant : "Tho result of the election on
tbe question of llcenso In this city ,
we are inclined to think , was brought
nbout under the Idea that tbe liquor
traftlc could bo better controlled with
the open saloon than by supplying tbo
demand for liquor through drug stores
nnd bootleggers. Then again , ninny
business men feared the loss of trade
from tbe foreign element in the conn
try ; further than this , the revenue
coming to the town from licenses Is
$10.000 annually , which is of matoria )
help to tbo city , as well as to the
EChool fund. "
FAIRUURY D. B. Cropsoy , editor ,
replies : "Our business men thought
the license system wns the best way
in which to regulate the liquor bust
ness. It is true that they feared they
would have to pay too heavy n penalty
in loss of outside patronage and in in
creased taxes as results of a dry
town. "
BLUE HILLr C. F. Gund. cashier ,
says : "Our town is in n German com
munlty , hence our merchants realize
that trade would' suffer if a dry policy
were adopted. "
SILVER CREEK D. F. Davis , pub
Usher , replies : , "I think 1 can truth
fully say that our people feared a loss
of pntronngo from the farmers If the
town should go dry. Of couso , there Is
n division of opinion , but the prevail
ing sentiment seems to be that the
majority who support the business In
terests of Sliver Creek are In favor
of the wet policy , and they ace , as a
rule , as fine a class of citizens as can
be found anywhere. "
RED CLOUD A leading citizen
says ; "There are many voters of this
place who favor high license because
of the experience this town once had
under no-license rule , when 'blind
tigers' ran unhindered , nnd the town
wns disgraced beyond anything experi
enced under the license system. I do
not believe the matter of partonago
from outside territory would enter In
to the question to nny extent. "
PLYMOUTH A dry goods mcr-
rhnnt writes : "This town Is only
from eight to ten miles from DoWltt
nnd Swanton , which are both ;
therefore our business men felt thnt if
Plymouth should go dry , their busi
ness would bo Injured. This commun
ity does not want county option , neith
er does Saline county , to the north of
us. The strict enforcement of the Slo1
ciimb Inw would be better for every
body , nnd our people are In favor of its
belter enforcement. "
VALENTINE D. M. Rice , editor
Democrat , replies : "It Is true that the
business men took an active Interest
In o'ur ri'cent election upon the ques
tion of license. During the contest ,
the merchants argued that a dry town
would produce a loss of patronage nnd'
Incrensed tnx rntes. They nlso pre
ferred n snloon strictly regulnted to a
trnlllc In liquor through tbo drug
stores , bootleggers , nnd 'blind tigers. '
which are peculiar to some of tbe dry
: owns. "
FALLS CITY L. J. Harris , Editor
of The Journal , writes : "One reason
for the result of the recent election In
this city was tbo fact that a largo portion
tion of the population of tlhs county
B German. Tbo Inlluenco of tbo busi
ness men wns for llcenso because of
tbo probability of loss of patronage In
case tbo town should go dry. "
KEARNEY F. L. Whedon , Editor
of Tbe Democrat , replies : "In the re
cent election upon the question of
Icoiiso , business men here were gen
erally favorable to high license and
the enforcement of the law. There Is
10 doubt that business men took Into
consideration the probability thnt they
night suffer loss of business In case
the town should go dry , nnd thnt taxes
would' bo Increased. This sentiment ,
of course , bad Us effect. "
LINCOLN A. 1. Israel , Editor of
The Country Merchant , says : "In the
recent election hero I believe that the
majority voted for license because the
voters bollovo that the so-cnlled pro-
lilbltlon theory will not successfully
prevent trnlllc In liquor ; also because
tbo elimination of liquor licenses
would Increase tbe tax burden and
uoro than probably decrease the vol
ume of outside pntronnge of the city's
merchants. I am nlso of the opinion
thnt many business men feared thnt
tbo elimination of legal liquor busi
ness would result In nn Increase of
lawlessness nud have a demoralizing
ITect upon tbo community. "
CLARKS William Douglns. mer
chant , writes : "This town went dry
n the recent election owing to agita
tion among tboso who pay little or no
tax. The majority of our business
men believe thnt taxes will bo much
greater upon tbo withdrawal of llcenso
money , ami thny know that trade will
be less , as a great many of our fann .
