| Show THE LAW ELSEWHERE HIGH LICENSE IN ILLINOIS MINNESOTA AND NEBRASK I 1 A well regulated of local option needed in that tho tendency of the age is in the direction of a more thorough control of and espi e over the liquor traffic if not its practical extinction acin scarcely be denied of course alcoa hol will always bo manufactured and in one way or its way into the hands of those who want it either for personal consumption or to use in mechanical or scientific pursuits auf that is not the question it is as to the best methods to be adopted looking to the curtailment of present evils the sentiment in this direction ia earnest sincere and advancing with almost irresistible strides A letter from governor mcgill of minnesota published in a kew york paper summarizes the results of the experiments in that state in the direction indicated and shows that the high license law which went into effect on the ast 1st of july last has diminished the saloons by the astonishing number of 1600 and when to this is added the additional one that the revenue to the state from the traffic within the same period of time have increased from to the importance of the situation from a financial standpoint becomes at least secondary but besides this the reports from each of the counties of the state generally agree in stating that drinking violence and crime had considerably decreased that the additional license fees had furnished the means for improving the roads for water works or fire engines or schoolhouses or other municipal uses and that temperance sentiment has increased in other words a practical begin ning has been made and the people are learning how to deal with a destructive tive traffic so as to reduce its evils end to make it yield public benefits they are feeling their way to moro radical measures and are getting educated as to some of the most difficult problems of our time these minnesota experiments are instructive so far as they go so are those obtained in chicago under the new law where the number of the saloons has been reduced from to and the revenue from licenses reached last year an increase of over that obtained in 1886 in nebraska under a license fee of 1000 in cities and elsewhere the revenue has grown fivefold five fold and the number of saloons has been reduced one half it seems as though the success of hiegh license in re ducine the saloons and in increasing the revenue was in proportion to the size of the license fee within practical limits this has certainly been the case in illinois where a uniform license fee for the state at large has diminished the number of saloons by one third and raised the revenue of the state from that source from to this is a showing at once eloquent and instructive we do not need to change our policy in that regard in utah for wo no have a license system the same as that so much commended in minnesota the figure being the highest to be found anywhere in tho union wo got along very well with it and with a well regulated system of local option would be likely to gain the only other improvement attainable standard |