ers have expressed themselves to that i )
effect. It was the expressed wish of
the best class of our taxpayers that
license should carry. "
SUTTON F. M. Brown , Editor of
Tbo Register , replies : " 1 regard it ns
a fact that the license Issue won be
cause our business men nnd tnxpnycrs
feared they would have to pay too
heavy a penalty in loss of outside
patronage and In Increased taxes ns
results of n dry town. "
SUTTON Henry Grossbnns , fncm
machinery , writes , " \Vo bad two years
of experience under the dry policy ,
nnd I regard it as very unsatisfactory ,
there being more drunkenness than wo
linvo hnd under the wet policy. Un
der the dry regime wo had about tit-
teen places where bad liquor was sola ,
nnd we could not control the tralllc at
nil ; now we have but four saloons ,
which are controlled , and there Is bet
ter ordcc In town. 1 nm for the wet
policy nnd a strict enforcement of tbo
Slocumb license Inw. "
PLAINVIEW P. F. noycns. furni
ture denier , writes : "Your Informa
tion Is correct. Our business men nnd
taxpayers feared a loss of outside pat
ronage ns a result of a dry policy , be
cause our neighboring towns are wet. "
WAYNE W. S. Goldlo , Editor of
Tbo Democrat , replies : "Tbo chief
reason why Wayne voted wet at the
last election was because of the ex
perience of twenty years ngo. when
the town went dry. The man who has
been marshal from that time to this ,
and who is one of the best otllclals in
tbe state , said publicly that he had
more trouble with drinkers during the
one year in which the town was sup
posed to bo dry than ho hnd during
several years under the llcenso sys
tem. He has no use for the saloon.
The Anti-Saloon league representa
tives put up a campaign that was
somewhat disreputable , and thereby
lost many votes. 1 believe that this
town is three to one for high llcenso
In our recent election the Anti-Saloon
league did nbout all the open fighting ,
but they accomplished little. "
SCHUYLER W. J. Hlfiglns , dry
goods merchant , writes : "As n matter
of government nlono , l do not think
thnt liquor Is n benetlt or help to the
town , but spenking from the stand
point of the business man , my obser
vation is thnt in sonio localities , and
particularly where v majority of for
eigners , as it the case in this county ,
reside , no doubt a dry policy would
drive such citizens nway from n town
as they go where they can get whnt
they want. While I am not particu
larly a drinking man , when I speak of
conditions in this local section , I would
not fnvor n dry policy. "
NELIGH J. N. Mills , of Mills &
Berry , dry goods , says : "Our experi
ence tenches us thnt we have better
government nnd less discord under the
license system. When our town Is dry
and other towns wet , the dry town is
left out. I do not think statutory pro-
lilbltlon Is a temperance movement.
The writer has been in business In
this town since 1SSO and' hns taken nn
nctlve pnit In the liquor question. I
shall always vote for the license pol-
ley ns long ns the United States con
tinues to Issue licenses. "
GLE-NVILLE Ernest Frisch , farm
, machinery , writes : "The business
i men ' took nn nctlve part in the recent
election. Among them there is n sen-
tlment thnt the adoption of a dry policy -
icy would be detrimental to their busl-
ness because of the Gorman element
In ' this community. Most of the taxpayers -
|
payers 1 are' retired farmers of the Ger
man nationality. " ,
VALENTINE M. C. Carroll , real j
estate , replies : "In the recent elec
tion most of our business men worked
hard for the old Board and for license ,
for they wore sure that if the town
went dry they would lose most of their
outside patronage. They also said
that in that event property would bo
taxed to the full limit. We have two
weekly papers here The Democrat
and The Republican and they worked
hard for the old Board nnd for high
license. 1 Most of the fnrmcrs In this
neighborhood nre In fnvor of license. "
LAWRENCE D. Livingston , editor
of The Locomotive , writes : "Llcenso
won hero through the support of busl-
ness men who desired to please n Inrge
country Undo , nnd who also desired to
benefit by tbe payment of liquor li
cense money which would relieve them
of that much tax. Our business men
believe that the high license system
Is the best way of controlling the
trnlllc. "
SCHUYLER S. Fuhrmnn , dry goods ,
writes : "My experience with the dry
nnd wet policy In this stnte is thnt
when n town goes dry the surrounding
towns are generally wet , and the town
loses the revenue on license. The only
way to deal with the liquor traffic Is to
regulate the same by law , and enforce
the law to the letter. "
SOU UYLER Henry Bolton , mer
chant , writes : "In this particular lo
cality we nrc supposed to be governed
by the Slocumb liquor Inw. The Inw ,
however , hns not been enforced , nnd
my opinion Is thnt if the Slocumb
law were enforced It would be better
for this locality than what is known
as the dry policy. As a law-abiding
citizen of the state of Nebraska , 1 bo-
llevo in enforcing all the Inws that are
on our statutes. "
GLENVILLE D. K. Caldwell , banker -
er , says : "Our business men and
property owners .wished tbo license
system to prevail. They are people
who favor personal liberty , regardless
of the question of taxes. This county
is rich. It is a German settlement of
well-to-do and industrious people who
have been prosperous from tbo begin
ning of tbe settlement of Clay
County. "
PENDER Nick Fritz , farm machin
ery , writes : "In our recent village
election , it was the concensus of opin
ion that if tbo town should go dry we
would lose a good deal of trade on ac-
count of neighboring towns having
license , us we have a good many sub
stantial German farmers in tbe neigh
borhood. "
GRAFTON William G. llnlney , gen
eral merchant , writes : " 1 am perfect
ly Katlslled with tbe Slocumb law if
enforced properly , because it docs
away with 'bootlegging1 in dry towns
and places tbo responsibility where it
belongs. In dry towns I have noticed
this nefarious clandestine trnlllc car
ried on without a chance of an ofllcer
catching tbe sellers , and I found it to
be true that there wns little chance of
enforcing the law. "
VALENTINE E. Clyde Davenport
of Davenport & Co. , general mer
chants , writes : "Tbo result of the
election was probably due to the fact
that the majority of the business men
are of the opinion that well-regulated
saloons do no barm to n community ,
nnd the revenue derived from them is
very ncccssnry townrd the support of
the school nnd village. 1 think the
business men were not so much afrnid
of the loss of outside business as they
were of the Increase In taxes. "
M'COOK John E. Kelley , real es
tate , writes : "I resided in Kansas in
1SSO when the prohibition amendment
carried , coming to Nebraska five years
Inter. I have lived the last twenty-
three years in McCook. All of that
time the city has favored licensing
nnd regulating tbe tralllc the annual
license fee being $1.200. I wns in
Iowa both before nnd since the prohi
bition law was abolished , nnd nm free
to say that I favor the Slocumb law
when properly enforced over any
means of regulation that I have ob
served. In both Iowa and Kansas it
has always been as easy to get liquor
as in Nebraska , and much moro so
than It is in any Nebraska town that
does not fnvor license. "
M'COOK P. Walsh , president Mc
Cook National bank , replies : "I am
unalterably opposed to prohibition so-
cnlled , because the policy lias proven
to be detrimental to business inter
ests wherever it has been tried. 1 be
lieve that Nebraska at this time hns
better laws for regulating tbo sale of
liquor than nny other stnte. "
A real estate mnn of McCook writes
that he Is "in favor of a strict en
forcement of the Slocumb high llcenso
liquor law In order that the revenues
from the traffic may make city taxes
low enough so that eastern Investors
will not shun Nebraska. " He says
prohibition only takes nwny the reve
nue nnd does not stop the sale.
ARAPAHOE R. J. Finch , merchant -
chant , writes : "The country tributary
to ( Arnpahoe hns a Inrgc foreign popu
lation 1 nnd the town has always had
saloons until the last year. At the
election this spring nil hinged on the
question of license or no license nnd a
majority of tbo business men seemed
to t fcnr a loss of business If the town
continued dry ; also , that the taxes
would be heavily increased if no 11-
money wns hnd. "
OKLAHOMA TOOK IT BACK
After Adopting Prohibition at the
Polls the People Reversed the Policy.
Last fall the paid agents of the Anti-
Saloon league went Into Oklahoma nnd
Induced the constitutional convention
to adopt nn article prohibiting tbo man
ufacture , nnd sale of Intoxicating bev
erages. The proposition was submit
ted to the people last fall and carried ,
the law going Into effect ut once. It
was a grent victory for the lenguc.
In spite of earnest efforts to enforce
the now provision , l.t proved a dismal
failure , , nnd the business men of tbe
new stnte demanded a change. This
they had n right to do under another
article of tbe constitution , which em
powered the legislature to establish
state dispensaries for the sale of liquor
If It proved to be Impossible to enforce
prohibition. The state was overrun by
bootleggers and tbo clandestine sale
of liquor was carried on in utter de
fiance and contempt of law.
Responding to the cnll of the busi
ness men the legislature provided for.
state dispensaries by a law which was
approved by the governor late in
March. Dispensaries are established
in j counties and towns for the sale of
liquor j by the state at a profit. An
Omaha distiller has just sold a carload -
load 1 of alcohol to the stalfs of Okla
homa to be retailed through the dis
.
pensaries.
This is a complete reversal of the
state's policy in respect to control of
the liquor trafllc. Judge Strang of
Guthrie decided n cnse May -t , writ
ing an opinion in which he held : "The
dispensary law is nn net regulating the
sale of liquor , not one to prohibit. "
Oklahoma Is the last stnte to repu-
dlnte the policy of state-wide prohi
bition.
LICENSE SYSTEM PREVAILS ,
Many States Have Discarded Prohi
bition and Adopted License System.
Agents of the Ann-Saloon league
nre traversing Nebraska telling the
people that there Is a wave of prohi
| bition sentiment * sweeping the coun
try J and that now is the time to get
Into their county option water wagon.
They do not care to admit that the
area of dry territory has been extend
ed | almost wholly in states having
locnl ' option laws like that of Nebras
ka. To do so would bo to commend
the provisions of the Slocumb high
license , local option law" a thing
agents of the Anti-Saloon league could'
not do without admitting there was no
need of their presence in Nebraska.
It is true that there is n growth of
sentiment in favor of a moro temper
ate use of beverages , but that senti
ment has been made In bign license
states and not in prohibition states.
In an article in the Review of Reviews
for April occurs this statement : "Up
to a year ngo , of the eighteen stntes
that had tried the experiment of pro
hibition , only three Maine , Kansas
and North Dakota remained in the
ranks. " Incidentally it should be said
that last fall Oklahoma adopted state
wide prqhlbition , only to discard it
last March , because It had failed. It
Is necessary to sny nlso that Georgia
became ' a prohibition state in January ,
100S. "
Thus it Is seen that there are but
four prohibition states In the union.
The advocates of prohibition are claim
ing large gains , but they d'o not tell
their hearers that nearly every state
hns enacted local option license laws
for the control of the liquor traffic.
Here is a list of local option license
states , ns published In the New York
World Almanac for 1908 :
Alabama Ixical option , fee $175-
$350.
Arizona Local option , quarterly fee ,
United States license , $25 annually.
County and territorial $300 annually.
Arkansas Local option , fee $ SOO.
California Local option , fee by au
thorities.
Colorado Local option , fee $500 up.
Connecticut Local option , fee $150-
$ - 150.Delaware
Delaware License by courts , fee
$200-$300.
District of Columbia License by ex
cise board on the written consent of
the majority of the owners of real es
tate , fee $800.
Florida Local option , fee $1,250.
Idaho Annual license by author
ities , fee $750.
Illinois Local option license by city
council or village or county board , fee
not less than $500.
Indiana Llcenso by county commis
sion , fee $100-$250.
Iowa License by petition of voters ,
fee $ GOO.
Kentucky License by majority of
toters. fee $100-$150.
Louisiana Stnte nnd locnl license ,
$100 up.
Maryland Iocal option , fee $18-
$450.
Massachusetts Local option , fee not
less than $1,000 ; number limited one
to 1.000 Inhabitants ; in Boston , one to
500.
Michigan Ixical option , fee $500-
$800.
$800.Minnesota
Minnesota License fee $500-$1,000.
Mississippi Local option , fee $600-
? 1,200.
Missouri The counties may , by ma
jority vote , pass the local option law ,
and if this is not done , the county
courts may grant a license and rix a
tnx of not less than $200 , nor more
than $400 per year for state and not
less than $500 , nor more than $800 for
county purposes.
Montana Local option , semi-annual ,
fee $150-$300.
Nebraska Local option , fee $500-
$1,000.
Nevada State license $50 per an
num ; wholesale , $100 per annum ; re-
tall drug store , $12 per annum.
New Hampshire License by ma
jority of voters , fees based on popula =
tlon , maximum. $1,200.
New Jersey Local option , fee $100-
$300.
$300.New
New Mexico License by county
commissioners , fee $ fOO-$400.
New York Local option In towns ,
fee $1GO-$1,200 , according to popula
tlon.
tlon.North
North Carolina Local option , semi
annual fee of $50-$400.
Ohio Local option , fee $1,000.
Oklahoma Stnte dispensary.
Oregon Local option , fee $400.
Pcnnsylvnula License under control
of courts , fee $75-l,000.
Rhode Island Local option , fee $200-
$1,000.
South Carolina State regulation.
South Dakota License by local au
thoritlcs , fee $400-GOO.
Tennessee License issued by local
authorities , fee $150-$200. (
Texas License Issued by county
clerk , fee $300.
Utah License granted by local au
thorities , fee $400-$1,200.
Vermont License local option act
took effect March 3 , 1903.
Virginia Control of local courts ,
fee $175-$350 , local option provided
for.
Washington License issued by lo
cal authorities , fee $300-$1,000.
West Virginia License by courts
and local authorities , fee retail , $000 ;
wholesale , $750.
Wisconsin Local option , fee $100-
$200 , with power in voters to Increase
from $200-$500.
Wyoming License issued by local
authorities , fee $100-$300.
Thus it will be seen that the pre
ponderance of populnr opinion Is over
whelmingly for local option , high li
cense.
REPUDIATED COUNTY OPTION
How Many Counties in Canada Stamp
ed Out an Unwise Law.
When the business men of Nebraska
get a full understanding of so-called
county option they will consign it to
oblivion. It Is used by agents of the
Anti-Saloon league as a means to an
end it is simply a method by which
they expect to attain prohibition. This
fact they assert everywhere their ul
timate aim is state prohibition. They
nre not content to let ench town man-
nge its own affairs , but send paid
agents into Nebraska towns to array
the non-tax-pnyltig voters against locnl
property owners in efforts to deprive
)
the latter of the right to control the J |
policy of the town whose expenses
they are taxed to pay. These paid in
terlopers are getting voters to sign pe
titions to the legislature to pass a law
which would give all the voters' of a
county a right to dictate to any town
in the county as to what it must do in
respect'to n matter which involves
thousands of dollars in loss or gain of
business or of llcenso fees.
The idea of county option wns taken
from Canada and transplanted into
some of the southern states. Agents
of the Anti-Saloon league found it to
be an attractive method In localities
where it hail not been tried. They are
careful not to say that in many Cana
dian counties It was long ago repudi
ated and stamped out. Here is what
Prof. Goldwln Smith of the Toronto
University wrote nbout it in one of his
well-known essays , some years ago :
"In 1878 the Canadian Parliament
passed the Cnnndinn Temperance Act ,
more commonly called the Scott Act.
The purport of this Act may be de
scribed as county option. It enables
any county adopting it by a simple ma
jority of the electors to prohibit the
sale of any liquor within tbe county
for local consumption under penalty of
a fine of fifty dollars for the first of
fense , n hundred for the second , and
two months' Imprisonment for the
third.
In the province of Ontario there are
forty-two counties. Twenty-eight coun
ties adopted' the Act , most of them In
1881 and 1885. In 1888 ten counties ,
nine of them at once , repealed it ; and
in the following year the remaining
Scott Act counties also returned to
license law. The majorities for repeal
were overwhelming. In Ontario the
Scott Act Is generally regarded as Im
possible of resuscitation , nnd the ad-
vacates of prohibition legislation are
turnlnn their minds to other measures.
This is n genuine verdict of the pee
ple. The liquor trade had exhausted
its power of opposition in the early
part of the contest ; in fact it hardly
appeared In the Held without doing
mischief to Its own cause. "
Townspeople repudiated the law be
cause it enabled' ' outsiders to dabble
into local matters in which they had
no moral right to interfere. It Is a
thing of the past.
BUSINESS MEN ARE ORGANIZING
To Protect the Material Interests of
Taxpayers Against Unwise
Legislation.
Hundreds of the best business hous
es of Omaha have joined an organiza
tion styled the Merchants' and Man
ufacturers' association , which is rap
idly growing In strength and influence.
Its avowed object is to protect the ma
terial interests of taxpayers against
nny movement known to bo detriment
al to them. Just now the association
j j
is giving its attention to the quiet bat
vigorous campaign being carried on in
Nebraska by the paid agents of the
Anti-Saloon league , , who are seeking to
lOist statutory prohibition upon the
people through a subterfuge which
they cell "county option. " In other
states where they have operated they
openly declared that "the object of the
league is statutory prohibition ; " that
"county option Is n natural step to pro
hibition. "
The Merchants' and Manufacturers'
association stands for a strict enforce
ment of the Slocumb high license law ,
tinder which nny vlllngo or town may ,
by populnr vote , decide to license the
sale of liquor or not. Under this law
over 450 Nebraska towns have gone
ary. It affords the greatest possible
degree of home rule , not interfering
with the right of a community to man
age its own affairs. Under its provis
ions , , outsiders cannot dictate to the
people of a town or village what they
must do in the matter of regulating
the liquor trnfllc. Every stnto in the
Union , save four , long ago adopted the
license system , and nearly two dozen
states have abandoned statutory prohi
bition in order to adopt the license
system. Experience has pioved that
the local license system is the only
practical means of regulating and con
trolling the sale of liquor.
The new nssoclntlon of business
men ' holds to the conviction that the
Slocumb high license law has been of
great benefit to Nebraska since Its en
actment in 1887 , nnd tberforo tbe law
must be defended from attack. They
are convinced' that business prosperity
is possible under the llcenso system ,
whereas it is easy to see that statu
tory ( prohibition injures business by
causing outside cnpitnl to shun a state f * *
having thnt policy. They are con
vinced thnt county option menus pro
hibition in the end , and for that reason
is a menace to the business interests
of tbe state. Their appeal Is made to
the merchants nnd taxpayers of the
whole state , knowing thnt if the Intter
can be shown the true inwardness of
the movement for county option , they
will soon be able to effect an organiza
tion In every county strong enough to
destroy the work of the imported , sal
aried agents of the Anti-Saloon league.
Hundreds of business men linvo
joined the nssoclntlon under the fol
lowing conditions :
"As business men nnd taxpayers we
favor the movement to form an Asso
ciation of Merchants and Manufactur
ers for the purpose of adopting meas
ures to bring about a better enforce
ment of the Slocumb liquor license
law throughout the state a law mak
ing it optional with the people of a
town or city to say whether or not
liquor shall be sold. We believe the
said' law has been of great benefit to
the- state and that there can be no
better means for regulating the sale of
intoxicants. We stand for its strict
enforcement. We join this .association
with the understanding that no dis
tiller , brewer , liquor dealer or saloon
keeper is eligible to membership. Our
object is to protect property interests
from the ill effects of unwise leglsla-
tion. " .
i .1
B > . _ m _ - J" 1
WOULD DESTROY HOME RULE
County Option is Radically Different
from Nebraska Local Option.
There is n great difference between .
local option as defined by the Nebras
ka law , and county option as defined
by the Anti-Saloon league. Local op
tion guarantees home rule and pre
vents outsiders from dictating to
townsmen as to what policy they shall
pursue. On the contrary , county op
tion would give to voters in country
precincts and in villages the right to
sny whnt another town must do in re
spect to regulating or abolishing the
liquor trafllc. County option would
destroy the principle of home rule ,
whereas local option sustains that
principle. The one Is antagonistic to
the other.
Fur Instance , say that the taxpayers
of a town had voted for license wnllo
other towns In a county had voted
themselves dry , the policy of county
option , if adopted by the legislature ,
would enable the voters of the dry
towns and country precincts to com
bine and force the wet town dry. In
other words , outsiders could ifn a
town regardless of the will of the resi
dent taxpayers. The stnte would of
course retain the power to tax the
property of townsmen while at the ,
same time depriving them of the right
to control tbo policy of the town gov
ernment which they are taxed to main
tain. Voters outside the limits of the
town , whether they be taxpayers or
not , would , under county option , have
the right to vote upon a question con
cerning only the people of the town ,
which would be radically unjust , de
structive of the principle of home rule
and wholly unamericau.
There Is no argument that can be
offered in support of county option
which cannot be met and overcome by
those in defense'of the right of a com
munity to manage : * 3 own affairs.
One reason why prohibition failed In
Oklahoma wns because the bootleg
gers swarmed into the new state , en
abling the negro to get all the booze
he could drink. The prime object of
the dispensary law is to prevent the
negro from getting whisky.
Agents of the Anti-Saloon league are
telling i of the prohibition wave said to
be sweeping the country , but they fall
to say that the extension of dry terri
tory in the north has been wholly un
der state laws providing for the high
license , locnl option system.
Sentiment for statutory prohibition
has made headway in the south only ,
although two southern states sell
liquor as beverages and' all save Geor
gia have high license laws. There is a
growth of temperance sentiment , but
it Is not for statutory prohibition. The
agitation in the south is based upon a
desire to. keep liquor out of the reach
of colored men.
